Can you imagine <The Ellen DeGeneres Show> without Ellen? Of course not. We call this ‘Personal Branding’, to become so irreplaceable. Personal branding is the process of branding yourself so that you can be thought of by people very first in a particular field. Previously, society regarded having outstanding abilities as the best value like ‘good worker’. However, there are so many ‘good workers’ in the world, and one can be replaced at any time with any of the others. Therefore, we should be incomparable, not superior. So, make yourself a brand and develop differentiated competitiveness!

           Personal branding is what we should do to keep up with social change. Personal branding will be recognized as important in the upcoming Fourth Industrial Age. Most people think of AI or IT when it comes to the fourth industrial age. But Choi Young-in, author of a personal branding book, said in a lecture, “Ironically, the most distinctive and powerful weapon in the fourth industrial world is the human. We need to find a way to promote ourselves more actively and that’s why we need to do personal branding.” As society evolves into a super-convergence and super-connected society, it demands more differentiated and individualized talent. In addition, personal branding is a competitive edge at this point when the concept of a job for life disappears and a single-person brand appears. Therefore, instead of blindly following the path set by society, or developing standardized abilities, you should find your own charm and strengths that can distinguish you from others. Try to seek what is your true self and what only you can do. To do so, understanding yourself should be the first step. Think deeply about what you like, what you’re good at, what you can offer people, and what in your life story distinguishes you from others. Then, find what you want to develop, or what needs to be improved, and reinforce them in the direction of a goal you wish to accomplish. When this process is completed, search for areas such as social networks or diverse platforms and jump into action. Show yourself to the world! Finally, organize and record this whole process in a portfolio and use it to evaluate yourself. This will help you increase your unique value in a particular field. However, you must not decorate yourself falsely. It’s a deception on clients, and will irreparably damage your brand, which is YOURSELF. It is only a moment when the brand value collapses because of lies. Therefore, find your true self and use it to brand yourself.

           Now, we are in an era where “who sells” is important, not “what you sell.” Previously, only singers with good singing skills were in the spotlight, but now singers with their own incomparable charms are also gaining popularity. The same goes for ordinary people. A society demands irreplaceable people, and we must increase our value that is different from others. Start personal branding right now that will make you incomparable!