06- How to Immediately Create a Strong Personal Brand
Summary
In this episode, we’ll explain the first step in creating a positive personal brand. You will be surprised how simple it is to do but how seldom people actually do it.
Episode Transcribed
Hello and welcome to Career Smartcuts, the podcast with tips and tricks on how to succeed in the world of business. I'm your host, Sean O'Brien. In this episode, I will explain the first step in creating a positive personal brand. You will be surprised how simple it is to do but how seldom people actually do it. This episode will include some personal anecdotes from me and some tricks on how to implement them. Before we begin, don't forget to follow @careersmartcuts on Instagram to be reminded of these tips and tricks each week. You can also follow @careersmartcuts on Twitter for the same great content; or check out our website at careersmartcuts.com
A positive personal brand image will advance your career immeasurably. When people know you and think highly of you, eventually your name will come up in that conversation about who would be best for this new job which just opened up. For example, yesterday I had a senior director tell me at the coffee machine, “Hey Sean, I just had a position open up on my team and people keep telling me that I should talk to you”. When people know who you are and like you, doors will open. This is how you advance.
That brings us to this week’s smartcut. The first step in creating a positive personal brand is to make an effort to introduce yourself. A personal brand is the ongoing process of developing and maintaining a reputation. So how do you create a great brand? Begin with a memorable first impression and active follow-ups to that first impression. In the words of fantasy writer Andrew Grant, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” We all know that first impressions tend to have quite a bit riding on them but these tips can ensure you are successful. Introduce yourself. It shows courage, and people will remember your face, maybe even what you do at work. Occasionally they might even remember your name, which they will recognize at some point when you are cc’d in an email...It seems so basic, but people rarely make an effort to do it. I’m not talking about when you are in a meeting with people you haven’t met before and of course you naturally introduce yourself in the beginning of the meeting, that wouldn't be a smartcut. I’m talking about introducing yourself to everyone...1) people who sit around you, 2) senior people who don’t know you yet, and even that person visiting from another office.
I’m going to give an example using a personal situation. This situation I'm about to mention happened twice to me when I was at a previous company, and each time was when I was on a different team. The senior Managing Director was visiting from London, I walked by their office at least 10 times before seeing them not on the phone. I then walked up and knocked and introduced myself. I said "Hi, sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to quickly introduce myself..." I then gave my 30 second elevator pitch. From then on, that MD could picture my face when they saw or heard my name.
One of the times this directly benefited me, because he asked me, specifically, to present in front of him and his direct reports. He also spent 20 minutes giving me advice. So do your best to make an effort. No matter how awkward you think it would be, it will create your brand with that person.
Also, introduce yourself to people that sit around you. Besides the fact that it eliminates daily awkwardness as you pass by each other, it can also benefit you in the future because they may be able to help you with something. When you introduce yourself and learn what they do, maybe the next time you need help on something last minute, they will be right there for some quick guidance. There was a time when I had to build a simple document management website and I had no experience doing it. Luckily I knew a colleague who worked on another team and had built one in the past because I had asked him what he does for work when I introduced myself a while ago. He was able to show me a few great tricks I never would have thought of and it ended up making me look competent and knowledgeable when I presented a much more advanced solution to my management than they had asked for.
Many of you listeners will experience having a person you don’t really know who sits near you and you have to see them all the time and it’s just awkward. All you have to say is “Hi, I don’t think we’ve formally met yet, I’m Sean”. This should be in the beginning, because as time goes on it feels more awkward. But despite how you feel, it’s never really too late. It also helps to cut the tension by saying things like, “Sorry I’m really bad with names”. It eliminates all awkwardness and prevents the person from feeling bad about forgetting your name at the same time. There are more benefits of this as well. 1) it makes your days more pleasant when you know people around you, 2) they will talk about you to other people - further solidifying your personal brand and the amount of people that know who you are and lastly 3) they may come to you for help on things and then if you can help it looks great, and if not, nobody will think any less of you. It’s a win-win scenario.
Conclusion
To summarize this week's smartcut, the best and easiest way to create a positive personal brand is to make an effort to introduce yourself to people. Go out of your way and do it. I promise it gets easier the more you do it. So don't be shy. It will benefit your career more than you'll ever know, because a personal brand is something of yours that exists when you are not around. I hope you all try to apply this smartcut to your career ASAP. Go up to someone on your floor and introduce yourself. Say "Hi, I see you around but I just realized I don't know your name". It's just that easy.