How Non-Management Employees Can Use Personal Branding to Advance Their Career

You understand the benefits of personal branding but assume it’s just for senior management executives. Wrong. Even as a new or non-management employee, you can develop your personal brand as a workplace and career enhancement tool.

What Is Personal Branding?

First, understand that you already have a brand, for better or worse. You may not have created or orchestrated it, but others—co-workers and management—have unknowingly established your first brand. Since you may have had little conscious input in creating your brand, you may or may not approve of its perception.

Personal branding is identical to company or product branding. Your company probably spends large marketing dollars to create a brand that customers trust and identify that influences them to buy your products or services. You can achieve the same effect if you follow simple but consistent principles and techniques to establish your own brand, as a reliable, creative, motivated, and dedicated employee.

You may be a “victim,” not a beneficiary of a strong personal brand. The only way to ensure benefits from personal branding is to control the creation and enhancement of your brand. With the explosion of social media, particularly professional media sites, like LinkedIn, you can establish your own personal brand, even if you’re working in a non-management job.

Take control of your professional life and influence your future by establishing your own unique brand with your current employer. If you do it properly, you’ll have a brand that is also attractive to future potential employers, which may increase your job opportunities and compensation offers.

How to Create an Outstanding Personal Brand

• Link your passion, drive, motivation, commitment, and values to your target “audience,” usually peers, co-workers, or supervisors. Your daily audience may be large or modest. Establishing your personal brand is not dependent on the size or orientation of your audience. It is dependent on making the most definitive and positive statement of your passion and value to your job and employer. Develop this link with consistent positive behavior.
• Understand that you are the “CEO” of your own personal organization. Chief Executive Officers function in all companies, large and small, and you are the CEO of your personal company—yourself. Iconic business writer, Tom Peters, introduced the personal branding concept in his famous 1997 article, “The Brand Called You.” Peters stated, “We are all CEOs of our own companies: Me, Inc.” While you may not yet occupy an upper rung on the corporate ladder, you can still create a personal brand that enhances your position with your company or prospective new employers.
• Market yourself just as your company markets a superior product. Establishing your personal brand is identical to, although on a smaller scale, your company’s sophisticated and expensive efforts. If they’re successful, don’t reinvent the wheel, just use their roadmap. Actions are always more decisive than talk. “Walk the walk,” to impress and embed your personal brand on all those around you.
• Create your professional image as a “sticky” entity. Sticky is a business term that parallels its common definition. The term implies creating a lasting impression that remains and “sticks” with recipients longer than a 30-second TV ad. Your image must be consistent, repetitive, and reinforced in all workplace situations.
• Reinforce your personal brand on a daily basis at the workplace. Your brand is built on daily behavior and attitudes that help others and displays a commitment to excellence, while reinforcing your value to co-workers and the company as a whole. This consistency of behavior and action usually improves the “chemistry” between you and your peers—and senior management.

Understand that you will create a personal brand, whether or not you like the final result. Therefore, it is in your current and future best interests to establish an outstanding personal brand. It’s not difficult, but is wildly rewarding for your career.

If you are naturally motivated, empathetic, helpful, focused, goal-oriented, and personable, creating your brand will be simple. Should your persona face some challenges in these areas, you can still improve your brand by following these suggestions.

Like forming any new positive habits, consistent repetition and practice over just two to three weeks begins to establish a pattern. Continuing your pattern will soon “internalize” this behavior and infuse it with your professional personality. You’ve then created a sterling brand that will help you at your job and/or attract new, exciting employment opportunities.