Develop your career – Brand yourself!

This post should really be titled “Obtaining interviews – Building your portfolio”, but I honestly think the current title is better. (Both are still true!) Now, a lot of people are going to tell me that they don’t need to make themselves a brand to land a great job. I’m going to say that you’re right, but I’m also going to say that it’s easier when you do.

Building the “Brand”

Before we get into the portfolio which is a large piece of this, I wanted to describe what a “Brand” is. Branding to me can be as simple as “leaving an impression on someone”. That’s it.

Building relationships with people is the single most important thing you can do for developing your career. If you are not great with people, then you need to start learning. Yes, you can get a great job without being around people or having to interact with them. Some people land jobs at top companies while being barely sociably. The fact is, you are going to create limitations where there could be opportunities if you aren’t a good team player.

Building your brand is being positive, helpful, professional, fun, and good at what you do. You should be leaving a positive impact on your colleagues. When you connect and network with them, you will have a network of fans. This is the single most important thing about branding yourself.

I’ve noticed a trend in interviews in the last five years. Most companies will decide first; can this person achieve the job’s objectives? Will there be any significant difference in performance between this individual and the others who are applying? After these questions have been answered, they now look to see who will fit in the most. Some companies will filter first by if you will fit in or if they like you. You may get to the later round interviews before they know of your technical capabilities! Many places will also fast track applications that were referred to by individuals who work at the company.

Building the “Portfolio”

I would say your “Brand” is the all-encompassing container. It is the culmination of your portfolio, network, advertising, online presence, and anything else associated with you. If it reminds people of you or makes people think about you, that’s your brand at work.

What your portfolio should convey

  1. You’re constantly learning and improving. A portfolio shows exactly what you’re learning or already know.
  2. They know what quality of work they will get. They can rate your work based on what you’ve given them to see. This means that what you create needs to be your best. The effort you put into your work will show. If you typed up something in five minutes, it’s going to look like a five-minute assignment. If you put hours into a project, the project should reflect that. I’ll go into detailed examples of what you can create to fill in your portfolio later.
  3. Documentation. All projects should be accompanied by documentation that is easily readable. Communication skills are incredibly valuable. Many managers will rest easier knowing you document your job. Sure, this makes you more easily replaceable. That’s really what you should be doing though. I try to automate and document my job as much as possible. Any company where you can completely save them an FTE or create a complete training solution for your position is going to be crazy to get rid of you. And even if they do, there will be a hundred companies out there rabidly working to hire you.
  4. Pulling work. Creating a proof of concepts or writing about new technology can be another way to show your “go-getter” attitude. You shouldn’t wait to be given assignments or sit and twiddle your thumbs at work. If you have downtime, there are tasks you can probably do. For example, I generally use some technology to hold a backlog of items I’m working on. My manager can rank them in order and check on their progress. They can see what I’m constantly working on. If there’s nothing in the backlog, I’ll add tasks I’m working to it for visibility.
  5. Niche skills. It’s helpful if you can bring something specific to the table. Perhaps you are a rock star performance tuner. Maybe automation is the name of your game. Find what you are excellent at and market it.

wHAT SHOULD YOUR PORTFOLIO CONSIST OF?

There are many different ways to build your portfolio, many have pros and little cons. What I would recommend is to tailor your portfolio to what you are interested in. If you’re interested in administration, you should focus on that area. If you want to move into development, your portfolio should convey this.

More than that, your portfolio should represent your personality. Your work, experience, and personality will attract companies. You should have an idea of what you want in mind. Are you looking for a snazzy start-up? These can start at low pay, have high risk, and end with high reward. Generally, start-ups lead the edge on cool new technology. Or do you want a more rigid work environment where everyone is professional and keeps to themselves? Are after work meetups important? Did you just relocate and want to find new friends with similar interests through work?

Those are just some examples of what you can look for in a new job. So keep this in mind as you build your portfolio. Another thing to keep in mind is your current employment contract. I highly recommend listening to these two podcasts by Kendra Little before beginning. Keep this in mind as you read the below ideas. Employee Agreements & Contracts: Anti-Patterns (31 minutes) and Employee Agreements & Contracts: Best Practices (23 minutes). And once again, all content should be your best.

I’ll also say that this is a long burn. Don’t expect to slap something together overnight. This is a marathon, not a sprint. How long do you expect to be in the workforce? The key is to remain consistent with quality spent time and realistic expectations for scheduling.

Portfolio content examples

  • GitHub: This is a free repository system that will allow potential employers to see your work. What would a DBA put on here?
  • Blogging: There are free websites to host your material or you can pay for your own site. I spend probably too much on my website. It comes out to about $600 a year if you include the licenses for additional software I buy. I figure if the website helps me land any job with a 10% pay increase or higher, then it’s been worth it.
    • This also allows you to give back to the community. People will end up reading your content and eventually, you will help someone.
    • You need to be consistent with your material. If you have three or four posts, I know you’re not that committed. If you blog once a month, you’ll slowly accrue a large amount of material to show as examples. I also know you are constantly learning.
    • Blog about what you’re learning. It doesn’t matter if everyone else has blogged about it before. You are demonstrating your knowledge and skillset.
    • Blog Examples.
  • Published work: In a similar silo to blogging, you can publish work. I’m thinking more related to a book however rather than frequent web articles.
  • Podcasts: Similar to blogging, but podcasts can be another good way to showcase your knowledge and give back to the community.
  • Vlogging: Again similar to blogging and podcasts but in another medium.
  • Presenting: There are local SQL Meetups and SQL Pass with SQL Saturday events. You could possibly start up a lunch and learn at your company.
    • Many companies value people who have good presentation and teaching skills. Hiring someone who likes to present and teach is a great way to keep your office updated on technology.
    • Presenting at events is a great way to build up a network. Many people in the SQL community are also very friendly to new presenters.
    • Kendra Little has an excellent podcast on getting into presenting. (12 Minutes.)
  • Online forums: You can help people on Twitter, Reddit, StackOverflow, SQLCentral and many other forums. When you create a great answer, it can be a good piece to showcase on your resume.
    • This can show you help others willingly and you are able to learn and overcome new problems.
    • This also shows you can help walk someone through a problem, explain it, resolve it, and document it.
  • Volunteer work: You can volunteer for your local tech meetups or events. You can also volunteer to help your community. Giving back shows empathy and involvement. Many companies have an emphasis on giving back to their communities.
  • Certifications: These can show you are constantly learning. These also show what areas you’re working to improve in. I’ve blogged in more detail about how certifications help and don’t help here.
  • Attending meetups: If you are a frequent member of local meetups, your name is going to start getting passed around. (As long as you are a likable person!) Demonstrating you attend meetups frequently is a bonus to many employers. If someone in your interview attends the same meetups you do, they will usually count this as a bonus.
    • Listing large event training sessions on your resume can also be a plus. I would be careful here though so you don’t make your resume too large. This would be a case by case basis for me to include personally.
  • Keep your Linkedin updated: The last time I’ve accepted a job that I applied for was in 2005. Since then, recruiters or networking have led to all of my job opportunities. Almost every single job was because a recruiter reached out to me on Linkedin.
  • Your contact information should be professional: The nice thing about having a website is getting a professional-looking email. You can also use part of your name with a Gmail or other account as well.

The above are only some ideas, this doesn’t mean they are the only methods of bettering your portfolio. I’d love to hear your ideas about anything I didn’t include. Steve Jones also does a great presentation on this topic as well. Presentation Download. I would highly recommend for you to attend it if you get the chance.

I would also say that you don’t have to do every single item on that list. Time is finite, life is short. Find the things that give you the most value that you enjoy the most. Focus on that and the rest will put itself together in place. As long as you’re working hard and are a good person to others, things should work themselves out for you.

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