PERSONAL BRANDING: The importance of self-packaging

Self-packaging comprises more than just your dressing. It encompasses everything about you, from how you interact with people to how much confidence you carry yourself with. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • When you present yourself for an interview, it is normal to expect the usual questions about your skills and qualifications.

  • If you are applying for a high-level job, you will probably be asked out for a luncheon interview during which your opinion on a broad range of subjects is sought.

Self-packaging comprises more than just your dressing. It encompasses everything about you, from how you interact with people to how much confidence you carry yourself with.

Consider this analogy: Think of various products when you go shopping. Some products look extremely luxurious and expensive at first glance, so that you do not even check their price. Others look so cheap and substandard that you do not give them a second look. Others appear well-packaged and excellent, and well within your means.

You are just like a product. If you get your packaging wrong even in the most subtle of ways, it could mean disaster to your work life, and even social death.

Think about how you have packaged yourself and whether it really represents who you are and what you aspire to be.

Keep in mind that any way you choose should help you remain true to yourself at all times. Here are some ways that your packaging affects you. Use it as a guideline to start on upgrading or downgrading, as you deem suitable for your circumstances.

Prospective employment

When you present yourself for an interview, it is normal to expect the usual questions about your skills and qualifications. If you are applying for a high-level job, you will probably be asked out for a luncheon interview during which your opinion on a broad range of subjects is sought.

This worldwide method is used to determine how much you are really worth. If, for instance, you state that your interest is travelling, they will ask you which places you have visited. To be paid what you dream of, ensure that you package yourself accordingly.

Young upwardly mobile women sometimes tend to overprice themselves out of the market. Some of the signs that you have overpriced yourself could be that your weave costs Sh50, 000 when your salary is Sh90, 000. It also means that you live in a very expensive neighbourhood while struggling for food and petrol and have no savings.

You are actually living a very rich life, which makes you look extremely high-maintenance. All this time only you know it is a hand-to-mouth existence. You are trying too hard to keep up appearances by spending a lot on your packaging. Such that at a glance everything about you screams “luxury”.

On the other hand, an under-packaged woman is one who lives far below her means and could do some better packaging in a bid to meet her maximum potential. Aim to achieve the right balance by getting the best you can afford without breaking the bank.