Looking for advice on creating your personal brand?

We sat down for 5 minutes with SD's Talent Partner Sally, to get her tips on everything from her creating content on LinkedIn to balancing authenticity and professionalism online.

Tell us about your background experience

I was in retail for a long time and loved it! You meet so many people and get to build teams who are as interested in people as you are. There has always been a level of recruitment in my roles regardless of the industry it was in.

What does ‘personal branding’ mean to you? Why is it important in the recruitment/HR space?

Authenticity. It speaks volumes. People can tell when you’re not being genuine or when you’re “trying” to sound like someone that you’re not. It’s important in the recruitment space because you’re helping people land a role that is right for them. To make this as easy as possible, they also need to know that you’re the right recruiter for them. If they know who you are and what you stand for, it makes it easier to work together. And sometimes you might not be the right fit for each other.

How do you approach your presence on LinkedIn or other platforms?

Very randomly. I get inspired by conversations with my candidates and clients. If a few people have asked me the same question, it’s obviously something that’s important in the market so I’ll usually make a post that hopefully helps or provides context for people.

Do you follow any specific strategy when posting or commenting online?

Haha… no. However, I do try and keep it light if there’s too much doom and gloom going on.

What’s one post or piece of content you’re most proud of?

Any post where someone comments that they’ve felt encouraged. Looking for a new role can get tedious, especially if you’ve been made redundant. It’s a really lovely feeling when you can provide a pep-talk and actionable advice to someone who’s going though it.

How do you get the motivation to make content/posts consistently?

Look, sometimes I fall off the wagon. When I haven’t posted in a while it takes me bit of time to get back on. The motivation shouldn’t be likes. I think the motivation should be that someone is getting something out of what you’ve shared.

What’s one small thing someone can do today to improve their personal brand?

Your personal brand should come naturally to you. It’s “personal”. No one is as good at being you as you are. If you’re feeling uninspired you might just be disconnected from yourself, or maybe a little shy about showing the real you. Put 1 post out there and show yourself that nothing bad can come from it.

How do you balance authenticity with professionalism when posting?

Haha great question. I like to drop my posts into the work group chat to get a sense check.

If someone followed you online for a month, what three things would they know about you?

I love an emoji. I post how I speak. Fridays are for sweet treat adventures.

What’s one thing people should stop doing if they want to build a strong brand? Or a mistake you made early on that people can learn from?

A mistake was thinking too much about what the “audience” would think. Would someone disagree, or would I accidentally offend someone, what if I got the research wrong? All of these questions would swirl around in my head and I ended up with posts that sounded robotic and didn’t portray my opinion. If it feels right to you, post it.

If your LinkedIn profile had a theme song that played when people viewed it, what would it be?

Something by Rihanna, for sure. Or the original White Lotus theme song. I love how dramatic it is.