First, understand that Personal Branding is not just about your social media presence; it’s a plan for your career and reputation, your own development, and ultimately for building a life that makes you happy. If you’re not sure whether Personal Branding is for you, I recommend reading Who is Personal Branding for? but, spoiler alert, it almost definitely is.

Personal Branding Myths

You might have heard of Personal branding as something a bit artificial, salesy or even braggy, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Properly done, it’s all about authenticity, building around who you are and what you bring to the table and making sure that’s clearly communicated, and working to develop your skills or experience if needed. It’s a compass to point you in the right direction, the map to show you the terrain, and the tools that will help you navigate it.

If the idea of “packaging” yourself makes you feel a bit icky, you’re not alone – but that’s a narrow view of the practice. Think about the people who can help you in your career (your boss, someone in your network, a recruiter…) – how much time do they have to devote to thinking about you and how you bring value? Think about how you can advocate for yourself – wouldn’t it be easier if you were crystal clear on who you are, what you do, and why you are a good fit for that promotion/role/opportunity?

The idea of advocating for yourself can feel uncomfortable, especially if you’re a woman and have been taught not to take up too much space. You want your work to speak for itself. But in the saturated world we live in, making it easier to understand and see is not so much a bonus as it is a requirement.

Taking charge of your career is one of the best things you can do for your happiness and fulfillment.

So, what is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is how we clarify and communicate what makes us different, special, and valuable to our employers and customers, and it teaches us to use and develop those qualities to guide our careers.

But it is not all communication – you actually have to consistently deliver. I can’t just say I’m a great project manager – I have to prove it by delivering projects, turning around complicated clients and doing it all with a helpful attitude.

So it’s not just crafting a good message – it’s also maximising the skills and value that you have, and obtaining the training and experience you need to get to where you want to be.

Personal branding will help you reach your full potential by focusing on your strengths, interests and passions – maximizing your value in a way that will benefit you and your company. It’s not just self-promotion – or rather, emphasizing the value in what you do- personal branding encourages strategic thinking around your skills and their development, your skills, goals and career path, as well as market needs.

If you want to advance in your career, achieve your professional goals and gain recognition for your accomplishments, Personal Branding is for you.

Benefits of Personal Branding

Personal Branding has three key benefits to consider:

• Differentiation – Personal Branding helps you develop and communicate your value, maximizing what you do that brings value to others. With a developed personal brand you’ll be better prepared to present a clear message about who you are and what you have to offer, and the development plans to match.

• Clear Choice – Colleagues, peers and employers will have a clear understanding of who you are and what they can gain from working with you. This makes you easy to choose; when someone is looking for a candidate for a new role, looking for someone to hire, someone to promote – making yourself the clear and easy choice makes it that much more likely that you’ll get that assignment, role or promotion.

• You’re in charge. Personal branding helps you take charge and actively drive your career to where you want it to be.

Personal Branding helps you build a plan that is purpose driven, where you actually do the hard work of evaluating what you want out of your life and career, what your values are, and then take the action steps to align to that.

It can be a bit daunting, but anyone can develop this skill.

If you’re having trouble with this, you can always reach out to your network for support, use supplemental material (I recommend “You are a Brand“, by Catherine Kaputa, until my own book is out!) or get in touch with a personal branding or career coach.

But first, understand your Why

Why are you looking into personal branding?

A good way to make sure you accomplish what you set out to do, and to help keep you motivated throughout, is to be clear on why you’re doing it.

For example:

I’m looking into personal branding because…

…I’m tired of being passed up for promotions. I want to progress in my career and it’s not happening.

…even though I’m doing very well in my career, I’m not sure I’m 100% on the right path. I want to make sure I’m going in the right direction.

…I want to change jobs and I’ve heard it’s good for getting interviews.

…I want to be looking at my career from a holistic place.

…I want to be empowered to advocate for myself and get the right opportunities.

How could personal branding help you? Think about your current work situation. How is your personal brand working for you at the moment? Has it brought you any unexpected opportunities?

At the start of your personal branding journey, I recommend that you choose one thing that you are happy with and one thing you’d like to improve about it, and write your thoughts down. You might find it helpful as you go through the process.

The 4 Keys of Effective Personal Branding

The 4 keys of effective personal branding are the basis of any successful brand:

1. Take Control of your brand: You already have a brand, whether you know it or not. There’s a perceived set of attributes and characteristics that influence how others interact with you; if you don’t brand yourself you have no control over what it is.

2. Authenticity is key: The Italian proverb that says Lies have short legs is absolutely true. And not only are inauthentic brands doomed to fail, they lead to pretty miserable lives. I could brand myself as a technical support specialist but troubleshooting technical issues makes me break out in a sweat; even if I could somehow deliver the support, I would dread coming to work every day.

3. Use it to drive career growth: don’t just do the exercises, think about it and put it in a drawer to gather dust. The whole point of personal branding is to help you drive your career, and to get you to where you want to be.

4. Everything counts: Everything you do counts, whether it is online or face to face; everything you do conveys meaning, adds to your brand or detracts from it. It needs to be coherent and true to who you are.

It can be a bit intimidating, but once you build the habit, personal branding will become part of your normal life. You’ll wonder how you managed your career before, without mindful and purposeful decision making behind it.