Imagine your personal brand as the engine of your career, the more fuel you pump into it, the more thrust you will get. But, the question here is: how do you ignite that engine? And where are the keys?
Well, no one holds the keys but yourself, as it is ignited by your recognition by others. It’s called a personal brand for a reason, it’s the mark that is associated with your name, who you are, your career, and ultimately your objectives and aspirations. With this mark that you have developed into a personal brand, you can communicate your skills, values and personality. You need to market yourself. It’s a game.
Having a reputable personal brand that is well recognized can certainly open up many professional opportunities, not only in terms of getting a better job, but even if you are a full-time employee who is interested in growing their career or even a prospective entrepreneur who is looking to establish and develop their own venture.
If you are over and done with your current job and want to find a better job, you’ll need to do your research and modify your personal brand based on what your potential employer is looking for. Thankfully, you can easily do this with our Bayt.com Company Search tool. This tool literally gives job seekers the ability to stalk companies online, in order for them to get an idea of what the company does, as well as a taste of their culture. Click here and let the stalking being!
And if you’re satisfied and content with your current job and are looking to grow your career and reach your and your team’s goals by let’s say growing your sales. You can do this by developing your personal brand into something that can perpetuate a feeling of trust and reliability that can then prosper into satisfaction and long-term success.
Hopefully, by now you have a feeling of how important and beneficial a personal brand can be. In this day and age where the labor market is as competitive as ever, and with the booming entrepreneurial scene, having a bland personal brand will get you to nowhere special. You’ll simply be another face in the ever growing crowd. Boring. You need to build and develop a personal brand that can not only set you apart from others but get you remembered as well.
We at Bayt.com know exactly how important it is to have a sound personal brand and want to share our expertise with you, as to help you to reach your full potential.
So, here are seven ways you can build a killer personal brand:
Before anything you need to acknowledge the fact that your personal brand is about none other than the REAL YOU. Not what you want others to think of you, not what you think people think you are. But, you. You are a brand, pretending to be someone you aren’t won’t do. Be yourself, everyone else is taken.
You need to dig deep and discover what makes you awesome, what makes you fascinating. You need to build your personal brand on your true strengths and qualities, based on which you can pave and navigate the way to your recognition.
Your value as a person certainly should not be based on which company you work for or what your career level is. But, it should be based on the value that you can create and add to the company as a whole. What can you bring to the table? You need to identify what your key strengths are and then narrow them down to find out what you do best.
By knowing what you do best, it can help in identifying the right target audience that would most appreciate your skills. If you don’t identify what you do best or what you’re interested in doing, and communicate it through your personal brand, people of interest like employers, for example, wouldn’t know to come to you for it.
For example, “Sarah,” a marketing executive, acknowledges the fact that she can help the sales team in securing deals with clients. But, she also acknowledges that she is best at digital marketing, and as a result she brands herself as an expert in digital marketing. Sarah has now positioned herself as a professional in her field, and thus adding credibility to her brand.
Once you have identified your strengths and selected which ones you want to brand yourself with and to whom, then you can work on them to perfect them. You should always strive to learn as much as you can, in order for you to be able to brand yourself as an expert in your field. You can do this by using Bayt.com’s learning tools such as online courses and training courses. Click here to find the right course for you.
You’ll need to refine your online profiles, whether on social media or job sites like Bayt.com to accurately portray you in a way that goes along side your desired image and brand. You’ll need to watch out for any negative or unprofessional content of you online, as it can influence the way you are perceived by others. Where people of interest such as employers can potentially make a quick judgment and think less of you upon viewing any negative material of you online. So, you should certainly consider adjusting your accounts and making them more employer-friendly, as to portray your professionalism.
The world has never been as interconnected as it is in today’s globalized world, with the aid of the internet, cheap communication channels and the ease of travel. Why not take advantage of it?
It would be quite difficult to establish a solid personal brand if you are inaccessible to others, especially those of interest to you. You can do this in various ways such as having a strong online presence and/or engaging with relevant professionals at conferences and events. This can aid you in being seen or let’s say “discovered.” You can’t expect to be appreciated or even noticed if your brand doesn’t expand beyond your own home or office, you need to put yourself out there first, in order for you to make your mark on others.
You are the average of who you surround yourself with. So, if you're surrounded by professionals with very reputable and polished personal brands, just expect yours grow stronger alongside theirs. Firstly, this happens because you can learn a lot from them and build your expertise, and secondly, because it can make you look like you’re one of them, as if you’re part of the pack.
Some might think that old traditional approaches of branding yourself are a bit inapt for this tech dominated age and that they’re dying out, but that’s not always the case. There are some old techniques that are still quite effective and that can aid you in representing yourself in a way that you desire such as using fancy business cards and wearing a certain type of clothing or color.
But, you should always remember the brand that you’re trying to build, and make sure that whatever you choose to do is appropriate with how you want to be portrayed. So, if you’re a banker and want to be seen as professional and formal, you’ll need to wear the appropriate attire such as a suit and tie. Where wearing flip-flops and shorts can be quite comfortable, they won’t do the job.
