Just like “influencer,” which sounded ridiculous when we first started hearing about it, the concept of “personal branding” seemed kind of silly when it became a thing several years ago — but now they're common. We haven't focused on personal branding since 2015 (!), so for today's open thread, let's talk about it!

So that we're all on the same page for a discussion, we'll share a couple of definitions of personal branding. It definitely isn't just for entrepreneurs, influencers, and “thought leaders,” though those individuals' techniques don't always overlap those of “traditional” employees.

Your reputation is made up of the opinions and beliefs people form about you based on your collective actions and behaviors. Your personal brand, on the other hand, is much more intentional. It is how you want people to see you. Whereas reputation is about credibility, your personal brand is about visibility and the values that you outwardly represent. — Harvard Business Review

A personal brand is a marketing strategy to promote yourself and your career. When creating your personal brand, you can consider your unique talents, skills and goals that distinguish you from your peers. Understanding how to create a personal brand can help you manage your professional image and market your skills and experiences to attract potential employers. — Indeed

{related: how to work with a recruiter: 7 great tips}

Interestingly, this topic hasn't come up all that frequently in Corporette comments over the years, but a peek at Google Trends shows steady growth of web searches for “personal brand” since the time of our last post. Most of the comments around personal branding here have been negative (i.e., “Um, no, how silly”) but then most of the lengthiest conversations took place in 2016 and earlier.

Readers, now that we're in 2024, we're interested to hear about how much you think about your personal brand, how you develop it, and what your goals are for how others see you as a professional? What tools do you use? Are you in a career or have an employer that limits you in how you build your personal brand — for example, where blogging about your profession would be a no-no? Do you feel that your personal brand is more or less important if you're not getting a lot of face time with your superiors?

{related: are there differences between LinkedIn and your resume?}

Fun fact: “Influencer” in its original sense was first used in 1662.

Further reading:

• “How to Define, Develop, and Communicate Your Personal Brand” [Harvard Business Review, 2023]
• “Personal Branding in the Digital Age: A Guide for Lawyers and Senior Business Professionals” [The Social Media Butterfly, 2023]
• “The Importance of Personal Branding for Junior Lawyers: A Roadmap to Success” [The National Law Review, 2023]
• “Your personal brand is crucial for your next promotion and raise. Here’s how to create one” [Yahoo!Finance, 2023]

Stock photo via Deposit Photos / nevenova.

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Here's a fun fantasy open thread for today: If you could start your own business, what would it be, and why? For purposes of the fantasy let's presume it will be a successful business, so we're really talking more about the lifestyle here. What would be your ideal business to start? Some questions to ponder:

• Would you want huge money (and probably huge stress) — or “enough money to live comfortably” plus a much lower/easier amount of work? 
• Would you want to go into business seeking to own it forever — or build something that you could sell easily?
• Would you want to work with others in building/maintaining it, like with a best friend or spouse? Would you want to have a large staff to supervise personally — or be a hands-off boss with a close trusted lieutenant, or maybe just a very small staff? Would you want to work with customers or clients? 
• What results would you want to see from your business — would you make or create something that is sold? Would you strive to improve clients' lives in a measurable way? Do you want to hear from clients about your product — or would you be happy just sending it out into the universe and getting money in return? (Think of authors who write books but largely do not interact with readers, or someone who writes screenplays that sell for a lot of money — but then are never made — or even like Peloton or Beachbody “stars” who make the video but get paid regardless of whether people watch it.)
• Would you want the business itself to make money, or be funded and have salaries paid from an outside source like grants or donations, or even a subscription model?

Ways this could work, just to throw a few ideas out there:

• Do a huge startup with outside funding, a huge staff, and a few really intense years — then sell it.
• Hang out your own shingle in your current profession, work hard, earn a lot, and build a business.
• Own a small yoga studio (or, hey, bookstore) that has a loyal clientele and a small staff that you love but doesn't make millions of dollars and the work itself isn't very intellectually challenging.
• Own a B&B or some other sort of hotel/retreat where people pay you to “enjoy paradise” but the clientele (and to a certain degree the staff) is constantly changing.
• Write a book or screenplay or otherwise create content (YouTuber, blogger, course creator) with royalties or other passive income.
• Start a nonprofit designed to Do Something Good, where your main income is as president/executive director, but you have to solicit donations or grants to keep the business running — but you can focus a lot on Doing Good

It's kind of fun to think about, so I thought we should discuss. Which idea appeals to you the most? If you could start your own business, what would it be and why? Do you think you'll ever act on any of these business ideas? (If the idea that appeals to you the most is Very Different than your current job/career situation, what do you think that says, if anything?) 

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There's a new trend that I thought would be interesting to discuss: failure résumé. Do you keep a failure résumé, either an “official” one or a mental one? Where is the line between “dwelling on your failures” and recognizing that often, growth comes from failures? 

There are a number of articles on failure résumés lately — here's how The New York Times described them:

Whereas your normal résumé organizes your successes, accomplishments and your overall progress, your failure résumé tracks the times you didn’t quite hit the mark, along with what lessons you learned. … 

Melanie Stefan, a lecturer at Edinburgh Medical School, knows this well. A few years ago, she called on academics to publish their own “failure résumés,” eventually publishing her own. On it, she lists graduate programs she didn’t get into, degrees she didn’t finish or pursue, harsh feedback from an old boss and even the rejections she got after auditioning for several orchestras.

What’s the point of such self-flagellation?

Because you learn much more from failure than success, and honestly analyzing one’s failures can lead to the type of introspection that helps us grow — as well as show that the path to success isn’t a straight line.

Innnnteresting. We've shared our best advice for how to get over a mistake at the office, and discussed how to get over career hiccups, and I think I even noted in an older post that for a while I kept a running Excel spreadsheet of all the various things I perceived as Screwups, both minor and major. (If memory serves I even had a rating scale.) I don't think anyone is suggesting that!

But it is an interesting exercise to think about failures in terms of growth. What were the big failures in your life — and what did you learn from them? What would others learn about you from your failures?

Briefly, some of the big failures in my own life:

Failed driver's test at age 16 because I glossed over the “road” portion and practiced the parallel parking over and over. Got a 100 on parallel parking, and like a 16 out of 100 on the driving portion because I didn't realize that a parking lot stop sign might not be a red hexagon and just be printed STOP on the ground. (Blew past two before I even left the parking lot to take the tester on the road.)

Didn't get into Harvard. I really, really, really wanted to go to Harvard, mostly so I could write for the Lampoon. If memory serves I wasn't even wait-listed, just flat out rejected. (I maybe even applied early application? Hmmn.)

Other big school failures: did not get into Columbia or NYU, when I really, really, really wanted to stay in NYC for law school. (I may have applied midway through law school — and maybe even got accepted? — but decided to stay at Georgetown because I was enjoying teaching legal research and writing and pretty involved with law review.)

Didn't even apply for judicial clerkships, which is not so much a failure as a deep regret — when I was going through law school I felt ancient and was eager for Life to Start — and knowing that when I graduated I'd be 27, I didn't even consider applying to judicial clerkships, and I wish I had. 

I'll keep pondering my more recent personal and professional failures (whee) — but I begrudgingly can see the benefit of keeping a list of major failures like this. Much like the 60-second meditation app I wrote about last week, there's a “focusing” effect here that is interesting — seeing which failures come into focus first, how you write them out — and it's interesting to think through how that failure affected your life, the things that would not have happened had you succeeded instead of failed.

Readers, how about you — do you keep a failure résumé? Play along today — what would be three big failures you might list on a failure résumé?

Further Reading: 

• Do You Keep a Failure Résumé? Here’s Why You Should Start. [New York Times]
• Write a Failure Résumé to Learn What Makes You Succeed [Harvard Business Review]
• The Surprising Benefits of Creating a ‘Failure Resume' [Mental Floss]

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When you make partner, get a big raise, earn much-deserved promotion, or reach some other big goal, you deserve some recognition (if at least from yourself!), so today let's talk about the best ways to celebrate professional wins. The last time we focused on how to celebrate wins was in response to a reader question about “work successes bigger than ‘I finished the report' but smaller than ‘I finished my PhD,'” but today we can talk about achievements of all sizes. With work-related accomplishments, do you typically do anything special to celebrate? What are your favorite ways to pat yourself on the back — or do you prefer to silently congratulate yourself and move on?

In addition to some recent reader questions, this post was partially inspired by this recent comment thread about throwing parties for advanced degrees, which was in reference to conversations like this one and this one comparing milestones in life (engagement, pregnancy) to milestones at work (making partner, getting your PhD). (Mentioned in the conversation is a story from Slate's Dear Prudence, in which a guest proposed to his girlfriend at another person's dinner to celebrate getting her PhD. Wow…) 

{related: how have you celebrated milestone birthdays?}

How to Celebrate Work Wins

Besides throwing yourself a party, which is always an option if you're comfortable with it, here are several suggestions from readers for good ways to celebrate a professional win: 

1. Stick to something low-key: Ask a friend out for drinks or dinner, for example.

2. Treat yourself: Find a nice piece of jewelry (or shoes … or a bag) to commemorate your achievement — our Next Step series has some ideas, as does our post on the best splurges.

3. Give credit where credit's due: Get your team together to celebrate and thank the people who contributed to your success. (Here are some reader suggestions for showing your appreciation to your assistant/secretary.)

{related: rewarding yourself for a job well done}

4. Speaking of thanking… Do something nice to express your gratitude a partner/spouse who has supported you along the way.

5. Have a low-key night to yourself: Get takeout from your favorite restaurant and/or relax with wine and Netflix. (Check out some binge-worthy shows recommended by readers.)

6. Toast yourself for a job well done: If this gives you pause, check out our recent post on alcohol in the office.

What do you think are the best ways to celebrate a professional win? Have you ever seen a colleague celebrate an accomplishment in a way you wouldn't choose?

The post Ways to Celebrate Professional Wins appeared first on Corporette.com.

Here's a career question for you all: How have female bosses affected your career? Do you notice differences in the way mentorship and sponsorship look when it's coming from a female boss?  

I recently attended an event where an older woman shared with the group how she had inadvertently held back a woman's career when she thought she was helping her. She explained that she saw the younger woman as a rockstar with potential to go far in their advertising company, so she put her on the biggest accounts and kept her off the smaller, more volatile accounts that involved more risk. But the younger woman came to her and pleaded, “Stop protecting me!” — because while the smaller accounts did involve more risk, she saw that her male cohorts would learn faster each time they failed. At first, the older woman was taken aback — she had meant to be sponsoring the woman! — but she realized that she was treating her as a mother would, instead of a boss.

That's probably the best outcome I've heard of a woman inadvertently holding another woman back and then realizing the error of her ways — but I've also seen a lot of others where women bosses, in particular, think younger women should have to “pay their dues” — grunt work, long hours, sacrificing a social or family life, etc. — in order to be “worthy” of sponsorship. A lot has also been written about the Queen Bee syndrome, where sometimes women at the top actively hold back other women because they fear there's only room for a few women. So I thought it would be a really interesting discussion here: How have female bosses affected your career? Can you point to anything the good mentor/sponsor bosses did that was specifically different than bosses that weren't great mentors, or were actual adversaries? In general, do you feel like more men or women have been your sponsors in your life? For those of you a bit more advanced in your careers — as you've moved into more roles with responsibility, have you actively tried to mentor and sponsor other younger women?

Pictured: Shutterstock / By Snezana Ignjatovic. 

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What's the best way to dress for informational/informal interviews that may or may not lead to “real” job interviews? Should you play it safe and wear a suit, or is it appropriate to dress a bit on the casual side? Reader L wonders what to wear to an informational interview…

I was invited to have “a conversation” with a very powerful woman at a foundation where I would love to work. For the initial conversation, I was advised to wear business casual. I felt my choices were right on — sleek understated black pants, closed-toed shoes with some skin showing, a high-end plum jacket in wool crepe, and some very interesting but not flashy jewelry. My conversational partner wore exactly the same components, but my choices were a couple steps dressier than hers.

The conversation went well, and we will continue our discussions. My question is what to wear to the next meeting. I have a summer suit I would be inclined to wear; even though it's casual (navy/white linen tweed pants with a matching open jacket), it is more serious than anything I've observed at the foundation. But, I'm not sure if this meeting is the time to wear it. What if this meeting is then followed by a formal interview? I will already have worn my best choice for an interview suit.

Congratulations on starting the conversation, Reader L! These casual interviews are always nerve-wracking, whether they're informational interviews, internal interviews, or even everyone's favorite, the “not-an-interview interview over coffee.”

{related: The Ultimate Guide to Business Casual for Women}

Previously, we've talked about how to dress for a kind of “pre-interview” that might lead to a real one, what to wear for an “informal” interview, and what to wear for a networking lunch (and readers just had a threadjack on what to wear for informational interviews at law firms), and I think your outfit instincts sound spot on thus far.

How to Decide What to Wear to an Informational Interview

A few notes though:

First, is there a job open there? This is always a good question to ask during these “let's have a conversation!” non-interviews. Are they creating a new position? Or is this a capacity where you may be able to do some freelance work/consulting? Is it at all possible that the foundation is recruiting you to be a board member or to otherwise volunteer or contribute to the foundation? I'm going to assume going forward that there is a job there.

(Here are a few great interviewing tips from a reader who “does a lot of these types of interviews:” “Just be yourself, be knowledgeable of the company, be prepared to answer some basic questions, and have a few good questions about the company. Be chatty, but not overly casual – if it's by phone, make sure there are no distractions that will be audible over the phone, like TV in the background, and don’t curse or use a lot of slang. Make sure to thank the person for her time, and ask her if you should do anything to follow up. If you have her email address, after the call, send her an email to say thanks.”)

{related: the best interview attire for different types of jobs}

For the second meeting with her, I would definitely say the summer suit is a good choice because it sounds like what I would call a “fun” suit, like the ones we profile every week in the Suit of the Week. It's a linen tweed, which will probably wrinkle, and you say it's summery. If it's a casual office I think this would be fine, but considering the degree of formality you're already at — I think I agree that an actual interview suit would require another step up from this. So: wear the summer suit for the second “conversation.”

For the actual interview, obviously know your office (and your region), but I would suggest going as formal and conservative as possible. Here's why:

If the interview is with board members of the foundation, you will likely be meeting with people working outside the foundation — these are often partners at law firms, bigwigs at banks, and people from other conservative industries. You may even have to go to their offices to interview. (I know this was the case when I worked for a non-profit — my final interview was at the office of the president of the board, not at the non-profit's office. My future boss was not in attendance; this was my first time meeting the Very Important Person with whom I was interviewing.) A conservative suit, if you have one, reads as “interview appropriate” no matter what kind of situation you're walking into.

Some of our favorite mid-range suits for women (which sometimes have such frequent sales that they come down to the same range as our “budget” suits) include Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Talbots, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, and Antonio Melani. (Talbots and J.Crew usually have plus sizes, and the others offer petites.)

This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

Even if it's an interview with the powerful woman you've already met with, I say, dress up a little — it shows you want the job. You may want to add a familiar touch you wouldn't have added otherwise, to show a bit of personality — a statement necklace, or a bright accessory — but I'd still say to stick with a conservative suit.

Readers who've interviewed and worked with foundations, charities, non-profits, and not-for-profits, what is your advice for Reader L? For “casual interviews” in general, how do you choose your outfit, and how do you “step it up” as you move through the interview (or non-interview) process? What do YOU wear to informational interviews? 

Current image via Stencil. (Original image (2015):  Black & White, originally uploaded to Flickr by Kevin Spencer.)

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