Businesses and individuals are beginning to understand that the future of work may look very different than it did just a few months ago, with working from home on the rise and jobs rapidly transitioning between industries. This can understandably make it feel difficult to prepare for the next phase of your career, but there are foundational steps you can take to bolster your brand. Focusing on growth and development today, can help you to continue to progress in your career and open new doors for yourself in the short and long-term.
Here are three key steps you can take to build your personal brand in a way that lasts through uncertainty and into the future.
Build or update your LinkedIn profile
Your LinkedIn profile is essential as a foundation of your personal brand. Use your profile’s bio section as an opportunity to define your career objectives and successes to date clearly and concisely. Then use the rest of your profile to promote your skills, accomplishments and goals.
If you have already taken these steps, spend time reviewing your content to remove any outdated information, photos or text and make your profile more relevant for today.
Maximise audio and video
Every platform from Facebook to LinkedIn supports streaming video directly on their sites. This allows for greater expression of your soft skills like public speaking, leadership and presence. If video isn’t your favourite medium, there are other digital options to spread your message, including podcasts. Tools like Anchor.fm now make it possible to start a podcast with minimal equipment, using tools as basic as your phone.
At this moment, in particular, it’s worth understanding the fundamentals of video interviewing. As businesses continue to utilise social distancing measures, it’s important that job seekers are able to present themselves well in the new normal of virtual interviews.
Focus on learnability
None of us know exactly what the future of work will bring, but we do know that it will continue to require constant learning on the job. In order to meet these new challenges, learnability is necessary. Learnability describes the desire and ability to continually learn and grow throughout careers. Ask yourself, when was the last time you read something from an unusual perspective? When have you taken the time to wrap your head around a new industry and technology? To keep your learnability skill sharp while uncertainty swirls, take the time to find unfamiliar topics, dig beneath the surface and keep growing.
In this period of change, workers who are able to demonstrate the ability to adapt and remain resilient will increase their value to organisations. Increasingly, roles will become more focused towards what employees are willing to learn, adapt and apply for tomorrow’s needs. By building your personal brand now, you will be able to bring this capability to a marketplace that needs it.
