Ryan Rancatore interviewed the Wine Guy, Gary Vaynerchuk on personal branding … specifically, what personal branding has meant to his career. He has some thought provoking responses and the post is certainly read-worthy.
Take this comment, for example …
People just don’t stay in jobs as long as they used to, it just makes sense to let people know who you are beyond your job title.
Authenticity. Visibility. Credibility. Building your personal brand fosters distinction among the targeted audience of people who need to know about you. And it takes time. Rarely does anyone become an overnight success. Rather, they spend time consistently playing in a niched space, leveraging what they do well, building an authentic reputation, and growing their network. That means, the best time to build your personal brand is when you are ensconced in a position with a move 12-18 months in the future.
As Vaynerchuk also says,
I’d ask one of the millions of unemployed workers if they didn’t wish they had spent time building a personal brand.
There are only so many CFO and senior-level finance positions available. Winning one of those roles means you do what the competition isn’t doing … before you need to do it.