Waving a flurry of lofty degrees from prestigious universities does not guarantee one a job opportunity, renowned brands expert, Prof. Robert Hinsin has said.
What guarantees one a job, he said, is the distinctiveness for which one is known, i.e, one’s brand.
He was discussing the importance of personal branding on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show hosted by private legal practitioner, Egbert Faibille.
“…Personal branding is taking an active role in the direction of your life,” Prof Hinsin, who is the immediate past Head of the Department of Marketing and Customer Management of the University of Ghana Business School said.
Giving anecdotal evidence to back his submission, Prof. Hinsin said he knows a friend who has two degrees but cannot find a job. “Clearly he has not been able to articulate what is unique about him in comparison with those vying for the same job so he operates in a world where he believes that just by acquiring two degrees, he should be hired.”
“I’m sure there are thousands of people in Ghana today with two degrees and another odd thousand with three degrees, so in the scheme of things, acquiring the degrees alone is not a sine qua non for getting a good job and that is why you need to position yourself, articulate your peculiar benefits and then create a connection between that unique value and what the company is looking for,” he explained.
Best brands, he said, “have excellent recollectability and they are easily recommended so if you are going to do well, you need to have those things that define your professional career and trajectory otherwise you will not really excel.”
The CEO of BKC Consult, Bernard Kelvin Clive, said every personal brand must necessarily be built on the person’s purpose and talent.
To build “an authentic, original distinctive brand, it should be based on your true calling and purpose in life,” without which you will have nothing but a fake celebrated brand which will not be fulfilling, he stressed.
“If you don’t build a brand based on your purpose and talent, you will be missing out…you need to know yourself, understand yourself and develop yourself, hone your craft, polish your gifting,” he stated.
He said too many people rely on their raw talent which is simply not enough.
Supporting Prof. Hinsin’s argument on the inadequacy of degrees, Kelvin Clive said “there are a lot of graduates being churned out every day so you need to distinctively cause yourself to stand out.”
He said any person or university graduate who does not make a deliberate effort to brand himself, is simply a commodity; “you are just one of them.”
The two panelists were in consensus that personal branding is a precursor to a successful career.
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