For some time now, there’s been a crapload of talk about the concept of personal brand.

It’s about who you are about and what you show the world.

It’s about your Facebook account, your blog, MySpace, LinkedIn, resume, business card, handshake, the twinkle in your eye… the list goes on.

Your Brand

Fast Company talks about personal brand and our responsibilities as the CEOs of our own companies:

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

Finding Yourself

Over at Redhead Writing (full disclosure, she’s my buddy. But, as we say in RI – to steal a phrase from my boss – she’s wicked smahhht) she talks about how to research employees – both current and future. I’d take that one step further. Google yourself. See what comes up. Is that really what you want folks to believe about you?

Here are some easy steps to follow to research both prospective AND current employees. Remember – nothing is sacred, and these folks are representing your company’s brand in public. Kinda like an issue I had with a female associate at a major Las Vegas law firm that had bikini-clad and cleavage-laden photos populating her MySpace account. Right next to her employing firm’s name. Boooooooooooo…

A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words

I have long  been a proponent of NOT doing kegstands on your Facebook profile. Untag yourself immediately when your friends post pictures of you playing flipcup. That’s my opinion. I choose not to talk about sex on my blog. I choose not to have photos of me drunk and dancing on tables (no I don’t really dance on tables when I have more than two beers – which is how much it takes to get me drunk – but I consider it almost every time) on Facebook. I choose not to swear on Twitter.

I have my own lines in the sand. I don’t think it’s about where your lines are – everyone is different. It’s about if you have them at all. You should choose your boundaries and work with them – they’re lines in the sand, not hard and fast rules. It should be strategic, not haphazard. Because those glamma shots of you all pouty and (what you think is) sexy – not impressive to me when I’m thinking about hiring you.

But each of these photos has been my profile picture at one time on any number of social networks. What do these say about me? What does your photo say about you?

Tagged as: Facebook, personal brand, photos, social media, twitter

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