You’ve probably heard the buzzword “personal brand.” You might have even rolled your eyes when you heard someone say it. I know that it’s easy to dismiss words that get thrown around a lot, especially when you’re dealing with the hard work of a career transition. The reality is, however, that whether you’re transitioning internally or looking for a new role externally, your brand is one of your most powerful tools to help you land the role you want.
What do I mean by personal brand? The simplest definition is that your personal brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
Let’s take the internal candidate example first. I recently had a client who was up for a big promotion to partner at her consulting firm. He was passed over for a promotion on the first round of consideration, even though his reviews and project had all gone very well. The feedback he ultimately got out of his manager was that “the partners weren’t sure he was ready based on some things they’d heard.” What a maddeningly vague piece of feedback! This is a great example of personal brand, however. When my client asked around some more, he learned that certain partners had an impression of him as being a micromanager and not focused enough on building client relationships. He didn’t think this assessment was accurate, but it doesn’t really matter what he thinks if that’s the view the decision-makers have. Armed with this knowledge, he could take concrete steps to show the partners his focus on clients and change their view of him. He was able to do this over the next 6 months and secured his promotion.
A similar situation happens when people are searching for a new role externally. Especially if you’re looking to pivot to a new role or industry, understanding your brand and how you may need to proactively shift it is vital. Shifting your brand in this instance can be as simple as removing old content from your resume and focusing on more recent projects and accomplishments. Or you may need to explicitly tell some stories in your resume and your interviews to explain how your skills transfer to the new role. This is all branding, and it will make all the difference in how people see you and whether they think you’re qualified for new opportunities.
In both cases, the person needs to identify what their target role is, and what desirable attributes are for that role. This will tell you what some elements are of your desired brand. You layer that in with the strengths and interests that make you tick.
The second step is to assess the current state of your brand. What would your managers say about you if they were to review you for a promotion right now? What does the hiring manager say about you after an interview? That’s your current state.
Lastly, think about how you can strategically evolve your brand to suit your goals. It might take some time, and it definitely takes some thoughtful planning, but you can absolutely shift your reputation and the impression you make on people.
In summary, if you know what your brand is, you can make the adjustments necessary to shift and improve it. Take the time to learn what people think of your job performance and take proactive steps to manage it in order to set yourself up for success when the time comes to move up or move on.
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