Personal Branding for Young Professionals

It’s the age of Brands and consumer’s love for brands has been reaching new heights each passing day. The long queue outside the Apple stores during the launch of a new iPhone just shows that. Samsung is no stranger to this.

Both Apple and Samsung command a loyal fan following, and these fans don’t buy any other brand of smartphone.

You will likely be an Apple loyal fan – if you like a minimalist phone that works faster and smoother.

And you’re a Samsung loyalist if you want more options in terms of design, size, colors, and specs.

Now, which is your favorite brand of Jeans? Levi’s? Pepe? Wrangler? Even though every other brand of denim out there is almost similar, the denim brands too command loyalty among their fans.

How do Brands manage to do that?

Brands win consumer heart through authentic connections, delivering exceptional value and consistently fulfilling the needs and desires.

And when products turn into brands, consumers also pay a premium to buy them.

This concept of branding not only holds true for products, services, and companies but also for people. When this concept is applied to people it is called Personal Branding.

What is Personal Branding?

It is the process of creating a brand identity for a person. Simply said, it is how you project yourself and your values to the world and ensure that people who matter know –Who you are, what you stand for and why it’s worth choosing you over your competitors.

In many organizations, at certain levels, everyone is exceptional. The only thing differentiating you from others in earning that promotion or a reward will be your personal brand.

The need to make an impression is more important than ever and cultivating your personal brand as early as possible is a certain way to get what you want in your career.

There are two sides to Personal Branding. Online and Offline. Here, we discuss only the Offline aspect and how you – as an entry level or a young professional – can create your own personal brand by implementing work habits that make you an incredibly reliable person.

8 Work Habits that helps create your Personal Brand

#1. Understand the Job

The saying “Be good at what you do” is so true. But how?

Any job has a primary role and some secondary roles. The primary role is the core function of the job. It includes tasks that you do daily to get the results expected out of you.

For example, the primary job of a pharmaceutical representative is to meet doctors and sell their brand of medicines.

The secondary roles are tasks and responsibilities that support the primary duties and overall functioning of the job. The pharmaceutical representative’s secondary role will be to send daily reports on time, team collaboration activities and other administrative duties.

When you understand the intricacies of the role, you can make informed decisions, enhance your performance, and effectively meet the expectations of the job.

You will be great at what you do when you provide such value.

#2. Show up on Time.

There is nothing more wrong than not being on time. Whether it is in your professional life or personal – being punctual is a hallmark of every successful professional.

By simply being punctual at your workplace reveals many positive traits of your personality.

You are not only seen as reliable and trustworthy, but also gain respect among your subordinates, colleagues, and seniors in the organization.

Punctuality also signifies an individual’s work efficiency and is strongly associated with leadership qualities.

#3. Dressing Neatly

Outward appearance may not decide a person’s abilities or worth, but it sure helps in making a good first impression. Every time.

Just imagine you are in a bank and need some information to fill in a form. There is a staff at the counter who is shabbily dressed or has an unkempt attire. Don’t you think twice before approaching him for help?

Being approachable is the least you could be as any professional.

Being neatly dressed in your workplace not only presents a polished image but enhances your self-confidence, influence interactions, and promotes approachability.

#4. Communicate Effectively

The fastest way to a professional failure is not communicating effectively.

Whether you work with a handful of people or in a multinational organization, the inability to clearly express oneself is seen as an incompetency.

Communication (verbal or written) issues in the workplace can be improved by identifying the barriers or causes. Common barriers may be lack of confidence, language barriers, poor listening skills, or a lack of training.

Help yourself by identifying the causes of your ineffective communication. Start working on it. If you have trouble speaking or writing English, then practice English skills by developing a habit of reading books of your choice and journaling your everyday thoughts in English.

#5. Volunteer for extra work

Organizations are generally involved in activities such as cultural programs in the workplace or conducting camps for their customers and other things. And they need extra hands for setting things up.

They may be outside of your regular job and may be unpaid, but do not hesitate to volunteer.

The secret benefits of involving yourself in volunteering are:

A rare chance of getting to know people from other departments and getting connected. This is what Networking is.
As you are casually communicating during this period, you develop your communication skills.
You will be seen as a collaborative employee as you work in such team building activities.

You will be setting yourself up for leadership roles by developing decision making skills from this experience.

#6. Call (Not e-mail)

Imagine someone who has undergone an operation or surgery and his boss asking for a health update via a text message.

He is not only seen as pathetic but also far from being concerned.

In today’s strictly formal workplace, a phone call to a colleague or your boss may seem to be a bad idea, but in certain situations speaking directly to the concerned person is still the best way to clearly communicate.

Calling is still important for –

Immediate clarification in time-sensitive or complex matters.
Adding a personal touch thus fostering rapport.
Adding a tone and context to your messages which e-mails, and text messages often miss and helping the other person in clearly understand your message.

#7. Upgrade Yourself Continuously

There are hardly any jobs that do not need one to be upgraded on a regular basis. Technology changes with each passing day and so does the way of doing things.

Whereas a sales professional upskills himself in virtual sales techniques, or CRM systems, skilled tradespeople like carpenters, electricians or plumbers must upskill themselves to work with energy efficient systems.

Upskilling not only helps you in performing your job well but also adds weight to your resume.

Depending on your learning preferences and schedules, there are many ways to learn new skills related to your job. Some of them are –

Online courses and webinars
Workshops and Seminars
On-the-Job training
Company training programs
Job Rotations

#8. Positive Work Attitude

There are million reasons that do not help in having a positive attitude in life – let alone in the workplace. Some external reasons for a negative attitude in a workplace may be a toxic or unsupportive workplace, lack of recognition, poor leadership etc.

These are the factors you don’t have much control over.

What you can control are the things internal to you. Managing your work-life balance, being open to change, willing to upskill oneself in the job are some ways to have a positive frame of mind.

This mindset of positive thinking or adopting a positive attitude empowers individuals to embrace any challenge, overcome any obstacles, and spread positivity in the work environment.

Individuals exhibiting positivity consistently are seen as capable leaders.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, good work habits are the secret sauce for a young professional’s secret recipe. When you do this consistently in your workplace, it can amplify your reputation within your organization. Whether you’re nailing deadlines or spreading positive vibes in the office, these habits are your golden tickets for a rewarding career. Embrace them, and you are on the fast track to rockstar status in your organization.