By Our Reporter
University students have been tipped on how to build and promote their personal brand. This was during day 3, and final day, of the annual NSSF Expo which was held at MOTIV Uganda on Friday.
Barbra Teddy Arimi, the Head of Marketing & Communications at NSSF explained that personal branding is essentially about how you are perceived by others and this is influenced by the way your look, how your feel, how you communicate, and how you behave.
“At every interaction with a person you are forming a perception. The brand is in the mind of your audience. Whether it is at home or at school, you have to just be aware that every single time you are creating a perception about yourself to everyone who is in your presence.” Barbra Arimi explained.
She further noted that one’s personal brand should be founded on a strong value system. “The first thing as one building your personal brand is to ask yourself ‘what are my values?’. Then go on to ask yourself what you want to become in 5 years or 10 years from now and start doing that with how your dress; how you portray yourself, and how you speak.”
“If you want to be a musician; be passionate about it and align it to your value system, and dress like one. If you want to be a lawyer, be passionate about it and align yourself to it. If you want to be a tech guy, be passionate about it and align yourself to it.” She elaborated.
She also cautioned students about the use of social media, telling them to be mindful of what they share online because what they post cannot be completely erased and forms part of their personal brand as they leave a digital footprint and this could have a negative impact in future, elucidating her point with Pauline Njoroge, a former member of the Board of Tourism Regulatory Authority whose appointment was revoked after Kenyans on social media brought to the fore her previous post bashing the Nairobi National Park.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, NSSF Deputy Managing Director Patrick Ayota also told students to embrace technology-driven solutions to address society’s needs.
According to him, the youths shouldn’t give up on themselves because they have potential to deliver value this using technology. He asked them to look out for the NSSF Hi Innovator program that provides learning modules on business start-up advice.
The 3-day NSSF Career Expo has been an interactive, participatory and entertaining experience for all students featuring mixes from Dj Alisha that gave the entire experience a lively touch.
It also featured quiz sessions where lucky students walked away with goodies on each of the three days which included a laptop, JBL Speaker and T Shirts.