By Sharon Armstrong
Author
The Essential Performance Review Handbook

“What makes you unique, makes you successful,” explains personal branding guru William Arruda.

Indeed, it’s true. In today’s highly competitive workplace, it’s not good enough to merely survive; you must be able to thrive. One way to do that is build your personal brand.

What is a personal brand?

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com put it this way, “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

So do a good job then promote your most positive attributes so that you can create a favorable impression in the minds of others. Think about how people describe you when you aren’t around. What do you think your boss says? Your friends? Your family? Your peers? Your competitors? (If you don’t know, ask for feedback.)

How to define your personal brand:

There are four basic aspects to consider: Skills. Experience. Attitude. Reputation. So when you develop your brand, and later when you are reviewing the brand you have built, ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the perception others have of you in those four areas? Is it accurate? Do you need to change the perception? The good news is that you can. The first step is to find the uniqueness in yourself. Know your strengths. Get known for the good work you’ve done and continue to do. Exceed expectations. Stand out. Make an impact.

2. Have you mastered the art of communication? If not, work on this so that you can present yourself in the best light without being arrogant. Advocate for yourself authentically and have others do the same.

3. Are you continuing to grow and develop? It is important to be a life-long learner. This is not only important to your personal development, but it helps you become well-known in your field. Management guru Tom Peters reminds us “Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.”

What are you doing to build and maintain your personal brand? Send me your ideas and information about your success! Email me at Sharon@sharonarmstrongandassociates.com.

About Sharon Armstrong

Sharon Armstrong has over 20 years of experience as a Human Resources consultant, trainer and career counselor. Since launching her own consulting business in 1998, Sharon Armstrong and Associates, she has consulted with many large corporations and small businesses. She has facilitated training, completed HR projects and provided career transition services for a wide variety of clients in the profit and non-profit sectors.

Sharon received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Southern Maine and her Masters Degree in Counseling from George Washington University. She is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR).

Sharon is the co-author of a humor book, published by Random House entitled Heeling the Canine Within: The Dog’s Self-Help Companion in 1998. Career Press published her first business book, Stress-free Performance Appraisals: Turn Your Most Painful Management Duty into a Powerful Motivational Tool in July 2003. The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional was published in August 2008. Her next book, The Essential Performance Review Handbook was published in the Spring of 2010.