March 1st 2023
Level Up By Building Your Personal Brand In 2023
When it comes to climbing the corporate ladder, you’ve likely heard it all before… maybe it’s “work hard” to gain recognition or “network” to grow your prospects. Though let’s be real – what we should all be talking about is the power of personal branding when it comes to levelling up your work life.
So what is personal branding anyway? Instagram? Well – not exactly. Think about Apple – when you see that silver bitten apple, you know exactly what company the tech belongs to. Their branding extends seamlessly through their website, products and content – and because of this (unless you’re a Windows fan) you likely associate the Apple brand with sophistication, innovation and convenience. And it’s through this branding that they sell themselves – with millions of buyers eating it up.
And Apple isn’t alone in this. Think of your favourite business – does their branding (from logo, to website, to backstory) reflect their identity, vibe and culture? Mission, values and beliefs? If they’re your favourite – the answer is likely “yes”.
The good news: building your personal brand is easy in 2023 (we promise!) Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that being completely “off grid” on social media is beneficial to you – while yes, making things “public” means you’ll likely want to save your tipsy selfies for your finsta, being MIA online is putting you at a serious disadvantage. Want to build connections? Build a community? Personal branding is your key to unlocking the online “workforce” world. Why?
It Sets You Apart From Everyone Else
Let’s be honest: there’s lots of fish in the sea of employee hopefuls. How to catch a line? You gotta stand out. A “boring” CV won’t serve you anything but “thanks, but no thanks”. Remember: Employers often connect more with your story over your skillset.
Those lessons you learnt that lead you to this point in your career? Talk about them! You can’t learn life lessons in a five minute YouTube tutorial, like you can Excel. Your story communicates your character. Be proud of it – and yourself.
People buy from people – not robots! Let your personal branding be the splash of colour in the picture of your character you’re painting.
It Shows Grit and Determination
If you are invested in fine-tuning your image and constantly showing up, you are bound to gain more traction as this is a huge banner that boldly says ‘driven’! Be active. Communicate with those who are in the position you would like to be in one day. Update your pages by posting relevant content that attracts your targeted prospects too.
It Increases Chances of Better Opportunities
To like you, people need to know you. Connecting with others online (from future co-workers to CEOs) through the content you post, and content they post, is a quick win.
Especially once you realise that 70% of all jobs are never published publicly on jobs sites and as much as 80% of jobs are filled through personal and professional connections. At the least you’ll make a friend – at most a golden opportunity. Got a career question? Slide into their DMs! Obsessed with their latest career move? Send congratulations in the comments!
It Confirms That You Know What You Are Doing
Not every company is going to read the fine print of your CV. If you want your dream company to know about your career successes – you gotta shout about it. Parallel proposes compiling lil’ case studies to share as posts on your socials. Think: how you got out of the pits, and how you hit the peaks. You gotta communicate your value if you want employers to see it.
Your Personal Branding Toolkit:
Gatekeeping is so last year. Our tip to nailing your personal brand is to have a toolkit that makes creating it – and sustaining it – easy. The sites we’re using?
For Building Your Branding Style
For Creating Your Website / Link In Bio
For Scheduling / Curating Your Social Media Content
Thank us later… and while you’re at it – connect with us on social media. Your personal brand begins now – we wanna see you shine, and get you under the eyes of employers! From leaving a “me please 🙌🏼” comment on our latest job listing, to tagging someone YOU think will be perfect for the job op. Let’s be friends!