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I’ve given up any illusion that I can control my personal brand, and I cringe when self-appointed gurus and advisors want you to believe that your personal image and reputation can be controlled and manipulated by social media profiles, networks, and websites.
They are lying to you. I know this because I’ve lived it.
A few years ago, my husband’s company moved us to a small town in Michigan. I didn’t know anyone, I wanted to make friends, and I filled out a volunteer application at a local animal rescue after seeing so many stray cats in my neighborhood.
At the time, I had two cats and I had no intention of fostering or adopting any additional animals. My ultimate dream was to raise money for a brand new, no-kill animal shelter in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I wanted to use my Human Resources skills to participate on the fundraising committee and coordinate volunteer parties.
Unfortunately, I quickly became involved in the politics of the animal rescue. I joined the Board of Directors. When I wasn’t working on administrative issues and trying to raise money, I was suckered into fostered kittens and adult cats. I didn’t mind being a foster mom, but in the process, I adopted three more cats. I brought the total cat population in my house to five.
Yes, I know. I have five cats. One of them, Scrubby, is on Twitter. I’m one of those people.
So last November, I chaired a conference where HR professionals discussed technology, social media, and ways to improve the recruiting process. I went to a networking event and I saw two people look at me. I overheard one of them ask, “Who is that?”
The other answered, “That’s Laurie Ruettimann. She’s a crazy cat lady who writes Punk Rock HR.”
Snap.
- I’m not Laurie Ruettimann, the HR thought leader.
- I’m not a career advisor, a mentor, or even a former HR professional.
- I’m not someone who loves to volunteer with animals.
No, I am the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons who writes a blog.
I could protest against the categorization, and I could spend my energies defending myself, but it’s not worth the battle. Truth be told, I am kind of a crazy cat lady. The only person who cares about my personal brand as a HR professional and career advisor is me. When you get right down to it, most people are interested in talking about my cat, Scrubby.
Unfortunately, I’ve learned that control of my brand is just an illusion. People are people, and as trite as it sounds, your colleagues and peers will form opinions about you based on random bits of information and experiences that you cannot control. You can try to manipulate reality—and you can attempt to paint a picture about your knowledge skills and abilities—but the truth has a funny way of prevailing.
I’ve learned that personal branding is what you do when you can’t produce, perform, or provide a reason for people to pay attention to you. I know that having multiple cats puts me in a classification reserved for old spinsters, so I try not to smell like cat pee while I’m doing awesome and amazing things as a career advisor.
So I’m here to tell you: it’s not that hard to be awesome and amazing. Stop talking yourself up and start doing. Your actions are the best personal branding tool you have in your arsenal.
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Comments
02.01.10
Laurie,
Thought-provoking article, which somehow you always manage to do, no matter the subject.
I do have one point of contention, though. Your story makes it seem as if the bestowing of your "cat lady" title was mysterious, mystical, and utterly out of your control. Yet, a quick search of Punk Rock HR tells me that you've referenced cats exactly 239 times (You can blame Google for making that # possible to attain. Bastards.)
It seems then, that control of your brand is not an "illusion", but rather, your brand is actually a conscience manifestation of what you really are all about. The woman who called you a crazy cat lady was actually kind of right (right?), and she got that info straight from your public communication (right?).
Looking forward to your response. (Keep in mind that I really do think you are "the cat's meow", so to speak, so go easy on me).
02.01.10
SNAP.
Hilarious.
I wish people would quit telling me this stuff about myself. Who are y'all? Freud?
02.01.10
Also, I don't write about my cats when I'm doing my other job (as a real writer) for The Conference Board or AOL/Lemondrop or any other news outlet.
No wait, shit, I do:
http://www.lemondrop.com/2009/10/05/3-reasons-my-cat-could-get-hired-bef...
I doth protest too much.
02.01.10
Ha! Ryan beat me to it. I was going to say that one's personal brand is shaped by the things we do and say (and tweet and blog). When you write that personal branding is what people do when they can't produce or perform, I'd argue that the things we produce, and the performance that people see from us, is totally a part of our personal branding.
I'm wondering if you consider personal branding a form of dishonesty...in which case, I must be going about it all wrong, because my personal branding embodies not only freelancing and writing, but also cats, coffee, sex, and Xanax. You love cats! Of course it this should be a part of your personal brand!
02.01.10
I think the parts of our brand that speak the loudest are often the parts we are most passionate about and most competent in. If we're not playing to our strengths it's always going to be an uphill battle to gain credibility and maintain relevancy. Also, we can be more than one thing at once! There's nothing wrong with being a cat lady and a kickass HR blogger, or a coffee addicted, cat loving sex writer or in my case a mixed martial arts and peace loving community manager.
The less energy you spend trying to fit a circular peg into a square hole the more energy you can put into being the best YOU possible.
Great job Laurie!
02.01.10
@Steph I think personal branding can be a form of personal dishonesty, and I would argue that you're wasting your time if you're trying to craft an image that doesn't match reality. You aren't fooling anyone except yourself, which is why it's so funny to me that some people see me as a crazy cat lady when others see me as a HR leader. When I ran an HR department, they saw me as someone with power. I just wake up in the morning and try to do good work. The marketplace calls you what it wants to call you, and really, you have very little control over it.
@JR I like playing with areas that aren't my strengths and seeing if I can push myself a little more. That's how I moved from HR manager to writer. I could have been a sensible-shoe-wearing HR manager for the rest of my life, which is so easy, or I could go back to my roots as a riot-girl-wannabe with a point of view. I don't often succeed as a writer, and sometimes people see me as a crazy cat momma, but I hope everyone appreciates the effort. I hope others learn to take a risk and make the effort, too. xoxoxo
02.01.10
@Laurie, it's interesting that you put it that way and I totally agree... there's a difference between playing your strengths and playing what you're comfortable with. If writing is something that you like to do, but aren't necessarily a start at yet because you're out of practice or not focusing on it, then stepping away from your comfort zone to try that is really awesome.
02.01.10
Find this article very interesting as a 30-something year old single woman living in NYC - with cat (s). I never thought of myself as a cat-lady and in fact somewhat started my blog to show the world that I'm NOT. That you can have a cat and not be a crazy-cat-lady. Almost 2,000 I HAVE CAT facebook fans later (mostly cats), i'm thinkin git's a case of "doth protest too much."
Perhaps I should take on the moniker and try to change people's perceptions of the stereotype rather than try to deny that I fall under the stereotype all together......
T
I HAVE CAT
Single in the city - with cat (s)
http://www.ihavecat.com
02.01.10
"You are what you publish" - David Meerman Scott
You will be judged based on what's available online. If you talk about cats, you have a sense of humor and you're knowledgeable about HR, then that is how you will be perceived.
11.10.10
I cant wait to see tomorro! no matter how far we come by!3d models design | Web and IT Design | nurbs splines design
12.09.10
Personal branding is truly an increasingly amazing topic. I saw some good inspiration from this site: Carpet Cleaning San Diego
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