What are some examples of successful personal brands from career changers in your field?

Establishing and maintaining a personal brand is wise for anyone, but it’s especially prudent for people who are changing careers because resume alone typically isn’t enough to make you stand out from other, more tenured candidates. But times are changing and while having the skills and capabilities to do a job remain important, many companies are looking for people who fit from a cultural perspective and have the attitude and aptitude to required to do the job. This obviously depends on the company, the technical nature of the opportunity, etc, but if you lack decades of experience but have deep passion for something and can show that via your personal brand, doors can open that you might not even know about otherwise.

Personal branding matters for everyone, but it is especially key if you are changing careers. If you are looking to start working in a new field, or even just with a new company, having an established personal brand means that people can learn about you - your strengths, your accomplishments, your greatest skills. It can be an absolute game changing advantage in job search. Personal branding can be used to showcase transferable skills from one field to another, as well as the soft skills that are invaluable in any career change.

I speak as a career changer having transitioned from being a teacher for 30 years to becoming a social media marketer. Don’t fall into the trap of not wanting to refer back to your previous career or careers. Your transferable skills and experience matters hugely, so use these as a foundation for the new career you’re building now. Explaining how where you’ve come from and how it influences your career transition now is essential for your personal brand.

Personal branding matters for career changes because it allows individuals to: 1. Stand Out: In a competitive job market, personal branding helps people differentiate themselves by highlighting their unique skills, experiences, and qualities that make them valuable to potential employers. 2. Establish Credibility: When starting a new job, personal branding aids in establishing credibility by showing an individual's knowledge, passion, and skill in the field, even in the absence of prior success or pertinent experience. 3. Increase Networks: By connecting with like-minded professionals in the industry and future employers, individuals can increase their exposure and find new employment prospects in the field of their choice.

One thing I found worked well was having a simple message and consistently posting content offering different perspectives. You will quickly grow an audience, expand your reach and build a good network. Consider writing articles and blogs, starting or being a guests on podcasts, and speaking at events. This demonstrates your thought leadership and others will think of you as a trusted authority.

Many skills are transferable from one industry to another. Honesty, communication, and collaboration are all skills you need everywhere; if your personal brand focuses on self-development, you will not confuse your audience when you announce a career change. Your audience will feel like you are bringing them on the journey with them.

Know Yourself + Be Yourself. If you have reflected long and hard to assess yourself honestly, and show up with your true values, hard-earned skills, unique personality, and integrity firmly instilled, you can be successful to the right people, causes, and organizations. Mind you, you will never please everyone. So don’t even try! Believe that you will find “your people” and thrive once again.

Sure it requires some strategy and planning, but don’t get too hung up on that. There’s a fine line between managing your personal brand and manufacturing it. At the end of the day, building your personal brand is about following your fascination, posting about your passions, finding your voice, and above all else, being yourself. So long as you’re doing this and remaining authentic in word and deed, good things will start to happen for you.

I have pivoted careers a couple of times and everytime having a strong personal brand has helped. Once, I actually knew what I was talking about so I decided to share effective knowledge and tips as well as stories of people successfully going through the process. At another time, I was creating learning solutions for supply chain and had no clue about the industry. I documented my learning journey. All the terms that were confusing for me, I would study them, break down into simple terms and share with audience in carousels and videos. Soon enough, people started approaching me as an expert even though I was just learning!

Love the options here - but folks, we are ALL going to have career transitions. About six pivots on average, in fact per Gartner. All great personal brands have had a big change. What you’re looking to model is a personal brand with clarity, strength, confidence - one that differentiates you from others on a shortlist. Leverage the heck out of your platform to show (rather than tell) that your finger is on the pulse of your space and you would interesting & of value at the table.

I’ve spent 15 years of my 18 year career working in operations. I fell into it early on because I was a go getter who cared less about a career path & more about getting things done at companies I was passionate about. My true passion has always been brand marketing. If I could tell my college self what to study now that I’m 39 it would have been that. In 2020, I decided I didn’t need degrees or decades of experience to talk about branding, so I started doing so here on LinkedIn. In 2021, a company reached out to me about a talent marketing & employer branding role. “I’ve never done that” I told the CMO. “You do it on LinkedIn every day. Job is yours if you want it,” he said. And that’s why personal branding matters.

Maybe you have already dialed in the authentic character traits of your personal brand and you're excited to share it with the world. But you're still somewhat invisible because you don't know how to tell your story. The proven formula to help you tell your compelling story is made up of just three words: And, But, and Therefore. We call this the ABT Agile Narrative Framework and it's a remarkable communications tool to use in the sharing of your story. The ABT works because it uses the three forces of story of agreement, contradiction, and consequence that our primal pattern-seeking, decision-making, limbic buying brain loves. Use the ABT to craft your one-floor elevator pitch for your personal brand story.

The best advice I received when I changed careers was to TELL EVERYBODY. Hone your message and repeat it (in different ways) wherever you show up online. It's hard to be forgotten when you consistently appear in people's news feeds.

A great first step in building a personal brand is to define your strategic objective. The strategic objective is the single, overarching goal that serves as a roadmap and defines your purpose. It helps guide your actions and define what makes you unique and valuable in your field. A strong, easy to understand strategic objective has the power to energize you so you stay motivated and consistent. It keeps you focused and on track so you can manage your time and resources more effectively. And it is where great companies often start building their brand. And great people too.

You won’t be ready for a career change. You’ll feel like the last thing you want to do is build your visibility. Totally understandable. Imagine it’s not you doing the work - see yourself in your next role: Compensated well. Respected. Appreciated. Then sit down and share confidently as if you were there already. You’ll see results faster than you can imagine. Confidence is key!

In my field, I've seen individuals like Tim Ferriss and Marie Forleo successfully rebrand. Ferriss, originally a tech entrepreneur, became a renowned author, podcast host, and public speaker. Forleo, initially involved in the finance industry, transitioned to become a life coach, author, and web television host. They both demonstrated adaptability, clearly communicated their evolving brand message, and utilized their unique experiences from previous careers to enrich their new roles.