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Branding and Your Career
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
When you purchase detergent to do your laundry, have you ever stood in the aisle of the store, looked at the list of ingredients, and said to yourself, “Hmm. The interrelationship between the chemicals in this one will make my wash much cleaner than the ones in this one?”
Of course, not. You buy detergent because it is cheaper, you have a coupon, you’ve seen a commercial or your Mom or Dad has used a particular type of detergent, rather than based on the efficacy of a particular brand.
Thus, you have made the case for why branding is such an important criterion for why people make decisions and why you need to invest in building your career brand NOW before you consider your next career change. After all, the person who gets ahead isn’t always the smartest or work the hardest . . . although those are great qualities to have. Sometimes, opportunities are internal to your firm. Mostly, they are external.
Now, I certainly don’t expect that you are going to purchase ad dollars to create the impression of yourself as an expert but I do believe that you can invest in your career to create real estate in peoples’ minds and be seen as a subject matter expert.
- Have a blog of your own. Recruiters love to find thought leaders for their clients.
