3 Main issues with the personal branding trend!

Professional resume consultants and career coaches see three main problems with the personal branding trend.

1.     Personal branding encourages us to think about ourselves too much

When you consider building a brand, you're considering how you should package and market yourself. When you consider how to build a reputation, you're considering how you should act.

That, to me, is a significant distinction. One is inward-looking and self-centred, while the other is outward-looking and more concerned with others' needs.

No one believes they can build a reputation for something without putting in the effort, yet I believe many people view personal branding as a packing exercise.

2.     Personal branding can mess with our decision-making

When a "branded" individual is faced with the necessity to act, I believe having a "personal brand" might lead to inauthentic behaviour. A customer recently told me that he rejected down a great opportunity because it didn't fit with his personal brand. He had been dissatisfied with his job for some time, and the promotion would have moved him in a different direction professionally. While it piqued his interest, he was concerned that all of his efforts to "create his brand" would be undone if he took that sideways step. But he was dissatisfied! That is illogical.

3.     Personal branding is too open to misinterpretation

I'm sure that well-intentioned, talented personal branding instructors would argue that my client misunderstood the concept of personal branding and that he should have pursued the opportunity if it piqued his interest.

When such criticisms are levelled, this is invariably the defence. "That guy just didn't understand," personal branding advocates say, adding that "if he had worked with a career coach or resume consultants, he would have been fine."

That is, however, my point. The majority of people never work with a professional coach. They just learn about personal branding on the internet or in a book, then attempt to implement the ideas in their own lives. Personal branding, on the other hand, is a term that is prone to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Building a solid reputation in your business, field, or area of expertise is considerably less catchy and economically viable, but I believe it is where we in the careers field need to be taking the conversation.

With so many of our remarks, thoughts, and ideas forever stored online (and allegedly scrutinised by the government!), none of us can escape worrying about our online and offline reputations. For me, the unneeded shackles of "personal branding" make it far more difficult to do so while keeping true to ourselves as honest, complex, contradictory, and fascinating humans.

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