How to take your personal brand to the next level
Cultivating a personal brand may seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually quite simple.
Your personal brand helps people know who you are and what you stand for. It lets them know about the unique skills and knowledge that you bring to your work and relationships, and can help you pursue your personal and professional goals.
Though it may seem that your brand is in the hands of others, you are the driving force behind it. It’s up to you to shape your brand into something you can be proud of and use to your advantage.
To help you get started and let your personal brand shine, PowerED™ is excited to announce the launch of Elevate Your Personal Brand.
Presented by The Uplift, this free, crowdsourced course was curated by and for our community! Through insightful written content, videos, voice notes, interactive modules and reflective lessons, you’ll discover how to cultivate an authentic personal brand centred around your values, strengths and interests. We thought we’d give you a (tiny) taste of the information you’ll find within the course, so, let’s dig in!
When it comes to personal branding, authenticity always wins
Your brand shouldn’t come from trends or outside influences. It has to be rooted in who you are, your goals, and how you want to impact the world around you. You find and foster your authentic brand by tapping into the person you already are.
To discover your authentic brand, ask yourself these three questions:
- What are your personal values and driving motivations?
- What are your interests, skill sets, and strengths?
- How do you want to put those things to use?
Life feels more purposeful when you allow your core values to guide you. You may feel more energized, inspired, and committed to your goals when they reflect and serve your values. And when your brand is rooted in what you care about, it becomes easier to make choices that align with your values.
Getting started
When thinking about your own brand, consider the people you admire most and think about why you admire them. Think about your reputation, what it is, and how it came to be, and write down what you want it to be. Consult with those who know you best and ask them what positive qualities they associate with you.
Use these responses to distill your brand into the qualities that you feel best define the person you are and what you would like to achieve. You might decide your brand is that you are innovative, curious, and hardworking, or that you are loyal, authentic, and competent.
Once you’ve defined your values and goals, use them to inform every facet of your life, career, or business. Always ensure that you consider whether your choices reflect the qualities you have used to define your personal brand and allow them to guide your decision-making as much as possible.
Here are some tips to help you make the journey and plot your path along the way:
Let your values and goals guide you
Grow your brand around your values and goals. When you have a choice to make, consider which option will take you closer to what you want and what matters most to you.
Learn from disappointment
Recognize that everyone makes mistakes and experiences failure at times. Focus on the opportunity that missteps and disappointment offer for learning and growth.
Leverage transferable skills
Identify knowledge and skills that you have developed in other jobs or areas of life that will help you succeed in what you do next.
Build on your strengths
Engage in continuous education, professional training and skills development to enhance your existing strengths and fill in gaps in your qualifications.
Get yourself out there
Cultivating your personal brand and professional network might require you to step outside your comfort zone. You might need to build on the knowledge, skills, and resources that you already have.
Once you figure out the branding that is right for you, use it to pursue your goals and let it lead you to the life of your dreams as you embody the qualities most important to you.
The purpose of your personal brand is to let the world know who you are, what you have to offer, and what you want to accomplish.
Gain more useful tips and tricks about cultivating your personal brand by checking out PowerED’s new, free, crowd-sourced course Elevate Your Personal Brand.
