Create a strong personal brand

Q. What is a Personal Brand? Why is having a strong personal brand so important these days?

A. Personal branding is the effort to create and communicate the value of an individual to the world or to the industry that they are a part of. The purpose of the individual is to create a strong sense of personal identity, or in other words, a ‘personal brand’, while the process that leads to this identity is called ‘personal branding’.

 Personal branding is a great tool to present this value, and has been successfully used by many people to influence others, and to set themselves apart from the rest of their competitors.

 Here are four reasons why everyone should have a personal brand:

 1)    Better opportunities

A strong personal brand presents to others, the individual’s unique value, strengths and the individual’s unique character which is likely to generate curiosity. This acts as a ‘great differentiator’, which means that it makes the individual stand apart, leading to a successful job search.

 2)    Generates interest

Since having a strong individual identity and a personal brand differentiates the individual from the rest of the competitors, it simultaneously generates interest among others. In simpler words, branding is a great tool to automatically create curiosity amongst others. This opens up doors to more clients and to jobs.

 3)    Creates a niche for the individual

Having a successful personal brand communicates an individual’s niche, that is, his/her expertise to others. As the individual’s network expands, he/she is likely to find more people to recognise their work. A strong personal brand also leads to word of mouth that creates curiosity among potential job employers and clients.

 4)    A sense of fulfillment

Brand identities for a person are built entirely on the individual’s values, passions, character and skillsets. This enables the individual to present their own unique persona in the workplace, and to also be known for it. Creating better opportunities for oneself, while being his/her totally authentic self, creates job satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment.

—  The expert is a Panchkula-based employability expert and Chief Mentor, Maven Career Coaching