How to Define Your Personal Brand

The Shift Started with One Question:

👉 What would I do for free?

For me, it started with Legos and art.

I spent hours building things and sketching ideas — not for a grade or a deadline, but just because I liked it. I actually almost went to art school. That was the original plan.

Until I did a full switch into business and tech. But that creative energy never left. It came back when I started designing event decks, branding student projects, and building events — not because I had to, but because I wanted to.

That’s when I realized I wasn’t just “a marketing student.” I was a builder. A designer. A systems thinker. I liked making things that moved fast, looked good, and worked well.

That realization changed how I saw myself — and how I started showing up online.

Why Personal Branding Matters (More Than You Think)

Whether you’re applying to internships, cold emailing founders, or trying to stand out in a crowded space — people are Googling you.

Before they open your resume.
Before they reply to your DM.
Before they even read your message.

What they see is your LinkedIn, your portfolio site, your posts, your presence.

That becomes your first impression — long before you get the chance to explain who you are.

In 2025, your digital presence speaks louder than your credentials. You don’t need to be an influencer. You just need to be you.

A Simple Personal Brand Audit

(especially if you’re still figuring it out)

Here are a few questions I started asking myself:

1. What would I do for free?

The easiest way to find what you care about before status or salary takes over.

2. What kind of work gives me energy?

What feels natural? What do I find myself doing even outside of school or work?

3. What do I want people to remember me for?

Not a title — but a theme, a skill, or a way of thinking.

4. What kinds of problems do I care about solving?

This says way more than your major ever will.

5. Does my online presence reflect any of that?

→ LinkedIn bio
→ Site/about page
→ Pinned work
→ Side projects
→ What I post and share

When I look at my own pages, I realized it didn’t reflect who I was. So, I started making small changes. I swapped out outdated bios, rewrote descriptions that didn’t feel like me anymore, and pinned work that actually represented where I’d been and what I cared about.

From there, I started building forward — I cleaned up my LinkedIn, added a personal email signature, and launched a simple website using Framer (no code needed). I also organized my past work into a portfolio that felt more aligned with where I’m headed.

You don’t need to do everything all at once. Just pick one step that brings your online presence closer to who you really are — and go from there.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Brand

You just need one that feels like you — and helps people understand who you are. An important component that people tend to forget is your past defines who you are. Your failures, your mistakes, your old wins — they all shaped the version of you that exists right now. Mistakes speak a lot more than wins, because they show how you adapt, what you’ve learned, and what really matters to you now. Your personal brand isn’t just about what’s current. It’s also about how you got here.


That clarity opens doors.
It helps you better understand who you are.
It helps you better understand what you want to do in the future

I’m still figuring mine out. But this process — asking better questions and adjusting how I show up — helped me get a lot more intentional.

If you’re in that stage too, I hope this helped.