How to communicate the personal branding to improve or kickstart your career.

“Here we go, another english term that means who knows what”.

I know what you are thinking, but let me assure you, it’s very easy. The term personal branding consists of a set of strategies put together to promote yourself in the labour market, including your skills and experiences, as if your professional figure was an actual brand. It’s like carrying on a sort of personal marketing and highlight your best attributes. In other words, it’s like building a professional reputation and that is a whole process.

It may seem a recent concept, but as a matter of fact, it’s not. The first adopting this practice was none other than Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th Century. There is a famous letter (accessible online) he wrote to the Sforza, before arriving in Milan in which he introduces himself making his skills, his interests and his works of art stand out, but more importantly, he explains the added value he could bring to the House.

Knowing how to best communicate one’s professionalism is therefore not a new concept, but the systematic and widespread use of this practice has exploded in recent years, due to several factors: the change in the labor market, the emergence of digital professionals and a progressive disappearance of the myth of the permanent job and employment.

Is personal branding actually useful?

Anyone could wonder: “why should I care?” You have probably got that already but I am gonna give you good reasons to start right away.

Marketing’s aim is to make people buy by communicating the product’s value at best. Similarly, a person’s goal is to get hired and be satisfied with the position, in other words: be able to sell your professionalism to the best buyer. Strategies, therefore, cannot be far removed from those of traditional marketing.

• Allows to go beyond the traditional resume with a more proactive strategy that highlights your value and helps you get noticed.
• Allows to better position oneself in the market as expert in the field.
• Improve your reputation and credibility, as Jeff Bezos would say: “ Personal branding is what people say about you when you're not in the room”
• Allows to stand out from others in an increasingly competitive labour market.
• Create an online identity; the first place where people, including recruiters, try to find out more about someone.

How to do it, where to start and with which strategy

At this point, I have convinced you that it’s worth trying, so here are some pointers on how to get started.

Before you can even communicate yourself to others, you must "know yourself" and try to answer these questions:

• What are your strengths, passions and values? These are points that are often left out by a traditional resume although they are extremely important.
• What is it that make you unique and what are your professional goals? In other words, how you might stand out and what is your vision, or the long-term goal.
• Who is your target? Identify the target ****to communicate with, as the tools may not be the same.
• How much time do time you have? According to the time you have you might use some channels rather than others.

These questions are the essence of what can emerge from the analysis made with different tools available  online, which allow greater insights, it is recommended if you have time to invest. Answering these questions completes the first phase, that is, positioning: the positioning of the brand in the market.

Then, answering the second and third questions, you began to identify your unique value proposition , and the target audience.