Looking to enhance your brand at work? Don’t be that guy.
YOU, TOO, HAVE A PERSONAL BRAND
So, you never judge a book by its cover? You’re way too comfortable in your own skin to worry about others’ opinions? Kudos for being a highly evolved human being. Just for grins, though, try conducting this small experiment. Take a quick glance sideways and ask yourself whether you’ve made any assumptions about the person sitting next to you. Be honest.
“Everyone has a personal brand. It’s not only how you view and describe yourself, it’s how others perceive you,” says Dan Schawbel, author of Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success.
While the term “personal brand” is relatively new, we’ve long been forming opinions about those we interact with — and we are more than willing to do so with very little information. Decades worth of research has shown that we make lasting judgments about others based on everything from clothing choices and posture to facial expressions and Facebook profiles.
“All of it matters,” Schawbel says, “dress, body language, what you have to say, your online presence — it all adds up to the package you’re communicating to others.”
And while it may feel superficial (and irritating) to be concerned with whether your favorite “Growing Old Is Mandatory, But Growing Up is Optional” T-shirt is conveying the wrong idea to the office citizenry, the hard truth is that such choices can have a pretty dramatic impact on your career. To wit, York College of Pennsylvania’s 2013 Professionalism Study concluded that the vast majority of 401 human resource professionals believe unprofessional appearance can have a negative effect during the hiring stage and influence your colleagues’ perception of your competence.
Spirit November 2013 p. 66
Great article by
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