THE CREATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PERSONAL BRAND EQUITY: PERSONAL BRANDING AND ADAPTATION TO THE NEW AND CONTEMPORARY JOB MARKET

Abstract

The latest processes of social and economic transformation have produced a great change in the job market, creating a scenario of uncertainty and increasing difficulty for obtaining employment. Similarly, technological development and, more specifically, the rise of social networks, is causing a series of effects upon the ways in which individuals look for and apply for employment. Within this context, individuals need to stand out from other competitors, by highlighting the personal image that they intend to build and project, as an important factor when it comes to achieving job success. In this situation, people become managers of their own brand, entrepreneurs of themselves in the transformed labour market of the 21st century.
In this way, a new marketing discipline arises, called "personal branding", intended to manage this personal brand. According to theory, the principles of traditional trade can be applied to people, who may be considered as products, but at the same time, as entrepreneurs and directors of their own personal action (subject and object).
This article aims to apply some of the main theories of marketing and branding to the management of the personal brand. It is presented as an exercise to review some of the classic elements and principles of entrepreneurial activity, applicable, today, to the procedures carried out by job seekers. Specific applications of this approach are included for the analysis of the contemporary job market.