Build the bridge before you need it

By Claire Sakaoka, Founder, Chief Strategist

After 30 years with his organization, Phil* lost his job two years before he was set to retire at age 65. He served as CFO of a mid-size hospital in the Northeast*, and everything was moving along his planned career timeline, but new leadership came in, and he was gone in a matter of days. This was personally devastating to Phil. He not only didn’t get to exit his organization the way he wanted to, but his identity was so thoroughly fused with that of his organization that he could not mentally pull himself into the headspace to pursue what he’d been putting off – building his own healthcare financial consulting company.

Several factors were stacked against him at that point, including a traumatic exit, his age, and his own headspace. If he had already established a personal brand, it would have been the bridge Phil used after his untimely exit from his organization. Instead, it took him two years to move forward with building his brand, so when he engaged with me, he’d already been out of the workforce for an extended period. Through our work together, though, Phil landed well and is enjoying his consultancy in retirement. 

Let’s say Phil had started working on his brand a year or two before his termination; he could have stepped almost seamlessly into his next chapter. This move would have put him in the driver's seat, with an industry-expert brand, a professional website, and a fully fleshed-out plan of his next steps. The moral of this story is: build it before you need it.

Not sure where to start?

1)    Do a digital audit. Google yourself and put your name into your preferred AI tool. What did you find? If the answer is little more than your LinkedIn profile, you’ve got work to do. If you found something negative, that’s also good information and makes building your brand an even bigger imperative.

2)    Define your differentiation. Start by asking yourself, “What types of things do people routinely come to me for?” These are often skills you perform particularly well and may not even think about right away because they are your core strengths. Dig deep and pay attention. These are the things that make you different and indicate potential areas where you are a subject matter expert. Now that you have your list, expand to include skills necessary to perform these tasks. These are keywords to integrate into your online persona. 

3)    Take it online. Build out your LinkedIn profile. Create a professional website that reflects who you are as a professional. Start writing and posting content that supports the areas you identified and your differentiation. Create a posting plan for LinkedIn that highlights you as a subject matter expert.

4)    Take it offline. Integrate your online with your offline self. They are one authentic self. Join two networking groups. One local and one national. Be a good listener; see where your skills can help. It doesn’t have to be something big, and you may not see how this connection is advantageous, but the benefit of networking is often seen further down the road after you’ve formed real relationships with people.

Building your bridge before you need it is one of the most proactive ways to control your own narrative in a world where no job is secure. Do it while things are going well. Need some help thinking through what makes you different, or how to get started creating your personal brand? We’ve got you. 

* Identity, location, and size of system changed to protect “Phil’s” identity.