Michael DeSafey | Executive Recruiter and HR Professional
How to Leverage Your Professional Brand to Advance Your Career
So, you’re looking for a new position or hoping to increase your company’s revenue? While you might have beefed up your resume, it’s also important to focus on building your professional brand. This goal is something to focus on in the short term while considering new job opportunities and to keep working on over time. The more effort you put into building your professional brand, the more results you can expect to obtain.
The bottom line is this: With greater credibility, people will trust you with bigger projects and ultimately feel satisfied with the results you deliver!
With a pattern of happy customers, albeit employers or private clients whom you complete construction projects for, you can attract more lucrative projects or full-time positions.
What is a Professional Brand?
A professional brand consists of the different impressions that a potential employer, customer or business forms about you. To create an authentic brand, you must work hard to build a solid reputation in your field.
Here are some tips that will help you along the way:
- Research the entry-level requirements for the construction or engineering profession you wish to enter.
- Seek out suitable career and educational opportunities to build this background.
- Start applying for jobs in your field. Keep in mind that your current company may not have all the roles needed to prepare for advancement in your field. You may need to take a second job or change employers over time to obtain the required experience.
- Build your network of contacts. This includes contributing to the field by attending professional development and industry events and by participating in online dialogues.
- Keep your resume updated with a detailed summary of your work experience and career achievements.
- Ask happy clients and bosses to write recommendation letters for you and keep them in your online portfolio.
Keep Your Professional Lifestyle
There is much competition for jobs in construction and engineering professions. Before you assume having a fabulous work history is all you’ll need, please realize that your brand rests on your ability to regulate your behavior when you’re not at work. Building a strong brand means keeping important boundaries between your professional and personal lives and being selective about what you post online.
Here are some things to keep in mind when enjoying your personal time:
- Don’t let yourself be filmed without your permission.
- Don’t post unprofessional comments, videos, or photographs anywhere on social media.
- Don’t give social media contacts unauthorized access to “tag” you or make changes to your professional or personal profiles.
- Monitor all websites and blogs that may be attributed to you and your company.
- Maintain a good credit record and avoid any criminal activities.
In construction and engineering professions, clients pay big money for projects. They want to place their trust in reliable professionals. They don’t want to worry about their projects having too much risk because there are problems with your work history or online behavior. If you don’t want a potential employer to use something from your past to influence their decision to hire you, don’t do it. By maintaining appropriate boundaries, you will be ready to assume more challenging roles in your career.
Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com . To learn more about Michael or to follow his blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com