Developing your Personal Brand

Who are you?

Tiger Woods is not who you think he is. His real name is Eldrick Tont Woods, which not many know, but that may be a good thing since he just tarnished his clean Tiger brand with some foul play. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta is only 23, but she is a prime example of one who knows how to brand herself—Lady Gaga. Just a mention of her name brings up a distinct image in all of our minds. Her looks and style may be gaudy and over-the-top, but the talent gives her permission to do it.

Branding yourself in the professional realm is everything—what you say and do, what you wear, how you react, what you put on Facebook status updates, how you answer a call, how you eat, what you talk about, … it’s endless. Maybe someone at work has an unflattering reputation that a co-worker writes about in an anonymous blog, like what happened with the “dim and smarmy” guy on Dear Lucy’s advice column (Financial Times).

Developing your personal brand at work changes the way your co-workers and boss see you. When they think of your name, what’s the image you want them to have? We all love Milton Waddams, the mumbly stapler guy from Office Space. But are you the type who would pick on him, defend him or ignore him? Whatever you do is developing your personal brand.

Tips for Branding Yourself

• The online social world makes it easier to build an image, but it’s much easier to smudge it. On
Facebook, create a professional friends list, acquaintance list, close friends and family list and place
restrictions on each category—what each can or cannot see. See Facebook privacy instructions.

• Be good at what you do and be professional about it—no anger fits, brushing things off, shoddy work,
complaining or whining. Aim for credibility and respect.

• Promote yourself as a person with good values and skills. This means not stepping over people or engaging in blackmail to go up the corporate ladder.

• Who do you want to be marketable to? With that target audience in mind, create a blog about your
expertise.

In CNN’s “Me 2.0: Branding Yourself Online,” Professor David James, director of the school of growth, innovation and enterprise at Henley School of Business talks about how corporate businesses in this age don’t care for you as an individual anymore—which means you need to look out for yourself and for each other:

“They will outsource you, insource you, relocate you, and delocate you in whatever way they think suitable. Therefore … personal branding is really important.”

Recommended Book—Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success