How To Build Your Personal Brand
A brand isn’t just defined by a logo or a great marketing strategy, it’s about knowing what that brand stands for and promoting what makes that brand unique. Creating a reputation that makes that brand stand out against all the other brands.
No matter what stage you’re at in your career, to position yourself positively and to keep progressing, you need to build your personal brand. How other people see you can have a big impact on your future.
So, how do you build your personal brand?
Be proactive
Don’t be the person who comes to work late with a hangover, or the one who gives the bare minimum because “that isn’t in my job description”. Boost your value by looking for ways to increase your knowledge and experience, work hard to build great relationships and proactively take on new projects to showcase your passion for what you do.
Increase your profile
Networking can be a little daunting at first but the more you do it, the better you get. Networking can be done via LinkedIn, but you’ll build relationships faster by getting out and meeting people. Attend corporate social events, industry networks or professional forums, networking will do wonders for your brand and expanding your network.
Talk about yourself
Start to get comfortable with talking about what you do, what you’re learning, why you enjoy the challenge and where you see yourself in five years. If you show passion for your work and confidence in your abilities, it’s going to be easier for an employer to see you and look to you for future opportunities. Positivity begets positivity, so you’ll also be helping to make your workplace a whole lot happier. We’d say that’s win-win.
Focus
You can’t love everything every day and work is not always fun. But it’s important to keep in mind that work does a lot more than pay the bills and fund your monthly Netflix subscription. Work keeps you active, it keeps you learning, and it keeps you meeting people. We might look longingly at the weekend, but imagine life without challenges, without structure, without constant opportunities to shine. If you want your brand to be synonymous with dedication, you need to be present. Be focused and be your best possible self.
Continual learning
However good you are, you’re never be too good to keep learning. Many of our lessons come via feedback, from our manager or colleagues. Good or bad, feedback can be one of the greatest stepping stones to personal growth. It helps you keep striving for what is working and helps you build upon those areas where you might struggle. Take onboard the feedback at your regular appraisals, debrief after every piece of work and just chat to your colleagues about your strengths and weaknesses.
Building your personal brand is one of the most important daily tasks for you to do throughout your career.