Do you want to give your career or business a boost? Personal branding will enable you to enhance your image to stand out from the crowd and increase your visibility. More than just a trendy marketing concept, personal branding helps you to achieve your professional goals. Charlotte Michelin explains how and why you can use your personality to master your image.
If I ask you to think about what it takes to succeed in your professional life, you might spontaneously think of assets such as intelligence, a good capacity to learn, the ambition to achieve great things or the social skills that enable you to develop solid relationships. But you're overlooking an essential aspect: your personality.
Poorly managed, it can do a great deal of damage to your career or your company: inappropriate anger, blunt thinking, systematic lateness, careless dress... But used properly, it can also be a real springboard for your professional success.
Your personality, that part of you that those close to you like - or not - and forgive in the private sphere, will not benefit from the same leniency or patience from those you work with.
No second chance to make a good first impression
When you meet someone for the first time, that person will form an image of you in just a few seconds. An image that will be virtually permanent! Did you know that it takes six months to erase that first impression? Six months is a long time and almost irreversible if you've left a bad impression. The good news is that you can avoid this faux pas thanks to personal branding, also known as personal marketing or self-marketing.
Stand out from the competition with personal branding!
These days, the art of communicating your professional image effectively has become essential if you are to keep up with increasing competition in the job market. And that goes for all sectors of activity. That's why personal branding is so effective in helping you stand out from your peers and highlight the difference you make in your field.
But what exactly is personal branding?
Personal branding is all about :
- Know yourself and communicate effectively
- Managing and looking after your digital identity
- Creating the right connections around you
Build on your personality
Your personality is the basis of your "professional DNA". This is what allows you to make the difference with equal skills and to show yourself in the best light by talking about yourself with sincerity and authenticity.
You don't need to have 15 years of business expertise, the most important thing is to havebe aware of your strengths and weaknesses. It's very rewarding to talk about the highlights of your career and why you are where you are today. Your culture and values are also a differentiating factor in a company's energy, and should be subtly integrated into your discussions.
Valuing your personality means highlighting a key element that belongs to you alone and that no one else can match. Whereas a professional skill can be replaced, your character remains unique.
Cultivate your soft skills
Your soft skills are your human and interpersonal skillsYou'll be able to adapt to new situations, thanks to your interpersonal skills, your tastes and your natural adaptability. These days, agility is at the heart of organisations: your creativity, good stress management and sense of team spirit are major assets and driving forces within a team. These soft skills are among the most sought-after by recruiters and partners.
Transpose your mad skills
Your mad skills are skills acquired in your leisure time that can be transposed to the professional world. Choose one or two that illustrate your temperament. Have you travelled around the world alone in a rucksack, are you a keen paraglider, do you practise a sport or art at a high level of excellence...? Explain how these disciplines and personal experiences enhance your added value.
Look after your digital image
Your digital imageor web footprint, is all the traces you leave online (personal blogs, social networks, etc.). It has become very common to 'google' a person before meeting them or even contacting them. Recruiters are no exception to this trend...
Better then check the information circulating about you. To do this, I advise you to carry out your audit on the Internet:
- type your first and last name in the search bar ;
- check whether the information or images that emerge from the results are consistent;
- if that's not the case, some things will have to be "cleaned up"...
So beware of social networks lifestyle like Instagram and Facebook. The content is not always very professional and should be locked. Bear in mind that first impressions are made every day, both in real life and online! Be vigilant about the digital footprints you leave.
Work on your network!
You're brilliant and maybe even the best in your field. But if no one sees you, no one will ever know... So come out of hiding!
Get used to being in contact with others in a targeted and timely manner according to your professional development priorities. For example, you could attend conferences, special evenings or meet-ups... Once or twice a month is enough to get you started. creating links and meet some interesting people.
To develop relationships in a positive and personalised way :
- to begin with, take an interest in others and ask open-ended questions;
- secondly, talk about yourself to create synergies.
Stand out from the crowd while remaining yourself
Remember the essential point: it's important to know yourself well so that you can exploit the strengths of your personality. This will enable you to :
- stand out from the crowd by being yourself;
- and, at the same time, create an environment around you that reflects you and in which you don't have to disguise yourself.
Every course is different: it's up to you to show that the real added value is you.
