How to build your Personal Brand | BHIVE Workspace

Don’t you want a personal brand to show the world who you are? Don’t you want to make a mark in life or be a role model for somebody?

Then what’s stopping you? Go ahead and establish your brand and create an impactful value!

Personal brand is a very important facet of one’s life. The key to success is standing out of the crowd and this can be achieved by defining oneself through USPs (Unique Selling Points). An individual’s USPs is established by his/her attitude, personality, communication style, the work he/she does, qualification, and many similar parameters. Erstwhile, the whole concept of self-management used to revolve around self-development only; however, the modern scenario demands an extra mileage of self-branding. We all know that ‘First impression is the last impression’ and living by this maxim, every individual should aspire to create the first impression as the best and most enduring impression. Let us look at those few basic things which we can do to establish our Self-Brand.

Emanate out of the shell

It has been rightly said that life begins when the force is from within and not external. Hence, the first step to creating our value is to have a determining force for the same from within and not induced by someone or somewhere. While we speak about this, let us take a step back and see as to what are the obstacles we face on a day to day life in this regard. Most of us love wearing the cloak of being down to earth and refrain from talking about ourselves. We should come out of our shell and be confident to articulate to people our story – the story of our learning, experience and development. Outlining the story is the key to creating an impactful interaction. We should not hesitate to express our triumphs, laurels and accomplishments at any point in time.

Networking and being connected

Networking is an incipient socio-economic concept in today’s professional world. We should network and connect with people across the industry & domains and not just within our own company. Networking requires a lot of personal commitment. The biggest mistake that most of us make is getting connected to people through various social websites and not maintaining the networking relationship. The charm of networking fails if not preserved.

One can network with like-minded people and share knowledge, experience and wisdom. Within the organization we work, it is very important for us to be connected across teams. Very often, we get so enthralled in our day-to-day work, that we miss on these imperative parameters. In the midst of one’s busy schedule, the best tactic to maintain an active network is to block time specifically for connects and catch-ups. Catch-ups would not be effective if we don’t go prepared for it. There needs to be an agenda, formal/informal.

Communicate, Communicate and Communicate

The mantra for self-branding is nothing but the 3C’s – communicate, communicate and communicate. As stated earlier, we should not step back to communicate about our interests and endeavours. Communicating timely and effectively is the key and helps one create the much-desired visibility. We need to make people feel our presence and existence. We cannot reach the zenith of success if our existence dies.

Constant Self-Development

The whole story of a personal brand remains incomplete without continuous and consistent self-development. A long-term goal is something which would drive an individual towards an appropriate development. In fact, all the above points of communicating, networking and connecting should be aligned with our long-term goal.

The key takeaways from the above are:

1. Articulating our story of success and accomplishments
2. Building a professional network and being connected constantly
3. Sole Mantra – Communicate, Communicate and Communicate
4. Defining a long-term goal and aligning all activities towards the same
5. Consistent self-development plan

About the Author:

 Piyali Bhattacharjee, The Founder of Zizique Management Consultants is an adept HR Professional serving the startups and larger conglomerates for the last 10 years. Prior to Zizique, she was associated with the HR functions of Infosys, Goldman Sachs and in the recent past, has been consulting as an HR advisor across industries. Piyali believes in “Nurturing Talent” and her passion lies in the People & Culture aspects of an organization – be that competency, or character or communication.