What is your Personal Brand?

‘You are your own product.’

If you think marketing and branding are concepts only relevant to businesses, you are wrong. What companies like Virgin, Nike and Coca-Cola do on a global scale, you can apply to your career.

The high achievers in the world of business, entertainment and sport see the power of corporate branding strategies and apply them to their own careers. So can you. In the words of marketing and branding guru Tom Peters, ‘we are CEOs of our own companies: Me Incorporated. To be successful, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called ‘you’.’

You may be thinking that this branding stuff is all very well for the likes of Madonna or David Beckham, but it has nothing to do with me. Do you make a special effort with your appearance when you are going out or going for a job interview? Most people do, because they want to make a good impression or to be accepted by their peers. What you are doing is actively working on your brand, as you want to create a certain image so people will think of you in a certain way.

Personal Branding is the process that takes your skills, personality and unique characteristics and packages them into a powerful identity that lifts you above the crowd.

The reality is we are all branded by other people whether we like it or not. It can’t be avoided. It just depends on whether you proactively create your own brand or leave it to chance and are branded by others. In other words, ‘brand or be branded.’

Of course, some may say that you should never judge a book by its cover, but in reality we do, all the time. On top of that our initial judgment can be hard to shift. Research has shown that it takes many subsequent meetings, often over 40, to alter the initial judgment we make about someone.

Here are 6 questions to get you thinking about your own brand.

1. What three words do you think your friends or colleagues would use to describe you?

2. What three words do you feel your boss or clients would use to describe you?

3. Right now, what does your reputation say about you?

4. Are you proud of your reputation? If not, are you ready to take personal responsibility for your reputation?

5. What three words would you like others to use to describe their experience of interacting with you?

6. Picture your ideal self. You have become the new and improved version of yourself. Write out a paragraph describing yourself, how you look, the characteristics you display regularly, the emotions you feel.

In an age where the ‘job for life’ concept has been replaced with career mobility, the ability to determine your own brand is vital in terms of your career success.

The issue of Personal Branding is particularly relevant during interviews. Learn more about our Interview Skills Coaching. Email us today and receive a complimentary Interview Skills Tip Sheet.