In short, your personal brand is your reputation. Your personal brand is a combination of your knowledge, experience, and expertise that speaks to your professionalism, your values, and your career goals. It can have a profound impact on the way others—especially hiring managers and potentially influential people in your network—perceive you. Therefore, it essential to curate a brand that builds your credibility and can help pave the path to a prosperous and progressive career.
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Define Your Brand
Ask yourself this question: What are my goals for the rest of my career? Use your answer to that question to guide your personal brand. Reflect your values, the experience and expertise you have that will help you achieve that goal.
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Start in the Workplace
Your behaviour at work defines you, and your personal brand. It represents your attitude, your work ethic, and how you are perceived by others. Since the people you work with directly are influential in your network, you want to make sure they have a positive perception of you. Go into projects with a good attitude, handle conflicts or problems professionally. Ensure you are always conducting yourself with the utmost professionalism.
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Be Aware on Social Media
Companies are increasingly turning to social media to vet potential candidates. Therefore, it is imperative that all of your social media profiles reflect your personal brand. Yes, even your personal social media needs to be devoid of potentially damaging comments and images. Take the time to clean up your social media sites so seemingly small mistakes do not damage your career. Perhaps you can ask a trusted colleague to look through your social media profiles to ensure they lack anything that could be construed as harmful or offensive.
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Network on Social Media
Use social media to your advantage. Professionally, social media creates opportunities that are often harder to accomplish without it. Therefore, use social media to build your network and demonstrate your experience and expertise. Share articles on LinkedIn, comment on articles, impart your thoughts and insights, relate ideas to your own experiences, and always keep it positive and respectful. Be sure everything you post, share, and comment on helps pave the way to accomplishing your ultimate career goals.
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Take the time to Reflect
You may find as you progress through your career that your goals change. That seems to be part of growth as you experience the ebbs and flows of a long career. Therefore, if at any point you find your priorities have changed, ensure your personal brand reflects that change. You want your brand to be clear so you are always working towards opportunities reflecting your current goals.
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