When Establishing A Personal Brand, Start With Where You Are Right Now - Advance Career

Advance Career Team

Advice, Personal Brand, self-development, Skill Jun 11, 2021 0

Establishing a personal brand is critical for future success. A muddled idea of who you are or what you can offer can mean a lot of time going down blind alleys rather than charting a career course towards what you want to do. Simply introducing yourself and what you do may not help as much as it could. After all, there are a lot of people who share similar job titles, and only you know what you’ve accomplished and are particularly good at doing.

To help you get established, members of Forbes Coaches Council share 12 tips for creating a personal brand, ranging from understanding your impact to telling stories that attract. Here’s what they suggest you do:

1. Establish Your Professional Name

Carefully choose, and use, one version of your name for all of your professional activities. Research the name to find one that can be easily connected to you by adding or removing a middle name, nickname, and so on. Then, use that name for all professional activities online and off: LinkedIn profile, business cards and meeting name tags. What you do may change, but not your professional name. – Susan P. Joyce, Job-Hunt.org

2. Write A Mission Statement

Defining your personal brand is similar to constructing the framework of a successful corporation. It’s important to use similar tactics in identifying the core competencies that outline your persona at the brand level. Find the key message that you want to convey with every interaction and impression you make. Write the mission statement that describes you and continue to build a strategy behind it. – Rachel Lourdes Mestre, Rachel Mestre LLC

3. Record Your Accomplishments And Ask For Recommendation Letters

Early in my career, I started tracking my results while I was an employee. It was simply a list of projects I’d led, money I saved the company, and employees I trained and groomed. It helped me get promoted and hired, plus it built my confidence. A second idea is to ask for and keep a stack of recommendation letters. You can never have enough positive business relationships. – Sandi Leyva, Sandra L Leyva Inc.

4. Define Then Demonstrate Value And ROI

Your brand revolves around the value you offer your employer, customers or colleagues. To build your brand, you have to first “know thyself.” Start with a thorough evaluation of your offerings, skill sets and qualifications to identify “your 10% difference.” Next, align unique offerings with the needs of your audience. Lastly, promote the return on investment that your brand affords others. – Adrienne Tom, Career Impressions

5. Practice Vulnerability Instead Of Putting On A Mask

You are your brand, and it’s important that others get to know you. Be the real you, not the version of you that you wish to project. There’s a difference between bringing your best self forward and putting on a mask to get others to like you. Trust that you are enough and let others truly get to know your personality, values and what you’re passionate about. Stop worrying about what they’ll think. – Jenn Lofgren, Incito Consulting

6. Tell A Story That Attracts

Everyone has a story, and most stories are more alike than they are different. Make yours interesting to others. To do this, you first have to be interested in yourself. Ask yourself what excites you about you, what situation fuels your fire, who do you desire to get in front of, and what makes your story more exciting than the next. Branding is all about establishing a connection. – Maleeka T. Hollaway, The Official Maleeka Group, LLC

7. Understand Your Impact And Keep Doing More Of It

Brand is about impact, so first assess the positive impact you’ve had on people, projects and companies. Find the common themes, so you have key words to consistently use when describing yourself and seeking opportunities. Then use the outcome of the exercise as a tool to decide what to do more of, how to frame your success and strengths, and when to say “no” because it doesn’t fit your brand. – Bonnie Davis, Destination Up

8. Have Clarity On What You Can Offer

Get clear on who you are and what you have to offer. Building your brand when you are unclear about what you bring to the table positions you incorrectly. You also send the wrong message, which defeats the purpose of building a brand. Clarity on your value and positioning is key to building an effective personal brand. – Gia Ganesh, Gia Ganesh Coaching

9. Know Your Values, Then Embody Your Brand

If you are serious about developing your personal brand, you need to know your values first and foremost. People often rush to start posting on social media or “communicating their brand” before they know what they stand for. Being able to discern our values (perceived and actual), and living in a way that embodies these values is foundational for establishing one’s personal brand. – Billy Williams, Archegos

10. Build A Communications Strategy

The first step is to clearly define your personal brand and what you want to be known for. Then develop a communications strategy, setting measurable goals. Determine your audience and the message you want to convey to each audience. Develop a strategy to communicate these messages, whether it is verbal, written or observed. Track your progress over time. – Rebecca Bosl, Dream Life Team

11. Be Confident

You have a proven track record and the ability to make great things happen. Stay confident in who you are, the special way you get things done, and the energy you present. Do not falter under pressure. Maintain confidence by caring for yourself, being mindful of competition and market changes and keeping your social media clean. Continually communicate how your value fits the opportunities you seek. – LaKisha Greenwade, Lucki Fit LLC

12. Be Seen

Step one is to figure out what you’re good at and do more of it. Step two is to make sure people know about it. Building a personal brand means building a reputation as a subject-matter expert. You have to get out in front of people and share what lights you up. In the end, it’s not about boastng about yourself, it’s about sharing your spark with others. – Lizabeth Czepiel, Lizabeth Czepiel, LLC

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