The importance of your personal brand
Siobhán Sexton outlines how developing a strong personal brand can help newly qualified accountants stand out from the crowd and secure the best job opportunities
In today’s increasingly connected and competitive professional world, how you’re perceived by others—both inside and outside your organisation—can have a significant impact on your career.
As American author and speaker Susan RoAne puts it, “It’s not what you know or who you know, but who knows you”.
The good news? You can actively shape this perception; this is where your personal brand comes in.
What is your personal brand?
Your personal brand is essentially how you want people to see you.
It can be influenced and shaped by every interaction you have, whether that be in person, in writing or online.
Your words, appearance, shared content and even your social media activity all shape your personal brand.
Why your personal brand matters
Right now, there are plenty of job opportunities available for qualified accountants.
There are also lots of strong candidates in the market, however—all vying for the best opportunities.
Developing your personal brand in a strategic way can help you to stand out from the crowd and get the best start in your career as a Chartered Accountant.
Personal branding: top tips
Here are my top tips for developing an effective personal brand and getting your career off to a strong start:
1. Take a moment to really think about it
Before you start working on developing your personal brand, take a moment to stop and think about how you want people to see you:
- What is important to you?
- What are your values?
- What do you enjoy?
- How do you see yourself in a professional capacity and how would you like to see your career progress?
The answers to these questions, and more, will form the building blocks to your personal brand.
2. Be authentic and true to your values
An authentic personal brand is built on your values; on what is truly important to you and what you stand for.
By identifying your personal values, you can begin to integrate them into what you say and share and how you present yourself as a professional.
Not only will this help you stay authentic, it will also help you connect with like-minded individuals who share your values, and to build a more sustainable network.
3. Leverage your unique strengths
In a market in which you are competing with other newly qualified accountants with similar experience, you may question how your skills and expertise are different to theirs, and how you can stand out from the crowd.
The good news is that you absolutely can differentiate yourself. Yes, the professional experience you have gained may be similar to that of your peers, but your individual experience is unique. As an individual, you will have developed different skills to those of your peers.
Take a moment to truly assess your unique skillset and expertise and play to both when sharing your knowledge and insights to build your personal brand.
4. Be consistent
You must be consistent in your messaging, the language you use and the values you share. Consistency is crucial to the effectiveness of your activity across all channels and platforms.
There are many different ways in which you can communicate your personal brand to others—for example, through blogs, video, social media posts, interviews, getting involved in committees, attending events and networking.
Consistency really is key to success—you need to continuously show up!
For example, sharing an insightful post on LinkedIn once a week is plenty, but for real impact, you need to do this consistently every week without fail.
This will help you establish a clear and recognisable personal brand people will easily connect with and remember.
5. Be original—don’t copy others
There is an enormous volume of information, content and insight out there you can use to help build your personal brand.
The easy route would be to simply copy what you like and share it as your own, but people can easily see through this.
To really be successful, you need to identify what you like and use it as inspiration to craft your own information, content and insights.
Not only will this be unique to you, it will also be authentic. To enhance potential impact even further, try to incorporate storytelling into your personal brand messaging and activity to make it more engaging, relatable and memorable and to develop a stronger connection with your network and audience.
For Chartered Accountants, trust and credibility are critical. A well-managed personal brand will highlight your technical strengths and also reinforce the ethical and professional standards you adhere to in your profession.
In a competitive job market, your qualifications may get you through the first door, but your personal brand will open new doors and greater opportunities.
By being intentional, authentic and consistent, you will create a professional identity that not only stands out but also endures.