Why “you should really build a personal brand” is bull$h1t…
Maybe you shouldn't be building a personal brand
Okay, okay. So I am seeing more and more people advising tech professionals, or professionals in general, that you should build a personal brand.
This is understandable, considering what is happening to the job market and the uncertainty GenAI has created.
But I strongly disagree about building a personal brand!
For the most part.
Let me tell you why… but let’s first see what a personal brand is. And also let me tell you what I [do] agree with.
𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱
Personal brand, what does it mean? Something like…
- a personal website/blog
- regular sharing on (various) social media
- GitHub or otherwise code presence
- a clear identify or schtick, about who you are, what you do, and what you care about
It can be either all of the above, or just a few things, and then some other things that I am missing here, I am sure.
Norman Rockwell - "Triple Self-Portrait" (1960)
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱
It can give so many things. Networking, finding buddies to ask questions, unlocking opportunities, being on peoples radar vs. being completely obscure, learning how to write, getting more courageous, growing confidence, having fun, etc.
I’ve been one of the crazy people posting on LinkedIn daily for 18 months now and it has opened many doors for me. In a way it has transformed my career.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗱
Well, for one… it requires a lot of time. You don’t necessarily get a decent return on your investment. Ever worked on a post for 1-3 hours and it does nothing?
Another thing, everyone building a following doesn’t scale.
Sure we can all follow each other and everyone can have 10k+ followers. But… I read 100-200 LinkedIn posts a day, while what I share gets 50-100k impressions per day. See how that math doesn’t work out?
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗴𝗹𝘆
It’s bad for your mental health. Social media is, period. I don't care what people say. The initial dopamine is awesome. But it will turn into a dopamine addiction.
Do you know how to handle such addiction, amigo?
Most content creators I know have suffered mental health problems from what we do. Anxiety, burnout, or something else. If you pay close attention, they will post about it every so often.
This means if you are not "leveraging" your "brand", then you are just decreasing your quality of life. Yikes.
So yeah, a personal brand has a lot of value. But we can’t all build one. If it matches who you are, try it! Writers, ADHDers, ex-debate club members, documentation freaks and educators to the front!
Anyone really, if you want to, try it!!!
Growth really does happen outside of your comfort zone.
Just know that a lot of time and “getting past the shame” will be required… And that time and energy might be better used elsewhere.
So it's not: "you should build a personal brand"
But rather: "maybe it's worth exploring if building a personal brand is for you"
*rant over*