Building Your Personal Brand
Particularly when you are job hunting, you are likely to hear the term “Personal Brand” thrown around a lot. In a modern legal career, personal branding is another tool in your toolkit. It helps you stand out from the crowd and demonstrate your value. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust and building your brand helps you demonstrate this.
So what is a personal brand? And how do you make yours great? Your brand relates to what people say about you when you are not in the room. It is more than your reputation, it is the impression you make and what you are known for.
It is how you are perceived by your peers, colleagues and clients. It is your outlook, your tone, your authenticity, your delivery, your reliability, your problem solving ability among many other things!
A great personal brand has a bit of polish, is trustworthy and engaging. A person with a strong brand understands well what is unique about them and uses it to distinguish themselves.
It can be important to distinguish between your company’s brand and your own. They might complement each other – but in a competitive market with firms that are similar having a strong personal brand might just give you the edge.
The concept of personal branding was coined around 1997 by Tom Peters. You can read his thoughts on it and how it applies to your career here. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html
Building your personal brand is an ongoing process. Consider how you position yourself and your skills. There are a lot of smart, well-educated Lawyers in nice suits in Melbourne. A strong personal brand helps you stay front of mind when a client is considering engaging a Lawyer or when you are looking for a new role.
How do I start Building My Brand?
The place to start is with a little bit of self-awareness and self-evaluation. Consider the following:
- What do you stand for?
- What are your values?
- What are your professional strengths?
- What do your clients have to say about working with you?
- What are your talents?
- What do your colleagues say about working with you?
- What does opposing counsel say about you?
Draw yourself up a list of the words that come to mind. Consider from this list what feels authentically you.
What behaviours do you consistently exhibit? This is the basis of your personal brand. It can be aspirational, after all your brand is your life’s work, not just a snapshot in time.
How do I develop my Brand?
Once you have figured out what you value and stand for, it is time to think about what you want to be known for.
- What do you want people to associate with you?
- Is there a subject matter that you are an expert in?
It can be a helpful exercise to write down the 5 or so things you want to be known for. Ask your friends and colleagues to help with this, what is it that they think about when they think of you? Once you have come up with what you want to be known for, consider whether there is a way to make your expertise in this subject more visible to those around you.
1.Your Personal Brand Online
You know if you Google yourself then most likely your LinkedIn Profile is going to pop up. Your LinkedIn profile can often be the first impression you project to a potential employer or client. It should be professional and clearly articulate the problem you solve. Don’t forget a professional headshot.
Any other social media profiles should have appropriate security settings.
2.Consider yourself a content marketer.
This relates to the information you share. It could be online via LinkedIn or it could be flicking an interesting article to a colleague via an email.
3.Speaking Engagements
If there is an opportunity for you to speak in your field of expertise then you should grab it with both hands. Speaking is a great way to build your brand and expand your network. Ensure when you present you are engaging, on topic and well presented!
4.Write articles
There are many industry websites, magazines, blogs and online groups where you can contribute to discussions or even pen articles yourself. This helps you become known as an expert in your field and raises your profile.
5.Be interviewed by the Press
The media are often looking for experts to comment for articles they are writing. Are you able to make yourself known to journalists who write in your field. Do your online profiles describe you as PR friendly?
6.Keep Learning
Continue to build on your expertise and life experience. Volunteer for new and interesting things. This will ensure you continue to build your network and skills.
Our last tip for you, now that you have undertaken to build on your personal brand, is to make sure that you monitor it. This is especially important to do online. It can be a good idea to set up a Google Alert with your name – then you will get an e-mail every time your name is mentioned online. If you have a common name consider using a middle initial on your profiles.
If you are looking for a new role in the Legal Industry in Melbourne, Australia, then get in touch with us here at Legal People. We are specialists in the Legal Industry and recruit Lawyers, Support staff and HR professionals. If you enjoyed reading this article, you can follow our Company Page on LinkedIn for regular updates. These are specific to the Melbourne Legal Industry and provide career advice for legal professionals.
