“YOU cannot be everything to everyone,” motivational speaker Dr Terri-Karelle Reid advised the audience at the personal branding session during career week, held April 15-20 at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville. The week was observed under the theme ‘Gifted for a Purpose’.

Dr Reid, who is the author of the book My Brand Compass, pointed to the value of identifying and developing one’s niche. She advised that one’s objective should not be to satisfy everyone but to offer the best of one’s strengths and niche.

“One thing my God has shown me is that when you stick to your niche, and you stick to your value, and you stick to your principle, and you stick to your platform, you don’t lose you any piece of the pie,” she affirmed. “Anything you choose to do will affect your brand.”

Dr Reid, a former Jamaican beauty queen and the current host of the Digicel Rising Stars competition, also pointed out the importance of a good reputation and having good associates, over the priority of high earnings even at the expense of values and character. She explained the concept and attitudes of personal branding in a motivational and practical way.

The week incorporated a church service, mock interviews, a job fair, career advice, and financial advice from a number of career experts, prospective employers and motivational speakers.

The personal branding event also had a panel of speakers who reinforced much of what Dr Reid said. The panellists were Simone Spence-Johnson, president of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce; Brian Cuff, lecturer in the NCU Department of Communication Studies; and Chevaughn Walker, image consultant and chief executive officer of By Their Suits. Students from Central High School and Church Teachers’ College were among the audience at the event held on the main campus of NCU.