Personal Branding

Objectives

The goal of this course is to define, test and launch a unique personal brand.

The course is organized into three blocks.

1. Creative, strategic thinking for purposeful careers.
2. Promotion through branding techniques.
3. Obtaining a professional reputation using social skills.

Learning outcomes

Under review. Pending publication

Content

1. Introduction to personal branding
   The basics, how to build a brand in the digital economy, how to stand out from the crowd
2. Millennials in the workforce
   Managing expectations, what it takes to be great, 10.000-hour rule, reflection, what is success? 
3. Developing professional skills
   Where to compete?, strengths and weaknesses, decision models, long-term thinking
4. Audience and positioning
   Differentiation, the right target for you, do your research, implementation, internal mission statement
5. Branding
   Brands today, brands tomorrow, enduring brands, distribution strategies, reputation crisis, brand equity
6. Promotion
   Storytelling, what is the pitch for you? Advertising greats, the creative process, rules of virality, inbound marketing
7. The psychology of choice
   How humans make decisions, cognitive biases, perception, marketing implications
8. Communication
   Writing, public speaking, everything else
9. Social media and offline
   Pick your platform, gaining exposure, visibility and relevance, monitoring, Google yourself, influencers
10. Getting your first job
    How to get there, PB tool-kit, the interview process, adjust your message, first impressions matter
11. Professionality
    What professionality really means, how to increase my productivity, management and behavioural economics
12. Sales and negotiation
    Soft skills, how (not) to win arguments, the science of persuasion, power dynamics, why do you trust me?
13. Entrepreneurship
    Leadership: it can be taught, the downside of it, competition is for losers, micro speed, macro patience
14. Networking
    Map your relationships, the structure of networks; be attractive, not likeable, good sense of humour, cold calling
15. Next steps
    Always pitch your brand, purpose vs. happiness, infinite futures, reinvention

Evaluation

The course is based on continuous student evaluation with an important weight on the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

• 15%: Active class participation, readings and discussions
• 15% Active class participation, skills activities
• 30%: Career questionnaire, introspection exercise on designing a meaningful career
• 40%: Self-marketing plan, career development exercise through branding techniques

Methodology

The methodology of the course is based on the autonomy of the student, the role of the professor as mentor, and systematic and continued work. Specifically, students should:

• study the corresponding reading for each topic before it is covered for the first time.
• read and reflect on the readings before class.
• identify and synthesize the most important aspects of each reading.

Bibliography

Bibliography

• Carnegie, D. (2010). How To Win Friends And Influence People. Simon & Schuster.
• Harari, N. (2015). Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Random House.
• Newport, C. (2016). So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love. Piatkus.
• Pfeffer, J. (2010). Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don't. Harper Business.
• Sullivan, L. (2016). Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide to Creating Great Ads (5 ed.). Wiley John + Sons.

Reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.