First Rule of Personal Branding: Be Yourself

Posted on by Denise Felder

Personal Branding for Everyday People Tip: Be Authentic

 

In a nutshell, personal branding is the way you present yourself to employers, business contacts, and your social networks. The most important part of personal branding however, is not how you promote yourself, or what other people think of you.

The most important part of personal branding is what you know about yourself, and what you have to offer the world. You have to Know Yourself, before you can Be Yourself or Express Yourself.

What your brand – your unique promise of value?
• What do you do that is better or different from other people?
• What are you passionate about? What do you want to change or improve?
• What do you want to build or create?
• Who do you enjoy working with? What groups of people do you want to help?
• What contributions do you know you can make in your world?

The answers to these questions will decide how you can Be Yourself and Express Yourself.

Are you sure you Know Yourself?
Before you take a class to gain more skills, apply for another job, or attend another networking event, you should first have a solid idea of what makes you you.

Review your past experiences and ask yourself which jobs, classes, community projects, and social activities you enjoyed doing most. What activities were you really good at? What things did you do more easily or uniquely from other people?

Take self-assessments to find your interests, skills, personal and work values, and you personality type. You can find countless free assessments and quizzes on the Internet. Look for tests from trusted sources or that use credible data. Always take more than more assessment to look for patterns in the results.

Ask your friends and coworkers what they think your strengths are. People close to you often see positive traits in you that you might not have noticed. Take the 360Reach Personal Branding Assessment to survey your relatives, friends, and business contacts about your strongest attributes and best qualities. You can sample the 360ReachAssessment with a free 15-day login, or sign up for the 360Reach Premium Personal Branding Assessment for more complete analysis and coaching.

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