Brand maintenance: Do career checkup for new year

By now, most of us have gotten the memo on those annual tasks that we ignore at our own peril. Thus smoke alarm batteries get changed, doctor visits get scheduled and we (mostly) manage to get our teeth cleaned on some reasonable interval.

There’s something else you should do at least annually: brand maintenance for your career.

To steer a middle course between hyper-attention and obliviousness, it helps to break the concept of brand into parts. “Brand” really means reputation. In a work context, it refers to how you’re known to others in your field, whether that means inside your department or in the broader arena of your profession. And, of course, your brand (reputation) is important, regardless of whether you’re employed or engaged in a job hunt.

Following are five categories to consider when checking your brand. If you tackle one item in each category this year, you’ll be doing well.

1. Your promoted brand: How your abilities and experience are documented. This is what people often mean these days when they talk about their personal or professional brand. The category could include:

• Updated and business-savvy social media pages, such as LinkedIn and Facebook

• An updated resume, including recent committees, classes and work assignments

• A portfolio with work samples you can share with future employers

• Recommendations from current or former bosses, co-workers and clients, preferably in writing

To keep up with these documents, combine the task with other annual “housekeeping” steps, such as transferring reviews and positive emails from work onto your personal computer so you’ll have them if you’re unexpectedly locked out of your work system.

2. Your earned brand: Leadership or expertise you develop. Building your brand is more than promoting yourself. To be credible, you have to earn the reputation underlying your brand. Some ways to do this include:

• Writing an article or giving a talk about your subject

• Joining or leading a committee

• Mentoring or training others

3. Your shared brand: How others speak of you. Having a good reputation isn't helpful if no one is talking about you. To encourage others to share your message, you have to be connected in some way. To do this:

• Network inside your company by scheduling coffee with co-workers in other departments and externally by having lunch with professional friends at least once a month

• Join a professional or trade association and participate in monthly meetings and chat groups

• Accept social media invitations to connect, especially on LinkedIn

One often-overlooked brand-sharing opportunity is your annual performance review. To make the most of the meeting, prepare a list of highlights from your work, and tell your boss about skills you’ve been developing that he or she might not be aware of.

4. Your future brand: Skills you need to acquire. Part of building a good brand is having good material to use. Now is the time to identify the missing pieces in your skill set. Build skills by:

• Taking internal, online or community-based classes

• Cross training with other departments

If your time and budget will allow, remember to look outside your current company’s needs when choosing classes. It’s usually better for your overall career to broaden skills for your general industry.

5. Your "self" brand: Personal confidence. Everything on this list is rooted in you. To ensure you're staying in shape "brand-wise":

• Earn your own respect by doing something hard or long dreamed of

• Develop routines and stick with them — exercise, healthy eating, etc.