Chapter 2: How to Create Your Personal Brand

    So what is a personal brand? Most of us hear the word "brand" and think of a Fortune 500 company or  some sort of logo to your favorite company. However, your personal brand is a little different than that. 

Your personal brand is a combination of your unique qualities and attributes that set you apart from others in your field. As social media becomes more important and influential than ever, building your personal brand has become a hot topic. In fact, according to the textbook and CareerBuilder, 70% of employers use social media to screen potential employees in the hiring process and before making a hiring decision. 

    Chapter 2 explains the how to develop your brand and even identifies steps to developing your successful brand. These steps include: 

1. Identify your target market

2. Determine your vison and purpose

3. Determine your values

4. Determine your passions 

5. Determine your goals

6. Determine your brand attributes

7. Determine your SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats) 

8. Determine your competition

9. Identify three words that best describe you 

    While these steps are a great way to build your personal brand, the next part of this process is to audit yourself. One step you could take to audit your brand would be to simply Google search your name. This allows you to view a majority of the public information that is out on yourself, whether this may be good or bad, you now have knowledge as to what others can see about you. Another great idea that the textbook mentions is to strategically think about what social media accounts you want to remain personal and what is designated for professional use. 

    This chapter also discusses the use of professional sites such as LinkedIn and Handshake as platforms to build your brand. In addition, it discusses the "do's and don'ts" of social media and proper social media etiquette. 

I believe that this chapter has provided great insights that I will take into consideration when building my personal brand as I continue in my professional journey.