Edited by Victoria Burt
Call
it your personal brand, corporate
voice, or career identity, what it boils
down to is how you are known in
your company and industry.
Career reputation can be as critical
to your career as expertise, knowledge,
and performance, according to
David Samuel, business coach and founder
of Lean Forward and Go (www.leanforwardandgo.com), a career-advancement
company. Your reputation matters in good
times and bad. In good times, it attracts
career opportunities. “In tough times your
reputation helps you survive what I call the
life-boat drill,” Samuel says. “Someone’s
going to be tossed overboard and you don’t
want it to be you.”
However, you can’t actually control your
reputation. “Perception and brand are in
the eyes of the beholder,” says Samuel. But
you can work on it by performing above and
beyond customer requests, delivering value,
and by creating relationships with people
who will talk about you within the company.
Samuel teaches a four-step process in
his book, “Personal Branding Power, 65
Proven Strategies for Accelerating Career
Advancement.” He calls it PDPC, or plan,
develop, promote, and connect. The planning
step includes having a clear understanding
of customer and company expectations,
what you bring to the table, knowing
where you want to go, and the steps to
get there. The development stage closes any
gaps in the plan. “For example, in the planning
step you may determine that innovation
is a priority for the organization, and
employees who deliver innovative projects
are in demand,” Samuel says. “If there is
something keeping you from being innovative,
it may be necessary to take a class to
help close that gap.”
The next step is promoting and Samuel
starts by asking clients to write down their
own personal value propositions. “This is
similar to an elevator pitch that states what
your value is to the company,” he adds. After
you’ve created this statement, it’s necessary
to promote it within the organization, on the Web, and on your resume.
“The connecting phase is akin
to power networking, or making
sure your company is singing your
praises,” says Samuel. “You don’t
have to blow your own horn if
you have the right individuals
in the organization who are
advocating for you.”
Samuel offers some practical
tips for building your career
reputation. “First of all,
always use ‘business-impact
language’ when talking about
yourself,” he says. For example,
if someone asks what you
do for a living, don’t respond
with your job title, or a list of
responsibilities. Instead, describe
what you really do in terms of the
impact you make, such as “I reduce product
liability, or I improve machine safety.”
Another tip is to take any opportunity
to write and speak. This means writing articles
and reports that show your leadership
and expertise. Also get up in front of
people and talk, whether in a workshop,
conference breakout session, or chairing a
department meeting. Getting your name
and face in front of an audience will give a
big boost to your reputation.
A third tip from Samuel is to consistently
promote your value across different mediums.
In other words, think about what
message you are sending in your e-mail signature
line, your outgoing voicemail message,
and in your online profiles such as
LinkedIn. Be sure that if you type your name
into Google, you come up on the first page
and the links go to Web sites that show your
expertise and put you in a positive light.
The last tip is to always pick and nurture
the right kinds of advocates. Samuel
says an advocate is someone who is in
your corner when you’re not around. He
offers some criteria for choosing an advocate:
First, pick someone who knows more
about company culture than you do, someone
you can learn from. They’ll know the
history and power structures. Also, pick
someone whose own reputation is good.
And third, “choose someone who is committed
to your success, because advocacy
is most important when you’re not in the
room.”