Personal Branding Can Fast Track Your Career

Posted from Royal Oak, Michigan-

Let's say you're stuck in a dead-end job in a loser industry or even a good job in a bad industry.  All is not lost.  You can use personal branding to transcend the bad situation and effectively distance yourself from it.  In a short time, you can literally promote yourself into a better situation.

Personal branding is a way of transcending a bad vocational situation and coming out on top.  I've done this in three separate industries: music, telecommunications and publishing.  Here's how it works. 

The idea is to "rise above" your current circumstances by marketing yourself outside your job description.  For example, if you're a clerk at a manufacturing company and things are not looking up for career advancement, you can market yourself to the industry or even to the public. 

Most workers only interact with people in their immediate surroundings.  Yet, there are hundreds and maybe thousands of people in your industry that would love to hire your skill set.  When you apply the personal branding concept and expose the new you to all people in every industry, the possibilities are downright intoxicating. 

There are two ways you can take action immediately.  The two most effective ways to create a personal brand are to beome known as a effective speaker or a writer. 

To become a speaker, simply volunteer to speak on behalf of your department or company at trade shows and other events.  You can also produce sound files or podcasts that can give you exposure on the Internet.

To extend your brand as a writer, create short reports on your area of expertise and make the information available to people.  Distribute the info in person, via e-mail or a blog. 

Offer the information at no cost.  This lesson is in building a personal brand, not making money.  I'll tell you how to profit from your personal brand in another blog.