Career Reinvention &
Personal Brand Strategist

How Important is Your Professional Image to Your Brand?

August 11, 2010
By: Randi Bussin-Career Coach, Personal Branding Specialist

How Important is Your Professional Image to Your Brand?

 

Lizandra Vega, professional careeer and image coach and author of the new book, The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land the Job You Want, ..

Many of my clients think their Personal Brand is just their company name, logo and tagline. This is the furthest from the truth. Your Personal Brand extends to your office environment, your professional appearance, the technology you use and even your networking contacts.  I asked Lizandra Vega, Professional Image Coach to share her viewpoints on image and your Personal Brand. Here are her thoughts:

 

Much like the consumer brands you endorse, your professional image should communicate trustworthiness, credibility, reliability, authority, and value-characteristics that are appealing assets to the firm that has or plans to hire you. In order to create a strong and memorable brand, one that will be remembered and sought after, you must integrate the various components of your image to project a consistent and favorable story about who you are and what makes you a worthy investment as an employee.

Fit:  Finding apparel pieces that fit and flatter your physical characteristics is necessary to building your brand. Assess your body with honesty and make choices that accentuate, balance and camouflage your physical traits accordingly. This requires research and a commitment to finding garments, accessories and shoes that enhance your professional brand. Avoid throwing your hands up in the air and succumbing to trends. Instead, assume responsibility and make choices that supply you with confidence.

 

Grooming:  Jagged fingernails, visible dandruff and teeth that look like you've missed your six month check-up on a recurring basis for the past five years portray you as unmotivated, lethargic and apathetic. In this case, if you were a product on display and a customer showed an interest in buying one of you, he or she would ask for a "fresh one" rather than taking the floor sample, even at a huge discount. Employers don't have the time to spruce you up and wait for the ramp up time. You must appear ready to go and hit the ground running.

 

Protocol:  Since professional image is defined by more than just the outer appearance, business protocol is an area that is hugely ignored, and yet it has an equally vital impact on your branding. Your sense of urgency and timeliness show interest, enthusiasm as well as commitment to your goals, and more specifically, your job. For instance, showing up to a job interview on time implies that if offered the job, the same protocol would be followed when representing the company on a client visit. On the other hand, if you leave an interview and neglect to follow up with written correspondence, or do so a week or two after the appointment, it will be assumed that you will have the same halfhearted attitude in business.

 

Your professional image is integral to creating a believable brand. Each component is carefully scrutinized by those deciding whether or not they want to be associated with your brand. After all, we are the company we keep, so make sure that the sum of your parts prove to be worthy of keeping.

Lizandra Vega is the author of The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land The Job You Want, (AMACOM Books, May 2010). Cofounder and managing partner of Manhattan-based boutique staffing firm Perennial Resources International (PRI), she is also a certified image coach. She lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband and two children. Please visit Lizandra's website or contact her via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.  

 

©2012, Randi Bussin, Aspire!

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