BUILDING ‘BRAND YOU’: 6 STEPS TO ESTABLISHING A PERSONAL BRAND

By Rebecca Im

According to a recent news article published by The Sydney Morning Herald, up to 65,000 university students (roughly 30% of grads) will be jobless after finishing their studies. The continuous increase in unemployment rates is mainly due to the increasingly competitive job market today. With these intimidating and large statistical figures and data, there is no doubt as to the endless concerns and stress that university students face as they try to make the next major transition in their lives.

Just as we are exposed to a wide range of brands through advertisements, it is a student’s duty to construct their own personal brand and promote it to their employers.  This is easier said that done, as building a personal brand takes time and effort. Essentially, you have to market and ‘sell’ yourself, and success comes from your ‘self-packaging’.

So how would you ‘self-package yourself’ and create a personal brand that helps you stand out in the crowd? Here are 6 steps to establishing a personal brand.

1. What makes you differentfrom others?

2. What are your passions and strengths?

3. If you left your position as a student today, what would your friends and teachers miss?

1. Know who you are AND who you aren’t

2. Identify these strengths and talents and perfect them

3. Have a clear picture of your personal and professional goals

4. Set your priorities and persevere to achieve and maintain these

5. Use your values and priorities when making decisions

6. Amongst others, be loyal to yourself, first

1. Consider: where would you like to be in 6 months? 5 years?

2. Your personal brand will be strengthened by your connection to other strong brands/people – this is where the importance of networking with others comes in.

1. Know to whom you want to send your message

2. This will help you deliver your message to the right places

1. Remember that everything you do ultimately contributes to your personal brand

2. Make sure the way you dress, your body language and how you behave with others are consistent with your brand image

1. Update people about what you are doing

2. Word of Mouth is a powerful marketing tool and what the people in your network say about you will ultimately have an effect on your brand

And if all else fails, remember: