How To Advance Your Career by Building a Personal Brand

By Perminus Wainaina

What comes to mind when you think of Safaricom? Do you think of an innovative company? What about the car maker, Mercedes? Do you associate the company with prestige, excellence and top quality? And in the hospitality industry, when you hear of Villa Rosa Kempiski, do you think of five star service and luxury?

What the companies I have mentioned above have managed to do is to brand their business. Granted a car is car, some will argue that it doesn’t make a difference so long as it takes you from point A to B. When it comes to Kempiski, the brand is so strong and conveys value such that the clientele don’t have a problem buying a coke soda at K’sh 500.

So, what is branding as it applies to companies?

Business dictionary defines branding as the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers’ mind. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customer.

But branding is not just applicable to companies. When it comes to careers, there’s personal branding. Entreprenuer.com defines personal brand as how you appear to the world. Do others think of you as talented, a go getter, introverted, skilled accountant, team player etc. According to Wikipedia, Personal Branding is the practice where people market themselves and their careers as a brand.

Veronica Canning, a career coach, asserts that everyone has a personal brand and that your personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room. In these definitions, personal branding is about you taking charge of how others perceive you by shaping their thoughts and opinions.

When it comes to career progression, what others think of you is sometimes more important than what you know. Do you wonder why some people always seem to get the best opportunities, yet they don’t have the skills and qualifications? Most likely, they have mastered the art of personal branding and others perceive them as strong candidates or employees who have a lot of value to offer.

In this article, we shall look at some of the ways you can create a strong personal brand so that your boss, colleagues, and everyone you interact with as a professional views you as a unique.

 How You Can Create A Strong Personal Brand

Identify your talents. What are you really good at? What do you enjoy doing? The reason why Equity bank is successful is because of their single focus on the mwananchi. The reason why you buy a cup of coffee at Java for K’sh 180 while the same goes for K’sh 30 in downtown Nairobi is because Java is an established brand and the kiosk is not. If you want to be unique and stand out from the masses, then you have to know your strengths. Let’s say you are good at influencing and leading others; whether you are in a supervisory position or not, you can use your talent to rally others to a cause and gradually you will build a reputation as someone who gets things done through others.

Sometimes you don’t have to be talented in an area for others to think you are the best or strong. You can decide to be good at a certain skill by working at it. For example if your weakness is presentation skills, you can work on this by learning and practicing and over time, you will not only start making great presentations that wow and deliver the message, but others will notice the new you and perceive you differently. You can reinvent yourself starting today.

Be consistent. In 2014 Safaricom spent over K’sh 15 billion in advertising. Some might consider this a waste considering that the company is well known and a market leader in their sector. But for us to keep buying their products, Safaricom must ensure they are continuously in our mind by way of advertising. If they become complacent, consumers will forget about them and move on to their competitors. In whatever you are trying to be known for, you must be consistent. You cannot produce great results today, do a sloppy job tomorrow and expect that others will take you seriously. Knowing or becoming good at something is not enough; you must practise every day.

If your message or action is not consistent, then others will have a hard time believing and following you. The last thing you want to do as a brand is to send conflicting messages. Can you imagine a clothes’ shop at Sarit Centre selling an item at the same price as a shop in river road? You’ll probably think it’s a fake, or stolen. The friend that you consider loyal usually has demonstrated loyalty over time. One is said to be trustworthy because they have been reliable and truthful in the past. If you set a standard, then you must be prepared to live by the same. No flip flopping.

Remain Relevant. I am amazed by the IT industry as it is continuously evolving. If you think of mobile phones and the top companies like Samsung, Apple and Microsoft, they are always releasing new models each year. They have to keep up to date, not only with technology, but also consumer tastes and needs. Companies like Nokia and Motorola once dominated the Kenyan market but they forgot to read the signs and change with the times, and nowadays they are no longer visible (Nokia was acquired by Microsoft).

When it comes to careers and our brands, keeping ourselves up to date is crucial. And you do this through continuous learning. You can achieve this noble goal by going back to class or even learning on the job. You might be at the top today but if you don’t keep up with the times, that fresh graduate will be your biggest threat. And apart from the hard skills that you gain through formal training, we must learn to be flexible with our attitudes and personalities and allow other people’s opinions. When you are good at something, it is easy to ignore others or adapt a ‘know-it-all’ attitude. Even with success we must remain grounded.

Take Risks. Lastly, being unique, becoming good at something and going after what you want is all about taking risks. Even though I begun this article by stating that you have to identify your talents, never forget that any skill can be learnt. Whatever you want to be known for or be good at is achievable. However, this will take time, sacrifice and there will be a price to pay. The question then becomes; how badly do you want it and are you willing to take the risk to make things happen.

This is my challenge to you. What do you want to be known for and what steps are you taking?

Perminus Wainaina is the Managing Partner & Head of Recruitment at Corporate Staffing Services Ltd.