Marketing professionals are known to change jobs frequently throughout their careers, especially when they’re new and looking for every possible avenue to advance in the industry. It’s important, however, to make smart decisions and not hop too frequently, as every move helps to shape your emerging personal brand, AKA, how potential employers see you. Dynamic experience is an important part of branding your career as diverse and yourself as adaptable, but too many changes can make you seem like you’re uncommitted, a negative in the eyes of many hiring managers.
Hiring managers increasingly see job-hopping as a damaging move, and they believe that candidates who move around too much lack a specialization, may have deficient training, have never had a chance to hold seniority, lack loyalty, and lack established professional networks. Harsh words, but it’s the downside to always looking out for the next exciting opportunity, and something to keep in mind any time a new job comes knocking. Higher pay, more responsibility, and more exciting projects all look good, but as headhunters IQ Partners advise, if you’re not willing to commit to several years at an agency, you should reconsider your motivations for making the jump.
As a marketing professional, few things are as important as your personal brand – it can open up so many opportunities and help you hit the ground running when you make a career change, while a negative perception will stand in your way when you want to try something new.
In order to protect your personal brand, follow some of these tips from the top headhunters in Toronto the next time you’re thinking of making a career move:
#1 Always Be Learning: Adding new skills to your set is always a great way to maintain a positive personal brand, whether you’re in a new position or the same one you’ve had for years. Keep adding new specializations and knowledge to your CV and always put yourself in a stronger position.
#2 Keep Engaging the Industry: When you’ve been in the same role for some time, it’s easy to lose the big picture as you stare down deadlines and projects, and you can quickly become short-sighted. Stay engaged, attend networking events, keep up in the marketing community, stay active on social media, and engage in up-to-date conversations going on online. Staying in-the-know and keeping your name relevant are two of the cornerstones of marketing recruiters’ IQ Partners’ handbook to managing your personal brand.
#3 Be the Expert: Never shy away from giving your opinion and always show that you are a leader; of course, that also means expanding your subject matter and broaching new topics. Blogs, podcasts, and writing for industry publications all help contribute to your brand and keep your name out there, even in those quiet phases.
Every contribution you make and every career decision you make all reflect on your personal brand, so make sure that as you keep your name on people’s brains you’re paying attention to your every move. A headhunter can help you manage your transition from one stage of your career to the next, but at the end of the day, it’s up to you to manage your personal brand.
