The Secret to Getting Companies to Beg You to Work for Them
Imagine, you are just trying to get your work done in peace but the phone keeps ringing off the hook. It’s all these other companies trying to hire you away. They’ll pay anything. In fact, there’s a bidding war.
Not possible? Of course it is! It’s called building a personal brand, it works for every single career no matter what the field, and a lot of women are starting to figure out how to do it.
Personal Branding 101
Quiz time:
I say famous homemaker, and you say…
…Martha Stewart
I say famous American chef, and you say…
Ina Garten, or Julia Child, or even Padma Lakshmi
The funny thing about some of those potential answers is that the people might not be the best in their field or even arguably in the field. And yet when you hear the words home or food, their names pop into your mind. What they have done is created such a strong brand for themselves that you don’t care if they’re good; their names come to mind like Pavlov’s dogs’ saliva.
That’s exactly what you want to happen when people mention your career. Whether you are an up and comer or at the top, your name should be known by almost everyone as one of the best.
How Do You Do That?
It’s never been easier but that doesn’t mean it won’t take a lot of work. In the old days, women had to rely on senior people to champion them to get known by people at the top. The advent of social media has flattened that field. Get your achievements and thoughts out into the world. Here’s how:
Create an Online Presence
Start a blog — and update it frequently. Be a contributor on other blogs written about your field — bloggers are always looking for guest bloggers, just drop a note and ask them if you can. Post articles you’ve written on a topic in your field to LinkedIn and share them with your professional network. See if you can be a contributor on Huffington Post or some other publication — many of them run website only articles or blog posts and it is easier to get your thoughts published on to these. You can typically find out how on the contact us page of the publication. For example, here is Huffington Post’s.
Create an Offline Presence
Face time matters, so don’t hide in your office working hard and waiting to be discovered. Attend conferences and make it your goal to talk to ten people a day at it. Go up to presenters when it is over and ask an intelligent question. Strike up a conversation with the person next to you and exchange business cards. Then follow up occasionally with them by email about something interesting you are pondering. In your office, don’t always just communicate by email. Get up and go to their office and answer a question in person. The more contact a person has with you the more your name will stand out.
That Sounds Like A Lot of Extra Time and Work
Yes, it is and I’m not done. The third thing you should do is remember that relationship building is a two way street. Come on, admit it. You kind’a like Taylor Swift a little bit more because she takes the time to email her fans back. That’s true in your world too.
After following leaders in your field on LinkedIn and on their blogs, you need to contribute to a discussion with them. Take the time to post comments on their posts and repost and retweet them. They will be grateful and remember you.
This is Going to Take Hours
It should! If it were easy, everyone would do it. To do it well, expect to spend a couple hours a week on brand building. But there are multiple payoffs. First, you will actually get smarter and better at your job as you educate yourself and write. Second, people both within and outside your company will think of you as a specialist. Your name will be top of mind if a new position opens up. And third, you may discover opportunities you never even knew existed as you participate in a discussion with a wider community. You will also show your passion and work ethic in a way that can’t be doubted.
So manage your career, the way Pepsi manages its soda pop. Figure out who’s your target market and how to reach them. And have patience — brands aren’t built overnight, it takes lots of time and investment. But unlike quietly toiling away in your office, this hard work is guaranteed to get you to rise to the top. Happy branding!
Originally published at www.theshaare.com on February 23, 2016.
