Step-by-step branding

Careers are like scaffolding, erected over time, and effective career management requires a balance of strategy and action.

You may be a mutual fund specialist in a bank who ultimately wants to be a designated financial advisor, a junior member in a small practice working towards your planner designation, or know only that you want to move from investment analysis into investment management, or vice versa.

Whatever your goals are and no matter how wide the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, you can build the bridge to reach your destination.

The days of climbing the corporate ladder are gone. There are multiple directions you can take to reach your personal targets. So, it’s better to divide your prospective career path into a series of steps and think about which short-term goals to associate with each. This process of career ascension will force you to create smaller, less overwhelming goals, and allow you to better measure your progress.

Whatever you do, don’t take your present opportunity for granted. Appreciate what you currently do but figure out what you’re going to do next. Ask yourself where you’d like to be twelve months from now? What skills and knowledge would you like to acquire over the next year? Which company, client, or industry would you like to work with?

Research anticipated challenges in your strategy and figure out what you will need to do to overcome them. As you reach each milestone on the way to your goal ask yourself: Do I want to stay on this path? Is there undiscovered territory that I want to explore? What is the risk-to-reward ratio? Be open to alternatives and don’t be afraid to re-define your vision, goals, or strategies. Remaining flexible will facilitate your adaptability, which will help you stay current to the marketplace.

Once you have clearly mapped your next targets, identify individuals who’ve already hit them and cultivate a sense for how they achieved what you’re setting out to accomplish. Seek out mentors, trusted advisors and spend time with people whom you admire and who might act as champions for you. Never forget someone else’s hindsight can serve as your foresight.

Establishing a personal board of directors comprised of business mentors and advisors is a key component to on-going success. Your board is there to help ensure you make sound decisions, provide support and advice, and be your advocate to the business world. These trusted individuals will teach you things you’ll never learn in a classroom. It’s from these people that you’ll glean the finer points of relationship building and client management, business courtesies, navigating politics, critical thinking in tough situations, and staying motivated. They can open doors for you that otherwise would have remained closed, and with their support and guidance, you will understand how to leverage those opportunities.

Regardless of the title on your business card, the size of your current book of business, or the reputation of the organization you represent, you must continually be accountable for, and proactive about, your career from Day One. There is no immunity to impersonal market conditions such as mergers, acquisitions, and international competition; others may want the best for you, but no one will ever be as invested in your career as you are. Continue your professional development by learning about current and future product and economic trends, taking advantage of training opportunities, obtaining and maintaining relevant licenses. Practical knowledge combined with education is a powerful combination that can help launch your career to the next level.

The world is bottom line oriented and thrives on business and free enterprise. Your worth in any organization or to any client will be based upon your ability to positively contribute to the bottom line. It takes more than pure technical competency to do this, and your achievements, experience, stability, longevity, designations and accreditations will all evaluated against your competitors and scrutinized when you are being considered for opportunities. In a nutshell, this means you need to create a holistic brand.

The recent financial crisis has had a tremendous affect on people’s feelings towards the financial industry and the people in it. Even though the economic meltdown means the need for expert analysts, advisors, traders, and other finance professionals is urgent, clients have developed a healthy skepticism. Your reputation can make or break your momentum and trust is paramount to your brand.

In any marketplace climate, first impressions count. Studies show most people in interview or evaluation positions decide whether you’re a fit within the first four minutes of meeting you. During these critical minutes, people will make determinations about how professional, friendly, confident, relaxed, honest, competent, and strong you are. Solicit regular feedback to ensure the impression you want to make matches the impression you actually make. Who you associate with also affects your brand, so be strategic with your choices by thinking about the values and reputations of the organizations and individuals you choose to align yourself with.

Branding doesn’t happen overnight and it is not a one-time process. The definition and establishment of a credible brand is lot of work that requires an ongoing commitment of time and energy, and a dedication to quality.

Your brand is the personification of everything you value, therefore, the first step in self-branding is to identify your values. Really think about what is important to you in life. You are going to have to believe in and live by these values every single day (not always easy) so make sure you choose honestly and carefully. They will become the platform for your brand and be a compass to guide you through everything you choose to do or not do. Once you know what you stand for, ask yourself what makes you special. Everyone has a uniqueness: Find yours and own it. Your differences will distinguish you throughout your career, so incorporate your uniqueness into your brand.

Good branding results in the end user being programmed to expect certain quality, consistency, and benefits from the product (you) they’ve heard so much about. The ultimate goal of any brand is to build customer loyalty, and to do this, the most successful brands continue to expose you to their brand and its benefits. It’s important to establish a connection until the brand features become tantamount with their needs.

Anyone who has ever sold anything to anyone will tell you it’s not about what you want to sell, but rather, what your client needs. You are the product and the marketplace is your client. Always be checking in to see what clients need, and what you offer that could satisfy those needs. Remain on the cutting edge by staying connected to global events and industry trends. Develop relationships with colleagues and competitors alike. Your opponent of today could be your biggest ally tomorrow.

Visibility and credibility creates brand awareness. Develop and nurture relationships starting with your safe network of contacts, friends and immediate colleagues. And then expand by investigating and joining industry related professional associations, getting to know industry associates and their contacts, being active in your community, asking mentors, advisors, and senior colleagues for advice, referrals and introductions, and staying connected to alumni.

Too often, people become so focused on what they’re working on in the moment that they forget to cultivate future opportunities and business by marketing their brand. Familiarity builds trust, which is why when people need assistance with something they will always look for a familiar face first. Effective networking can help your brand and your book of business grow together to become your most valuable assets.

The first ten years of your career are full of potential and opportunities. Dream big and be willing to take some risks – including being committed to making values-based choices for your career and life, and managing stress. Highly successful people are highly susceptible to burnout because they demand too much from themselves and those around them. If your career is your whole life, you’re vulnerable to disappointment and burnout; and burnt out people are often less marketable. It’s okay to be determined and tenacious, as long as you remember it’s rarely ever one giant step that gets you to your destination. Instead, it is a lot of little ones.

The investment you choose to make in proactively managing your career can pay unlimited dividends. Approached properly, you can gain access to and leverage opportunities that you create and foster, while providing yourself with the inner security of knowing you are equipped with the experience and savvy to set the direction and maintain momentum in your career adventure.

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Kendra Reddy customizes talent management and leadership development solutions for companies, business schools, and individuals.

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Kendra Reddy