Everyone needs a personal brand. Here’s how you can start

Phoebe Gavin is not a fan of the term “impostor syndrome.”

“I very strongly encourage people to start describing it differently,” says Gavin, who started her career and leadership coaching business in 2019. “If your inner dialogue is, ‘I'm an imposter, they're going to find me out,’ that is going to lead you to do things that make yourself smaller. And the people who get opportunities are the people who are seen.”

To be seen, she says, you must build and promote your personal brand. For first-gen professionals, brand-building may feel like a foreign and uncomfortable task, especially for those who haven’t followed traditional career paths or struggle with feelings of otherness. But according to Gavin, every professional can and should create their own brand.?

This week on The Starting Line, we learn some of the most important steps to follow when building your brand, and the biggest mistakes to avoid.??

Lock in your digital real estate early

Whether it’s through a professional website or social profile (including, yes, LinkedIn), it’s important to establish a digital presence early on in your career, Gavin emphasizes. Not only are your platforms a representation of you and your goals as a professional, they can also be key in harvesting connections to help you reach said goals.?

“Use [your online presence] to collect and connect with all of the people that you want to build relationships with as a professional, [...] as a tool you can use as your digital Rolodex,” says Gavin.??

Early-career professionals, especially those who identify as first-gen, may be wary of creating websites or profiles when they feel unsure about their career path. But you don’t have to be as detailed from the get-go as you may think, Gavin says. Rather, consider your digital real estate as a canvas for growth and evolution.?

“It’s okay to be vague because you're early in your career. You don't have specificity because you haven't had the experience that will allow you to have specificity,” Gavin says. “But you want to be present and you still want that presence to be as polished as possible.”

Try not to disrupt the pattern (at first)

First-gen professionals may feel compelled to include non-traditional experiences in their resume and cover letter to convey how their unique experiences can translate to the workplace. But when you’re curating your image early on in the application process, it can be more helpful to follow traditional formats for the resume and cover letter.

“[Recruiters] are going in with a paper cut-out of what they are imagining in the resume pile, and it’s really hard for them to think outside of that,” says Gavin.?

Once you’ve moved forward in the application process, you can then begin to really focus on what makes you unique, says Gavin. The interview stage is a great opportunity to elaborate on life experiences that may not have made it into your resume, such as taking care of a sibling at home. That way, you’ll have more space to demonstrate how valuable those skills can be in the role you’re applying for.?

“The dedication associated with that work is really powerful and will make a big difference in your ability to do your job well, but you have to make that connection for [recruiters] very directly,” Gavin says. “They’re not going to do that on their own.”

It’s better to be compelling than comprehensive

When professionals first begin to form their professional brand, they often mistakenly believe that they need to be as thorough as possible, Gavin says. That can include writing lengthy social posts about your life and career, when your readers only have so much attention to spare.?

Instead of overloading your platforms with information, stick to creating content that is relevant to your current interests, Gavin advises. That way, those who view your profile will have a better understanding of what you’re looking for.?

“It’s okay to skip the things that don’t represent who you are now. It’s okay to skip the things that don’t represent the opportunities you’re looking to attract,” Gavin says. “As you’re redeveloping [your brand] over time, [focus on] it always being a representation of who you are and where you want to go.”