Reputations are fragile.
Given that it can take years to build up your reputation and a minute to destroy it, it’s important to actively protect and beef up your professional brand.
Ask yourself, how do you want to be talked about behind your back? How do you want to be known? Then, take the steps necessary to earn that reputation.
These 9 tips below are ways to beef up your professional brand and will ensure people only have positive things to say about you when you are not around.
Be Consistent (In A Good Way)
Reputations are loud. Being consistent is an unequivocal way to (favorably) build your professional brand. Your work ethic should be consistent. Your communication should be consistent. Your reliability should be consistent.
If you are going to make promises, it’s your duty to fulfill them. Being someone who doesn’t follow through is not a reputation you want to have. Plus, it will surely stump your growth and keep you from getting promoted or scoring a pay raise.
When your team and colleagues know what they can expect from you, your consistency will prove that you can be trusted to deliver.
Exercise Humility
You should never assume you are the smartest person in the room.
Regardless of your strengths and competence, everyone has something to offer and it’s important to be cognizant of asking for others’ input. And, no, that doesn’t require selling yourself short. Welcome the ideas and opinions of your peers, even if you don’t agree with them.
Remember, confidence is a quiet art. Make sure to express confidence versus cockiness. Practice self-awareness and be mindful of your body language. Are you practicing active listening when talking with others or are you already planning what to say next when somebody else is speaking? Are you coming off overbearing or stifling ideas that are not your own?
Plus, don’t be too arrogant to admit when you are wrong. Check your ego at the door when you start your work day. Acknowledge your mistakes and take accountability for them. This will demonstrate humility, accountability, and self-awareness, which will beef up your professional brand in a big way.
Avoid Unprofessionalism
Unprofessionalism is a surefire way to crater your professional brand. So, how can you counteract it? For starters, dress appropriately if you happen to have a non-remote job. Ever heard the saying, dress for the job you want…not the job you have.
Additionally, nothing is more unprofessional than being late for meetings or presentations, as well as being late to work in general.
Make it a practice to arrive 15 minutes early for anything work-related. Best case scenario is that you’ll be known as the one who is first to arrive and last to leave.
Speak Mannerly And Inclusively
Not to be overlooked is your manners. It’s imperative to be polite and respectful to everyone you encounter. No matter who they are and what position they have, no one is superior or inferior to anyone else. The way you would speak to your boss or your clients is the same way you should speak to your peers or the front desk attendant.
Speaking of appropriate speaking, it’s also a good practice to avoid jargon or slang when communicating with others at work. Though this might be a debatable topic and would likely garner mixed opinions, jargon can be divisive, especially as it varies through generations.
In order to be inclusive and keep generational gaps in mind, avoid using acronyms or idioms that are only known to some individuals (and not all) to beef up your professional brand.
Quit Oversharing
In order to beef up your professional brand, you need to know when and how much of your personal life is appropriate for sharing at work. The last thing you want is to be known as somebody who chronically overshares.
If you are not sure if you are currently oversharing, it’s best to keep your replies short and sweet. If you are asked about your weekend, limit your reply to 2-4 sentences.
You don’t want to assume you know the comfort level of the person to whom you are speaking. For example, keep details about health issues or financial troubles private. Even if someone is oversharing with you, that’s not an invitation for you to do the same.
Be Authentic
At work and in life, you cannot build authentic relationships if you are too caught up being someone you are not and falling into Imposter Syndrome.
Being authentic is a surefire way to be more likable. Trust is vital in the workplace and if colleagues or clients feel like they are working with an ego and not a person, that could harm your professional brand.
Nurture Your Network
Building your network is important, but nurturing your network carries a lot more significance.
People do not want to feel used. You don’t want to be known as someone who is self-centered and will ghost others once you’ve extracted the value out of them. You never know when you might encounter, or need help from, those in your network down the road.
Make genuine connections and foster those professional relationships even if you landed your dream job. Also, don’t underestimate the power of mentorship. There are ways to indirectly land (and keep) a mentor, especially someone you admire and wish to emulate. Keep in mind, mentorship is a two-way street and it’s important to bring value to the table as well.
Live Your Resume
It’s relatively easy to beef up your resume on paper. However, it’s important to live your resume out loud. Liken your written experience to your professional behaviors and make sure to live up to your listed competencies (or exceed them).
Your professional brand is a reflection of your skills and abilities. It’s also an extension of your resume, which means it needs to be maintained regularly.
Clean Up Your Digital Footprint
The quickest way to indefinitely ruin your professional brand is by having harmful or offensive words or pictures online, especially on social media.
Take time to Google yourself and diligently review your search results in order to erase your digital footprint and beef up your professional brand.
The Takeaway
It’s important to remember that your professional brand is not a separate living being. Do not expect it to maintain itself. Your professional brand is an extension of you so maintain it consciously and keep it thriving.
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