EP 1102 I discussed the mistake of not working on personal branding when you are NOT actively looking for work.
I'm continuing with my series about networking mistakes people make and this 1 is pretty grievous because it could've been done proactively rather than when you need the help. This mistake is the notion of not working on a personal brand for yourself so that people know what you do and know your capabilities so that when you're out looking for work or even aren't looking for work, no one knows you. Let me give you a comparison. When you watch TV or are online and you are noticing the ads that are there, are they trying to sell you right then and there or for the next time you might need that product or service? Answer. Usually for the next time you need the product or service. It is much the same way with personal branding and with career branding. How will people know you in order to reach out to you if you are 1 of a bunch of people out in the universe? You're just another person out there and have no special help in their minds. That's 1 of the huge mistakes job hunters and professionals in general make. They don't think that a personal brand is of any value to them. Think about it for second. Even if they don't really know you, per se but they are finding you on LinkedIn or Facebook and have a vague recollection of you, That's what I want you to work on creating. This is stuff that you can do BEFORE you need the help. Let me give you 2 scenarios. People get ahead by being alert to opportunity. Sometimes those opportunities are internal to the organization; more often than not, they are external. It isn't by working the hardest or being the smartest, although those are great qualities to have. You need to put yourself out there regularly so that people know you. So that people recognize your name and have a feel for your abilities or really know them and thus, when they have the need, they will come to you. Thus, when you are looking for work, you are an advantaged individual in people's minds. That's what you really want to be doing. You want to be putting yourself out there so people know you. In this way when they have a need . They want to buy your toilet paper to use that comparison. After all, they are selling you toilet paper even though you might not need it now. Right? It is the same thing. You are just another product in the supermarket and you want to make sure that they choose you when they want to buy something like you.
or have seen article about you or one that you have written for LinkedIn or some other platform, do you think you have a chance to stand out in their mind or are you just another person to them? You stand out. You are memorable to them.
