Personal Branding
As much as branding is a vital component in the retail and marketing business, it is equally pivotal to have a good personal branding as a professional. Think of the best of leaders — Ratan Tata comes across as clean and powerful, Narendra Modi as fierce and a taskmaster. Then there is Simi Garewal, who can get people to say just about anything!
It is important for professionals to have a compelling personal brand image. Experts believe that people these days need to develop a brand — especially if they are fed up with their job and want an exciting new career, or want a pay raise; or just want to be noticed at work. Social networking has strengthened the creation of a personal brand and the drive for personal branding has gathered momentum in recent years.
Pranav Kumar, a systems engineer in a leading IT firm, says, “We were surprised when we were briefed about branding in our training session. We were under the misconception that a technical job like ours just revolves around work and were surprised to know that we need to have a brand value to get noticed.”
You don’t want to be just another face in the crowd — you should have a specialty that adds value to the organisation. You can be the decision maker, the class teacher-type, the peacemaker or even ‘the man/woman of crises’. Arasi Arul, a soft skills trainer, says, “Personal branding is not just confined to the office premises and it is important to maintain your stance when you are out on an office lunch. You get noticed for your character and that in turn, becomes your brand.”
So how does one create or hone their brand? Some think that branding is a natural process and being ‘you’ is the key. Branding expert Harish Bijoor says, “I believe branding is a natural process when it comes to human beings in a corporate set-up. My advice to those looking for a personal branding tip – don’t. Be who you are and enjoy being just that. No point in thrusting upon yourselves a persona, or a set of traits, that do not belong to you. Never borrow styles and habits. Be original, and I think you will be doing great with your personal branding. Good branding, when it is genuine and represents the true persona behind the branding, helps. Anything else does not!”
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