The importance of building your personal professional brand

In today's competitive business landscape, the concept of branding has evolved beyond its traditional application to companies and products. It now extends to individuals in the professional sphere, giving rise to the importance of personal professional branding,  the practice of marketing oneself and one's career as a brand. It's a way to communicate your skills, expertise, and unique value proposition to potential employers, colleagues, and clients. In the same way that corporate brands aim to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, your personal brand sets you apart in your professional field.

The Importance of Personal Professional Branding

In today's competitive business landscape, the concept of branding has evolved beyond its traditional application to companies and products. It now extends to individuals in the professional sphere, giving rise to the importance of personal professional branding,  the practice of marketing oneself and one's career as a brand. It's a way to communicate your skills, expertise, and unique value proposition to potential employers, colleagues, and clients. In the same way that corporate brands aim to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, your personal brand sets you apart in your professional field.

The Evolution of Branding

Historically, branding was primarily associated with companies and their products. Iconic brands like Apple, Nike, McDonald's, and Volkswagen have successfully used logos, colours, and designs to create instant recognition and convey their values to consumers. These visual elements, combined with the quality of their products and services, have helped these companies build strong, enduring brand identities.

Translating Corporate Branding to Personal Branding

The principles that make corporate branding effective can be applied to personal professional branding:

  1. Consistency: Just as companies maintain consistent branding across all touchpoints, professionals should present a consistent image across their resume, social media profiles, and personal interactions. Having consistency in your personal brand means that colleagues and clients know what to expect from you when working with you, and it’s important that you are aware of what others see as your consistent behaviour.
  2. Unique Value Proposition: Like how companies highlight their unique selling points, individuals should identify and promote their distinctive skills and experiences, and use these points to be the first person that leaps to mind when a problem that could use your particular skillset arises.
  3. Quality: Brands are associated with certain quality standards. Similarly, your personal brand should reflect the high quality of your work and professional conduct. This also connects with consistency, as it is no use being known for exceptional quality only half of the time.
  4. Visibility: Successful brands are visible and easily recognizable. Your personal brand should be visible within your professional network and industry.

In the Australian ICT job market, having a strong personal professional brand within your network is essential, and can mean the difference between your career advancing rapidly and new opportunities opening and career stagnation.

Learn more about personal professional branding in our upcoming webinar.

If you want to learn more about how to build your personal professional brand and the advantages of doing so join our upcoming webinar with Dante St James Director of Innovation and Investment Readiness at Darwin Innovation Hub. Dante will go in to detail on how to leverage your personal attributes, education and professional network to build an awesome personal brand that employers will flock to and colleagues will value.

 

Register now!