Does the need to brand ever tail off in your career?

I got this question recently from an older gentleman that attended one of my presentations. They were asking if there was ever a time in your career when branding didn't matter.

There are really two parts to this questions. First, do you ever not need to actively brand? That's because you are always branding yourself. Second, is your career hurt if you stop actively branding yourself.

Let me tackle the first item. Is there a time when you don't need to actively brand?

You don't need to actively brand yourself. The idea with branding is to stand out from the crowd. Make sure others know what you do well, both in your work and how you carry yourself in a professional setting. The hard and soft skills you have.

If you're happy in your career, and you feel secure, perhaps you can stop actively branding. As long as nothing changes, that's fine. In this position, you my be just marking time, which is fine. I've certainly had times like this.

If you're near the end of your career, you've had a lot of experience and good networking contacts, you might not feel the need to advance your career. Maybe you're winding down, or you think that if you need a new position, you can find one and accept a lesser one. Lesser in your mind, which might be different hours, less pay, a different location, etc.

In these cases, that's fine. What I point out is that you never know when your employment situation might change. If you can survive a change, perhaps with help from a spouse or partner, that's good. Maybe you can work on your brand later if you need to do more in a career.

The one caution I give is that you never know when your situation will change. I've seen postings on LinkedIn that a company suddenly is going out of business, or has been purchased, or changed directions and is laying off people. I've seen people whose spouses needed to move and they had to quit.

I would suggest that you brand more earlier in your career and build the habit of tracking your work. It's not a lot of extra effort, and it helps ensure you are always ready for an opportunity, which could be an unexpected opportunity in your current organization. Be prepared.

I'll tackle the second one in another blog soon. Look for it in the next two weeks.