How to build your personal brand to stand out and get promoted

Setting yourself apart from your co-workers can be tricky, especially if you work for a large organisation. A personal brand in the workplace is essentially what people know you for.

Remember, you are your brand and you live it every day.

It is your behaviour, your attitude, your skill set, your work history, the way you present yourself, and your social or professional connections. Having a positive and well-known personal brand could make all the difference when it comes to promotion time.

If you are in the running for a promotion – or you want to be – building your personal brand is crucial. It’s time to give yourself some personal PR and build a personal brand to get ahead of the rest!
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Here are my thoughts on where to focus your attention:

Know Your Skills and Strengths

You can’t promote your skills if you haven’t figured out what they are yet.

Take some time to think about what you genuinely excel at in the workplace. What type of work do you enjoy? Which projects have you had the biggest successes with? What do colleagues regularly come to you for help with?

Your answers can give you some useful clues about what your personal brand could be built around.

For example, you might be particularly good at:

• Managing complex projects
• Building relationships with clients
• Solving problems
• Presenting ideas
• Managing people
• Analysing data
• Developing new processes
• Communicating difficult information
• Bringing people together

Once you understand your strengths, look for opportunities to make them more visible.

Perhaps there are additional training opportunities you could take on, or you could offer to coach other employees in areas where you are particularly proficient.

This isn’t about showing off. It’s about demonstrating your expertise and becoming known for something valuable.

The more consistently you use and demonstrate your strengths, the easier it becomes for managers and senior colleagues to see the value you bring.

Look at Your Social Media Footprint

You might think your external online presence has no bearing on your internal promotion prospects, but that isn’t necessarily the case.

When it comes to personal branding, your internal and external positioning can overlap.

Start by Googling your own name.

What comes up?

More importantly, what do those search results tell someone about you?

Ask yourself:

• Does my online presence reflect the professional I am today?
• Are my LinkedIn and other professional profiles up to date?
• Does my experience and expertise come across clearly?
• Are there achievements that aren’t represented online?
• Is there anything appearing in search results that I would rather a potential employer or senior colleague didn’t see?
• Does my online presence support the career I want to build?

Write down what you notice – the good, the bad and the less than ideal – and create a simple action plan to make improvements.

Your personal brand isn’t limited to what you say about yourself. It is also shaped by what people can find about you.

 

Update Your Profile Photos

How old is your profile picture, and what impression does it create?

It is remarkable how many LinkedIn profiles still feature blurred party or holiday photographs. Often, it’s a photo that was hastily chosen when the profile was created – perhaps because it showed the fewest wrinkles, was taken from 100 paces away or was simply the most recent photo available.

Your profile picture is often one of the first things people see, so don’t underestimate its importance.

Professional headshots aren’t just for the self-employed. They can be valuable for anyone who wants to build a credible professional presence.

Nor does that necessarily mean using the standard corporate photograph offered by your company.

In my experience, the dreaded corporate photoshoot involves herding volumes of people through on a drizzly November afternoon. You’re knee-sliding through the door, squeezing it in between back-to-back meetings. If you’re lucky, you might have 20 seconds to dash to the loo and frantically apply lippy or check your teeth for spinach.

They quickly snap five shots without even asking your name. Then someone in the marketing team randomly picks one and puts it on the internet.

Job done.

It’s no wonder they are generally truly awful.

Build Your Network

A strong personal brand isn’t built in isolation. The more people who know who you are, what you do and what you can bring to the table, the more opportunities you’re likely to come across.

Start by widening your professional circle. That could mean:

• Speaking to people outside your usual team
• Joining cross-department projects
• Attending industry or networking events
• Joining professional groups and communities
• Connecting with colleagues and industry contacts on LinkedIn
• Making time for informal conversations around the office

The best approach is to combine both informal and formal networking. You never know where your next opportunity, introduction or great piece of advice might come from.

But remember, networking should be genuine.

Don’t simply target people you think can help you get ahead. People can quickly spot when a relationship feels transactional, and you don’t want your personal brand to become associated with that.

Be interested in people. Be helpful. Share your knowledge. Support colleagues. Build relationships because you genuinely value them – not simply because you think they can get you somewhere.

You never know what opportunities can come from a seemingly random connection.

I talk more about how to network effectively in my blog on networking.

Communicate With Your Manager

Your manager should have a good idea of what you’re doing day to day, but don’t assume they automatically know everything you’ve achieved. Make sure your progress and contribution are visible.

Set up regular catch-ups and use them to discuss:

• Projects you’ve completed
• Problems you’ve solved
• Results you’ve achieved
• New responsibilities you’ve taken on
• Skills or knowledge you’ve developed
• Where you’d like to take your career next

Keep a record of your achievements throughout the year rather than trying to remember everything when your performance review arrives.

Your manager may ultimately have a significant influence on whether you’re considered for promotion, so make sure they understand the value you’re bringing to the organisation.

And don’t wait until promotion is being discussed to mention that you’d like to progress. Tell your manager where you want to go and ask what you need to demonstrate to get there.

Put Your Hand Up

If you hear about a new project that would be a great fit for your skills, ask to be involved. Don’t sit back and wait for opportunities to be handed to you.

If you have capacity, let your manager know you’re interested in taking on new challenges. They may know about projects, opportunities or upcoming changes elsewhere in the business that you wouldn’t otherwise hear about. Putting yourself forward can also demonstrate something incredibly valuable: initiative.

You don’t need to say yes to absolutely everything. But if an opportunity comes along that aligns with the skills you want to develop or the direction you want your career to take, don’t be afraid to put your hand up.

Get a Coach or Mentor

Having someone experienced in your corner can make a huge difference to your career.

That could be a professional career coach, a senior colleague, a former manager or simply someone in your organisation whose career you admire.

A good coach or mentor can help you:

• Identify your strengths and blind spots
• Navigate difficult workplace situations
• Develop new skills
• Build confidence
• Prepare for your next career move
• Challenge your thinking
• Learn from their own experiences and mistakes

It also demonstrates that you’re serious about learning and developing yourself. You don’t have to figure everything out alone.

Sometimes, having someone who can look at your career from the outside and ask the right questions is exactly what you need to see your next move more clearly.

Don’t Be Shy About Your Successes

If you’ve worked hard on something and achieved a great result, let people know.

This doesn’t mean shouting from the rooftops about every little thing you’ve done. It simply means making sure your contribution isn’t invisible.

If you’ve delivered a successful project, solved a difficult problem or received great feedback, look for appropriate opportunities to share it.

That could be through:

• Team meetings
• Company newsletters
• Performance reviews
• One-to-one meetings with your manager
• LinkedIn
• Internal presentations
• Project updates

And don’t let someone else take credit for your hard work.

There is a difference between bragging and communicating your value. If you consistently deliver results but never talk about them, don’t be surprised if other people get recognised instead.

Your personal brand needs evidence behind it – so make sure people can see it.