Should You Brand Yourself?

Today in her CareerDiva blog, careers columnist Eve Tahmincioglu spars with personal branding guru Dan Schwabel over the merits of self-branding.

It's a good read. Tahmincioglu is a "brand management" doubter, Schwabel is an evangelist.

Here's an excerpt of their exchange:

Q. What if someone thinks this whole personal branding thing is bullshit, and wants to advance their careers the old fashioned way? My dad was a furrier. He didn't have a personal brand. My grandfather worked in a factory. He had no brand. My hubby's dad was an engineer at DuPont. He didn't have a brand. My mother in law was a X-ray technician. She didn't have a brand. My mom ran a boutique and also was a seamstress. She didn't have a brand.

A. Eve, as usual, you have great questions and are a great devil's advocate. I'm a little bias here, but when I present to schools and companies, I always explain that you are your Google results and people are wanting to find you online. If you aren't visible you don't exist, nor will get the opportunities you are working hard for. Another important factor is that you need to invest in your self (your personal brand equity), which means that you need to be a content producer, not just consumer. This is how you can command a premium price (higher salary) for your brand name.