Since my last post here I’ve had a lot of changes in my career, all for the better. This got me thinking about how some of these new opportunities came my way and I thought that might make a good post.
A personal brand isn’t just about starting a blog, posting on twitter, and updating your resume. It’s about building relationships around what makes you unique and talented, in my opinion.
When you build ‘your brand’ it allows people to get to know you on a more personal level. Once people get to know and respect you on a deeper level, they can start to become invested in you. Once people become invested in you, they have extra motivation to see you succeed.
Going back a few years, when my internship had ended I had made several strong connections. Some based on friendships and some on work performance. A few years later, when I was looking to make a career move, these connections all came through and rallied to help me. Two people reached out about opportunities at the company, three others offered to make recommendations on my behalf, one put me up in their house while I moved, and another helped me move into my new place.
These people, with whom I had worked with and gotten to know over a few months, had become invested in my success and wanted to help me. I am forever grateful to these people.
Find people with common interests, people you admire and want to associate with, and people who you feel you can learn from. Then, you’ve found your audience. Align your time to connect with and learn from this group and you’ll soon find people who have, on some level, become invested in you.
By the way, this isn’t a one way street – you just might find yourself becoming invested in others as well.
So, who is invested in your success?
Author
Jonathan has broad ranging experience and currently works as a Customer Success Manager at Responsys, Inc. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he majored in Marketing. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, where he also had an internship during college, and he worked for Expedia in an account management role for their North American lodging business. Jonathan is an avid enthusiast of all things marketing, economics, and travel. And, he is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Connect with Jonathan on Twitter (@jonathanpetrino), LinkedIn, and his website.
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