5 Quick Tips on Personal-Brand Building for Students

Beyond career to the personal, to draw to you that dream position and create a life of legacy, there is no more powerful pursuit than developing “You Inc.”. You will move through myriad jobs in your life, but one thing will forever remain, your personal brand, represented in every footprint, turn of phrase and photo you leave in your wake online and off. In this being true, consciously creating your brand is the essential foundation upon which you build the career and life you truly want.

What is meant by “personal brand”?
Just like companies that have created so memorable an impression that they define how we refer to certain products and actions (think Kleenex and Google), we too can create, through the values we demonstrate, a brand that represents and communicates powerfully. Our personal brand is our identity, as defined by how we present ourselves across all mediums and how the world sees us. When a potential employer or client searches online to learn more about you, your personal brand is what they’ll discover; your personal brand is your story.

What could be more important, really? And as such, you want to ensure you’ve created the brand, reflecting the person you are, that will attract and retain the people and positions you desire and, over time, have a lasting impact.
There are a few things you can do right away, as a student or recent graduate, that can instantly help you launch or light the fuse to get you to the next level of self-brand positioning.

5 Quick Tips on Personal-Brand Building for Students

1. Know, and Hone In On, Thyself

To build a personal brand you have to consider who you actually are and recognize, consciously, what you’re trying to create in the world and for whom. Get intentional and focused. Ask and answer the following questions.

• What are my core strengths?
• What kind of impact do I want to have on others?
• What skills, expertise, insights do I bring to the table?
• What work do I love to do and how do my skills help me do that?
• What are my values and are they being conveyed by what others perceive of me?
• Who are my audiences?
• What’s my story?

2. Be Authentic, Always

Your vision of yourself and your actions must align across time and space (and cyberspace), lest you be discovered to be less than genuine. When you answer the questions in #1, ensure that what came of that exercise is reflected in what one would find out about you if they looked. There are few secrets these days and discrepancies will out eventually, so ensure who you are on Instagram is in keeping with who you present yourself to be on LinkedIn and in an interview – and most essentially, who you are in life. Always assume, your potential employer, and grandmother or child, will look. Whatever is in keeping with the person you would want them to find, be, do and communicate that. Personal and professional authenticity makes life a lot less complicated and far more rewarding.

3. Develop a Digital Footprint You’re Proud Of

No matter what mediums you use for presenting who you are and what you can offer by way of service, support, and skills application, be thorough, consistently up to date and (you guessed it) authentic. Google search your name. What do you find? Are you proud of it? Make sure your contact details, employment and experience and all information about you is current. Expand on, or clean up, your social media presence and post content, more regularly. And particularly as a student or a new grad, it is never too early to create or bolster your positioning on LinkedIn. That’s where employers will explore your experience in education and employment and see if you’re a good fit for their company and culture. We think it’s so essential, we wrote a blog to cover the specifics. Check out 5 Ways to Leverage LinkedIn for Job-Search Success for all those details.

4. Tell Your Story for Impact

Now that you know who you are, who you’re connecting with and why, have a keen idea of the knowledge and expertise you have to share, tell that story, across all platforms, to positively influence and impact others. In this you shape your personal brand, call yourself to deeper self reflection and consistent communication, all effecting how others see you, but most essentially how you see and feel about yourself. Ultimately, this will influence your ability to embrace the career you’ve imagined and the life you desire. What could be more amazing than that?

5. Take Your Brand on the Road

Beyond the digital talk and walk you’re doing, you need to bust out into the community, shake hands, rub elbows and allow people to put a face to the personality and presence they can find online. Relationships are still the key to success. Face to face is fantastic, but even skipping the canned responses on LinkedIn, taking the time to read about another’s career, sending a personal note to connect and setting up a time to learn more, could lead to something wonderful. Take the time online and in person to genuinely network and discover how you may help others and, with a little luck and serendipity, they may end of helping you in some way too.
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Your brand is your business and created and cultivated well can give you the competitive advantage over other candidates in the job market. Companies spend months considering, and years developing, their brand and message; you deserve this dedication too. Your future self will thank you.

If you haven’t begun your student journey yet or are looking to take your career to the next level, we’re here to help you explore your options for training pathways and even potential funding options. Take a look at the 30+ programs we have to offer or reach out and book a virtual appointment with a member of our admissions team. We’ve been helping people launch their dreams since 1885; we’d be honoured to add you to the roster of confident, in-demand Anderson grads we’ve got out there making a difference.

Quick Links to Fuel Your Success!

We want to make sure you have what you need to succeed! Check out these reference links:

• Anderson College – Programs
• 5 Ways to Leverage LinkedIn for Job-Search Success
• 5 Tips to Score Your First Job After Graduation