BUILD On Strength

Published on September 18th, 2012 | by Beth Campbell Duke

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Personal Branding Is The New Job Security

Job security used to mean having a ‘job for life’. People sought stability with one employer for the long-term.

That was then.

May You Live In Interesting Times ~ Traditional Blessing or Curse?

In today’s world of work, ‘job security’ is taking on a new meaning. Not only can you not count on finding a long-term position such as our parents and grandparents sought, but many of us now aren’t even interested in this kind of position.

If you’re in the camp that believes that living in ‘interesting times’ is a curse, then here are some thoughts to help you at least start thinking that there’s some blessing in all of our current upheaval!

Long-term job security was false security as anyone who has been ‘down-sized’ or ‘right-sized’ will tell you. While the Boomers and older members of Generation ‘X’  lived through the beginnings of the changing job market, younger Gen ‘X’ers and Generation ‘Y’ grew up watching their parents try to cope with these changes. (The next time you think of blasting Gen ‘Y’ for not having a sense of company loyalty – remember where they learned it.) There is a blessing in all of this chaos. When we realize that by taking control of our own career paths – and don’t give our power over to a company – it is possible to create both personal and professional success.

Stay with me! Most of what we teach people in the area of career counselling isn’t new.

• What’s new is the realization that in a world where there’s little in the way of long-term job security, people need to learn effective skills and use them over the course of their careers.
• What’s new is the realization by people that the effective skills you use for personal success are the same effective skills you need for professional success.
• What’s really new is that more people are pulling together what we now call a ‘personal brand’. They using it initially to find work and then realizing that it can be used to grow their careers. In the event that they find themselves out of work, their ‘personal brand’ (including their personal marketing materials and strategies) are at the ready to help them find another position.

Personal Branding is about understanding your strengths and skills and how they fit with the needs of your community (including your employer or clients). Personal Branding is about knowing who you are and what you want – and delivering on the promise of your brand. Personal Branding is about taking back your personal power.

In a world where you’re only as good as your last project, it pays to focus on what you do control. Personal Branding is the new job security.

photo credit: {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester} via photo pin cc

About the Author

Beth Campbell Duke I'm a member of 'Gen X' or the 'Nexus Generation' - sandwiched firmly between the Boomers and Gen Y! With a foot in both worlds, I often find myself trying to explain one to the other. As Kid President likes to say, 'We're all on one team'.

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