How to Harness Your Brand to Get Hired and Get Ahead

You need to differentiate yourself from the crowd in today's highly competitive job market. Building and harnessing your brand is one way to stand out among a sea of applicants. What is your brand? How do you build one? How do you change it? How do you build it back up? How do you use it to get a job or get ahead in your career? These are all legitimate questions.

Fortunately, we're joined today on the #GetHired podcast by Aliza Licht , who is the author of the new book On Brand and an award-winning marketer. She explains in the latest episode of the Get Hired podcast that you have a brand regardless of your industry or position. Aliza also teaches us the elements of a great brand, how to harness its power, and much more.

If you're looking to stand out during your job search or at work, this episode is for you. You will find a transcript of the conversation below. You can also listen to the episode above, on Apple Podcasts , or wherever you like to listen.

TRANSCRIPT: ?How to Harness Your Brand to Get Hired and Get Ahead

Andrew Seaman: In today's fast-paced, highly competitive world, it's becoming increasingly important to differentiate yourself from the crowd. Building a strong brand can help you do that. We're talking all about it today.

From LinkedIn News, this is Get Hired, a podcast for the ups and downs, and the ever-changing landscape of our professional lives. I'm Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn's Senior Managing Editor for Jobs and Career Development, bringing you conversations with experts who, like me, want to see you succeed at work, at home, and everywhere in between.

Okay, we have a special guest joining us today. Her name is Aliza Licht. She is an expert marketer, and author of the new book, Leave Your Mark: Land Your Dream Job. Kill It in Your Career. Rock Social Media. Aliza knows how to make a mark. In fact, the title of her first book and her podcast is Leave Your Mark. But I digress. For those of you who've been around the media and fashion worlds for a little while, you'll likely know Aliza as DKNY PR Girl, the formerly anonymous social media account that she ran as a comms executive at Donna Karen. It amassed a huge following when few people in those spheres saw value in social media. She's sitting down with us today to walk us through how any one of us from a customer service rep to a corporate attorney can build and harness a brand for career success. Here's Aliza.

Aliza Licht: I think understanding how to market yourself today is for everyone. And that's why when I think about personal branding and someone's like, oh no, that's not for me. There's two things that I say. One is, LinkedIn is non-negotiable. Every single professional person needs to have not just a profile on LinkedIn, but to be a communicator on LinkedIn. The second thing is for those people who are like, I don't have a personal brand, you're making an impression within seven seconds of someone meeting you, every single person has some version of a personal brand. It starts with what makes you, you, so the question really becomes what do you want to be known for in your circles, right? When you go into a meeting at work, are you adding value? So understanding that, and then making sure that public perception aligns with that, is really the magic.

Andrew: And there was obviously a time not so long ago that people maybe they didn't have to worry about a personal brand in the sense that we think of it now. But today, if you get someone's name, if you're a hiring manager, a recruiter, a lot of times you're going to plug that person into Google, and you're just going to see what pops up, and whether you are going to be the CEO or a customer service representative. And that is going to frame how they view you throughout the rest of the process.

Aliza: I want to just put a framework around the idea of personal brand, because I think it's a little bit mysterious in some ways. So personal brand, it's in what you say, it's in what you do, it's your attitude, your mannerisms, it's your visual identity, it's what you choose to align with. It's the energy you give off. It's everything mixed together. So in on brand, what I try to do is evenly balance between the people who are super comfortable on social media and would like to get even better at it. But then it's also equally doubling down on your executive presence, building authentic relationships, how to earn social capital, how to be a captivating speaker. Every single person in their job, no matter what stage you're at or what you do, needs to be able to present ideas or give feedback. And part of your personal brand is how you actually do that. So what does it mean to sort of rebrand yourself within your role? And I think that's a really exciting opportunity for people. You don't always have to look for another job. You can actually innovate within your own role.

Andrew: That is such a great message, and it resonates with me, because when I started here at LinkedIn, it was sort of a generalist and then I pivoted. Taking control of that brand really allowed me to do those things, because yes, you do need buy-in from people around you. And the way I got that buy-in was to set a foundation and really say, okay, I'm the person who's going to solve this problem for you. So I really like those suggestions that you made about how you could actually carve your own path with your brand. And I guess, taking a step back to lay a foundation for people, what is a personal brand? How do you describe the orbit of it?

Aliza: To me, a personal brand or a strong personal brand is when your name gets dropped in rooms you were not in, and you're recommended for opportunities other people haven't even heard of yet. We know from LinkedIn data, what? Like, 80% of jobs are filled through personal connections. How many times have you DM-ed someone on LinkedIn saying, hey, I see you're connected to so-and-so, would you be willing to make a warm intro? All of that work to me boils down to the idea that you need to think about what your headline is. So a lot of times we speak about elevator pitches or introductions, but if you think in terms of your own press release, what would you want your network to think about you? And if we think in terms of a headline, it's like, how are you arming people to speak about you when you're not there?

So that goes back to communicating what you're trying to do. Maybe you're looking for a new job, maybe you're looking to be connected to an investor. Maybe you're looking to get promoted, and you want to make sure that you're doing all the right things. But if we don't arm people with our narrative, people are not thinking about you. You think people know your story. You think they know what you're trying to do, they don't, because they're not thinking about you.

Andrew: Yeah.

Aliza: So that is really what's important. And an easy example of that is your email signature, your personal email signature. So many people waste that valuable real estate. Why not in your email signature say, listen to the latest episode of my podcast or sign up for my newsletter or buy my book. It's like handing someone who you are, and what you're interested in doing right this minute.

Andrew: And when it comes to actually defining what your brand is, obviously that does take a little bit of work to say, okay, here's what I want to be known for. And essentially what you're deciding is here's what's off limits. This is my personal space. I think that's important for people to remember is that when you're doing something like this, whether it's on social media or you're going to be giving talks and stuff, you're not letting everything hang out. You are very purposeful in what you share and what you don't. Right?

Aliza: Yes, I am a firm believer in don't bring your whole self to work, because not every part of you is appropriate for work. So it goes back to who are your stakeholders? Who is the audience? Whose respect you need? Who is in charge of your progress, your promotion, your investment, whatever it is? And making sure that everything you're doing in person and online is in support of that goal.

Andrew: We'll be right back after this break.

Andrew: We're back with Aliza Licht, talking about creating a personal brand. Something else that I wanted to ask you too is, once a person says, I have the general outline of a brand, how do you basically maintain your brand over time?

Aliza: Quarterly reminders, check your LinkedIn page, read your bio, look at your headline, look at your website, your portfolio, check your social media timelines, scroll through them, make sure everything is still in service of whatever it is you're trying to achieve. And not to say that you're going to find something drastically wrong, but we evolve. We can't just set it and forget it, but setting a reminder every quarter is a great way to just make sure that you're sort of reintroducing yourself to yourself.

Andrew: Yeah, I think that's really good, because you'd also just look at it and say, I don't want to do this anymore, because I've reached that point in parts of my career, where I'll realize that I was known for something, and I'll say, I don't want this to be part of my journey going forward anymore. And I decide to pivot and remove that from my website or just sort of slowly make a pivot. And I guess that's the other thing I wanted to ask about too, because so many people have pivoted in their careers over the past few years, and your brand can make that much easier. How do you do that? How do you make that shift? Because I know for me, it was like baby steps. I saw the destination, and I said, okay, this is not going to happen overnight, and I'm going to have to do this incrementally. But what is your suggestion for people?

Aliza: So I love that you experienced this yourself. My biggest thing when I left my role, and I realized I didn't want to do PR anymore. So when I started to think about, okay, well where am I going to work? What's going to be my job? I was like, oh my God, everyone knows me as a publicist, but I don't want to be that person anymore. So to me, the first step in that pivot is changing the way that you think about yourself, number one. And number two, communicating that to every single person. So anytime someone said to me, oh, I'll let you know if I hear of any PR jobs, I would say, thank you so much. I actually don't want to do PR anymore. I really want to move more into brand marketing and digital strategies. So if you hear of any opportunities in that space, let me know. And listen, repetition is reputation. The more that I message that same nugget, the more that people actually started to believe that I was a marketer, that was my goal is to just move over, because I knew I had the skills.

It just wasn't on paper. I think it does really start with how you shape that narrative, and then share it with people. That is how you shift perception.

Andrew: Yeah. I think that is such a good call, because when you say I am and then whatever follows, that sort of starts the process. And even if you are in the process of gaining experience, it's a very powerful statement for yourself to also say, actually, I'm a marketer now. And the more you say it, the more you believe it.

Aliza: Yes. And also, even if you haven't done it yet, this is what I'm trying to do. I really want to move into this. And a lot of times people are somehow shy about actually saying what they're trying to do, but I think you can't keep it a secret because you need people to have their ears to the ground for you.

Andrew: Yeah, that's a really good point. And something that does come with brand is that sometimes they are harmed. So if you make a mistake, and you realize, oh, okay, this is sort of a little bit public, maybe it's on social media a little bit, how do you begin to recover? Is it sort of playing the long game? What is your suggestion for someone in that position?

Aliza: The first thing is, recognize that your mistake is in one pocket. So a lot of times you'll see companies do this, where they will apologize for something, and they'll put that apology in every single medium they're in. And a lot of times people over on Instagram had no idea that thing happened over on Twitter. So I think taking a step back first, and really analyzing, okay, what did you do? Why did you do it in the first place? What led to that? And then where are the fires burning? Let's not air the dirty laundry in places we don't need to. And especially if you're doing something that requires an apology of some kind, that needs to be extremely thoughtful.

Andrew: For people who maybe don't make a mistake at that level. It's also good just to have your own personal board of advisors, where you can bounce things off of. And it's important not to have a bunch of yes people in that circle. You want people who say you screwed up.

Aliza: Yes.

Andrew: You need people who are honest with you, but also people who will have your back and say, okay, but I know your heart was in the right place, or you really did try. Even if it's just your coworkers, where you need to approach your manager about a mistake, having those people on that sounding board also sounds like a good idea, right?

Aliza: Yes. And I think time is everything here, because the more time that passes, the worse the situation will become. So timing is really important, and just being sincere and owning it. But I think the other flip side of this, especially internally in a company, managers need to create safe spaces for people to feel comfortable saying they made a mistake. A lot of times if you're led by someone who is not creating a safe space, employees will make mistakes, and then just kind of hide them under the carpet hoping that no one notices, and then, eventually, they'll come out in a worse way.

Andrew: And before I let you go, I would like to just know for people out there who are still on the fence about, I'm still in a position that I don't think I need to work that hard on a personal brand, what are the top three things that everyone should be doing to make sure that they're putting their best foot forward?

Aliza: Well, having your own website or portfolio is the only place on the internet where you have 100% share of voice that isn't controlled by an algorithm. So if you want to make sure you're showing up exactly in the way you want to, then I think it's worth doing that. I mean, a lot of people are like, I can't do that. That's too hard. Squarespace, Canva, these are amazing tools to really cheaply put something up. And especially Canva just for a moment, like the LinkedIn banner at the top that so many people don't take advantage of because they don't really understand how to use that narrow space. Canva has a LinkedIn banner template. So right now, mine is promoting my book, and it will change out depending on what I'm trying to promote. These are easy ways to make sure that you're communicating what's important to you at any given time. You are making an impression in every single thing you do, whether you're sending an email, posting on social media, or showing up in real life, you want to understand what you're messaging. I mean, we're all making an impression in everything we do.

Andrew: Totally. And I really do encourage that last bit, because you can really only be effective at crafting what people are saying about you if you know sort of ground zero, what is the baseline? And a lot of times people will be like, how am I doing? And they'll be like, oh, you're doing fine. And spoiler alert, they're not saying that to their friends necessarily. So you do need to have that baseline. So I think that's really important.

Aliza: Listen, I think a lot of people wait around hoping that people will notice they're good at what they do, and that's not a strategy. And you need to strategically make sure you know how to share your accomplishments, the value you add, what you're bringing to the table, but in a strategic way that's not going to make people hate you. And those are some of the tips I put in on brand because we need to be our own publicist.

Andrew: Yes. Well, you do an excellent job of it. Thank you so much for joining us.

Aliza: Pleasure.

Andrew: That was marketer and author of Leave Your Mark, Aliza Licht. Remember, it's up to you to put her advice into practice. Still, you always have a community backing you up and cheering you on. Connect with me and the Get Hired community on LinkedIn to continue the conversation. Also, if you like this episode, please take a moment to leave us a rating on Apple Podcast. It helps people like you find the show. And don't forget to click that follow, subscribe, or whatever other button you see to get our podcast delivered to you every Wednesday, because we'll be continuing these conversations on the next episode right here, wherever you like to listen.

Get Hired is a production of LinkedIn News. This episode was produced by Alexis Ramdaou, Lolia Briggs is our Associate Producer, Assaf Gidron engineered our show, Joe DiGiorgi mixed our show. Dave Pond is Head of News Production. Enrique Montalvo is our Executive Producer. Courtney Coupe is head of Original Programming for LinkedIn. Dan Roth is the Editor in Chief of LinkedIn. And I’m Andrew Seaman. Until next time, stay well and best of luck.