Do you have a personal brand? Or do you think you don’t need one? Whether you are aware of it or not, people have decided who you are – they have allocated you a brand – good or bad, right or wrong. Don’t you think you should have some say in that brand?
Everything you do in the public domain matters – what you say, what you wear, how you act. Everything. There’s an old saying that says don’t dress for the position you’re in, dress for the position you want. Who would you hire?
You never know when your situation is going to change. You might need / decide to change jobs. Just about all companies Google potential employees and contractors now. If your first hits come up with some drunken photo of you on the floor, or you slagging your boss; it’s going to seriously hamper your chances of getting that job. You may be a client now, you may become a supplier in future, or vice versa.
What you say and do matters, always. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, My Sites – it’s all social networking. And there is one major rule – if you don’t want to see it on a billboard across the highway, don’t hit the Enter key.
Billboard – Highway!
It can haunt you for a long long time. Be aware and build your brand with care.
Update all your profiles regularly. You wouldn’t skip brushing your teeth for 6 months, why would you skip updating your profiles?
People will or won’t associate with you based on what you are projecting. What is your message about yourself?
Views from Veronique 
[…] right now, or stuck in your current career, here are some tips to rebrand yourself. And then my golden rule of social media – if you don’t want to see it on a billboard across the highway, […]
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Thanks Kerri. And you are quite right, we don’t forget a slight, nor a kindness. Speaking to people with care is definitely part of your personal brand. It doesn’t cost money to be courteous.
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Hey V – this is so true, and I think people take it lightly, especially in the begining of a career, the “Who am I that anyone would care what I have to say?” kind of mentality. Well, before you know it, you might be ‘somebody’ and when they do Google your name, lets hope all the hits are good ones!
Working in SharePoint has made me realize that these guys remember you. If you leave a nasty comment, someone will remember – and they might be the ones hiring you for that dream job – but the opposite is true too! If someone leaves a kind comment on an article I’ve written, you can bet I log that to memory and hope to shake their hand at a conference some day to say thanks. What comes around goes around!
On this same note, this is exactly why community involvement is so important and can be as simple as commenting on article you have enjoyed. We know you are out there then, make yourself visible, build your brand.
Thoughtful, insightful, encouraging, or even challenging the status quo is all welcome, just do it in a way that you can’t possibly regret later – if they put of a billboard tomorrow that says “Kerri Abraham says don’t ever use SharePoint Meeting Workspaces with Outlook calendars” (this is a common rant of mine on forums) I would hold my head high and say “THANK GOODNESS now they all know!”
You don’t have to always be agreeable, just don’t ever be a jackass, cause we will all see it, and some of us never forget those kinds of things (we do however forgive!) Thanks for the post Veronique!
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