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Finding Your Authentic Path: the Intersection Of Authenticity And Personal Branding
As an bi and non-monogamous business owner and career coach, I’ve given a lot of thought to the intersection of being my authentic self and crafting an intentional personal brand. After years of working in tech, I made the leap last summer to self-employment. I’ve started multiple businesses from scratch, transitioning from a business school grad with minimal entrepreneurial experience to leading a community social app, career coaching, and a booming events business. As a result, I’m more O-U-T and vulnerable than I’ve ever been.
In this blog series I’ll explore:
- How authenticity and your career can be connected
- Identifying your priorities and skills, and how these can shift over time
- Understanding tradeoffs and aligning with goals and preferences
- Implementing changes and being open to the journey
The transition to self-employment has allowed me to align my work and personal life in deeper ways – gaining more ownership over my career path as a queer person operating at the fringes of traditional work culture and social norms. In my role as an inclusive coach and business owner, it’s important to me that clients and collaborators feel safe to bring their whole selves to our work.
One of my mentors imparted some wisdom as I relayed to her my quest to merge my professional and personal brands with the life I’m living today. She shared that to build a compelling and magnetic personal brand, you must identify and lean into the key pillars of your values. People have different values. For some this means being present and engaged at work and leaving all that at the door upon clocking out, and for others it’s a deeper dive and discovery phase of what your values are and how they are showcased in your work and life.
Part of standing in your power is deciding how you show up in different spaces. Here are a few questions to help you explore this further:
Do you keep your work and social identities separate? While there’s no right or wrong answer, I encourage you to consider your motivations.
Is your job keeping you from feeling like you can be your authentic self? If yes, is that an issue?
Where are you at in your career and where do you aim to go?
What are you optimizing for in your career and life – money, flexibility, fulfillment, or something else?
These questions can help get you started on exploring what feels right for you. In part two I’ll address how to identify your priorities and skills, as well as what to expect in the process. If any of this resonates with you and you’re wanting support, book a free session with our team.
Chez Jennings
Chez helps people level up their careers in tech. She is passionate about helping people find opportunities for career advancement and accelerating their career development. As an inclusive coach, she helps people explore the career paths where they belong and she strengthens the voice of her community. She has worked with talent from early careers to leadership hiring in the US and Canada.
