Basic Personality Traits

Personality traits are the patterns of emotions, thinking processes, and behaviors that people
have. Personality traits imply consistency and stability. Let’s say a person who got a high score on the
trait of extraversion is expected to be friendly and outgoing in a variety of situations and over time. Trait
psychology is based on the premise that individuals vary from one another on a set of fundamental trait
dimensions that persist over time and across circumstances.

The primary thing that hits us while observing individuals is how unique and distinct they are from
each other. Some are surprisingly chatty, while others are extremely silent. Some are too anxious, while
others appear to be unconcerned. When we use one of these terms to describe those around us, such as
"talkative," "quiet," "active," or "anxious," we are describing a person's personality.

According to Allport and other personologists, the best way to understand individual
distinctiveness is to look at their personality characteristics or traits. Psychologists explains that there are
only a few of these dimensions (See OCEAN/Five Factor Model of Personality), and every individual falls
somewhere along each one, meaning they may be low, medium, or high on each one. It only means that
when these psychologists talk about introverts and extroverts, they aren't really referring to two separate
kinds of individuals who are opposed. Instead, they're referring to individuals who fall scores low or high
in a continuum.

The “Five-Factor Model of Personality (FFM)” constitutes the most common and
fundamental system of personality traits. The acronym “OCEAN” is used to recall these five broad
personality characteristics in this system (O is for Openness; C is for Conscientiousness; E is for
Extraversion; A is for Agreeableness; N is for Neuroticism). To provide a more fine-grained analysis, each
of the Big Five's main traits can be split into facets.

A. Openness - This dimension refers to how imaginative, innovative and curious people are. Anyone
who scores low in this dimension tend to be more traditional and less open to new things,
doesn't want any ideas nor change. On the other hand, anyone who scores high in this dimension tend to
be more curious and very interested in new things since the individual is more open-minded. The person
tends to have more novel experiences in life than the former because he or she is not reluctant to
adventures.

B. Conscientiousness - This dimension contains the desire to succeed. This dimension is marked by
thoughtfulness, as well as strong impulse control and goal-driven behavior. Anyone who scores low
in this dimension are more careless, exhaustive, disorganized, and irresponsible. On the other hand,
anyone who scores high in this dimension tend to be detail-oriented and coordinated. They have a higher
level of caution, dependability, and self-discipline.

C. Extraversion - Anyone who scores high in this dimension is called "extrovert". This features trait
characteristics such as being sociable and overtly communicative. They can express their emotions with
high amounts of self-confidence. Extroverts get their energy externally, everything that surrounds them
such as family, peers and even personal things. On the other hand, anyone who scores low on this
dimension is called “introvert”, who are featured to be more calm, silent and timid. They aren't necessarily
socially inept. Rather than attending social events, they prefer to focus or they tend to be more interested
on coming up with ideas. They feel at ease when they are alone. Introverts get their energy from the
internally, from personal reflection on concepts and ideas, for example.

D. Agreeableness - This dimension includes prosocial attributes such as trust, altruism, empathy and
kindness. This sometimes referred to as "friendly compliance," with "hostile noncompliance" as its polar
opposite. Anyone who scores low in this dimension are uncooperative, competitive, and irritable that is
why they tend to engage in a more conflictual relationship. While those who score high in this dimension
generally tend to be more tactful, courteous, and caring that is why they tend to get along well with other
people.

E. Neuroticism - This dimension represents the degree to which an individual experiences the world as
threatening and unsafe. Thus, anyone who scores high in this dimension tend to experience emotional
instability or mood swings frequently, thus, the individual gets easily irritated. Highly neurotic individuals
tend to experience more negative emotions such as depression, sadness, guilt and anger. They always
feel nervous, anxious and tense in so many reasons. In contrast, anyone who scores low in this
dimension tend to be more calm, confident, and stable. They are less likely reactive to stress.

Factor analysis is one of the statistical techniques used to determine whether the diversity of
words recognized by scholars like Gordon Allport was explained by a small number of dimensions. The
traits in the Big Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality involves a lot of variances in their scores. That is,
a person's performance on one of these traits reveals very little about their performance on the others.
For example, a person can be extremely high in Extraversion and be either high or low on Neuroticism.
Similarly, a person can be low in Agreeableness and be either high or low in Conscientiousness. Thus, in
the FFM, you need five scores to describe most of an individual’s personality.

Personal Branding

Previously, personal branding features the concepts of how an people carry themselves, in the
way they wear clothes, their energy level. Nowadays, where the world is greatly habitated by the true
digital natives, the role of social media matters most in the concept of personal brand. Having a quick
glance in people’s Facebook timeline, few swipes in their uploaded photos, and reading their status
updates or tweets are all it takes in coming up with a single impression and evetually build one’s personal
brand.
Personal branding involves forming an impression of an individual in the minds of others. Your
personal brand includes not only about how you think of yourself, but also how you are perceived by other
people. it's the association people have with your name. When your name was called, what word/s jumps
to people’s mind? People can distinguish themselves and stand out in a crowd by defining and articulating
their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms
with a clear message and image to achieve a specific goal through personal branding (Schawbel, 2010,
p. 6).

Below are some elements that form the foundations of your personal branding:

1. Personality
2. Values - guiding principles that influence how you feel, act, and respond.
3. Passions and Interests - things that make you attractive to others and inspire you. When you know
what motivates you, you can look for ways to connect your interests to what you do and how you do it.
4. Strengths- qualities that powers you.
5. Education and Work Experience
6. Influencers and Inspirations- somebody whom you admire and strive to be like
7. Your Look and Style- Your ‘packaging' consists of your clothing, hair/makeup, and accessories.
Whatever your profession or personality, you should have your own personal "dress code" that is based
on your individual appearance and aligned with your personal brand and objectives.
8. Goals- It's about "getting to where you want to go and accomplishing your goals." What do you want to
be doing in the next three to five years? What do you want to be in the future?
9. Target Market- Your target are the individuals and organizations to whom your messages will be
tailored. It could be a business, its employees, or its stakeholders.
10. Peer circle and associations - Somebody who assist you in defining yourself and where you’re
coming from. Mentors, business friends, and everyone else who helps you identify who you are and what
you do are examples of these people.

Our impressions of others and what they stand for have always been significant; the difference
now is that we have a name for it. Personal branding is one of today's important tools for flourishing in
today's work environment, thanks to social media and our subsequent levels of visibility. It aids you in
attracting business opportunities by allowing you to play to your strengths and communicating knowledge
to your target audience through online, verbal, and networking channels. During job searches, candidates'
personal branding has become increasingly relevant. Many businesses are using search engines and
social media as recruiting tools for future employees.
 People are struggling to stand out in today's job market because it is so competitive. Personal
branding gets into play in this situation. It's becoming a more and more useful tool for job seekers to
highlight their best qualities and sell themselves to potential employers.

Personal branding isn't just for job seekers, though. It also benefits your sense of self by assisting
you in delivering more value, defining your specialization, and improving your self-confidence. The
significance of developing a personal brand is outlined below.

1. A personal brand will assist you in gaining self-assurance.

2. You can shape your own story with a personal brand.
3. Developing a good personal brand will help you advance your career.
4. You would have a stronger sense of self if you develop a good personal brand.
5. Developing a personal brand will assist you in thinking strategically and authentically.
6. Building your brand will enable you to provide more value to your customers.
7. Personal branding will assist you in defining your area of expertise.
8. A personal brand will help you build self-confidence.
9. With a personal brand, you shape your own story.

In a nutshell, A personal brand will assist us in developing a sense of self, discovering what we
stand for, and even solidifying our life path. We make it easier for like-minded collaborators to find us for
growth, jobs, and other prosperous learning and exchange by clearly broadcasting this message. Your
personal brand is a combination of one’s experience, gifts, and skills, as well as one’s personality, value
systems, and goals. You can attract prospects, parties, and constituents to work on your next projects,
dreams, and career opportunities by using visual cues, sentences, and actions to broadcast them to the
world through different platforms. With a powerful personal brand, anything is possible, giving you clarity,
trust, and context you didn't have before.