Think of your favourite company’s tagline. Or that catchy value proposition which encompasses what a company does and is still easy to understand and remember. That is a branding statement. A personal brandings statement is basically a value proposition which communicates what you bring to the table, or what your strengths are.
A succinct personal branding statement enables any person who has not met you to get a glimpse of what you can do. Crafting a perfect statement is much like coming up with a company’s brand statement, only that this takes a personal approach. While coming up with a personal statement, here is what to consider;
Table of Contents
Determine What Personal Attributes Define You
The first step is to understand what adjectives best describe you. They include things like a team player, problem solver, flexible, diplomatic, and ethical. These adjectives should align to the kind of person you are and how you behave in the working environment. Use the most accurate adjectives, which relate to your personality. Choose one or two adjectives, don’t overdo it.
Identify Your Passion
Be clear about what fascinates you, challenges you, or excites you. They should converge with things that you can do at work. Your passion lets the person reading your statement know what kind of work would best fit you within the organization, or what kind of duties and responsibilities will help you be the most productive person in the company. This is often what makes you unique, as your passion is not something that the next person will necessarily be passionate about.
What is Unique About You?
Each company prides itself in having an ability to do something better than everyone else. For example, Safaricom prides itself in having the widest network coverage. What can you do better than the next person? It should be something unique but adds value to the company that you are trying to get a job in. For example, you may have the unique ability to sell an idea to top management. Make sure, it is something that you can also demonstrate. Remember, every person applying for a job has the same basic skills. Even if you are starting a business, there will always be someone else in the same business. So, go beyond what can be found in anyone.
Highlight Your Goals
To tie the personal branding statement into a succinct one, highlight what you aim for, professionally of course. Think about how these goals tie to those of the job you are looking for. Your goals anchor you in the position you are applying for and having a common purpose with your employer makes it easy for you to align yourself properly and achieve your target with ease. Additionally, how will these goals help you in making a difference within the organisation? Better yet, do they show something unique about you?
Let it be Clear and Precise
While all this may seem overwhelming, make sure it is not an entire paragraph because no one has the time to read through it. Make it short and concise. Something that a person can quickly scan through and tell what you are all about.
Example:
A disciplined designer with a passion for all things that the mind can imagine. I bring to life the most complex ideas in the simplest way, using every available tool at my disposal. My laid-back nature brings life to the workplace and my sense of humour gels even the most diverse team together.
Bottom line
At the end of the day, a personal branding statement should sell you before a person even reads through your CV. It should be as brief but detailed as possible. Keep it succinct.
Strategies For Building A Personal Brand
For most people, the word brand denotes a company, especially one that is widely known. But, a personal brand is as important as a company brand as it is what defines you and sets you apart from the rest. A strong personal brand makes it possible for you to get jobs, promotions, and recognition in the industry.
Building a personal brand is a proactive way of ensuring that your career takes the path you want it to take. A personal brand does not simply mean a good online presence. It means that you are good at your job that when a person hears your name, they can immediately associate you with a certain expertise. Think of Mutua Matheka, or Bikozulu. When you hear their names, you think expert photography and a wordsmith, respectively.
Building a Personal Brand
Know What You are Good at
A personal brand is built on a certain expertise. So, identify what you are good at and work on building it until you attain expert-level knowledge. Your personal brand should be linked with a certain field so that it becomes what you are associated with. Once you know what you are good at, identify your strengths and weaknesses and work on maximising on your strengths. Just like any brand identifies its niche and works on becoming the best, so should you.
Create an Online Presence
The digital space has definitely created opportunities for you to improve your visibility. When trying to build a personal brand, choose a suitable platform to share your knowledge and skills with the world. Whichever platform you choose, ensure that it is best suited for your kind of brand and actively participate in conversations, apart from sharing information. The important thing is to ensure that you are not just hiding online and that you are showcasing your expertise. While at it, keep off issues that could negatively impact your brand.
Be Deliberate with the Information You Share
People get to know you from the information you share with your networks. As such, avoid the temptation to binge-share unnecessary information both online and offline. Remember, apart from your ability to be good at what you do, the information you put out to the world shapes how people perceive you. Remember, even the biggest brands in the world have a certain brand image and brand voice. When creating yours bear this in mind.
Know Your Values
All big brands have a mission, a vision and core values. While having a mission and vision is important, having values matters even more. These are principles that define you and what you stand for. They guide you in your day-to-day activities and you strive to ensure that you stick to them. Values shape how you make decisions, which will become synonymous with you and your brand.
Network Actively
The importance of networking can never be overemphasised. Whether it is online or offline, networking helps you gain insights into your industry and share your knowledge as well. Remember, brand visibility within your own industry is what really counts, especially as you grow in your career. So network actively and share insights with your circle on a regular basis.
Building a personal brand requires deliberate efforts. You must be clear on what you want your brand to be like and project this same image to the world around you. A strong personal brand can pave way for growth in your career so take it seriously and work on it.
Top 5 Books For Ingenious Personal Branding
Personal branding is the latest way to greatness in the corporate world. For many years, emotional intelligence was touted as the top-most important quality that could help you move up the corporate ladder. While it is still an important quality, you will now need to have a personal brand, a critical aspect of emotional intelligence, in order to get to the top of your career in the modern world.
While it is still relatively new, personal branding is something that you can easily learn and start that upward progress that you have been longing for. Thankfully, there are some easy-to-read and understand books to help you get there. Here is a list that will help you get started.
Personovation by Timothy Maurice Webster
Timothy is a motivational speaker, a personal branding expert, and an author. In his book, Personovation, he delves into ways in which you can take control of your personal brand and stand out in whatever industry, hence the title, Personovation. Timothy carefully weaves personal experiences into the narrative, to show how anyone can build their own personal brand. In the book, he explores several main topics which include turning pain into purpose, you are not what others think of you, building the desired perception, paying the price for your purpose, the power of strong values, fighting for your brand’s purpose, taking charge, and finding the right balance in order to build a strong personal brand. If you are looking for a detailed book on how to build the personal brand you want to be associated with, then grab yourself a copy of Personovation and get started.
KNOWN: The handbook for building and unleashing your personal brand in the digital age by Mark W. Schaefer
Another South African, Mark is global icon known as an author, speaker, educator, and business consultant. In the book KNOWN, Mark delves into how you can use the digital space to build your personal brand. He is an author of an acclaimed marketing blog, and has consistently used the online platform to brand himself so, he is definitely a guru on personal branding. In KNOWN, Mark will take you through progressive steps on personal building and finally give you a list of people who have built strong personal brands in different fields. The best part is that the book raises valid points and moreso, teaches you how to use the digital space, which is readily available, to become KNOWN.
Rebrand by Bernard Kevin Clive
Known as Ghana’s top guru on digital publishing and personal branding, Bernard is a brand strategist, lifestyle entrepreneur, and personal branding coach, under his consultancy, BKC Consulting. He is also the owner of Ghana’s top personal and corporate branding blog, BKC. In his book, Rebrand, Bernard will take you through a step-by-step approach on how to build your personal brand, or rebrand in a clear, actionable, and concise way. And as he says in the book, “A personal (Brand) is more than just a creative name, cute logo or complimentary card; it’s a promise of value, it’s a distinctive voice, it’s a core message, its passion driven by purpose, it’s a positive impact that creates an impression.” Get your copy now and start building your personal brand one brick at a time.
Simplified Guide to Personal Branding By Joseph Mudau
If taking in too much information is not exactly what you want and you would rather get quick tips on how to build your personal brand, then this guidebook is what you need. In this quick-read, Joe Mudau will show you how to unearth your talents, strengths, values, skills, and passions so that you can get on the road to building your brand. He will not just stop there. He will show you how to communicate your brand and raise your brand’s profile with proper branding. If you have had the unfortunate event of tarnishing your brand, Joe will helpfully help you start your recovery journey or rebrand altogether. Finally, present-day brands are all about the digital space and Mudau will show you how to use the digital space to sell brand you!
Authentic Personal Branding: A New Blueprint for Building and Aligning a Powerful Leadership Brand by Hubert K. Rampersad
This guidebook will take you through a 4 step model to build and communicate the personal brand you desire. The book is laden with numerous examples of people who have successfully built and marketed their brands well and you will be pleased to find that some of your favourite celebrities are on the list. The book will help you bring out the best in you and attain success through simple tips that you can start implementing immediately.
Building a personal brand is not hard. These books will help you gather tips that you can implement and be on your way to success.
