As the working world of our parents continues to change before our eyes, our professional growth increasingly rests on our own ability to be proactive – building a personal brand and nurturing the relationships that can sustain a career in the long-term.
Career coach and founder of Next Coaching, Tess Everingham, shares her insights on the importance of personal branding, getting started, and how it can impact your career – whether you’re navigating the start of a new career, the complex terrain of mid-career movements or transitioning into retirement.
“If you never do any networking or you’ve been with the same company for 15 years, you have to be careful about being too complacent,” says Tess. “You need to be prepared because at some point, there’s going to be restructure and change – so having a personal brand is your insurance policy.”
While the idea of a personal brand might feel more aligned to younger generations, it’s actually an opportunity to create a richer experience in your professional and personal life by combining your skills and values.
A very common belief is that your personal brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. But it’s also about how you see yourself, how others see you, and how those two circles overlap in the middle.
Tess Everingham
"What you’re trying to do is move those circles closer together, so the way you see yourself and the way other people see you are aligned,” explains Tess. So, how do we get started with creating a personal brand and then sharing it with the world?
Starting your personal brand early
For those just starting their careers, one of the easiest ways to start investing in your career is by maintaining the connections you already have. “Stay in touch with people from university and make an effort with the people you meet as you start working,” she says. “Those connections build over time.” This proactive approach can also be applied to other areas of your career including finding a mentor. “You don’t need to wait to be assigned one – if there’s someone you respect, it’s OK to reach out,” she adds.
For those who already started nurturing those relationships, it can be helpful to focus attention on strengths and soft skill building. “It’s important to be curious and open, so this means being good at taking on feedback, and having a sense of your strengths and what you’d like to be known for,” explains Tess.
Ultimately, considering the long game, even from the very beginning, will serve you best. “We live in a world that's hyper-connected and your reputation will follow you wherever you go,” says Tess. “Don't overstay in a role where you're unhappy or unfulfilled - it will impact your behaviour and that's not the legacy you want to create.”
Know yourself before you brand yourself
Begin by reflecting on where you’re at in your career, whether you enjoy your work, and whether you see a future in either your role or your organisation. “Ask yourself – is my industry expanding or contracting? Is my job being impacted by AI and am I doing something that I’m actually good at, and that gives me energy?” suggests Tess. “If you are, and you’re in the right lane of an expanding industry, amazing, but if not, you need to start thinking about what you want.”
While this can feel overwhelming, Tess believes this vulnerability is key to mapping the coming years. Think of the process across three landscapes – the external, so what’s happening in your industry, where the growth is, which sectors are contracting or being reshaped by technology. The second is internal – your strengths, values, and what gives you energy. “It’s amazing how many people can’t articulate their strengths,” adds Tess, “and how awkward even the most senior executive can get when I sit in a coaching session and say – what do you think you’re good at?”
And then there’s what Tess calls the personal landscape – the real-world constraints and desires that shape what’s actually possible. Salary requirements, family responsibilities, travel and more. “It’s hard but really important foundation work,” she says. “If you don’t do the work, and you’re just winging it, you’re like a leaf in the wind and everybody else is deciding things for you – so at least now when unexpected opportunities come your way, you’ve got something with which to assess them. You know yourself.”
Your brand pillars
Now that you have your foundational thoughts in place, it’s time to bring these to life across three or four brand pillars that capture and cover what you stand for. “These don’t have to be standard – they can be very you – and then when you post on LinkedIn, you can stick to those pillars,” explains Tess. “You might post an article you’ve found or a thought you’ve had – but it’s all aligned to the things you want to be known for.”
Beyond LinkedIn, you can use these brand pillars to refine your own elevator pitch. “You want your pitch to feel natural – you don’t want to get the ick when you’re sharing it with others at a networking event for example – you need to be comfortable with sharing who you are.” Worried it might feel embarrassing or weird to share this online or in the real world? That’s OK! “In the world of AI, if you’re very human, and you have a cringe moment – as long as you own it, it adds to the experience,” explains Tess. “People are desperate for authenticity and real humanity.”
Be what you see
Tess believes another important but often dismissed element of creating your personal brand comes down to honing your personal style. Not only can this make a real difference to how you’re perceived, it can also influence how you carry yourself in professional settings. “You want to make sure how you look, and how you talk reflects who you are, because if they’re at odds, people aren’t going to believe what they say,” adds Tess. “Every element needs to be in alignment with one another.”
Building your visibility
“If you’re not actively looking for a job and if you've got a full-on job, I still think it's worth spending an hour or two on LinkedIn a week liking things, keeping your network warm, and commenting,” says Tess. “It just keeps your network warm and keeps you up to date.”
For those looking for real-world connections, Tess suggests leaning into your professional community by attending events and forming relationships through repetition. “One event a year is not going to do it – the first one is going to be awkward, the second is probably still going to be awkward but by the third one, you'll start to see a few familiar faces, and within a matter of months or years, you’re forming real relationships.”
Importantly, Tess suggests approaching networking like you’d approach a friendship. “If it’s fake or transactional or you can't be yourself, it’s not going to be an effective network,” she explains. “You want to look for 20 or 30 people that you genuinely like, and that like you. Those who know you're good at what you do, are there to support you, and think of you if there are opportunities.”
A career designed to endure
While Tess’s journey at The University of Sydney was many years ago, she still credits her arts degree with the diverse career she’s enjoyed to date. This is something she believes more and more people will be able to benefit from and relate to going forward. “I think people now are going to have much more diverse careers than they actually think they are,” she says. “So being prepared for that and being able to duck, weave, pivot and brand yourself is crucial. It’s what I did in my own career, and I love what I'm doing now – it’s the best job in the world.”
About Tess
Tess Everingham is the founder of Next Coaching and a professionally certified coach with the International Coaching Federation. She specialises in personal brand, leadership, career transition, and professional development, working with executives and teams across a range of industries. Tess graduated from The University of Sydney with an arts degree, a foundation she credits with preparing her for a career defined by curiosity and purpose.
Written by Alana Wulff for SAM Extra.
Illustration by Jenny van Rantingen (BVA/BAdvStudies '24). Jenny van Ratingen is an illustrator and multimedia artist, primarily working with painting and sculpture. Outside of Jenny's illustration practice, her artwork delves into themes from the Everyday, the complexities of intergenerational conflicts and the laborious dynamics found within the home.
This article originally appeared in SAM Extra. If you are a University of Sydney alumni, update your preferences to receive this monthly e-newsletter.