The Power of Presence: How to establish your Personal Brand with grace

85% of U.S recruiters and HR professionals say that an employee's online reputation influences their hiring decisions (at least to some extent). 
If you don't have a personal brand today, you will find it difficult to stand out in the professional crowd and probably even get hired. But many struggle to create a personal brand. Let me make it easier for you.
Building a solid personal brand is essential for catalyzing your career and is the best investment you can make for yourself and your career.
So what is a personal brand?
A personal brand is a general perception or impression of an individual based on their experience, expertise, competencies, actions, and/or achievements within a community, industry, or the marketplace at large.

Jeff Bezos says, Your personal brand is what others say about you when you are not in the room:"

When I ask my clients and colleagues why they don't focus on building a personal brand.
Many say a personal brand is not for me. It is political. It is showy, shallow self-serving. It's just marketing and publicity, so I am not interested.
Even if that's the way you are thinking…. Let me break this to you… you want it or not, you intentionally work to create it or not, you have a personal brand….! Because as Jeff Bezos said, your brand is what others perceive of you; this perception is created by how you consistently show up, act, and behave.

 You want it or not, you intentionally work to create it or not, you have a personal brand….! The best way to know what your personal brand is…. ask your circle.

All people you interact with (friends, customers and colleagues) have a specific perception of you. And that's your personal brand. So the best way to know what your personal brand is…. ask your circle.
But the question is what you want it to be is how you want your network to perceive you. Is that what you wish your professional reputation to be? If not, ask yourself:

• How do I want to show up?
• How do I want others to perceive me?
• How to do that on purpose?

Many shy away from building a personal brand because they think they have to compromise their values or change who they are. But let me tell you don't have to.

You can build your personal brand around who you are by showing up as authentic as you are. In fact, that's the only way you should do it.

Now you know the importance of a personal brand. Let us look at 3 steps to create your personal brand:
Your Personal brand forms the foundation of your personal and professional reputation, so you must work on it intentionally and authentically. So the first step is to 

Identify your Strengths:

I have often seen my clients struggle to identify their strengths but are quicker in identifying their weaknesses. That's because when you operate from your natural strengths, it is easy for you to do it; hence, you don't find it impressive. Now when you see somebody else do something, you are not good at, that looks impressive because it can be challenging for you.

Understand that when you operate from natural strength, people find it impressive. They cheer you, and that gives you confidence.

So to identify your strengths, speak to your peers, friends, and family, and identify the pattern in their feedback. If the feedback is that you are good in a specific area and it comes easy, then that is a strength of yours. Leverage on it. Invest in your strengths and improve them for you to get better returns. While creating your personal brand, focus on your strengths.

Identify your Niche

Your niche is an area you are an expert in, and your expertise adds value to your network. Build authority around your area of expertise. You can do that by posting relevant content, writing blogs, books, or speaking assignments. 

When you use your expertise to add value to your network and share what's beneficial for them, they will no longer think you are showy, shallow, or political. They will appreciate your intentions to share. That is how you brand yourself without being annoying to your community.

Identify consistent ways to show up. 

What are your brandable behaviors?

Authentic behavior is based on your strengths and values. My foundational value is to give back to my community. I like to share my knowledge and experience to support professionals in their careers. So for me, being a coach for young professionals and women leaders, I make sure all that I share resonates with me and my audience. The main channels I use to brand myself are Linkedin and Instagram because my target audience is professionals who are young and women leaders. So you can identify and pick the channels through which you will communicate your brand based on your target audience.

Linkedin is a great place to start for professionals. Personal branding is about consistently showing up and adding value to your audience. And that helps you build your confidence. Confidence wins you people and deals.

Remember, your offline and online behaviors should match.

And finally 

Be Yourself..

This one may seem obvious, but it really matters. You can only be consistent in something you do if you are authentic.
And people can see through it. So be vulnerable, share your failures as much as you share your success. Don't be afraid to show yourself who you are. People will appreciate it. 
To start, take a pen and paper and ask yourself these questions?

1. Who are you really? What are your strengths?
2. How can you show up as your best self?
3. What do you want to be known for? What's your expertise and experience that the audience will benefit from?
4. What are your brandable behaviors which add to your reputation
5. How do you put yourself out there, and how it adds value to your community 

I hope this article inspires you to invest in building your personal brand because 95% of recruiters believe that the job market will remain or get more competitive.

 If you don't stand out, your competitors will.

I am Sajna Samad, and this is the Catalyze Your Career Newsletter. I am a Jay Shetty Certified Life Coach and John Maxwell Certified Leadership Coach focused on Career and Leadership topics. I coach young aspiring professionals and new women leaders to stand out in the crowd by helping them create a Unique Selling Personality and Personal Brand.

If you want to know how you can catalyze your career, let's hop on a call and decide how to work together. DM me for more details.

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