If You Don’t Brand Yourself, Others Will Do It For You
Monday 21 August 2017
Article by Alan Claire
Originally published on Cox Purtell’s Recruitment Blog
Recently I was watching a football match on T.V and one of the commentators began to clumsily explain the “Brand” of football that the two teams were trying to play. It seems that you can’t get away from the terms “Brand” ”Personal Brand” or “Branding” these days.
I believe that many people are still a little confused as to what Brand is all about. It is obviously not straight forward as there are Brand Consultancies, Brand Agencies and Digital Branding companies popping up left, right and centre and the fact that footy commentators are now throwing the term around shows how broadly, and in some cases the word is being used inaccurately.
Working in Recruitment for more years than I care to remember, one of my key drivers has always been that I am naturally inquisitive by nature and in recruitment this is a huge positive.
Over the years I have moved with the times through the various buzz words and the many mot do jour that seem to come and go. So I have thought long and hard about what I believe Brand means based on my personal experience and the many post, blogs, articles I have read.
After all it is only if you understand Brand you can then figure out what your Personal Brand is and why it is now critical to your success.
Now obviously I am no expert in marketing but I am an expert in recruitment and for me branding can be described as many things, but it’s best defined as a promise… a promise of the value of the product… a promise that the product is better than all the competing products… a promise that must be delivered to be successful.
Branding is the combination of tangible and intangible characteristics that make something unique. Branding is developing an image, but importantly it must have the results to match.
Unfortunately candidates generally are not proactive in establishing and building their career brand, they tend to let their actions speak for them when seeking promotions or new jobs.
Really you need to take the time to master some very basic tactics that can help build your career brand and make you a much more attractive employee or job-seeker.
Remember, if you don’t brand yourself, others will do it for you.
While you may be happy and secure in your job now, you really never know when that will change.
So why has your Personal Brand become so important? As technology has changed and evolved over the years we are in an age of instant information . We are making decisions quicker with the support of technology, but your brand isn’t just your LinkedIn profile or your Twitter account. It is much more than that.
Your personal brand is essential to career advancement because branding helps define who you are, what is great about you, and why you should be sought out.
Branding is your reputation. Branding is about building a name for yourself, showcasing what sets you apart from others, and describing the added value you bring to a situation.
Finally, once you have identified and built your brand, remember to continue strengthening and protecting it. There will always be competing brands (job seekers) ready to fill any gap you leave behind.
You are your Brand
Your Brand should be you and the more you do to cultivate your career brand, the more successful you’ll be with your current employer and in the job market!
If you want some help on building or evolving your brand check out Management Guru Tom Peters’ book “The Brand You 50 ” he has some great advice in there.
How has your personal brand helped you progress in your career? I would love to hear from you! Tweet me @AlanC_CP .
Alan Claire is Recruitment Services Director at AmCham member Cox Purtell.
Want to learn more about Personal Branding? Come along to AmCham’s NEXT: Network for Young Professionals panel event on September 12 on Building Your Personal Brand.