Getting ahead in your career often boils down to one thing: your reputation. That’s why it’s never too early or too late to work on your personal brand, says Maha Abouelenein, a strategic communications expert and author of “Seven Rules of Self-Reliance.” A former Google executive, Abouelenein is the founder and CEO of global communications firm Digital and Savvy.
You can build your professional reputation in three steps, according to Abouelenein: Do good work, add value, and foster strong relationships.
“Reputation is like a currency,” she tells CNBC Make It. “It’s the only thing you own, and I want you to invest in it. … Without your [personal brand], you can’t do anything.”
1. Do good work
The Minnesota-born public relations expert got her start as a promotions planner at General Mills before moving to Egypt, and then Dubai, to take on managing director and C-suite roles at companies like Weber Shandwick and Google.
Being a woman executive in a male-dominated industry was no easy task. Abouelenein often felt required to “step it up a little bit more so I can be heard,” she says. Her success helped her establish credibility.
In 2014, Abouelenein launched Digital and Savvy, which works with large brands like Netflix and Uber, and and big names like actress Halle Berry and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.
“Instead of me having to promote my reputation, I decided I’m gonna do really good work and let that tell people who I am: ‘She’s consistent, she delivers, she gets results, she’s reliable, she’s loyal, she’s thoughtful, she’s strategic,'” Abouelenein tells Make It. “I thought, if I could do that through my work, then that’ll be the best way for people to understand who I am and what I do.”
2. Add value
To add value at your workplace, Abouelenein writes, follow these four principles:
- Be consistent with your behavior, putting in the effort to solve problems and collaborating
- Share knowledge with those around you, offering help, insight and ideas whenever you can
- Back up your ideas with facts to improve your credibility
- Anticipate the needs of your boss, manager and colleagues
If you know your coworker is overwhelmed, for example, consider offering to take on a task or two. If your boss is onboarding a new employee, volunteer to show them the ropes.
Doing more than the minimum shows that you’re committed to the success of your company and colleagues. “Being of value for someone means you’re trying to go above and beyond to deliver something that only you can uniquely deliver, and then trying to do that consistently,” she tells Make It.
3. Foster strong relationships
A good way to cement your reputation is to have people who can vouch for you.
“I understood early the importance of developing strong relationships. It creates trust. It creates a connection,” Abouelenein says. “So I invested in [it] my whole life, in my 30 year career, and I continue to do it every single day, trying to make deposits in other people’s trust banks.”
Instead of me having to promote my reputation, I decided I’m gonna do really good work and let that tell people who I am.
Maha Abouelenein
author of “Seven Rules of Self-Reliance”
Make sure you aren’t being transactional, she adds. Only reaching out to someone when you need something from them can seem like you take them for granted — something highly successful people steer clear of, life coach Francesca Hogi recently told CNBC Make It.
Instead, “be good intentioned by not asking for things” immediately, says Abouelenein. Be curious about people’s backgrounds and insights, practice active listening, and follow up with them afterward.
It doesn’t hurt to go the extra mile to send a “Happy Holidays!” message or a “Get well soon!” text when necessary, either.
“The best way for you to build your reputation or your personal brand is to be authentic. You need to be consistent, and you need to have a purpose,” Abouelenein says.
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