If you think working hard is enough to advance your career, then I would encourage you to give it a second thought. If you keep a low profile and let your work speak for itself, you may indeed develop a good reputation among the people you work closely with. But that’s a relatively limited number of people.
Building your personal brand (or your professional reputation) is critical to reaching your goals and climbing the career ladder. A strong personal brand helps clarify your strengths, build trust and credibility with others and ultimately position you as the go-to person in your industry.
There are a few simple yet effective things that you can start implementing today in order to help you elevate your personal brand.
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NARROW YOUR FOCUS
If you speak to everyone, you are likely speaking to no one.
We often fill different roles: mothers, daughters, caregivers, wives, executives, mentors, etc. The truth is that you can’t build a successful personal brand by trying to be all things to all people. So you need to identify what you want to be known for.
That doesn’t mean you have to box yourself in.
It means, instead, that you’re focusing on specific skills, talents, and values. In other words, what’s your promise?
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BECOME A VISIBLE EXPERT
Being a best-kept secret is not a good strategy for your career advancement. Actually, it will lead you nowhere. So, once you figured out what you want to be known for, position yourself as an expert and increase your visibility by taking up speaking opportunities in your company and business community. Many associations, organizations and companies are consistently looking for slots to fill at monthly meetings and annual conferences (now that all these events are taking place online, you can do it from the comfort of your home).
Target speaking opportunities that will position you in front of your target audience. This exposure leads to increased visibility and when delivered right, increases your credibility.
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NETWORK OUTSIDE OF YOUR INDUSTRY
Personal brand is all about how you strategically position and promote yourself.
Connecting with people outside your company and industry will help you create a more diverse network which means that your talents – and, by extension, your personal brand – are visible and recognized by a larger group of people. The more people know you and know what you are good at, the more opportunities you will create (speaking engagements, partnerships and more) to position yourself as the go-to person in your industry.
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USE LINKEDIN
As a professional woman, LinkedIn should play a big part in your personal branding strategy. Your digital footprint is what I like to call your “online reputation currency”. By sharing your knowledge and bringing values through digital content, you can showcase your experience, build relationships, and stand out from the crowd. In other words, Linkedin is an opportunity for you to showcase your unique capabilities, expand your network and create more opportunities for your career advancement.
The good news is that you don’t need to have millions of connections for LinkedIn to make a big impact on your career. Sometimes you just need a few of the right people to pay attention.
RELATED TOPICS:
➡️ How to gain clarity in your personal brand
➡️ 5 common mistakes to avoid with your personal brand
➡️ 4 Effective Ways to Elevate your Personal Brand in 2021
➡️ Get the FREE BLUEPRINT to build your personal brand
