Building your own brand

In my Business 302 class, we have been practicing our interviewing skills.  Next week I have a first impressions exercise, where I have to give my best effort on presenting myself in a professional way in 30 seconds.  This is because most people in the business world come up with a perception of you in the first 30 seconds after they meet you.  If this is a positive impression, then it will help you do well with this person.  However, if you give a negative impression, this can harm your business relationship in the future.  I thought it was interesting to combine this exercise with Consumer Behavior, because what this assignment is designed to do is make you good at selling yourself.  Everything you do affects your personal "brand," and it forges a personal connection with the people you interact with.  Last Monday, at the College of Business orientation, the faculty stressed the importance of leaving a positive footprint wherever you go.  People remember you more than you might think.  As we watched in the Persuaders, emotional connections can be an important part of a brand.  We often overlook the fact that the easiest emotional brand connection to create is our own "brand."  Our actions leave a permanent impression on everyone we come in contact with.  This should make us mindful always to try to leave a positive footprint behind us.  Not only does this advance our own personal "brand," but it teaches us to how to advance other companies and organizations that we work with.  If we become efficient in building our own "brand," then it will not be much of a leap to help future employers to advance their brand.