A Week on Personal Branding and Social Action Projects!

edIn the bustling life of the AKAYA Summer interns, the sixth week was filled with an enriching session centered around personal branding. This article will give a recount of the events and highlight the significance of this session for the interns.

The week commenced with a session on Monday 21st August, 2023, dedicated to personal branding – a topic of immense importance in today’s interconnected world. Led by the notable industry expert, Edward Asare, the session delved into the intricacies of developing a unique personal brand that aligns with one’s values, skills, and aspirations and the importance of gaining visibility for your values.

Mr. Asare started the session by sharing a few positive affirmations before giving an astute explanation of Branding. According to him, branding is a deliberate effort to create a genuine identity. People often have some misconceptions about branding such as seeing the idea of having a brand as ‘settings’ -  limiting the idea of branding to be based on how you look and how you appear to others only. However, branding goes beyond how you appear to others, how you look, your reputation and perceptions.

Mr. Asare then touched on the concept of the SWOT analysis. This is a framework used to evaluate an opponent’s advantages and develop a promising strategy. Identifying your Strengths, Weakness, available Opportunities and existing Threats to your growth is one sure way to build a reputable and strong brand. 

According to Mr. Asare, reputation, perception, people relationship, confidence, communication and conflict resolution, are all major keys to building a solid brand. A good reputation will gain you respect from people and help build a good life for yourself. How you relate with people will play a role, in that people always bounce back from current circumstances that may be bad, so you should be conscious of how you treat people and build good human interpersonal relationship. In the midst of others, you must be confident and assertive in a respectful way, because humans are the subject of every discussion and people must talk about you in a good way wherever they go, and wherever your name is mentioned. Give people a positive experience when they meet you. Every human relationship has its issues but make a conscious effort to not bend or break bridges. Learn how to swallow your pride and have a peace talk with everyone you may have an issue with. Communicate your value and the things you want to do all the time and remember the best way is through social media - communicate consistently through storytelling.

Mr. Edward Asare brought the session to an end by iterating that, focusing on the value you are bringing on board is one way to build a solid brand. Try to focus on what you can do for people, not always focusing on what they can do for you. Your unique identity should be the value you carry and have a value proposition that you provide like seeds so that others may grow as well. Creating a brand is a process so endeavour to act, talk, dress and interact like who and what you aspire to be.

At the end of the session, the interns had a clear understanding of the significance of personal branding in establishing one’s professional identity and leveraging the expertise effectively. Through self-reflection, they meticulously analysed their strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling points empowering them to present themselves authentically in various professional settings.

Continuing the eventful week, the interns actively participated in a group session on Friday, 25th August, 2023 focused on their upcoming social action project. Collaborating with each other, the interns are on a mission to make a positive difference in society.

The past week was a whirlwind of personal growth and further discussion on social impact. Through the session on personal branding, the interns gained a deeper understanding of their unique strengths and learned how to project themselves effectively. Simultaneously, the group session on their social impact project allowed them to gain fresh insights and ideas on the next phases and how to work individually and collaboratively as a team. Overall, the week proved to be a great opportunity for interns to network, learn, and grow.

On to Week 7!

Article Written by Benedicta Owusu (Content Writer Intern)