What do people say about you when you're not there?

Your personal brand. Second only to your work product, it is the most important piece of your professional success, but many people allow it to develop organically. This might sound nice and easy, but in this case, organic does not indicate something natural or healthy. You are allowing what other people say about you to dictate your brand rather than shaping your own story. Instead, I’d like to offer some essential resources and tools to explore and intentionally define your personal brand.

Keep a Work Diary

After reading this Good Trade article at the end of 2021, I started keeping a monthly and quarterly log of my accomplishments, feedback, failures, and areas for improvement. Not only is it extremely valuable come performance review time, but it also gave me a very clear, longitudinal picture of how my work and contributions are received by team members and clients. By setting aside 30 minutes at the end of every month, I have been able to capture the projects and progress I’ve made throughout the year, and this consistent reflection practice gave me the foundation for a personal brand refresh.

Complete a Personal Brand Workbook

There are many resources for this available, both free and paid. You can work with a coach, attend a webinar, or complete a course. I happened across a fantastic webinar and workbook from The Marketing Greenhouse. Following a guided process made it easy, and even fun!

Build Your Online Presence

In our digital world, it can be difficult to know where the line is between your private life and your online persona. The best approach is an intentional one. Think about the messages and images you are posting, even on your personal accounts and how they support (or detract from) your personal brand. Are you posting something just to get likes? Maybe message it to a few friends instead. Are you posting something that others could benefit from? Maybe put it out on LinkedIn instead of your private Instagram account. Creating a thoughtful approach to the content you put out for consumption is a 21st-century problem and one that deserves your attention rather than simply following the conditioned behaviors of these digital platforms.

You do have control over how people speak about you and building your personal brand, both online and offline, gives people a clear image of who you are, what do you and what you value.