4 Ways to Step Your Personal Brand Up

Your personal brand is your expertise and your reputation. It’s how you show up to your colleagues and how others perceive you.

Many people think our personal brands are for social media, but our personal brands are just as important at work as it is online.

 

The key is to own your personal brand. Ask yourself how you want to be perceived by your colleagues and online. Then ask your trusted peers and mentors how they perceive you. This is the first step in understanding if what you are doing aligns with your network’s perception of you.

 

Here are a few tips to get your personal brand on track in the workplace:

 

Remember your co-workers won’t always see your social media

We spend a lot of time branding ourselves online with our personal websites and LinkedIn by sharing our thoughts on the latest industry trends. However, our internal workplace network won’t always see the great things that are happening online and the engagement numbers. Therefore, you should take the same strategy online and share your thoughts via email or #Slack with your team. Share articles they should read and give your take on what is happening. That article may be something you think your team or organization could implement and can be a conversation starter to your new project or even role. 

 

Participate at work

I know you don’t want to turn on that camera, but make it a habit to turn it on at least once or twice a week. It’s a small way to show you are participating in. It also allows new employees to see your face. You also want to make it happen to participate in the meeting chat function. Ask questions or summarize some of the key takeaways the host or team leader is sharing. It shows you are paying attention and adding value for those who may miss a moment from the meeting if there are any virtual learnings or resources created to help.

 

Make sure you network across

Your peers’ perception of you is just as important as the senior leaders you hope to connect with for career progression. Your reputation with them matters, so make sure you spend the necessary time to make meaning for relationships with them.

 

Be your best advocate

Always share your results, your impact, and your experience. It would be best if you always reminded people of your value-add. Bring it up in your one-on-one with your managers. Share it when you are introduced to someone new. Find ways to insert it in conversations. It also helps to have your peers hype you up at work, too.