Have you ever struggled with not having an identity that describes you well in the workplace? Do you find yourself getting lost within your co-workers skills and personalities and realize that you need to make yourself more known? There are so many different types of people in your office who are skilled at different things and you think to yourself, do they know what I can do, do they know me or who I am at all?
If not, change that. It is so important for all of us to continue to keep our own identities and show others what you can truly do for them and your workplace at large.
Personal Branding
In order to make yourself stand out and show those you work with who you truly are, you need to establish the things you are good at, know what you need to improve on, know what you stand for in the office and at home and make that be known. Brand yourself.
Personal branding is a way of establishing and consistently reinforcing who you are and what you stand for in your work life, home life and as a human being. No matter what you are doing, everything can have either a negative or positive effect on the personal brand you are trying to create. That is why it is so important to make sure the brand you are putting out there for yourself is authentic and really showcases you as a worker and a person.
You can’t make it known that you are always on time when you are actually perpetually late, or that you’re a talented writer when you don’t know proper grammar. One’s personal brand is a way for employers to distinguish them from the rest of the employees, so make it accurate and strive to put your best foot forward.
Don’t brand yourself in the way where you have a singular catch phrase, or you wear a certain perfume every day but brand yourself with a strong identity of you. You as a worker and also you as a person.
· If you are a hard worker, make that known.
· Always on time, start a streak to show how many days in a row you arrived 15 minutes early.
· Very skilled in a task, make sure to always be assigned to it.
· Work well with others, become a leader for your co-workers.
· Credible, show others that you can be trusted.
These are all ways to show the identity for you as an employee. By branding yourself with the things you are good at, your boss will take notice and maybe next time someone is up for a promotion, your name will be the one they remember!
Personal branding is the conscious and intentional effort to create and influence the public’s perception of yourself by positioning yourself as an authority in your industry, elevating your credibility and differentiating yourself from your competition, to ultimately advance your career, increase your circle of influence, and make a larger impact in your workplace.
Online presence
Since our world now is very technologically advanced, a lot of things are online. Whether that be kids’ schooling, church, a court case, a function or a work meeting, we all need to be aware how to put our best self out there in this new way of communicating and working. The brand you make for yourself needs to translate well into that online platform, where maybe people can’t see your whole personality.
Meeting with clients or a first day on a new job is much more difficult when it’s done through video chat.
1. It makes it harder to really get a feel for people
2. One’s background might not look as professional as an office building
3. Roommates or family members could be noisy
4. WiFi could fail
5. Laptop video quality might not be the greatest
6. And what to wear is even a tougher question than before
But nonetheless, it is very possible to still be yourself, be professional and have your personal brand shine through an online interaction.
1. Continue to be yourself no matter what.
2. Go into a room where the walls are blank, so it looks more professional.
3. Have a set place in your home where it is quiet and talk to those you live with and tell them to please keep it down at a certain time.
4. Have a few backup options in place, such as a phone hotspot or another device ready to go if WiFi fails.
5. Make sure you get a laptop that will show your picture and audio clearly.
6. Wear what you would wear to any other day at work, and definitely don’t wear pajama bottoms thinking they won’t be able to see!
While knowing how to act for those online encounters is important, it is also very important to be sure, before any of that, that your online presence is strong, clear and accurately describes you as a person and shows your personal brand that you worked hard to make right.
Social media and other platforms where people within your field, co-workers or potential new employers can see, chat, and learn about you, are good ways to get started in making sure your online presence is clear and accurate. These apps are good places to connect with people that have the same interest as you, are in the same field as you and overall, just allow you to form professional relationships with many different people.
A strong online profile includes:
· short and simple basic facts about yourself, for example: name, age and where you live
· past work experience shown
· certain skills listed
· any leadership qualities you might have
· things you’ve done on your own for your desired field
When one has a strong online presence that clearly shows you as a person and employee, employers can’t just skip past you. They will want to stop and learn more about you.
Even if you think a certain social media page of yours won’t be seen by a potential employer, it could be, so it’s important to not only make sure your public pages are professional but also your private ones. Since most hiring these days is done online, it is very important to make sure that you come across exactly as you want to in all of your online profiles.
If you don’t think you have a clear personal brand or a professional online presence, change it today! Both could help you get a job sooner rather than later.