Personal branding might not be something you’d ever heard of before today but, whether you’re interviewing for a study placement, entering the workforce for the first time, or taking a step up in your career, the influence it can have on your career might make you think twice about the image you project.

Most people know the importance of dressing to impress, putting their best foot forward and creating a great first impression – which is the perfect place start building a personal brand from. Personal branding is all about displaying the best version of yourself, not just in person, but on all platforms that employers, clients or prospective contacts may interact with you. Your brand is what people think about when they hear your name, what pops up online when they look you up and your presence across all social media platforms.

There’s a lot more to it than just choosing your best selfie though, your brand is a blend of who you are, what you stand for and what you do.

When thinking about your own personal brand, consistency is key. Successful branding is all about creating a uniformed expression of yourself, to enable others to build the desired perception, based on your skills, experience, capabilities, achievements and offerings. Your personal brand can be manipulated, by deliberately altering and adapting what you choose to display to make sure that people buy into it and to set you apart from the competition. Just make sure you’re always being truthful!

If you’re keen to get started building your own brand, there’s a few things to think about first:

• Figure out who you are (and what you want to achieve)

Your brand should be an honest reflection of who you are, the skills you possess and what your goals are. Think about what drives you; what you excel at; what interests you; where you want to be at the end of your career path; what impact you want to have; and how and where you work best. If you’re not sure about the answers, don’t be afraid to ask friends, family and co-workers, who know you best, for their input.

• Decide what you want to be known for

Think of an iconic brand; they’re more than just their products, they also stand for certain values and incite specific emotions in their customers. Just like these brands, the best personal brands are unique, authentic and trustworthy and will help you build a strong personal and professional reputation and network.

• Define your audience

Don’t make the mistake of trying to appeal everyone. Choose your target market and then work to make your brand appeal specifically to them.

• Research your industry and follow the experts

Take inspiration from people you admire and respect (just don’t copy or steal their ideas!), find out what’s important to stakeholders and make sure you represent that well across your brand.

• Differentiate yourself from others

Think about your USP (unique selling point) and how you can best promote it to make you stand out from the competition

• Optimise your social media profiles (and website, if you have one)

This includes Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn... You may like to change your settings to private, so only verified people can see your profile; clean up your public profile; or create a separate, professional profile which prospective clients or employers can easily view. It’s important to be aware that most employers screen candidates’ social media presence and almost half also use it to check up regularly on current employees.

• Ask for feedback and recommendations

If you don’t ask for advice, you’ll never know how you can improve and it’s important to regularly update your brand, to make sure you stay current and relevant.

It can feel selfish or egotistical to invest time in marketing yourself but if you neglect your personal branding, you don’t just sell yourself short, you also miss out on great opportunities which could help shape your career.