I think this topic is relevant now more than ever. As more companies were forced to let people work from home, it means physical presence near an office location is no longer a requirement for hiring. In turn, this opens up access to the global market and you might find yourself suddenly competing with people from all over the world, even from places where the cost of living is lower, meaning they can afford to take lower pay than you (I'm looking at you Silicon Valley). So you need to stand out from the crowd and a personal brand can help you with that.
I think there are TWO very important things to do if you decide to walk this path. The first one is AUTHENTICITY. Be yourself. Be the person you are building yourself to be. Don't do any of that "fake it till you make it" stuff.
The second most important thing a developer can do to improve their personal brand is to build and maintain their own website. Social media and even platforms like DEV are effectively rented land. We are all using them at the sufferance of the people or companies who own those platforms. By all means, use them to engage with other people and to promote your content, services, or products. But what are you going to do if your only presence is on these places and your access to them is cut?
On the other hand, not everyone needs to do build a personal brand. If you're happy with your current situation and your job security is relatively safe (as much as that can happen nowadays) then perhaps you don't need this. But I think it pays to think ahead and consider what would you do if, suddenly, you are forced to look for a different workplace.
I've also had people tell me that building a personal brand instead of focusing on advancing your career inside your company is a sure way to shoot yourself in the foot. I don't know what the details are in such situations. I don't know what their priorities and circumstances are. There are ways to build your personal brand and use that to advance inside your company. It just takes a bit more effort, attention, and consideration. And, most of all, the values of the company must align with your personal values.
There's a lot more I would want to say on the topic, but I can't do it all in a comment. I also recently wrote an article on personal branding on developers, where I'm touching the points I've mentioned above. It's also here on DEV and it's named How to Boost Your Developer Career with a Personal Brand. I hope you will find it interesting.
In the end, I hope more and more developers get interested in developing (pun intended 😉) their personal brand and to discuss the various aspects of the process. There is no silver bullet solution, but you might find something in other people's stories that will work for you and you can adapt for yourself.
I think it definitely is a reflective piece of work that helps you plan a little for the future. You can at least set your eyes on a goal and build yourself accordingly.
Nice, your content is always golden too! Thanks for sharing this it's really useful and anyone that stumbled upon this article should definitely look at yours too for an even more detailed article. 💜
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I think this topic is relevant now more than ever. As more companies were forced to let people work from home, it means physical presence near an office location is no longer a requirement for hiring. In turn, this opens up access to the global market and you might find yourself suddenly competing with people from all over the world, even from places where the cost of living is lower, meaning they can afford to take lower pay than you (I'm looking at you Silicon Valley). So you need to stand out from the crowd and a personal brand can help you with that.
I think there are TWO very important things to do if you decide to walk this path. The first one is AUTHENTICITY. Be yourself. Be the person you are building yourself to be. Don't do any of that "fake it till you make it" stuff.
The second most important thing a developer can do to improve their personal brand is to build and maintain their own website. Social media and even platforms like DEV are effectively rented land. We are all using them at the sufferance of the people or companies who own those platforms. By all means, use them to engage with other people and to promote your content, services, or products. But what are you going to do if your only presence is on these places and your access to them is cut?
On the other hand, not everyone needs to do build a personal brand. If you're happy with your current situation and your job security is relatively safe (as much as that can happen nowadays) then perhaps you don't need this. But I think it pays to think ahead and consider what would you do if, suddenly, you are forced to look for a different workplace.
I've also had people tell me that building a personal brand instead of focusing on advancing your career inside your company is a sure way to shoot yourself in the foot. I don't know what the details are in such situations. I don't know what their priorities and circumstances are. There are ways to build your personal brand and use that to advance inside your company. It just takes a bit more effort, attention, and consideration. And, most of all, the values of the company must align with your personal values.
There's a lot more I would want to say on the topic, but I can't do it all in a comment. I also recently wrote an article on personal branding on developers, where I'm touching the points I've mentioned above. It's also here on DEV and it's named How to Boost Your Developer Career with a Personal Brand. I hope you will find it interesting.
In the end, I hope more and more developers get interested in developing (pun intended 😉) their personal brand and to discuss the various aspects of the process. There is no silver bullet solution, but you might find something in other people's stories that will work for you and you can adapt for yourself.
I think it definitely is a reflective piece of work that helps you plan a little for the future. You can at least set your eyes on a goal and build yourself accordingly.
Nice, your content is always golden too! Thanks for sharing this it's really useful and anyone that stumbled upon this article should definitely look at yours too for an even more detailed article. 💜