Have you noticed top brands of the world? For example, Apple Company challenged others to think differently. These are the slogans that represent a company and how it communicates itself in the market. It is true that these are just a few words but explains the whole story. These are not just words but the potential and power of branding.
As a brand owner, it is important to do your branding that reflects how a company acts, servers and provides value to its customers. Successful bran stands out in the crowd- making more sales, providing a better customer experience, and increasing awareness.
However, branding is not just for companies. A professional can also be a brand as he or she has his own story, goals, expertise, and skills to share. In this article, we will talk about personal branding strategy and how to boost your career.
What Is A Personal Brand?
First of all, you need to understand what a personal brand is. It is similar to a corporate brand; it is what you are, the values you embrace, what you stand for, and how you express those values. A corporate brand helps it to communicate with the customers to stand out in the crowd. Such is the case with a personal brand. It helps an individual to stand out from the competition and help to communicate with potential employers.
Personal branding is not what you are about your whole story. Hence, it can play an important role in boosting your career. It is just like employer branding, which helps an employer to attract talented candidates. We interviewed many hiring managers, and 85% of them agree that a candidate’s brand influence is what helps them make a hiring decision. Your personal brand will highlight your reputation, skills, strengths, and your communication skills. In short words, your personal brand will tell the employers whether you are a good fit for their company or not.
Tips for Building Your Personal Brand
What You Are
To build your personal brand that reflects your abilities, you first need to know who you are. For this, you have to make a list of your strengths and weaknesses.
- If which area do you excel
- What is your motivation?
- What characteristics do you receive compliments from others
- Which is the most energy-consuming role for you
- What kind of projects you can spend hours on, and what makes you tired.
If you cannot find answers on your own, you can ask your family and friends. You can also ask your co-workers to help you out. It is important to realize different facts about your personality. We have seen that many people struggle with choosing a niche. Some of them think that choosing a specific niche will limit their abilities. However, choosing a particular area to focus on is the best way to improve your personal brand.
What You Want to Be Known For
Your personal brand is not just what you are but what you will be in the future. It is like a roadmap that will decide your path. You need to understand your existing competencies and skills and need to realize your weaknesses and strengths.
By doing this, you will know which skills are your strongest and which area you need to work on and gain new knowledge. You need to set a goal- where you want to see yourself in the next five or ten years.
Define Your Audience
While working on your personal brand, you need to determine where you are trying to reach. Do you want to reach industry leaders, a specific company or a recruiter? No matter what, you need first to define your audience. This way, you will know how to craft your story and what kind of story you need to tell.
For example, if you want to reach recruiters, then you should focus on your LinkedIn profile. The reason is that about 92 per cent of recruiters use social media to find high-quality candidates.
But if you are a graphic designer, you should have a portfolio to impress your current clients and attract new customers. Using this website, you can tell your story and can better express your talent.
Follow the Experts
So you have decided the industry you want to make your career in. We will recommend you to do your research and find experts in those roles.
You need to find these leaders and need to follow them. It is better if they have blogs or where you can read more about their work. Find people who are successful and examine what they are doing.
To build your personal brand, you need to stand out, but you can’t do it without following the people who are already there.
Informational Interviews
It would help if you formed a list of companies you want to work with and also the leaders you admire. Reach out to them and ask them for an informational interview. The process will take just 20 minutes, but it will really help you learn more from them. Don’t be shy and ask them; you will be amazed to see how generous and genuine people are.
When you will meet these people, you should ask questions that can help you get more insights about the field, such as:
- What you will do to make a transition
- What have you done so far to be a leader in the industry
- Ask them about their views on industry evolving
- How they keep up with the industry trends
There are some great benefits of informational interviews. First of all, you will learn what it takes to be in the profession. You will also get a chance to share a little bit about yourself. Maybe there is a job on the line, and your interview helped introduce yourself. In the future, maybe one of the employers will think of you as an ideal candidate for the job. In short, there are lots of possibilities, and you should try your luck.