Personal Branding with Shireena Manchharam

The recent talk with the owner of House of Sheens and Sheens image Consulting Singapore made me think about my my personal talents and qualities, which I can provide to future companies I want to work with.

A few question to ask myself :

1. Do I have my appearance right?

2. What are my talents & what do I need to improve?

3. What makes your different?

4. What do you want your brand to communicate?

The three words I associate to my personal brand are confidence, knowledgable and Interesting.

"You can sell yourself, no one else"

One of the things I learnt at a very early age is that first impression is the last impression and we should always keep in mind that body language matters and is highly noticed when conversing with others.

So, How do you start?

- Work on your Appearance & Image, groom yourself and make yourself presentable.

- Brush up your communication skills

- Build networks in the industry

-Improve your hard and soft skills

WHAT MATTERS

"You Today ---> Make positive changes ----> You Tomorrow"

First impressions are usually based on clothing, hairstyle and neatness.

The image we create of ourselves needs to be consistent with our Corporate identity & Brand. We need to respect out Professional & Personal environment by dressing up well and according to the weather of the place we are based respectively.

Qualities that put people off in a professional background are Inaudible voice, closed body language, inability to conVey energy & enthusiasm, lack of confidence, no eye contact and blank facial expression.

During presentation we shouldn't read from the slides but instead inform the viewers something which they cannot gather from the data present on the slides and connect it with the message you are trying to project.

Example: If applying for a job in your preferred industry and you want to sell yourself to the brand by put up your CV on the presentation, we can mention that, 'I love going out for drinks with my colleagues after work to get to know them better.' Something not mentioned on the CV but still is applicable during your pitch.

Overall appearance matters, every working professional should wear a watch, its highly unprofessional to check your phones for time. By choosing a mentor in your preferred industry who are feasible to work with and learning under them is a great opportunity and adds onto your personal brand.

My Professional vision, values & goals and Where do I see myself in 5 years?

I see myself having earned a masters degree from a fashion college in London in Fashion styling, having worked for an established fashion brand, met lots of people, traveled across many countries, married and started a venture of my own and most importantly, I see myself happy and content with my life.

My Personal Branding skills include - Building customer relationships, Organizing Events and Concept Development. I truly believe in following the 3 C’s which are Casual lifestyle, Comfortable in your skin and Confidence. The collage below explains my style and my love for pompoms and tassels in the recent months aptly.

“Personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room.”