In this challenging business climate, we must all master certain skills to manage our career reputation and this is an important part of any career development plan.

Being proactive in this gives us increased job stability as well as an internal sense of security.In an era when communications is key, first impressions are critical and personal presentation is at as important as having the corporate vision. All business is people business and if you are in a leadership role your greatest asset is your ability to communicate by sparking emotion and action in others.

Before we start some common delusions that ignore how people behave and make decisions in organizations.

Firstly people will take me as I am I don’t need to manage my reputation Secondly I just like to be judged by results and they speak for themselves. Managing my reputation is like being in politics and I am not interested in that.

Yes there is a pinch of truth in all of the above but in my experience much decision making concerning people is emotional and sometimes based upon very few limited interactions. If they know you Senior Managers will already have attached some labels to you.( for example: hard working, has potential, needs to grow up more, question on resilience etc…) based upon their interactions with you and the conversations that occur within the organization.

So you can cast your reputation to the winds and see what happens or you take some sensible steps to positively influence how others see you and be confident your reputation is a career builder for you. It is about having the right balance.

Here are some tips to assist you in managing your career reputation:

• We are judged by how we look and act, how others see us. Maximize your positive impact by taking steps to improve the visual, verbal and non-verbal messages you send out. Get honest feedback from others and suggestions to improve. Need more advice then take a free career aptitude test and get some more food for thought.

• Develop clarity of vision of how you want to be perceived. Keep focused on this vision a little and often . It will be a useful guide as you are confronted with challenges along your career path.

• Check your web reputation, don’t know what I mean try and google yourself and see what comes up. You may be surprised. Got something embarrassing on the web? There are software solutions available on line that can help.

• Be a tight rope walker and concentrate on being adaptable to different audiences while still maintaining consistency in your image.

• Don’t spend all your time on detail and problems. Get known for being up beat and positive and focus on developing solutions that fit the big picture and the implementation of them.

• Accept others as they are, while encouraging them to be their best. Have a good sense of humor and be interested in people. Try and be an enthusiastic, friendly, supportive person and take the initiative to build positive work relationships with those around you.

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