I wondered about this question when I read Penelope Trunk’s comment on Nicole Crimaldi’s blog, Ms. Career Girl.
I’m 42 years old. I have had a very successful career, and I can be judged on my track record. So I don’t need a personal brand.
So, newsflash, you never hear me writing about my personal brand because I don’t need one. I am not at the beginning of my career, I am not trying to figure out what I stand for. I am not trying to explain to people how they should view me.
While I’m normally not a follower of Ms. Trunk, her comment got me thinking: Is there a certain point in life when you no longer need a personal brand? Is it an age, or more of a milestone?
I asked this question of my Twitter followers, and @MAltaee responded, “When we die!” Similarly, @Critiques4Geeks said, “For some, reaching that point might not be anytime too soon! Especially re: entrepreneurs, small biz leaders, and C-suite level. Their business identity and persona are very closely linked, so personal branding is very much a part of the picture.”
It’s not your age
In reading her comment, I don’t believe Ms. Trunk argues she no longer needs a personal brand because of her age, although she does mention she’s 42. Age, in my opinion, is not the sole determiner of whether or not you need to maintain (or create) a personal brand. After all, as Ms. Trunk aptly goes on to point out, she’s already had a successful career.
It’s a milestone – that you set
Although “when we die” might be a little extreme, I am going to respectfully disagree with Ms. Trunk about the fact that she doesn’t need a personal brand at this point in her life. While I don’t know her – at all – I’m willing to bet she still has plenty of future plans. But the good news is, even though she might not be writing about her personal brand, she’s been living it.
She makes some very important points about when it might be useful to create a personal brand: at the beginning of your career or when you’re trying to establish yourself as an expert. And she’s right – she’s not at either of those points. However, as long as you still have a career-related goal to accomplish, regardless of your age, I argue that personal branding is still valuable.
What career-related goals do you have yet to accomplish in your life? What are your personal branding plans to help you get there?
Author:
Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and founder & president of Come Recommended, an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers. She is also the national entry-level careers columnist for Examiner.com and blogs about career advice at HeatherHuhman.com.
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Everyone has a personal brand no matter what. Once you acknowledge that, you are more inclined to manage and develop it. She just hasn’t acknowledged it yet….
Very good question, Heather. Branding does seem to relate mainly to careers, but I think your brand is a pivotal part of your experience outside of career as well. Branding is something needed in society at large these days, and anyone not concerned with brand is not concerned with being a part of society.
Heather an interesting post, but I sense a real disconnect here and one that has probably for me been the most disapointing thing about personal branding in 2009.
A personal brand is not a strategy to get you to somewhere, it is much deeper than that – it connect to who you are as a person, your reputation, values, passions and what you want to be doing with your life. Penelope Trunk has a personal brand – we all do. Whether we choose to do anyhting about it is another matter.
A personal brand plan are the conscious steps and actions we determine to take that help us build, develop and establish our personal brands (usually professionally more than personally) . I would suggest that Penelope feels this is not what she needs (or has) – although I would offer that is exactly what she has been doing – but that is a whole other post!
Just my toonies worth
Heather,
People keep asking me this question over and over ever since Penelope wrote that comment on my post. 99% of people I’ve talked to disagree with Penelope’s comment and say that no matter how successful, and how old, you will ALWAYS need to manage your personal brand. I mean look at Tiger Woods…he’s a perfect example of why Penelope’s theory doesn’t really make sense.
Thanks for keeping the discussion going on this important topic.
Nicole
I see this question and the messages referred to in this post as the problem with the general misunderstanding of brand. To keep my comment short (I could go on and on), I will comment from my experience as and executive recruiter who creates entrepreneurs. Companies will pay big fees to recruit the unmistakable personal brand. Usually Boomers and unmistakable means we pay them for not only the career strategy that got them here today, but the brand that keeps them top of mind as the best solution in the future. When our perceived competition rests on what they think is a sustained personal brand, they, like once great business and industry that fail learn later, they became irrelevant as change happened around them. I see it all the time, past talent not getting tapped anymore = washed up brand failure. GREAT brands know they need to create trends and not just be along for the ride they once created. Few are up for the challenge – those are who we work with
People investing in a great brand know that they are creating a legacy that adds value after they die. Not self-promotion, but adding value in a process or system that is promoted by others. That my friends is the separation. Few have a great brand and keep pushing to make a REAL difference, not just get a great job or career.
Forget personal branding for a moment, and look at corporate branding. While the argument could be made that the United States Postal Service or Wells Fargo or McDonald’s are elevated in people’s brains that branding is no longer necessary, all it takes is one negative comment, e.g. 2009′s Motrin campaign that annoyed mommies, to force companies to react. No different with people.
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Heather,
As a reader of Penelope Trunk and a peripheral follower of Brazen Careerist, I had the exact same questions Nicole did in her original blog post. In fact, much of Penelope’s writing is so deeply personal that I assumed being outrageous *was* her personal branding strategy.
Regardless, I agree with you 100%. Just because someone has had a successful past does not mean they’ve earned the right to sit back and allow others to define their future.
Emily Bennington
If Ms. Trunk’s statement were true, Kelloggs would no longer need to brand and market their cereal. I mean they have definitely established their brand… but those commercials still keep coming.
You will always have a personal brand; whether you continue to develop it is up to you. For me, I think it’s a good idea to continually develop your brand whether you’re working, retired, etc. Your brand is what differentiates you from the mediocrity of this world.