Your Personal Brand: Just as Important as its Corporate Counterpart

Corporations and products are not the only ones with “brands;” each individual has their own personal brand whether they know it or not. This can be developed from language used, music listened to, what is posted on social media, what is worn, etc. For the most part, corporate brands (such as “innovative” for Apple, and “reliable” for IBM) are what we first think of when we say “brand,” because they know the positioning they want, and work to develop, maintain and communicate it in all of their messaging.

According to an article by Lindsay Hicks on Wetfeet.com, “Brand Thyself: How to Build Your Online Brand,” you should be just as cognizant of your personal brand as businesses are.
Hicks encourages you to shape your personal brand by doing the following:

• Make four lists, each with a handful of answers to the following questions: Who am I? What motivates me? What adjectives describe me? What are my skills? Get to the core of who you are, and narrow down what words you choose. In addition, only use a few words for each description (ex. “artist,” “entrepreneur,” etc.
  
• Focus on what motivates you. Many people pursue a certain career path because they are confident with a particular skill, but that one skill—such as number crunching—might bore you. Make a list of all your skills, and then identify whether each one is a skill that energizes you or burns you out.

The article also describes why your personal brand is so important, how to further develop it by watching the “pros,” ways to get feedback, and how to commit to a list of actions. I recommend reading the full article here!