Without Personal Branding Your Career is Dead [infographic]

When you read the headline of this post, you may question why you need to promote yourself as a brand. Isn’t personal branding to go too far for ordinary people who have ordinary jobs?


I don’t think so. The world has changed a lot the last years and branding yourself as well as building your brand online has become a necessity to stand out from the crowd, whether you are Justin Bieber or Maria at the reception desk. Without it, your career will be dead.

What Personal Branding Can Do for Your Career

I’ve made an Infographic showing you why it’s so important and what personal branding can do for your career. Please share it with others if you find it valuable! [tweet this!]

 

How to Develop Your Personal Brand

Start by asking yourself what you have accomplished that you can unabashedly brag about.
If you’re going to be a brand, you’ve got to become relentlessly focused on what you do that adds value, what you’re proud of, and most important, what you shamelessly can take credit for.

Find your niche that allows you to differentiate from others. Have you been raising your sales figures a lot, are you very innovative or do you have really good  co-operating skills?

How To Define Your Career

I think a good way to define a career is to look at it as a portfolio of projects that teach you new skills, gain you new expertise, develop new capabilities, grow your colleague set and constantly reinvent you as a brand.

Career is also about influence power. It’s about being known for making the most significant contribution in your particular area. It’s about reputational power.

If You Want To Be a Brand, You Should Act Like One

One of the things that attracts us to certain brands is the power they project. As a consumer, you want to associate with brands whose powerful characteristics rubs off on you.

It’s the same in the workplace. People want to work with you if you’re associated with powerful qualities.

Important to remember is that power is largely a matter of perception. If you want people to see you as a powerful brand, you should act like a credible leader.

When you’re thinking about the brand You, you don’t need org-chart authority to be a leader. The fact is you are a leader. You’re leading the brand called You!

Do you perceive yourself as a brand? If so, how has it changed your approach to your work and self-value? Please share in the comment box below