Introduction of Brand You

            The idea of being reserved and letting my work speak for itself has always appealed to me. I was never a big fan of boastful colleagues who were big on self-promotion. However, I was later advised that it is important to make one’s accomplishment known to others since if no one knew about them, they would not count much.  I usually presumed that through my hard work, the quality and outcome would be obvious and thus there was no need to self-promote. Later on, I realized the importance of positive PR and its impact on my personal and professional brand. In the past, personal branding was most common among celebrities and organization executives (Labrecque, Markos and Milne). Currently, personal branding is important to all individuals seeking to build their identity and career. Mohamed Yunnus, Bill Drayton and Blake Mycoskie are famous social entrepreneurs that I get inspiration from given their determination and zeal to positively impact the society through their entrepreneurial efforts.

        I would like to share my own thoughts on the aspect of “Brand You” that what I have been able to gain through different readings and what else can be explored to enhance my knowledge in this regard. For me, “Brand You” is very much a concept, which allows an individual to get insight about his/her personality in so many different ways. We see a lot of branding for different companies on daily basis and that branding makes a considerable impact on our decision making about buying certain brands, and rejecting the other ones. Why it happens like this because few companies are able to brand their selves better in the eyes of customers than many other companies. So, I believe that same goes with an individual branding as well. One should work on his/her personality in different ways so that a personality can look like a brand, which attracts employers. If you have not any spark in your personality like having some unique skills and capabilities, and ability to stand out from the crowed, then it is hard for you to get distinguished position in life. The people who are ahead of others, they have worked on their self-branding by focusing on key areas, and making their personality more attractive as a brand for employers. The reading materials have helped me a lot to think more about this concept, and look to plan out a strategy for branding myself ( Wetsch)

Elements of a Strong LinkedIn Profile of Brand You

        There are several key elements that make a strong and powerful LinkedIn profile.  The first element concerns the profile photo chosen. LinkedIn profile is mostly used for professional networking, and thus the profile photo should be as professional as possible since it provides a good first impression and helps one stand out. It is also advisable to use a single profile photo for all the social media platforms linked to the profile.  The LinkedIn profile photos of Mohammad Yunus, Bill Drayton, and Blake Mycoskie communicate professionalism and are excellent examples of what a LinkedIn profile should appear. The second key aspect that makes a powerful LinkedIn profile is the headline which mostly appears in the search results on major search engines such as Google.  The headline essentially provides a summary of what one engages in or the company that you work in.  The headline of the LinkedIn profile should be as concise as possible and should be made up of keywords that can easily be found on search engines and specifies one’s professional role and expertise (EDMOND)

        It is important to make it easy for other people to access your contact details on your LinkedIn profile by placing them below your name.  For instance, you can provide the email address, phone number and a link to your personal or company’s website. Also, an effective LinkedIn profile should contain a comprehensive summary of one’s success stories and professional objectives. Keywords should be incorporated in the summary of the LinkedIn profile. Mohammad Yunus LinkedIn profile summary outlines his career path and his numerous accomplishments.  The summary provides a detailed overview of Mohammad Yunus personal and professional life. It means that making a profile with a summary mentioning key point from personal and professional point of view is important for a person, because it gives a quick overview of oneself to the employer. The employers can make up their minds by just looking at a concise summary provided by the person in the LinkedIn profile.

        Another key element of an effective LinkedIn profile is the professional experience section which summarizes an individual’s professional role and experience in a particular field or organization. The information in this section should be well organized using bullet points to make it readable and presentable to the target audience.  It is also advisable to include the relevant keywords under this section such as specific skills and programs responsible for your professional success. The LinkedIn profile should also have skills and endorsement section where keyword-oriented skills that you are known for are outlined. Most people that are likely to visit your LinkedIn profile pay close attention to this section since it helps in evaluating the most appropriate job applicant based on the skill level. It is advisable to arrange the skills in order of importance or relevance. You can always add or delete skills listed to make your LinkedIn profile more appealing (Han)

        The recommendation section is quite important since it helps build one’s credibility thus boosting the effectiveness of the LinkedIn profile. A recommendation is more likely to be authentic as compared to the endorsed skills. As such, it is important to seek recommendation from other professionals within your network that you have interacted and worked with in the past. Such a recommendation can greatly boost the credibility of your skills and professional experience. Therefore, a combination of skills endorsement and recommendation helped strengthen one’s LinkedIn profile and in turn foster a successful professional interaction. It is important for an individual to realize that recommendation part is as crucial as other parts of his/her profile are.

My LinkedIn Profile in Future of Brand You

Saleh

Investment Banker

Commonwealth Bank

Sydney Australia

My aim is to work for a major corporation where I can use my skills for the betterment and growth of the corporation. I possess good communication skills which allow me to perform various organizational activities efficiently. I possess an extrovert personality which helps me to deal with the clients more efficiently. I am a performance driven person, who is also highly motivated and ambitious to work hard. I also possess outstanding communication skills along with great experience in the field.

Strengths

Possess good problem solving skills through which i provide solutions of many critical problems which occur on daily basis.

Able to create good relationship with clients & stakeholders of the bank so that thye bank will able to get more investment.

Quite use to with the latest technology which helps me to provide better services to clients of the bank.

Recording the transaction and other data efficiently.

List of Experiences

Investment banker At commonwealth Bank of Australia

June 2025-Present

Financial analyst at Westpac corporation of Australia

August 2022-2025

Customer relationship manager at National Australia Bank

July 2019-2022

Volunteer Work

Provide aid to the homeless people in the city of Melbourne Australia

Work with volunteers to raise awareness against environment pollution

Work with volunteer groups to raise awareness for human rights

Notable Achievements

Graduated from University in First position

Achieved employee of the month award at Westpac corporation

Achieved the best team mate award from the National Australia Bank

Conclusion of Brand You

        After having a detailed look on me as a brand, and analyzing different elements of my personality, it can be concluded that there is a lot I need to do currently to achieve some of my short-term goals and aspirations. Gaining the right knowledge, skill and experience are much needed to become the man I see myself in 5-7 years to come. If I am not able to enhance my skills and experience at a significant level, then it would be hard for me to achieve any short term or long terms goals. The financial industry offers great opportunities and is highly competitive in the modern day. Therefore, completing my bachelor’s degree will not be enough since the industry is mostly skill-oriented. As earlier mentioned, analytical and interpersonal skills are some of the tops skills that are needed in investment banking that can only be acquired through first-hand experience. As such, after completing my undergraduate studies, I intend to pursue my master’s degree while still in an internship program to gain the needed experience and knowledge in investment banking. Presently, I will have to work harder and make good use of the limited time to make my ambition a reality soon.

References of Brand You

Wetsch, Lyle R. "A Personal Branding Assignment Using Social Media." Journal of Advertising Education 16.1 (2012): 30-36.

EDMOND, DEREK . Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile With These 10 Key Elements. 2014. 22 May 2019. <https://komarketing.com/blog/optimize-your-linkedin-profile/>.

Han, Ed . 7 Elements of an Effective LinkedIn Profile. 2018. 22 May 2019. <https://www.job-hunt.org/social-networking/effective-linkedin-profile.shtml>.

Labrecque, Lauren I., Ereni Markos and George R. Milne. "Online Personal Branding: Processes, Challenges, and Implications." Journal of Interactive Marketing 25.1 (2011): 37-50.