Step by

In$,$ Step by Step to an Authentic Personal Brand, author Huber Rampersad provides useful tools and guidelines to create a genuine personal brand. Rampersad focuses on utilizing personal attributes to support branding. It is also essential to approach personal branding with passion and enthusiasm. I was critical of personal branding. As mentioned in a second article, Building Your Personal Brand: A Tool For Employability, personal branding could be seen as image over substance. I associated personal branding with highly public roles such as celebrities, social media, sales or even real estate. Yet, I do realize that in today's highly competitive, digital and global world, it is no longer sufficient to have a good work ethic and strong skill set, you must set yourself apart.

What I found most valuable in the article were the steps to creating your personal brand. First, define your personal vision through the use of an authentic personal branding model. The model takes into account your personal branding SWOT $($strengths$,$ weaknesses, opportunities, threats$)$ analysis and a personal balanced scorecard. These tools help you identify your personal lifestyle that would then encompass your brand. The last step is to actually implement your personal brand. I personally appreciated that the article highlighted the importance of authenticity. This allowed me to move away from the criticism of personal branding. The author also made sure to identify that all individuals have a personal brand, but it takes strategy to make that brand work for you.

I highly recommend that all students read this article. Utilizing the tools in the article, a personal brand SWOT analysis, a personal balanced scorecard, and the authentic personal branding model, will facilitate our personal strategic plan. I chose the article because I was having a hard time thinking of what my personal bra

$-$Do you plan to $($or already have$)$ read the article? Why or why not?

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