Have you ever seen someone in the tech space building their personal brand, and when you check out their profile or portfolio website or with time, it became obvious that they are trying to be someone they aren’t?. Well, as you may have also seen, it won’t take long for other people to figure it out either.
Sadly, this is the reality of most persons in the tech space. In Social media and in tech communities, a lot of people may be are faking it under the guise of personal branding. They are doing more of the talking, being loud about their age and personal achievements without 'solid evidence' of their work. Emphasis is on solid evidence or proof because these ones are into 'tech' but there's no evidence. They have gone ahead to brand themselves as 'expert', 'mentor', 'senior designer', 'senior developer', 'CEO/CTO', within their tech communities with no in depth knowledge, years of experience or projects showcasing their skills in that tech field.
It is very obvious that rather than putting in the actual work, most people are obsessed with these labels without any idea or knowledge of what it means to be an 'expert', 'senior' or 'a mentor'. If you are not careful, you may be led astray or try do something similar to such people. When personal branding is based on labels or talks without proof, it makes it difficult to know to genuine and hard working individuals in tech.
It is also true that a lot of personal branding today are built on lies and mediocrity and sadly, such ones may gain advantage in terms of landing jobs/roles and projects over the people who have put in the actual work with solid evidence. Is it fair ? No.
Understanding Personal Branding and its Importance
However, there is a healthy type of personal branding that this article will focus on. Simply put, personal brand is what people see (evidence), and not just what they hear you say when they encounter you. It plays a critical role in shaping the way people perceive you, especially in today's crowded and competitive tech job market.
A strong personal brand can help you build credibility and trust with your target audience, differentiate yourself from your competitors, and ultimately drive your career growth. As you may have noticed, the keywords this article are 'authenticity', 'proof', 'evidence' because these values are essential in building a personal brand.
Why authenticity is essential to your personal branding
Authenticity can simply mean being true to your self in your tech journey. Your authentic personal brand is what sets you apart. The other big piece is Integrity. Authenticity doesn’t exist without integrity. People want to do business with people who 'can actually' do what they say they can do. People in your tech community are looking for a leader and mentor they can resonate with and trust.
Before you take up labels such as 'senior designer', 'senior developer', 'mentor', 'CEO' or 'CTO', be sure you are experienced and have acquired in-depth knowledge in that tech field. To maintain a good and healthy personal brand, here are a few other tips you can apply;
Be true to yourself, your skills, and your expertise.
Give Yourself time to grow in your tech skills.
Build and build more projects. In other words, do the work before the talk.
Build in public and Show your works.
In conclusion, the key to maintaining a good personal brand is to focus on authenticity and putting in the actual work that resonates with your personal brand. So build Your personal brand with 'evidence' to back up your talk. Do the work before the talk !.
In My previous article, I talked about how you can Navigate your tech Resources and learn with purpose. You can find it here; https://hashnode.com/post/clqyyt07900050aigc0aj3bo0