If there’s something I have learned in my experience as a college student, it’s that everyone worries about what they are going to do after graduation, how to achieve their goals, what steps to take in the right direction, and how to impress future employers. Each year, you want to make yourself more employable, gain as much experience in your field as possible, and potentially get yourself involved in things that will set you apart from other applicants. One easy way to do this is to focus on creating a personal brand.
Now, you might be wondering, what is a personal brand? It’s simple: a personal brand is a form of self-marketing that helps promote you as a person as well as your life and career goals. It helps followers get a sense of who you are and what you are passionate about and helps you establish an image. In this day and age, personal branding is extremely significant because social media is so powerful and is such a strong presence in our day-to-day lives.
The easiest way for college students to begin creating their personal brand is to use social media. You could start simply on Instagram, by either altering your personal profile to be branded or by setting up a new public profile specifically to market yourself, while keeping your personal profile private. There are also the options of designing blogs and websites that serve as platforms where you convey your personal brand.
Here are a few quick tips on how to successfully create a personal brand:
1. Educate yourself and make a decision.
What is it that you want to do with your personal brand? If you want to make yourself stand out from a potential pool of applicants, then make sure to educate yourself on the field of work you want to be in. If it’s beauty, surround yourself with information on this quick-moving and competitive business. If it’s finance, make sure you are up-to-date on new information in this field. If it’s engineering, stay current on the happenings in this industry.
2. Make consistency a priority.
While building your personal brand, make sure you stay consistent in how you want the public to perceive you. If you have a blog dedicated to baking, make sure to commit to posting regularly. If you have an Instagram and dream of being a fashion designer, maybe try to come up with a theme so that your layout looks clear, clean, and concise.
3. Exude confidence through your brand.
If you are going to go through the trouble of creating and designing a captivating and well-marketed personal brand, you definitely have to own it! It’s not enough to have a fun weekly posting or a colorful layout. Share your career goals, own your strengths, and update your brand with how you progress in your quest for success. Not only will this show that you are confident in the brand you stand by, but it will also let people know that you believe in yourself.
So, there you have it. Three tips on how to successfully create a personal brand. Now, what are you waiting for? Go ahead! Get on it!