Build Your Personal Brand Before Transitioning to a New Job

Summary: When you leave your job with the same grace as when you started, your personal brand will stay strong as you head to your next job.

Chances are you will have to transition from one job to another at some point during your career. Having to say goodbye to familiar people and places at one company is tough. You put a lot of time and contributions into your job, so having to start over can be nerve-wracking and exciting. To make the transition smooth, leave the job with the same appreciation and desire to learn as when you started.

You make a conscious decision to remain focused at work, as well as a promise to your personal brand once you know you are leaving the job. The reason to leave will vary from pursuing a better opportunity to escaping a negative environment but whatever the motive is behind leaving, there is still time for you to fine-tune your personal brand and lasting impression.

Take time to properly say farewell to those you have built a strong professional relationship with. This effort will strengthen that bond and allow it to last as a “long distance” connection. Use your last days at your work as a networking party. Treat each person with respect and the attention that the relationship is merited. Last impressions are often more important than the first ones.

During your last week of work, make a list of who to email and who to hand-write a note to. For some colleagues, a simple email goodbye is appropriate but others that you have worked closely with in some way deserve a more personal note. The email just needs a simple statement that it was a pleasure working with them and a way to contact them in the future. For the handwritten note, choose some nice stationary and take some quality time to thank them for helping your career. This note is a reflection of your personal brand so be appreciative, genuine, and professional.

The moment you walk out the doors for the last time should be free of loose ends. Get things squared away with HR before your last day, transition clients to your new contact, and save important files or paperwork that will help you keep moving forward and upward. Leave your desk and computer cleaned and ready for the next person to occupy it. Write down a list of projects and responsibilities you had at this job to keep for future interviews. This list may also come in handy when negotiating your salary.

Photo: undergradsuccess.com