Personal brand - tool or culmination of professional development?

Abstract

Objectives Personal branding, which is often considered a personal promotion tool, is such a capacious concept that the promotional aspect alone does not seem to capture the complexity of the practices that lead to a strong personal brand. Undoubtedly, a personal brand influences how an individual shapes his or her career. However, a personal brand is more than reputation or professional reputation management. It also seems to be far more than communicating competence to potential employers, colleagues, business partners or clients. This study examines the concept of personal brand from the perspective of professional development management. Material and methods An appropriate review of the literature was conducted to identify the common ground of the above areas, and data obtained from a survey of self-narratives of individuals who have built strong personal brands in their specialties was analyzed. The interviews were conducted from January to March 2020. Results These analyses showed that there are many common areas in the process of building a personal brand and managing professional development. Conclusions This provides a basis for a more complete personal branding process, which may also prove to be more effective.

Keywords

• personal brand
• professional development
• self-management
• personal development management
• professional development management