Each One of Us Is a Product
“Call it your company, your brand or your name. It all boils down to one thing: your reputation.” — A. S.
There’s a lot of talk these days about branding: personal branding, being on-brand, brand launches, rebranding.
What does any of it actually mean? And does everyone need to have a brand, even if, say they work for someone else or in a nonprofit? What’s all the fuss really about?
In the past decade technology changed everything for today’s professional. The hardware (smartphones, tablets) and software (social media platforms, customer reviews, blogs and websites) make or break a brand. To be successful in your career means to be out there, on the technology grid. It’s so that by the time a prospective hiring manager or client makes a decision to say yes to you, they’ve already scanned you online. They want to know what your POV (point of view) is, what others have said about you and how persuasive you are in influencing your followers/connections/readers.
We’ve evolved (or devolved) from citizens to consumers, and the digital platform has pixilated all of us into products. We can deny it, and get all philosophical about the decline of modern civilization. Or we can surrender to reality and get proactive about how the professional world views us.
There are, of course, multiple components to building a brand, but without these basics, we can become invisible in the modern working world.
1) Resume/LinkedIn – Get these crucial docs updated and slick. Focus on accomplishments, ignore descriptions, give more real estate to what’s most most current, de-emphasize anything 10+ years ago and demonstrate relevancy.
2) Business Cards – With all the ways to connect electronically, there’s still something nice and tangible about exchanging your business card. Even if you have company cards, order some personal calling cards, including your name, cell, email and job title showing exactly what you do.
3) Blog/Website – Start writing about things that are of interest to you. Include original photography. Articulate a response to news that pertains to your career or people you look up to.
4) Social Media – Social media as it is today will soon cease to exist. In three to five years it will be a completely different experience. Gen Z is taking temporary and permanent breaks from it. This doesn’t mean you should quit. But consider using the platform to express your perspective on industry trends and changes. Also, video isn’t going anywhere. Start a video channel and connect with your audience. And keep the message short, simple and personal.
5) The Work Itself – Do your job. This sounds so elementary. However, not one piece of beautiful marketing collateral will ever compensate for subpar work. When hired, be the person who gets the job done early, communicates clearly and exceeds expectations.
Above all, have a great attitude. No brand has ever survived without the key component of likeability.
image: American Psycho (2000), google
Alexsandra (Alex) Sukhoy. I’m a writer, marketer and career coach at Creative Cadence LLC, and teach business students at CSU. You can find my first business book, Date Your Career: The Longest Relationship of Your Life, on Amazon. I’m currently writing a film noir screenplay called Cleveland City.
Twitter: @creativecadence. #letstalk