Building your personal brand comes down to telling your story.
“Each person has a story to tell,” says Jacob Hong, senior vice president of Woodlawns Landscape Company, Inc., based in Mundelein, Illinois. “You are 1-30 years ahead of someone. Share your experience and it will help someone out there.”
Your stories can include your schooling, your first job, the lessons you learned early on, the struggles you faced and where you are today. It doesn’t just have to feature your successes either. People love to learn from your mistakes, understand what challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome them.
“Sharing that can be important too, because it showcases that you have humility and you have the ability to pivot,” says Jenny Girard, implementation specialist with The Integra Group, Inc.
Methods for Sharing Your Personal Brand
When beginning to build your personal brand, the easiest way to share your story is on social media.
“It goes back to the age-old phrase, ‘A picture’s worth 1,000 words,’” Girard says. “It is still today. We are a very visual group. I’ve noticed within the industry, people love to see and talk and network, and so building that personal brand starts with making sure you’re visual and people can find you.”
Brooke Garcia, senior manager of landscape for Walmart’s new Home Office campus, says she is very intentional about the way she posts on social media.
“If I post something that’s related to the company I am working at, I am diligent that it aligns with the company culture and story,” Garcia says. “It is important to share the impact of the landscape and highlight company goals.”
Hong, Garcia, and Girard all overwhelmingly prefer LinkedIn as the social media platform to grow their personal brand. Hong enjoys the professional format and the reduced negativity on the site.
“LinkedIn is the best platform for professional networking and is the preferred place to post content or messages that tie back to your company,” Garcia says.
Networking at in-person events and going out of your way to connect with others in the industry can also show your intentions and your desire to get to know others on a deeper level.
“Adding a human element to social media brings networking to life,” Garcia says. “Connect with people and send them a personalized message. I think LinkedIn is a great avenue to showcase your passion and background, and it may just be the passageway to the next chapter in your story.”
Girard says one way to grow your personal brand is to start volunteering in your community or through NALP.
“People are going to spend time with you one way or another,” Girard says. “You’re going to get into groups. You’re going to start talking to people.”
Pitfalls to Avoid
While your personal brand can be powerful, there is also the challenge of being authentic without oversharing.
Garcia says it’s important to make sure that what you share on social media channels is something that represents your company well. It should align professionally so that if someone is looking at your profile from a recruiting standpoint, it should come across as positive, engaging, and inclusive.
Hong agrees you need to protect confidential information, but you can still tell the story authentically.
“For example, if you get fired from a position, you can say, ‘I am looking for new opportunities. I am grateful for my experience with XYZ, but it is time for something new,’” Hong says. “You do not need to share every little detail about what happened or why you are moving on to be authentic. Give the headlines and move on.”
Girard notes that employers, herself included, use LinkedIn to see what kind of person you are based on what you are posting.
“I’ve always said, don’t ever put anything out there that you would want everybody to see,” Girard says. “Because I think one of the biggest things I’ve noticed, especially with the younger generations, is they’re very quick to post everything, and especially in today’s world, everything can get tied back to you one way or another.”
Girard says it’s important to be cognizant of the first impressions that posts on different social media platforms may have with employers, team members and clients.
“Unfortunately, we’re very quick to judge just because it’s human nature,” Girard says. “It’s quick snapshots of your life. They don’t know anything about you, but that is their first impression of you. I think that’s probably the biggest takeaway with that whole social media situation.”
Girard says consider your audience when you’re trying to decide how open and authentic you should be in your social media posts.
“Whenever you write something or you do something, think about the audience who’s going to read this,” Girard says. “Is this possibly everybody in your network? Well, dial back the TMI. If you wouldn’t tell a stranger that has absolutely nothing in common with you, you probably shouldn’t post it on a social media platform.”
She advises thinking through how other people are going to perceive your message, how they might internalize it and what is the point of posting it. Think about your why before sharing a post. Another pitfall to avoid when building your personal brand is falling into the comparison game or suffering from imposter syndrome.
“Don’t focus on what you haven’t done,” Girard says. “You can work towards it. Don’t compare yourself constantly because it is something, even without socials, you can do.”
