The benefits of Personal Branding in your career

Personal branding does the same work for a person that branding does for companies. A company’s brand echoes its actions, services and reputation. Companies stand out from the competition through brand recognition and, consequently, increase their sales and business. Personal branding does the same for professionals.

Be true to yourself

It may seem obvious, but when you create a personal brand, you need to focus mainly on yourself. Your image, voice and presence are all that matters. When you are true to yourself and try to exude as much authenticity as possible, people will notice.

Every professional has stories to tell about their expertise and personal branding is the best way to tell those stories to professional clients, even if they don’t ask for it. With digital technology, your brand is not an extravagance, but an inevitability. Similar to corporate branding, personal branding shows your values and builds a unique professional identity and value for potential employers or clients.

Pay attention to your image

If you’re not sure what your online presence looks like, it’s time to sweep through all your social media and online activities to make sure they match your brand and paint you in the best possible light.

Take some time to clean up your online image by checking if you can remove any information and setting up Google alerts for your name, so you’ll be alerted whenever new information appears.

Credibility is vital in career and client growth. Your brand builds this for you by developing your authentic visibility in the industry. It helps you establish your name as an expert in your field. Additionally, it reinforces your professional impressions that bring admiration, esteem and faith to the minds of your employers with your name.

Promote yourself

Your brand needs to reflect who you are. Try to be introspective and list your qualities, passions and even weaknesses. What knowledge do you have and, among them, which ones do you enjoy the most. Observe the nuances of your work, what keeps you motivated in your career. Think about the compliments others have made about your work.

Ask yourself:

• In which areas of work do I stand out?
• What motivates me?
• What characteristics have others praised me for?
• Which projects have people repeatedly asked me to help with?
• Which roles seem to drain my energy?
• Which projects can I spend hours on without feeling overwhelmed or tired?

Personal branding is all about marketing yourself correctly… And one way to do that is to be as relatable and likeable as possible. Be active on as many social networks as you find relevant to your brand. Reminding people that you are as human as everyone else will help them relate to and get closer to your brand. Also, make sure the narrative you are presenting is consistent, unique and personal.

Your personal brand is more than a reflection of who you are today; it’s a roadmap of where you want to go. Beyond understanding your existing skills and competencies.

My journey

I’m still in the early stages of working on my brand. For me, the best thing I did was present at MeetUps, speak at events, upload Open Source code on Github and publish articles like the one you’re reading.

And you, have you started building your personal brand?