Build Your Personal Brand — Even When You’re Not Looking for a Job

Personal branding can sound like something reserved for influencers, but it can go a long way in helping you advance your career in government. Building a personal brand isn’t about becoming a social media personality; it’s about developing a reputation for what you know, what you contribute, and how you work.

And you don’t have to be looking for a new job to benefit from one.

A strong professional reputation can help you become known as a subject-matter expert, expand your network, gain invitations to important projects, and increase your visibility with leadership, as well as position you for future opportunities inside and outside of your current organization.

So how do you start building your professional brand?

Identify what you want to be known for

Start by identifying two or three areas where you have meaningful expertise or a strong interest. These might be technical skills, leadership, policy, acquisition, cybersecurity, human capital, program management or another area relevant to your work.

Then look for opportunities to demonstrate that expertise: Write an article for an industry publication and work with your communications team to get it published. Apply to speak on a panel hosted by a professional association. Use LinkedIn as a great platform to share interesting reading and then add your perspective. Within your organization, offer to give presentations to your team about lessons you learned from attending events or trainings.

But you don’t need to do all of these. Consistency matters more than volume.

Think reputation, not self-promotion

Your personal brand is essentially the professional reputation you build over time. What do colleagues come to you for? What topics do people associate with your name? What do you consistently contribute to your organization and professional community?

The goal isn’t to constantly promote yourself. It’s to make your expertise and contributions visible.

In addition to making others aware of any articles or research you publish or contribute to, share material that you find interesting, then provide commentary on why it grabbed your attention and what people should take away from their reading.

Consider sharing slice-of-life updates that highlight how you work — link to an app that helped you get something done or detail a new outlook on time management that is making you more productive.

Instead of posting, “I’m excited to announce that I received an award,” consider sharing what you learned from the project that earned it.

Build relationships beyond your organization

Your reputation shouldn’t depend entirely on the people who work in your office. Participate in professional associations, attend conferences and training programs, and maintain relationships with colleagues you’ve worked with throughout your career.

As you attend events, make sure to connect on LinkedIn with the people you meet so that you can continue conversations. Comment on their posts and reach out via messages with questions about something they’ve posted.

Similarly, maintain relationships with former colleagues by commenting on their posts and making time to meet up in person occasionally. If you see someone is planning on attending the same event as you, try to connect face-to-face while you’re there.

Networking isn’t just something you do when you need a job. It is an ongoing investment in your professional community.

Be visible — but be authentic

You don’t need thousands of followers. You don’t need to post every day. And you certainly don’t need to turn your professional life into a reality show.

Focus on being consistently helpful, credible, and professional. Over time, people should begin to associate your name with your expertise and your willingness to contribute.

The best personal brand isn’t manufactured. It’s the public expression of the reputation you’ve already earned.

As the founder of GovEvents and GovWhitePapers, Kerry is on a mission to help businesses interact with, evolve, and serve the government. With 25+ years of experience in the information technology and government industries, Kerry drives the overall strategy and oversees operations for both companies. She has also served in executive marketing roles at a number of government IT providers.