We all understand that developing a personal brand is valuable, as having a strong reputation can put you in the centre of attraction for interesting job opportunities. According to the latest labour force statistics in Malaysia by the Department Of Statistics Malaysia(DOSM), the employment rate for females has been steadily increasing every year. Hence the job market becomes more challenging and it would be essential for you to stand out in a field of competitors. Your personal brand can be an invaluable tool against any professional setback. If you get layoffs or resign from the company, being recognised in your field of expertise can increase your odds in returning back into the workforce. But what can you do to ensure your branding is effective? Here are 5 essential tips that you can apply to build an outstanding personal brand.
Cultivate a broad network inside and outside of your company
If you are only known by a select group of people for your talents and abilities. You will have fewer people who can reference your contributions or offer support, whether that is helpful in gaining extra resources for an important project or climbing up to a new role. If your department is reorganised or lay off, the people who admire your talents won’t be in a position to help. Take the initiative to consciously cultivate a broad network, so if your situation changes or you require support, you will have options. Imagine you could come up with a point of establishing professional connections with like-minded people through hobbies, relationships or friends of friends.
Share your ideas and thoughts with your networks
Let your contributions speak for itself to establish a good reputation around the people you work with. At times your contributions may go unnoticed from other departments and coupled with new employees that recently joined in may not be aware of the work you have put in. There are women that may feel uncomfortable sharing their accomplishments and promoting themselves. Fortunately, there are other alternatives to display your area of expertise. Content creation is a great opportunity for you to share your ideas and establish a positive reputation.
You can choose to volunteer to write for the company newsletter, organise a team meet up for knowledge sharing, provide advice or respond to queries on the corporate intranet. The higher-ups would take notice of your actions and they would appreciate your commitment towards transferring knowledge and sharing good practices with the company.
Invest in yourself
To develop in a professional career and get past any limitations in the workplace, you will need to refine your own skills, abilities and confidence. Regardless of how good you are at your current set of responsibilities if you wish to make advancements in your career, mastering the tasks that you have yet to accomplish is important. You can start by actively searching out for opportunities to gather more knowledge, experience and training that will help you groom your skills. Coaching and mentoring can be a great way to cover up your weaknesses and work on how to solve them.
Manage your expectations
Setting expectations has to be realistic as it requires you to execute the process with full attention and clarity to reach your goal. The optimal way to set realistic expectations is to interact with people who have experienced that have been through this path. Reach out to your mentors about their challenges in managing their expectations and pick up the advice that they impart to you.
Develop a clear and concise elevator pitch
There are times where people tend to overlook your hard work or there are those who could not formulate a coherent narrative of your career path. That could potentially lead to false assumptions about your skills which could lead to missing out on potential opportunities. Help your peers to understand your career path by coming up with an elevator pitch to explain how your skills are relevant while adding value to your current job. Make that connection clear instead of being vague with the context.
You can start by taking a note down about your past position and experience. Write down your current job position and determine the relevancy. For example, your past job might be “digital marketing executive” and your present might be “HR executive.” Some people may not have the idea what connects between these two positions and assume your career path does not have a clear direction. But you understand that your experience in digital marketing taught you about how to build strong relationships with the community and understanding how to develop a winning situation for both sides which can be a key lesson to take up the role as a human resource. By sharing your personal work experience, people will be able to recognise the value that you can bring to your position and the organisation.
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You Jing is a content writer who writes career and lifestyle contents to inspire job seekers and employers alike on their journey to work-life balance, empowerment and transformation in their career path.
Reach me at youjing@jobstore.com