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Careers: create a personal brand

08 February, 2012 12:29:00 Contributor

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Jumpstart your career and improve your chances of professional success by creating a personal brand to help you stand out from the rest...

In a competitive world filled with people vying for attention, praise, recognition and business, how do you differentiate yourself?

The rise of social media has fuelled the global trend in personal branding

Realising the opportunity this brings, Naspers Labs redeveloped Who’s Who of Southern Africa, better known as an online resource of information about noteworthy individuals in the region. This powerful online networking and business tool is positioned to become the leading personal branding platform for professionals in Southern Africa and will empower individuals to market themselves effectively.

Minette Havemann, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Naspers Labs, says “The challenge in today’s global market is to distinguish yourself from competitors; not only to attract the attention of potential employers and clients, but also to remain first in mind and on top of your game. Tech-savvy trendsetters have all realised the value of social media to build their personal brands and this is fast becoming a prerequisite for all who are serious about their professional reputation in an online environment.”

Advance your career through your online presence

Social status (especially online) can be increasingly derived from publicly displaying and sharing knowledge, skills, influence and popularity, rather than pure wealth and power. Who’s Who leverages this trend by providing a user-friendly platform for professionals to distinguish themselves by building and managing a personal brand online.

Although we realise the benefit of sharing via social media platforms, most people have different personas for their social and professional life, so it makes sense to tailor your personal brand to represent you favourably in each sphere and keep them separate. It is doubtful that you would like future employers or prospective clients to base your employability on what they see on your Facebook profile.

Create a personal brand for yourself

By creating a Who’s Who profile you determine how others see you in the professional arena, and you can showcase your professional history, skills and achievements amongst other professionals and grow your professional reputation online to work in your favour. The rankings assigned to each profile allow you to see how you rank against other professionals and serve as a yardstick for measuring areas of progress and development.

“Networking is key in the world of business and we are all familiar with the saying 'it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.' The platform is also a powerful business tool which allows you to message, befriend, interact and connect with like-minded professionals and build a meaningful professional network,” says Havemann.

For more information, or to create a Who’s Who profile visit, www.whoswhosa.co.za