The importance of creating your own brand and being the CEO of your role!

It is very easy to get lost nowadays. I do not mean just when we are wandering the streets or navigating a new city but lost online. For some people that is okay, who wants to be found on Google anyway? But, for professionals looking to stand out whether it be with a new company, industry or when setting up their own business, it is critical to be visible.

“By not tweeting you’re tweeting. You’re sending a message.”

You may have heard your boss say to you in one job or another, ‘be the CEO of your desk’. The truth is, even if there are six other people doing your job in that company, they are not doing like you do. They are not you. How you manage your time, your reputation and responsibilities is yours to control. The second you start to think of yourself as the boss of your career, I can guarantee your mindset will change completely. If all you are is an employee associated with one company, that is all you will be.

Companies and brands are impressed by the unique, sensational and odd. Someone who sends their CV to a footwear brand, accompanied by one of their shoes, sends a message. Firstly, they are hoping to get their foot in the door (no pun intended) and that they are trying to get the hiring staffs attention. They are making the effort!

The same principle goes for your online presence.

1) Watch what you put online. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but nothing ever disappears. We are in an age where everything is recorded, copied, saved or archived. Just because that video of you drunk went out of fashion a week ago, does not mean it has been forgotten. Think carefully about what you are putting out there for the public to see, I can promise you, employers will google you before hiring. They will check your social media accounts and instead of letting them gain a perception of you – give them the right first impression.

2) What are you trying to say? For those who are content driven, influencer mad and marketing savvy – who do you want people to see you as? Brands spend decades defining what they stand for and what style they want the world to see. What is yours? If you are posting blogs, photographs and opinions does it follow a theme? Are you contradicting yourself? Once something is said it cannot be taken back, so be sure of who you want companies to see you as.

3) Get rid of that email address! This is a detail that can easily be forgotten. Who else has the same mobile number they have had for the last 6 years? Same profile picture from 4 years ago? What about email address? If your email address is the same one you used to send your college tutor your essays and it includes animals or nicknames – change it! ‘Kittykitkat123’ … not professional.

4) Are you wasting your time? For a lot of us, a goal in life is to learn as much as possible. As much as it is fully encouraged to do that – is it benefiting your career? It is the same concept as jumping from job to job to try and gain more experience. Make sure the extra qualifications you are doing and roles you are applying for all link together to get you that step closer to your goal.

These are just a few pointers to remember when online, but at the end of the day we can never fully know who we are as individuals. All we can do is ensure what we do in our time here benefits in some way. Show future employers, recruitment agencies, brands and companies why you stand out from the rest.