brand reinvention case study

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Reinventing Your Personal Brand

• Dorie Clark

How to change your image and create exciting new opportunities

Reprint: R1103E

People reinvent themselves all the time—they may want a new challenge, a new line of work, or a new image among their colleagues. Taking control of your brand can mean the difference between an unfulfilling job and a rewarding career. But how can you persuade others to take the reinvented you seriously? The author presents a five-step approach.

Define your destination. Check out industry trade journals, do informational interviews, even try an internship. See if your company offers shadow programs or sabbaticals. Then build the skills necessary for your new path.

Leverage your points of difference. Use your past experiences and any distinguishing characteristics to your advantage, even if they’re not strictly relevant to your work.

Develop a narrative. Learn to communicate exactly how your past fits into the present, and focus on the value your experience brings (rather than on your own interests) when explaining your transition.

Reintroduce yourself. Strategically reeducate your friends and acquaintances, addressing negative perceptions if necessary. Get involved with projects that will showcase your new interests and abilities.

Prove your worth. Use the internet to create and share your content. Associate with the leading organizations in your field. Be consistent and committed as you move forward.

The Idea in Brief

People use career changes to reinvent themselves all the time, but it’s important to manage one’s brand in such transitions. Doing so can spell the difference between a bungled change and a successful one.

There are five key steps in any personal rebranding:

1. Define your destination and acquire the necessary skills.

2. Craft a unique selling proposition and distinguish yourself by leveraging your points of difference.

3. Develop a narrative that describes your transition in terms of the value it offers others.

4. Reintroduce yourself, using digital media and seizing opportunities to showcase your capabilities.

5. Prove your worth by establishing and promoting your track record.

Traces of your old brand may linger, but a carefully considered strategy and the ability to create unique value in your changed role will help your new brand take hold.

You’ve worked long and hard, sacrificing to build a solid reputation. When you’re out of the room, you know what they’re saying: He’s an innovative marketer. She’s a terrific patent lawyer. He knows everything about the Latvian export market. But what if you now want to rebrand yourself?

• Dorie Clark is a marketing strategist and keynote speaker who teaches at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and has been named one of the Top 50 business thinkers in the world by Thinkers50. Her latest book is The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World (HBR Press, 2021) and you can receive her free Long Game strategic thinking self-assessment .

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