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Personal branding seems to matter a lot in the job search, especially in higher education. You are recommended and hired because of what you are known for: your actions and behaviors. But that is your reputation. It’s what other people think and say about you. You don’t control your reputation. It’s earned.
Your brand is different. It’s stated. It’s the story you tell about yourself by using everything from online biographies and LinkedIn profile descriptions to visual identity and color palettes.
Brands were once exclusively companies and products, but in recent decades individuals have become brands that can be carefully curated on social media.
Because of the ubiquity of the digital environment, and how people are trained to consider reputation as people’s identity, having a personal brand might seem unavoidable.
“All faculty, staff, and administrators are brands, whether they like it or not, or whether they actively construct one for themselves or not,” wrote Daniel Grassian in “An Insider’s Guide to University Administration.”
Higher education professionals might resist any kind of branding within the academy, institutional or personal, because of “the increasing corporatization of the modern university and the decline of its educational focus,” as Grassian notes.
Reputation is a valuable currency in higher education and its job market, but institutions have realized that they can control, or at least influence, what people think. It’s why they employ many communication and marketing professionals, consultants, and vendors. Branding works for colleges and universities, but does it work for individuals?
The Case Against Personal Branding
“I am vehemently opposed to the notion of someone aspiring to be a brand,” said brand consultant Debbie Millman on an episode of the podcast “Worklife” with Adam Grant. “I think a personal brand is an oxymoron. When someone tries to create a personal brand, they’re manufacturing an impersonal perception.”
In this sense, personal branding is the paradox when a photographer tells someone to “act natural” when attempting to take a candid photo of them. Personal branding is a performance. You’re trying to project an image of what you believe most people will approve of and admire about you.
“Personal branding runs the risk of putting your image above your identity,” replied Grant, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School who is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author.
Grant goes on to list three risks of personal branding that are supported by research: it can make you look 1.) self-absorbed, 2.) fake, or 3.) insecure.
The Case For Personal Branding
There is one exception to personal branding where you have less risk.
“In a job interview, it’s perfectly appropriate to self-promote,” said Mark Bolino, a management professor at the University of Oklahoma, who was also a guest on Grant’s podcast. “The research shows that in an interview context, that’s the one place that promoting yourself works.”
You can make an argument, however, that because your reputation is always on the line — and potentially online — everything you do is a job interview.
Many people now conflate reputation and brand.
“Your brand is a story,” said Lola Linarte, who owns a personal branding agency and was a guest on the “How to Be Awesome at Your Job podcast.” “Your brand is your reputation, and it’s just up to you whether or not you’re going to control it or neglect it. It’s just more about controlling the narrative.”
Linarte said that many people — and this very much applies to higher education professionals — hide behind their accolades, degrees, and their work because they don’t want to seem self-promotional or assume people are not interested.
But there’s value in sharing the story and doing so in a compelling way. Stated effectively, you are improving your reputation and advancing your career.
Consider the Upsides and Downsides
Whether or not you decide to conduct a personal branding campaign, it’s helpful to know your audiences and understand the benefits and harms of putting yourself out there.
Professors are often seen as solo practitioners in the marketplace. They might use their institution’s brand as a credential by association to advance their career, but they are generally seen as “information vendors” who retain ownership of their own intellectual property.
Personal branding might only seem beneficial to those in the professoriate who are seeking to become authors, professional speakers, content experts, and other types of public intellectuals.
Most faculty and aspiring professors want promotion and tenure. Getting there is more prescribed. Developing your own brand is a non-promotable task.
“Branding is more important for administrators compared to faculty because faculty are evaluated on content, teaching, scholarship, and service,” Grassian wrote.
But even those who strive to climb the ranks in administration or secure a staff position should weigh the risks. Cultivating a personal brand is hard work because everyone is an audience, not just those with hiring power, and it’s difficult to separate who you are as a professional from everything else. You are always on and always performing.
Fixating on personal branding and the allure of controlling your own message can distract you from doing the actual work that will advance your reputation.
“Our image is the cumulative effect of all of our behavior,” Bolino told Grant. “This is one of these things where actions speak more loudly than words, right? I mean, people see what your behavior is, how you act on a regular basis. That’s what really matters.”
In Conclusion
Don’t discount the power of personal branding. If a brand is stated and controlled, recognize opportunities to speak up for yourself and tell your story. Use LinkedIn. Practice your elevator pitch.
But don’t let personal branding supplant your efforts to earn a reputation. Hone your craft as a teacher, researcher, or administrator. Develop the relationships, strategies, curriculum, or whatever is considered good work in your profession.
Control your actions first. They really do speak louder than brands.
