Grow your career with your personal brand

Everyone keeps hammering on fixing that personal brand, I sincerely thought it was so hard to do (I need to stop thinking everything is impossible at first, lord help me). I also thought it was for people with 5-10 years experience and above (lie from the pit of hell)

 

Now, as marketers, it is very very important for you to have this cleaned up. Your personal brand creates more avenue for opportunities, people view you as an expert, they trust you more and in that ever-growing industry of ours, you stand the chance to be differentiated from the competition. Se fini!

 

The first thing I will like to say is that you don’t stumble into career growth, career growth is not some magic that is unexplainable. Everything you do or you’ve done over the years, no matter how little or insignificant you count it to be matters and it’s brought you to where you are today.

 

For me, I started working on my personal brand when I was tired of sending CVs and cover letters and the response will be “Unfortunately”, “We are sorry to inform you” etc. (Don’t get me wrong, I did not get a job the moment I started working on my brand, like everything in life, it needs time to grow) Until you find a reason worth chasing, you won’t work on your personal brand and that ain’t no prophecy of doom.

 

The first thing to note and here is what I do, I approach my career like a business like I’m an entrepreneur. I’m not seeing my current job as just another job; it is an opportunity that will launch my long-term plan. I set goals for myself and build the capacity using my current job. E.g. You work as a customer support agent, your goal for the month can be to reduce the number of customers who call to close their accounts, it sounds so simple but the skill you’re picking up here is to be a better salesperson.

 

One time in my previous role as an account manager, my goal was to reduce the back and forth I had with customers, and to do this, I needed to work on my ability to comprehend information, which includes deeply understanding the customer in order to provide the best service possible.

 

I will quickly share 4 ways to improve your personal brand in order to accelerate your growth in your career, do you have your writing materials with you because you’re about to get tutored!!!

 

FIGURE OUT YOUR NICHE: Boy oh boy! Growing up, at age 14 thereabout, I wanted to be an actress, singer, air hostess, newscaster, artist. I wanted to do it all, sooner than later, I figured that I was not cut out for it...at all. You may start to think but I’m good at so many things, how do I choose. Use this hack: the first step is to figure out the skills you have and confirm if it is relevant and needed in your industry. Obviously, a lot of research will go into this and that is fine. Make sure you know what you’re reaaallyyy good at and stay with it (as long as the skills are relevant)

 

DON’T MISS A BEAT: Fam! Consistency is the game-changer. Like showing up and doing the do every single time. Me sef, I need to learn this especially for my Instagram page, I am more consistent with LinkedIn (honestly, I have missed posting once) Between you and me, it gets tiring but you only become an expert by doing a thing over and over. Choose a channel (or channels) and create a content plan suited for it.

 

PUT MORE THAN A LITTLE OOMPH: See, everyone is jumping on the train of personal branding. It is not a new discovery, you’re not the only one that likes growth. So how do you stand out from the crowd, asides from consistency, you need to be excellent at it. Be extra with it, if you must and this one is my newest goal this month. Don’t lazy around it, your personal brand is not a “que que sera” work running on vibes. To be excellent, you ought to set the standard very high and be intentional. Remember, treat your career like it is a business.

 

GET OUT THERE: Soo what is the plan with all that you know? People need to find you. You know you are good, your family does, also that lady from the church you designed her website for knows but asides them, who else? Push your content out there, social media is your best friend. Ring the bell every now and then, no one is policing you, get comfortable with people knowing you are an expert and own it.

 

Finally, I end on this note; own your personal brand, own the success and opportunities that come your way as you grow in your career. Don’t let the imposter syndrome limit you from dreaming big, you are not a scam and no one will discover it because you simply aren’t.

 

 

An extract from Grow your career with your personal brand by Adewunmi Adewale