Personal branding is an intentional and strategic practice in which professionals create and express their own value proposition. Learn how to build it for career success!

First and foremost, it's essential that you define how you wish to be remembered. This could include your professional achievements, notable personality traits or how challenges have shaped who you are today.

1. Define Your Values

If you want to build an effective personal brand, you must define your values. Your values represent what you stand for and believe in; they help shape decision making processes as well as overall attitudes within the workplace.

Consider what matters to you most in life - such as work-life balance, honesty and compassion. Think also about what your ideal vision for the world would look like or how you plan to interact with others. This process should help identify your values.

Take a step back from your professional experiences and examine those in your network who inspire you, to determine any common threads between them, such as their shared interest in professional development or dedication to helping those in need. Use a hero-inspired exercise to discover your own unique value proposition.

As an HR specialist, for example, you might create a character who represents how you want to make an impactful contribution in your industry. By doing this, you can use this character in marketing materials and social media posts that showcase potential employers the advantages you bring them.

2. Identify Your Niche

Niche markets provide customers with unique value, often through products or services that are either specialized or rare, enabling businesses to focus their resources and efforts on providing high-quality offerings to a smaller segment of customers.

As part of your career strategy, it is crucial to identify your niche and use it to drive forward your personal brand. To do this, think about what interests you most and the skillset that is both pertinent and unique to your experience.

As you start your research for your career path, start by writing down all your talents and experiences - even those that seem irrelevant or obvious. Simply writing them all down may help you recognize potential connections between the different pieces that could become career opportunities. Also use tools such as Google Trends to research the needs of your target audience - look out for spikes of interest that may indicate demand for niche ideas like yours.

3. Create Your Elevator Pitch

An effective elevator pitch is key to creating an impressionful first impression when meeting potential employers or networking at career fairs. An elevator pitch should be short, concise, and last between 30 seconds and two minutes in duration.

Begin your narrative by outlining who you are, emphasizing your unique value proposition and professional goals, then share a professional accomplishment to add credibility.

Make sure that you close your pitch by proposing an action step - whether that be inviting them onto social media, suggesting coffee dates or exploring potential new ventures.

Keep your personal brand evolving as you switch careers or industries, as a strong personal brand is ever evolving and always requires updating to remain up-to-date and relevant. Make sure to regularly practice and tailor your elevator pitch, tailoring it according to situations or audiences you're speaking to if necessary; over-rehearsing can detract from its authenticity, so aim for natural rhythm and pace when reciting your pitch for maximum effectiveness.

4. Update Your Digital Footprint

Your online presence plays an integral part in crafting your professional image, so it is crucial that you regularly assess and update it according to your career ambitions. Start by Googling yourself and reviewing the search results, taking note of private comments or social media posts that could harm your reputation; update privacy settings if necessary to remove unwanted material if possible.

Recruiters use your digital footprint during the application process - known as cyber vetting - to gather information about you as part of their application. This may involve everything from your Instagram feed and petition signatures, to how companies like Facebook are using your profile data for targeted advertisements based on your interests and location.

Maintaining an impeccable digital footprint is crucial to career success. Recruiters may discover social media posts or other forms of online content that deters them from hiring candidates, such as inappropriate posts, discriminatory remarks or lack of communication abilities. An absence online could also raise red flags with employers so it is advisable to proactively manage your digital footprint.

5. Networking

Networking can help you advance in your career or business. Networking is one of the best ways to build valuable interpersonal connections that could open doors later on.

As you network, be sure to share both your personal story and professional journey in ways that distinguishe you from other participants. For instance, highlight how you have overcame challenges to pursue your dreams or how your unique perspective has allowed you to find creative solutions to problems.

As soon as you meet industry professionals at events or meetings, be sure to connect with them on LinkedIn and other professional platforms and send a connection request - this shows your intent in growing and maintaining your professional network and may lead to mentorships and collaborations that help propel you toward your goals.