Personal branding

by Saiqa Ane Qureshi, Staff Writer, FWSF MarCom Committee

Personal branding is the intentional, strategic practice of defining and expressing individual value. Many continue to manage careers that span decades and are less linear in terms of next steps (accountant one, accountant two, senior accountant) and sometimes described as spaghetti (running in many directions and overlapping). It is becoming increasingly clear that personal branding is needed to help create a narrative around an individual career path.

A large piece of this is moving away from the myths that good work is enough for a good reputation, a boss will market their individual team members, and that self-promotion is a bad thing. Strong personal branding can attract projects, promotions, job opportunities, and spread knowledge of unique differentiators, so an individual is sought out and enables connection to people with common personal and professional interests. It additionally has the benefit of increasing confidence, clarifying goals and values, and decreasing imposter syndrome.

It is critical that the personal brand is accurate, coherent, compelling, and differentiated. To do that, an individual must assess their core values, key strengths, unique value proposition, personal attributes, leadership, relationships, and what you represent. Beyond that the key is to think about unique positioning, and a triangulation of market or audience need, your strengths and value and others in the market.

• Core values: guiding principles and deeply held beliefs that inform decisions, actions, and communication.
• Key strengths: core competencies, values, and unique traits that differentiate you, build trust, and attract target audience
• Unique value proposition: a clear concise statement that articulates the specific benefits you offer and explains how you solve a particular problem or meet a need for a target audience, highlighting skills, experience, and a perspective distinct in your field.
• Personal attributes: the distinct qualities, characteristics, skills, and values that define an individual and make them unique and memorable to others.
• Leadership: the process of shaping the unique impression, reputation, and value others associate with your leadership style and capabilities.
• Relationships: the tangible and intangible connections you build with an audience, including clients, peers, and partners through consistent communication, mutual trust, and shared values, which shape their perception and experience of your unique personal brand.
• What you represent: your unique combination of skills, experience, values, personality, and story that you project to the world and builds a specific image and reputation in the minds of others.

Core to your personal branding is a clear and short narrative or pitch around who you are and what you do. It is critical to hone, in a brief way, your core values, strengths, and unique value proposition. That includes a focus on what you care about, values, and value you can provide to others.

Elevator pitch

• Five seconds: give your name and what you do
• Thirty seconds: add context and value messages
• Sixty seconds: add an example of the impact you have had

Ensure you are focusing on evidence and examples of impact and outcomes, rather than centering on process, and marry together your strengths with your brand image and promise. Tied to this is your brand associations and image, as well as the promise, or rational value, core values, strengths etc. It is about communicating two-way value, thinking about your focus, purpose, channel to communicate, and how you will do so.

The key to all of this is to focus on what you can do and not dwell on what you can’t. Welcome changes and challenges, and know you must “sell” those skills. It is about a focus on the constructed narrative, including differentiators that show how you are different. Communicating that brand might be made up of different ways to promote your value, including paid, owned, and earned media, making your value proposition accessible to a wider network.

REFERENCES

https://brandingpays.com/book/ Branding Pays by Karen Kang 

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/personal-branding-at-work

 

From Connections Newsletter (Food for Thought): September 2025

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The suggestions of the contributor do not constitute professional advice and are intended for general informational and educational purposes only. Nothing contained herein is intended to be or should be used as a substitute for professional advice, and readers should not act or rely on this information without seeking specific guidance directly from a qualified professional.

The opinions and information expressed in this blog/post/webpage are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views of FWSF. FWSF is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this content or any damages resulting from its use.