By Theresa Zandi

We have been asked a number of times what goes into a personal brand? The reality is, it has many components from defining who you are in the workplace, to sharing that with your team and coworkers, to your online presence, and more.

What is the definition of personal brand? Personal branding is the practice of marketing people and their careers. It’s an ongoing process of developing and maintaining a reputation and impression of an individual, group, or organization. Whereas some self-help practices focus on self-improvement, personal branding defines success as a form of self-packaging. Your brand is a perception or emotion, maintained by somebody other than you, that describes the total experience of having a relationship with you.

Your personal brand starts on day one. I always tell candidates that their reputation is everything. When you walk through the doors of any organization, it doesn’t matter what you are wearing or what you are carrying with you, you always have your reputation. Your brand not only affects you personally, but your coworkers and others around you as well.

Personality is a key piece of your personal brand. You must be approachable, communicate effectively, and use emotional intelligence. When talking with others, you need to be able to read the subject, so you know how to get your message across successfully. You want to communicate with the right amount of verbiage. My partner has a saying where he emphasizes that you should always say what you mean and mean what you say, and he likes to add… and not to be mean when you say it. You can be an expert in a specific technology, but if you have a reputation of a complete jerk, no one will listen to you. You should also be conscious of body language, because it can say a lot about a person’s personality. Perception is reality. Always be aware of how people perceive you, because it’s the baseline of your personal brand.

Collaboration is another aspect that plays heavily into your technology personal brand. Always share your knowledge with others, but don’t oversell yourself. You don’t want to be perceived as a know-it-all. If you communicate in a way that builds people up, you have found the secret to being a leader. The more knowledgeable and confident the people are around you, the better you look as a leader. Try to team solve to develop other people and be quick to help others.

Communication with others is essential to your personal brand, and networking is the way to do that. Networking takes place both online and in-person. It’s consistently reaching out to others to gain knowledge in your particular technology field and promoting content and thought leadership that builds awareness and respect in a specific community, whether it be DevOps or Angular. You have to focus on networking internally, meaning within your organization, as well. Don’t be afraid to go outside of your primary team and connect with other people in different areas. Generally, just be a nice person. People want to work with people that they like and trust.

Another huge part of your personal brand is integrity. If you don’t know something, don’t pretend that you do. Instead, seek out the help of others. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed. Another tip, especially for recruiters, is, if you say you are going to do something, do it. Always be conscious of not only “what’s in in for me?†but also, “what’s in it for them?†Ultimately, always follow up and follow through. It’s very important to step up to the plate and open yourself up to challenges. Accepting challenges, and meeting them successfully, is how you create opportunities for growth and promotion.

Something I always stress to technology candidates is the way you dress. Look the part. If you look professional and engaged, you will be taken seriously. No one ever says, “that person is overdressed.†Looking professional in your career enhances your personal brand.

Now, you have the definition and the foundation of what makes your professional personal brand. Are you ready to see how to apply this to your complete technology personal brand? Tune in next week! Our next blog will discuss the building of your professional reputation / personal brand in your technology career.

About Centurion Consulting Group
Centurion Consulting Group, LLC, a Woman-Owned Small Business headquartered in Herndon, VA conveniently located near Washington D.C., is a national IT Services consulting firm servicing the public and private sector by delivering relevant solutions for our client’s complex business and technology challenges. Our leadership team has over 40 years of combined experience, to include almost 10 years of direct business partnership, to the IT staffing, federal contracting, and professional services industries. Centurion’s leaders have the demonstrated experience over the past three decades in partnering with over 10,000 consultants and hundreds of clients –from Fortune 100 to Inc. 5000 firms –in multiple industries to include banking, education, federal, financial, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, non-profit, state and local, technology, and telecommunications. www.centurioncg.com