The Pros and Cons of Creating an Online Personal Brand

The way we do business and get jobs has changed. In college, someone told me “if you aren’t on LinkedIn, you don’t exist.” In the past, the only thing someone knew about you when you applied for a job was what you said on your resume, and what they could gleam from you from your references. Now, the hiring process is anything but simple. Before you are even offered a job, employers look at your Facebook, your Twitter, your LinkedIn, and your website (if you have one). So what do you do? Do you do what many people do and cover your tracks – post little about yourself online, and keep your information private? Or do you lean into the new way business is done, and find a way to present yourself in a consistent, enticing way? Do you invest in creating an online personal brand?

Pro of Creating an Online Personal Brand – You Control the Story

By proactively building your own personal brand, you will control the story that others see. This means you can think about the kind of work you want to do, the kind of business connections you want to have, and build something that those people will like to see.

Con of Creating an Online Personal Brand – You Risk the Chance of Rubbing Someone the Wrong Way

There’s no way that what you choose to post, like, comment on and share is going to be liked and well received by everyone. Sure, you can avoid posting things that are blatantly offensive, but just by the fact of being a living breathing person with your own views, people will disagree with you. By having your own personal brand and being more than just a list of accomplishments on a piece of paper, you run the risk of someone not liking you.

Pro – You Weed People Out

Let’s be real, for a second though. In this day and age, you really don’t want to be liked by everyone, and you certainly don’t want to work somewhere with people who don’t like you for who you are. By having a personal brand, you weed out the people who might want to work with you who you really won’t be able to have a relationship with in the long run, anyways.

Con – It Takes Time and Effort

One of the biggest hurdles to creating your own online personal brand is the fact that it takes a lot of time and effort. What website are you going to use? What social media accounts do you need? How often are you going to write new content, and how many times a week are you going to post? If you are doing all of this on top of running a business or doing a day job, it’s going to sink into your personal time.

Pro – People Will be Impressed with the Effort You Took

If you love what you do, though, it shouldn’t matter that you are giving up free time to do it. A beautiful, well though out and rich website is going to show people that you are passionate about what you do, and it’s something you do because you love to do it, not because you just want to collect a pay check.

In this day and age, having an online, personal brand can really set you apart in a busy, noisy landscape. Thinking through how you want to present yourself and how you want people to know you can be a huge boon and set the foundation for your career well into the future.