The idea of a brand might bring up images of company logos or social media guides. Every business has a brand, whether or not it was professionally crafted and implemented. But what is the personal brand? Do your employees have one?
A personal brand is simply someone’s online presence and how he or she presents himself or herself to the world. Someone who has a personal brand is someone who’s taken the time to cultivate his or her social media followings, written about topics of interest, and gone the extra mile to settle into an industry niche.
Your neighbor who simply shows up to his 9–5 every day and does his job? He doesn’t have a personal brand. The job candidate applying for a job at your clean energy company who runs a blog on endangered animals and the importance of conservation, all while running an Instagram account dedicated to the plight of penguins? She does have a personal brand.
In today’s job market, you may be having a hard time finding the perfect candidate. Sometimes, a personal brand can help a candidate stand out and seem more appealing. If you’re not able to find the right person for the job, you could consider reaching out to people in your industry with personal brands. On the flip side, if you have too many applications for a particular position, a personal brand can help you get to know a candidate before you even bring the person in for an interview.
But does that mean a candidate with a personal brand is always the best option? Not necessarily. There are times when hiring a candidate with a personal brand makes sense, and other times it may be a mistake. Here are a few pros and cons to consider when making a new hire that seems well branded.
Pro: Candidates with personal brands come with a passion for the industry.
If you’re looking for candidates who are truly on fire for your mission, hiring those with a strong personal brand might be the way to go. It demonstrates that they aren’t just showing up to collect a paycheck; they’re invested in your industry and how you can improve it with products and services. People who are passionate about what you do are going to go the extra mile and put care and attention into everything they do. They will also have more ideas and a positive spirit. It’s always better to have someone who genuinely cares about your industry rather than someone who is just there to do a job.
Con: Candidates with personal brands may need to be enticed.
If a candidate is already well known in your industry, that person likely has a strong network of people willing to hire him or her. That means you may need to offer candidates with personal brands a higher salary, better benefits, or a more flexible work schedule, whereas you may be able to hire someone without a personal brand at a more affordable rate. The competition is simply going to be stronger for someone who has more of an industry track record.
Pro: Candidates with personal brands may need less education.
If someone has been researching and writing about your industry, that person probably already knows a great deal about what you do. In that situation, you’d be able to save time and resources on training, as the candidate is already an expert. You may even be able to rely on the person to teach others about a topic he or she is interested in. For instance, if you run a life coaching agency and this person has blog posts on the importance of utilizing the Enneagram in life coaching and you’ve been wanting more of the life coaches who work for you to embrace the Enneagram, it can be a win-win situation.
Con: Candidates with personal brands may already have one foot out the door.
If you recruit a person who already has a strong personal brand, you’re likely recruiting someone who has large career aspirations. On the one hand, that can be a great thing for your company—you want to hire people who want to grow alongside you and progress in their career. But on the other hand, it might mean the person is constantly looking over his or her shoulder for other opportunities. Candidates with personal brands are more likely to get poached by competitors, and they’re also more likely to strike out on their own. Furthermore, how much time are they able to spend on the job at hand vs. their own brand? If someone is spending all of his or her time running a YouTube channel or a popular newsletter, the person may have less time to devote to your business.
Pro: Candidates with personal brands may bring an audience to your company.
If a candidate has a large Instagram, YouTube, or podcast following, that person may bring his or her platform to your business. This can give your company a big boost and provide it with some brand recognition. You could even use it to drum up some press. The candidate (now employee!) may mention you on his or her platform going forward, as well, bringing more eyes to your products, services, and/or events.
Con: Candidates with personal brands may now serve as a mouthpiece for your company, whether you like it or not.
If you’re going to publicize your relationship with this candidate, you may find yourself aligned with things he or she has said in the past or things he or she will say in the future. Before you decide to hire this person and give him or her permission to mention you on his or her platforms, you’ll want to do a deep dive of past content and make sure you feel comfortable with the worker’s tone and language moving forward. Of course, just because someone works for you doesn’t mean you’re liable for that person’s words or actions. But if you hire someone with a giant following and that person starts talking about politics or culture in a way you aren’t comfortable with, that link may be clear in your customers’ minds. It’s simply something you’ll want to be prepared for.
Claire Swinarski is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.