BUILDING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
What is a personal brand, and why is it important to your career? A personal brand communicates your values, your skills, and your aspirations and goals, and it shapes how people perceive you.
Whether we realize it or not, we all have a personal brand. What we say and write, and how we act, are all ways that we communicate our brand. For this reason, we must consciously and intentionally shape our personal brands if we want to present our best professional selves. One way to do this is to reflect on who we are right now and what we would like to develop within ourselves to take our career to where we want it to be.
Our personal brands can play a significant role in career exploration and even in whether we are selected for a job. For example, individuals whose values align with environmental concerns — such as clean air and water — may be interested in pursuing a career in science, public policy, or law where they can make a positive impact. Acting upon those values, such as volunteering for a local stream cleanup or habitat restoration, may be the deciding factor in landing a job with an environmental organization. Similarly, having a strong sense of our skills and aspirations can help us choose activities, classes, and jobs that reinforce the brand we want to build—and show future employers or colleges that we are intentional and motivated.
A good way to start building your brand is by taking notice of and reflecting on what you communicate to others in school or at work, as well as how you convey it. Observe yourself and reflect on the positives and areas of improvement of what you observe. Learn from yourself.
Your brand will evolve as your career evolves. Expect that your career will grow and change over time. You will spend a lifetime working on your personal brand.
In the next few months, we will delve deeper into the essential elements of personal brand, including understanding the importance of knowing our 1) values, 2) skills, and 3) goals and aspirations. We will then conclude with the significance of how our actions communicate our personal brand.
What’s On Our Mind
The current economic environment and rapid advances in technologies such as AI and robotics have prompted us to consider setbacks and resilience in our careers. Setbacks in one’s work journey are inevitable. They can range from receiving constructive criticism on a project to losing out on a new job or promotion to losing your job due to reasons outside of your control.
Resilience is your ability to respond to setbacks. If you have strong resilience, you not only survive setbacks but also use them as opportunities for learning and growth. One way to strengthen your resilience is to build and maintain your professional network.
The U.S. Army has studied resilience among its ranks, which Jasmine Taylor writes about in a recent article. Ms. Taylor discusses the value of strong relationships – both personal and professional – and how the Army encourages its service members and families to actively invest in building their relationships. She points out that people often overlook the importance of making connections when everything is going well. Still, she notes that “nurturing those bonds can be a great investment in one’s future resilience” for when challenges arise.
We have previously written about how building trust helps to build relationships. The Army encourages its members to engage in Active Constructive Responding (ACR) to foster deeper, more meaningful relationships. ACR involves not just listening to others but asking questions to show you care about them. Ms. Taylor quotes Heather Hassinger, Chief, R2 (“Ready and Resilient”) Training Branch, who says that “every time we respond to someone in an active constructive way, it is like putting money into the relationship bank (and) building our relationships.”
ACR is a good reminder that making connections is not just about what you can get. They are also about genuinely giving to others. Using this skill builds deeper connections that strengthen your resilience.
LET’S STAY CONNECTED
We would appreciate your thoughts on our initiative and welcome opportunities to collaborate. You can reach us at info@youthworkconnect.org and we look forward to staying connected.
