Personal branding in the Corporate World

Group photo of UTAR staff and students with top executives from Lafarge Malaysia

UTAR’s Centre for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business (CSDCSR) in collaboration with Department of Consultancy and Commercialisation (DCC) organised an executive talk on “Personal branding in the corporate world” conducted by Lafarge’s top management on the 18th of August 2015 at UTAR Sungai Long Campus. More than 350 participants comprising staff and students thronged the multi-purpose hall to listen to Ms. Shirley Low’s and Ms. Stella Yew’s two-hour talk.

“On behalf of UTAR, it is our great pleasure having two distinguished guests, Ms. Shirley Low and Ms. Stella Yew from Lafarge. With their combined expertise, insights and experience that they share with us today, we will surely leave with invaluable information and knowledge on personal branding that may impact us in our daily lives.” said Dr Falahat in his welcoming speech.

Staff and students listening attentively to the talk

Presenting to audience Lafarge’s VP marketing, Ms. Shirley Low said, “Personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room. It will only take as much as seven seconds for another person to make an impression about you”.

She emphasized the importance of personal branding and its influence in getting first jobbers the break in a successful career. “It doesn’t matter how good your grades were, everyone is on the same level playing field at an interview. So how do you differentiate yourself from one another?” she questioned.

Ms. Low stressed on the importance of non-verbal and verbal communication skills. Non-verbal communication comes from dressing, posture and overall body language. This will demonstrate the confidence and seriousness of the candidates in wanting the job.

Verbal communication is often the determinant of success of a candidate and she urged the students to master or improve their command of the English language as this is still the lingua franca of the global commercial world. She said that often students also do not realize the importance of preparation for an interview. Researching and understanding what the company does will impress the interviewers and increase the chances of their success. “There is an endless possibility of career choices, so spend some time and think about what you like, your interests, so that you’ll have a clear objective or target. Once you do, seize the opportunity, keep learning from others and don’t ever be afraid to speak up,” Ms. Low said.

Ms. Shirley Low stressing the importance of personal branding

The session continued with a second presenter, Ms Stella Yew, who is the Commercial & Portfolio Branding Manager for Lafarge. She shared her own personal experiences as an individual from a small town, with a Chinese educated background, and on how she moved up in a MNC to where she is today

Ms Yew encouraged students to look beyond their current scope, to learn about the wider world and understand their strength and weaknesses. She encouraged those who will be joining the work force to focus on establishing themselves professionally and be open to learning from others. Ms Yew further added that being seen and heard is important. She closed the session by reminding students that everything in life is possible and they should take on any opportunities available to them by both working hard and smart.

Ms. Stella Yew delivering her talk

Lafarge Malaysia is a leader of the Malaysian construction industry, dedicated towards “Building Better Cities”. Its solutions provide cities and townships with more housing, making them more compact, more durable, more beautiful and better connected.

This event was jointly organized by Centre for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility in Business (CSDCSR) and Department of Consultancy and Commercialization, UTAR.

Dr Falahat presenting a token of appreciation to Ms. Shirley Low