Building a Strong Personal Brand in 2022
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”
- Jeff Bezos
Every successful organization has clearly defined values, messaging, and visuals – the necessary components of a strong brand. Moreover, the most successful organizations have elements that make their brand unique, so they stand out from the crowd.
In today’s competitive job market, it’s extremely helpful – necessary, even - to curate your own brand. The goal is to have a personal brand so strong that the key players in your organization or industry are familiar with you and your impact. This will make your life much easier when it comes time for job interviews, promotions, and career pivots.
The Power of a Personal Brand
Your personal brand is your professional reputation. It’s how people perceive you and we all know ‘perception is reality.’
For example, I know that I will never play poker as I wear my thoughts and emotions right on my face. Sometimes if I don’t say what I’m thinking, my face will! I’ve got serious RBF when I’m in deep thought or disagree with what I’m hearing! Now that I spend so much time on video conferences, I try to be hyper aware of my facial expressions to ensure that I’m always coming across as open-minded and engaged – two important elements of my personal brand.
I’m not always consistent, so I have a trusted peer help me. They know that this is a developmental focus of mine and have agreed to be my feedback partner. They will send me a smiley face emoji in our private chat to remind me to soften my expression when I slip up. I strongly recommend utilizing someone you trust as a Personal Brand Accountability Partner to let you know how others might be perceiving you. This insight will empower you to make the necessary corrections if what you are projecting does not align.
Owning Your Personal Brand
Knowing what your brand entails and owning it every step of the way throughout your career will help establish you as a pillar in your line of work.
It’s helpful to ask yourself reflection questions or solicit feedback if you aren’t sure exactly what your brand entails yet. Here are a few that helped me:
What drives me?
What do I want to be known for?
Who inspires me?
Where do I want my career to take me?
What legacy will I leave when I vacate this position?
What is said about me when I’m not in the room?
These questions are worth asking yourself every 6-12 months. You evolve with your career, which means your brand will too. As you scale your career, your brand should become more refined, specific, and elevated.
Once you’ve defined your personal brand, you can start moving in ways that are congruent with how you want to show up at work now and in the future. Decisions can be made on your promotability solely based on your personal brand – what others are saying about you before you even hit the interview room. You can use your brand as a guide for seeking new opportunities, contributing to thoughtful discussions, connecting with mentors and coaches, and so on.
Final Thoughts
I know that a personal brand can feel like a pretty abstract concept, so here’s a simplification: create an ideal version of yourself and always ask yourself, “What would she do?”
Questions About Personal Brands
Please drop a comment below, shoot me an email, or DM me on Instagram if you have any questions about how to develop or strengthen your personal brand. I’d love to chat!