Not everyone is going to like you - that's life. As a high achieving woman you are going to be judged for your decisions at all levels of your career. So how can you build an authentic personal brand that resonates with a diverse array of audiences and stakeholders?
Start with your brand story
We all want to feel social connectedness - it's a key part of being human. To begin building your personal brand start with your story. How did you reach the point you are at now, what challenges have you faced and where have you excelled. People come with assumptions and stereotypes so why not encourage greater empathy by telling us more about you. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you write a few lines about your personal brand story...
You want to trigger an emotion - how do you want people to feel as a result of learning about you?
What has made your career journey unique?
What were the crunch points in your career - the points where you had to take risks or make a pivot?
Apart from your career what else do you do? Are you a mum, a runner or .... share that too. You're not just on the planet to work.
Have organisations or people supported you on your way? Tell us about them
What is your vision - what are you aiming for/ seeking to change/ what opportunities do you want to create for others?
So how can you use your brand story, practically?
A simple post on LinkedIn re-introducing yourself to your network is a great way to showcase who you are and what you do. Often it will challenge assumptions people have about you and open up further conversation between you and your network. Make sure your LinkedIn page is cleaned up to - as people will want to check it out after reading your post
Making a presentation? Before you dive right into the company presentation there is always room for you to briefly introduce yourself in a richer and more connected way - make use of that time to talk about your brand story or simply elements of that story to emotionally engage your audience.
Connect with organisations and interest groups? Share your own story to connect with organisations with like-minded values and interests. Explore links and opportunities that could enable others and showcase you as a thought leader in an honest and authentic way.
So there you go, it's a start. If you are facing a career pivot taking some time to explore your own career path and how you reached this point is a sensible first step. Sometimes you have to trace things back to help you move forward.
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