Personal Branding Tips
The importance of personal branding in the university admission process
What comes to your mind when you hear the word "iPhone"? You will probably think of a smartphone that is compact, reliable, and fast with great camera performance and legions of fans. That is an example of a powerful and positive branding. Having a positive personal branding is critical for your university application process (in fact, in any stage of your life). Branding is a way in which you present yourself in front of other people, in this case, the admission officers. You want them to think that you are the right candidate for their university. A unique profile is the key to get accepted in your dream school.
The big question is what kind of personal branding that will make you an attractive candidate?
The answer is a holistic personal branding. Your brand should not just be a list of awards that you accomplished during high school. It should convey how you attain those achievements: reflect on your progress, your way of thinking, and your method to handle problems. So you need to be seen as a unique individual who has few aspects that are worth remembering by the admission officers. Do not force yourself to be the jack of all trades, or worse, to lie about your own qualities. The trick is to polish what you have in a promising package. For example, you only join one student organization in high school. Listed as is, you could be perceived as lacking social and organizational skills. Therefore, you need to explain your thought process. You can say that you prefer to stay in a single organization rather than in multiple ones because you like to focus on the depth of your involvement. Repackaging what seems to be your weakness could boost your chances in the university admission process. Another important aspect is originality. You need to find the 'hook factor' that will make your application stand out from the others. Be confident, everyone is unique in their own way. Never think that you are not special – you just need to do some soul searching and dig deep into your life to figure it out. It could be something that is seemingly unimportant to you. Make sure that it relates to the university you plan to apply to. For example, you love animals and you are applying for an Arts program. While these two do not seem to be related at all, you can highlight your passion in visiting every single zoo in your country and spend hours there drawing herd of animals you see.
What to include and what not to include in your personal branding?
Now that you know how to package your brand, the next thing to master is how to be selective: only pick the important parts. You are not expected to explain everything on your application and interview. Admission officers do like good grades and extracurricular activities but be cautious not to bore them. Remember, they review thousands of applications each year. Show your empathy. For instance, you can skip a piano class that you took back in the 5th grade. Instead, you can mention your contribution in high school choir and how your team won the regional competition. You will be seen as an active team player and a goal-oriented person. Remember, interesting does not always mean that it is important. In the end, a good personal branding should make you 'sell' like an iPhone: beautiful, reliable and desirable. This is not an easy task, most student end up over-dramatizing their application which only lead to unfavorable results. Having a friend to help you list your qualities is an excellent option: you need a mirror to see how you look. In ALL-in Eduspace, we are committed to guide student like you in developing a positive personal branding so you can get into the best foreign universities. Feel free to contact us anytime, we are happy to help!
