Building On A Successful Career and Becoming a Brand

Whether your involvement with media is as an air talent, seller, sales & marketing, a part of the promotions team, as a technician or engineer, or on the social/digital team, continuing education should be a part of what you do to excel and advance your career.

Especially true if you intend to be a part of the leadership team of any company. That was one of the messages delivered in the presentation and discussion I participated in this past weekend at the Intercollegiate Broadcast System conference in New York. It is one of my favorite events to attend yearly because of the enthusiasm of the attendees.

The Intercollegiate Broadcast System (IBS) is an organization that supports both college and high school media outlets and organizations. It was formed in 1940 and is a volunteer organization led by passionate educators and broadcasters who are engaged and passionate about student media. Some of the largest audiences I’ve spoken to have been at the IBS as student broadcasters attend from across North America and the world.

The session’s title, “Building a Career and Brand,” was created with College and High School broadcasters in mind. The lesson from the presentation is applicable to anyone building a career or growing an already successful career. For those whose careers may be perceived as successful, it’s critical that you keep learning, growing, and evolving. No one wants to be perceived as not being relevant for how and where media has expanded across multiple platforms. This is particularly true if you’re seen as a brand as a person.

When it comes to career, you have to know where you’re going before you start your journey. What does success look like to you? If you can’t answer that question, then you don’t have a destination for your journey.

One has to be honest with oneself about one’s weaknesses and one’s strengths. If it helps you to stay focused, then create a vision board, use and embrace it, but be willing to change and update it. If your destination is never changing, then you’ve either selected one that cannot be arrived at, or you’ve stopped your journey. Be honest with yourself about your progress or lack thereof. Don’t be afraid to change your destination or add additional stops along the way.

To the youthful audience at the IBS, the sharing of my experiences and those of other broadcast veterans is helpful and appeared to be appreciated. I encouraged the audience to listen more than they speak in the early days of their careers, and to think before they speak as their career evolves. Be undaunted, flexible, dependable, and the solution to problems. Acknowledge mistakes and learn from them. And to the newbies and the veterans alike, I advise practicing the Golden Rule.

Many of the stories shared focused on commitment to executing one’s position at a high level.

This session was also about becoming a brand as an individual. When we think of brands, it’s often about Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, and more. There are also people who are brands. If you watched the Olympics, you saw Snoop Dogg as a reporter and host. Snoop is a brand. Martha Stewart, Michael Jordan, Alex Cooper, and Oprah. All brands.

There are radio stations that are brands, too, like KIIS/Los Angeles, CBS 101/NYC, and The Ticket in Dallas. There are national air-talent who are brands: Delilah, Ryan Seacrest, John Tesh, Stephen A. Smith, Elvis Duran, and Ben Shapiro, to name a few.

You don’t have to be a personality to be a brand. You have to excel at what you do and be remembered for what you accomplish to be a brand. People have to know immediately what you stand for to be a brand. You have to be faithful to your brand and not become something that misrepresents your brand. All of this is easier said than done, but not impossible. It requires a total commitment to your values and your performance.

Talent should want to build themselves into a brand for two simple reasons. Advancement and preservation. A winning performance increases the odds of longevity and greater value for your services.  Unfortunately, like the career of an athlete, there is an end to everything.  All jobs end. Either by your choice or the choice of your employer. It’s tougher to eliminate a brand personality. Not impossible, but such an elimination requires at most more strategic thinking and at least a discussion.

The tricky part about becoming a brand is to do so without turning your back on the team and without being blatantly self-centered. The Brand You doesn’t mean that others don’t matter. It doesn’t permit you to survive as a loner in a business where there needs to be collaboration. It means that you are among those thought of in a certain way that reinforces your value and puts you in demand.

It takes years of repetition to become a brand. Even when you reach brand status, the job isn’t finished. You must understand who you are and what you believe in and then be true to those beliefs. Know what you stand for and do not stray from that stance. If what you stand for could cost you your job, then either the job is wrong or what you stand for is wrong. Being self-aware should bring clarity to knowing the difference.

Being a brand, you have to be known for something, and that something should be easily identifiable and always memorable. It’s important to acknowledge and accept that we can never stop learning. Those who know me well are aware that I consider myself a lifelong project that will never be finished. That doesn’t deter me, nor should it deter you, from committing the time and energy necessary to be accomplished.

The young people that I spoke to and met with during the IBS conference showed a level of interest and commitment greater than what I see from most, simply by showing up. Woody Allen may have said that “showing up is half the battle,” but I view it as much more than that. It’s a major step toward growing a career and becoming a brand.