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When there are so many great people out there fighting for the same dream job, employers still need to be able to pick the single person they want to hire. The way they make that decision is increasingly coming from the development of ‘personal branding’ (Richmond 2021).
There are multiple opinions out there on what a personal brand actually is. Vaynerchuk posits that “your personal brand is your reputation. And your reputation in perpetuity is the foundation of your career” (2021). However, Monarth states, “whereas reputation is about credibility, your personal brand is about visibility and the values that you outwardly represent” (2022).
Whether your personal branding is intentional or unintentional or a mixture of both, it is nevertheless essential to establish what yours is. Ensuring a strong personal brand helps you to be recognised as valuable in your field and gives you a better chance when searching for new positions (Clark 2018).
The ‘Elevator Pitch’ (can we British people say ‘Lift Pitch’ or is that too weird?) is necessary to control your narrative. A short, pithy statement that describes who you are and what you stand for will help a new connection understand you quickly (Clark 2018). This is especially good advice as I transition from architecture to UX design. A short statement explaining my values, history and how that is connected to my present will be essential, as I imagine most people probably can’t see how the two connect. Through experience, I have found an elevator pitch is usually the answer to the first question in a job interview and is a question I have always found tricky to answer. That experience, combined with learning about personal branding as a topic, has made me realise the importance of explaining myself and enacting my beliefs.
Clark makes the additional point that reminding your colleagues and bosses (strategically) about your key strengths will be advantageous in the long run (2018). Keeping a low profile and working hard will undoubtedly build a good reputation among your team. Still, people beyond that team likely won’t know your individual contribution to a project. Additionally, when old colleagues leave, and new colleagues arrive, you must start again with reputation building. So, (strategically) reminding your boss why you’re great will help them zero in on why you are a good fit in the company.
Author screenshot from snappr Photo Analyzer
I have mixed feelings about the concept of personal branding. People are busy and don’t have the time or energy to keep track of you and your skills. But equally, this punishes people who are quiet, not good at networking or don’t fit the accepted social moulds.
Adding your personal brand to your LinkedIn profile is a great idea. But when we start running our profile pictures through ‘photo analysers’ that dictate which hairstyles are professional (Richmond 2021) I question what we’re really trying to achieve.
Despite my mixed feelings on the topic, considering my own personal brand has helped me understand where I might have gone wrong in the past and how I can improve in my future endeavours. Developing my brand will come as I learn more about the topics that fire me up and learn more about myself as a whole.
References
CLARK, Dorie. 2018. ‘How Women Can Develop — and Promote — Their Personal Brand’. Harvard Business Review [online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-women-can-develop-and-promote-their-personal-brand?ab=at_art_art_1x4_s03 [accessed 18 Apr 2023].
COOPER, Marianne. 2013. ‘For Women Leaders, Likability and Success Hardly Go Hand-in-Hand’. Harvard Business Review [online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/04/for-women-leaders-likability-a [accessed 18 Apr 2023].
MONARTH, Harrison. 2022. ‘What’s the Point of a Personal Brand?’ Harvard Business Review [online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2022/02/whats-the-point-of-a-personal-brand [accessed 18 Apr 2023].
RICHMOND, Annette. 2021. ‘What A Personal Brand Is (And Why You Need One)’. Forbes [online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/02/12/what-a-personal-brand-is-and-why-you-need-one/ [accessed 18 Apr 2023].
VAYNERCHUK, Gary. 2021. ‘15 Tips on How to Brand Yourself Online’. Gary Vaynerchuk [online]. Available at: https://garyvaynerchuk.com/5-strategies-for-personal-branding-online/ [accessed 18 Apr 2023].
German vocabulary of the week
Personality – Persönlichkeit