The power of strong brands is an established phenomenon. Why else would someone pay $100 for a T-shirt with a well-respected logo on it, over an equally well-made blank garment on sale for $10?
In the same way that Nike, Toyota and Apple are respected brands, we individually are also brands in the employment marketplace. Some of us have high value, driven by our achievements, successes and networks, while others are less established or respected.
From a recruitment perspective, the reason for recruiting top "brands" in your industry is very important. The power of a person's individual brand, dictates their level of influence they have in the marketplace.
The more influence and respect an individual has in an industry (or a niche in the industry), the more potential business opportunities they can generate. The more business opportunities they can create, in turn leads to more income streams as these opportunities are converted. An example would be a respected lawyer in the field of environmental law. As they improve their brand through winning cases, writing articles and having a solid online presence, they become a trusted voice for the sector, in turn generating high levels of trust and influence. Therefore potential clients seeking out a leader in the field to represent them, will choose this person over a less high-profile competitor.
Another key benefit that flows from a strong personal brand in your team, is the reflected brand for your business. Having a group of talented, respected and influential team members will ensure your business is seen as a leader in your field.
People with strong brands have trusted and respected relationships they can use to generate new networks and influence for your business. This is very important as these new customers become established clients over the long term.
True professionals want to work alongside other leaders in the field so attracting top candidates for key roles becomes easier. This is evident when recruiting talented graduates to your organisation who are keen to learn from the best.
If your business is niched, recruiting leaders in this area will drive more business, allowing you to invest in the niche further, securing it ahead of your competitors over the long term.
A strong personal brand will carry more influence in their sector, and in turn allow them to advocate more successfully for positive change on behalf of the disenfranchised as well as to lawmakers. Their words are influential and carry more weight, leading to positive outcomes for those allied with them and their cause.
Remember next time you are looking for a team member to help lead your organisation into the future, add "personal brand" into the mix of your recruitment decision-making. The success of your business may depend on it.
As a specialist in HR and recruitment, I am always astounded by the lack of care people take about their public "brand". Half-completed LinkedIn profiles, dodgy pictures on Facebook and selfies and tweets that weren't thought through all spell future career disaster for the unwary.
LinkedIn is a massively important part of your brand, and it's imperative your "online brochure" sells and markets you professionally. If a picture paints a thousand words, then your photo is your personal "logo" to a large extent. A 2014 study tracking the eye movements of recruiters by career researchers TheLadders, said recruiters spend approximately 20 per cent of their time looking at LinkedIn photos during their screening process.
So it's vital that we ensure our own photo promotes us professionally to our prospective employers and business networks.
• Personal hobbies - unless fishing is a fundamental part of your industry, don't have a photo of you pulling in a large snapper. It just says "I would much rather be doing this, than working for you."
• Busy background - this can be distracting. You want the focus to be on you, not on the background.
• Sunglasses / hat / car / weird top - again these are distracting and take away the professionalism from your picture. A recent photo I saw had a guy wearing dark sunglasses that made him look like he was in the Mafia.
• Wedding shot - though it's great that you are married, this is not the forum to put a photo of you in a suit, cutting your wife out of the photo, but leaving her shoulder in. It also infers you don't have any other pictures of yourself looking professional.
• Blatant selfie - smiling with your arm extended in a selfie does not say "I am a professional - hire me".
• On an angle - in many forums (including LinkedIn), having an 'arty' picture can be cool and can set you apart. However a normal photo of you on a 30-degree angle is not one of these.
• Stretched photos - this happens when a person really loves a particular photo, however it does not fit the LinkedIn measurements so is stretched to fit - a very bad look.
• No photo - I am aware that some people don't want to be judged by their photo, so they choose not to upload one. However their profile then looks incomplete, which does little to gain the confidence of recruiters and potential employers.
• Spend time to make a good logo - These days, any smart phone can create a pleasant and professional photo that ensures you position yourself well alongside others on LinkedIn.
Time to get it out and get snapping!
Welcome to my regular series entitled "My Light Bulb Moment". This column highlights a "blinding flash of insight", business, cultural and sports leaders have experienced, and how this changed their lives forever.
Sir Richard is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers and all-rounders in cricketing history. By the time he retired from international cricket in 1990, he had become the first bowler to pass 400 wickets and had made 3124 test runs, including two centuries and 15 fifties.
Born in Christchurch, Sir Richard made his first class debut for Canterbury in 1971/72 and his test match debut in 1973. On both occasions he had an inauspicious start, with his first delivery on both occasions being dispatched to the boundary. Eighteen years later in his last test match against England, he took a wicket with the final ball of his test career.
Lightbulb moment - Assume nothing and work hard!
"While at school, sport always seemed to interfere with my studies and exams, but school did teach me a valuable lesson that I have never forgotten" Sir Richard remembers. "That lesson has helped me throughout both my life and cricket career.
"In 1967 I sat my School Certificate exams at Christchurch Boys' High School. My way of preparing was to write and rewrite my notes hoping to remember the key points. I sat five exam papers and felt confident that I had passed." The results arrived in the mail and his mother appeared with the envelope on a silver tray.
Sir Richard opened the letter, and to his immense disappointment found he had got close, but failed. "This was embarrassing, disappointing, degrading and frustrating, especially as I was the only boy in the family [four brothers] to have failed School Certificate."
"Realising that I had automatically expected to pass, I now came to terms with the fact that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to work harder, prepare better and be smarter in the way I did things. The following year I sat six subjects and passed them all [easily]. Lesson learned."
Taking those lessons into his cricket career, Sir Richard's attention to detail in preparation and planning was essential. "I got into good habits, disciplines and routines, and the harder I worked the more successful I became on the sporting field. The rest is history. I guess I have done quite well for being an early failure!!"
If you have had a blinding moment of insight (a light bulb moment), please email me as I would love to hear about it.