This course is part of the Marketing track.
Introduction to Personal Branding

LIMITED TIME ONLY

Extra learning at no extra cost. Enroll now and unlock a GenAI Bonus Bundle featuring complimentary lessons on AI fundamentals. Learn more about this limited-time offer.
 
On-Demand

Personal Branding

$1,850
Develop the tools to define and express your purpose, values, and points of differentiation and make your personal brand your competitive edge.
3
modules
2-4
hours per week
On-demand
start anytime
Self-Paced
over 90 days

 This course earns you a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online. What you earn.

Overview
Syllabus
Enrollment
Stories
FAQs

Key Concepts

Identify the sources, benefits, and components of a successful personal brand
Define your purpose and values and communicate their distinction to others
Turn common personal branding pitfalls into opportunities
Understand the psychological power of interpersonal influence and how to harness it as a leader
Develop an action plan for leveraging your influence to empower yourself and others to lead authentically

Who Will Benefit

Gain the skills and tools to effectively convey your values, accomplishments, and goals.
“A very interesting and instructive course. For me, as a person immersed in work, this course helped to look at everything from a different angle. The most important thing is that everything is shown with examples and provides the opportunity for constant practical application and subsequent adjustment.”
Teymur Guliyev
Stand out in your next pitch and the marketplace by learning how to communicate your value proposition.
"The course content is well-balanced and very well-explained. I liked the questions as well, it made to think through some uncomfortable questions. I found this course very insightful."
Srisha Kolachala
Break through the noise of a crowded creator economy and successfully grow and sustain your brand.
“This course, like almost all the courses at HBS Online, was not what I expected, it surpassed my expectations. I enjoyed it very much and learned more about myself than I thought I would.”
Mildrey Figuerola

What You Earn

Certificate of Completion

Certificate of Completion

Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online

Earn by: completing this course

Certificate of Specialization

Certificate of Specialization

Prove your mastery of marketing

Earn by: completing any three courses in this subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

Syllabus

3 Modules, 10 Hours
Download full syllabus
4
hrs
Module 1

Develop Your Personal Brand

Explore the sources and benefits of a personal brand and start defining yours by understanding your purpose, values, and uniqueness. Learn how the hero’s journey format can showcase your narrative.

Highlights

Write Your Personal Value Proposition
Refining and Adapting Your Story
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. What Is a Personal Brand?
  2. Visioning: What Value Do You Want to Create in the World?
  3. Auditing: Identify and Analyze Your Brand
  4. Storyscaping: Crafting, Refining, and Adapting Your Story

Featured Exercises

  • Complete the first three steps of the personal branding development process: visioning, auditing, and storyscaping
  • Uncover your values to develop your long-term vision and mission
  • Design a personal value proposition that reflects your experience, goals, and distinct value
  • Identify your key assets, descriptors, and superpower
  • Conduct an external personal brand audit
2-3
hrs
Module 2

Engage Your Personal Brand

Understand how to drive interactions that build your personal brand and avoid ones that dilute it. Discover the power of different groups in socializing your brand and how they can help you reach your goals.

Highlights

Presenting Your Authentic Self
Communicate Your Story
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Embodying: First Impressions and Authenticity
  2. Storytelling: Harnessing the Power of Storytelling
  3. Socializing: Building Connection and Community

Featured Exercises

  • Continue the personal branding development process: embodying, storytelling, and socializing
  • Create a Personal Brand Media Kit, a portfolio of tools you can leverage to share a story that’s compelling, memorable, and uniquely you
  • Brainstorm how different media platform types can support your personal branding journey
2-3
hrs
Module 3

Renegotiate Your Personal Brand and Harness Your Influence

Turn common personal branding pitfalls into opportunities and examine the psychological power of interpersonal influence and how to leverage it to your advantage.

Highlights

Sources of Credibility
Why Leaders Need to be Influential
ShowHide Details

Concepts

  1. Renegotiating Your Personal Brand: Evolution, Pitfalls, and Finding Success
  2. Recognizing Influence: Sources of Influence
  3. Leadership and Influence: Advancing Personal Brand Development in Others

Featured Exercises

  • Complete the last step of the personal branding development process: renegotiating
  • Rate and reflect on your personal brand
  • Develop and practice your elevator pitch
Free Cheat Sheet

Marketing Terms Cheat Sheet

Download this guide to explore key marketing concepts and metrics, which can help you analyze campaign performance, drive results, and stay data-driven.

Upskill Your Team, Transform Your Organization

Whether you represent a large multinational corporation or a small local business, we have a solution for your learning and development needs.

Our Difference

In Personal Branding, you'll explore what a successful personal brand is and how to leverage yours effectively to advance your career and influence others to lead authentically.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including practical visioning exercises to define your unique purpose and values.
Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes, including practical visioning exercises to define your unique purpose and values.
Get social by collaborating and networking with a global community of peers before, during, and after the course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program are added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Get social by collaborating and networking with a global community of peers before, during, and after the course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program are added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by personal branding experts at organizations like Edelman, LinkedIn, Elevated Connections, John Deere, and Harvard Business School.
Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by personal branding experts at organizations like Edelman, LinkedIn, Elevated Connections, John Deere, and Harvard Business School.

About the Professor

Jill Avery
Personal Branding

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator
“You’ll learn to uncover, celebrate, and share the unique value you offer to the world.”

Dates & Eligibility

Starting
On-Demand
 $1,850 + applicable international taxes
Start Anytime
  • No documentation required

All learners must be at least 18 years of age, proficient in English, and committed to learning and engaging with fellow participants throughout the course.

Learn about bringing this course to your organization.

Learner Stories

91%
Gained Deeper Expertise in Specific Areas
Not only was I able to expand my network so that I know someone in every major city around the world, but it also helped me land a job at a company that I absolutely love.
Carlvin Sylvain Dorvilier
Advertising specialist
BS in Advertising/Integrated Marketing Communications, Ferris State University
I've taken a lot of paid online courses, but the HBS Online experience was close to that of the classroom and highly immersive.
Swaminathan Aiyer
Head of Private Equity at Amazon Web Services
* Source: 2022 surveys and course data
 
All FAQs

Personal Branding FAQs

Participants in Personal Branding are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online.

Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This means completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein. In addition to module completion, we expect participation in the social learning elements of the course by offering feedback on others’ reflections and contributing to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements will not receive a certificate and will not be eligible to retake the course.

More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the course. No grades are assigned for Personal Branding. Participants will either be evaluated as complete or not complete.

You will have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. Access to course materials and the course platform ends after the 90-day on-demand access window.

Once you've earned your Certificate of Completion, list it on your resume along with the date of completion:

Harvard Business School Online
Certificate in Personal Branding

[On Demand Start Year]

List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" as follows:

School: Harvard Business School Online
Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program]
Degree: Other; Certificate in Personal Branding
Field of Study: Leave blank
Grade: "Complete"
Activities and Societies: Leave blank

Personal Branding is a 3-week, 10-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. It equips learners with the tools to define and express their purpose, values, and points of differentiation. Participants explore what a successful personal brand is and how to leverage it effectively to advance their careers and influence others to be authentic leaders.

 

Related Program

7 Courses

Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)

Application deadline December 31, 2025. CLIMB enables new and experienced leaders to ignite their careers with a combination of vital and forward-looking business skills, self-reflection, and an immersive cohort-based learning experience with a diverse global network.

1 year, 5-9 hrs/week
Apply by December 31st, Enroll by January 8th$15,000 (four installments of $3,750)Credential