In todays rapidly changing environment, employers are looking for something special. Someone that stands out. Mediocrity may no longer be tolerated and the competition heats up. The most important thing is that you are on top of your game. Your Personal Brand now needs to shine through more than ever.
People who learn to think of themselves as a brand tend to be more self-aware than those who don’t. It’s self awareness coupled with a congruent personal brand image as well as the ability to do the job, that is helping people around the world to get, keep and scale the career ladder.
It’s a fact in life that people buy other people, in much the same way as we buy a product or service. We all have a choice and we make emotional decisions to buy based on how much we think we will benefit and the experience of the buying process. So, how do you think you come across? What do you think your personal brand is accurately projecting about you?
A great way to determine this is to ask people whom your respect to tell you what they think about you when they hear your name. How do they speak about you? Be prepared, you may not like what you hear! However, feedback is priceless and it will provide you with the opportunity to decide if your brand is working for you or not. Here are a few quick ways for you to build your brand in a crowded market place:
- What do you want people to say about you? Start here. What is it that you want people to associate with you when they hear your name? Is it that you are a big party animal and fall out of nightclubs feet first at 4am? Or is it that you are professional, inspiring, motivational, successful, happy or driven. Once you have determined this you will have direction.
- Be your Brand. ‘Being’ means becoming what you must be and maximizing your full potential. Invest in your strengths, skills, passions and values so that you can positively influence those in your sphere of influence. One day future generations must be able to celebrate your personal brand, stand on your shoulders see greater possibilities ahead.
- Communication. How you communicate will impact on your brand name dramatically. How you speak, the words you use, what you say creates an impression from others. Be sure that you are communicating in a way that is powerful and congruent to you. Don’t try and communicate in a way that is not authentic to you and your brand. People can see through this very quickly.
- Be sure of your value offering. To enable crystal clear communication, you need to be very sure of who you are and what you stand for. What are your strengths? What are the things that you do better than anyone else? What are you an expert in? Once you know your value add, and own it, you will be able to communicate in a way that is clear and concise. And be proud of it, this is the value you bring to the world. Live in your power.
- Watch your on-line presence. With facebook, twitter and Google searches now painting a picture of the individual, you need to be very, very careful with what you post on your on line sites. You never know who knows whom in this world and just because you are not linked to your boss’s facebook page, one of your friends might be. Make sure you have a purpose for your site. If it is just for fun, by all means go for it, but at the same time protect it. If it is for business, operate in that way ensuring that nothing can damage your brand. Watch what you write in particular and what others write on your space. Be careful of the photo’s you post as they are left to interpretation. If you are going for a new role, I can pretty much guarantee a Google search will be done on your name. Make sure you protect the outcome.
“Our character is but the stamp on our souls of the free choices of good and evil we have made through life.” John C. Geikie
