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Discussion on: Iā€™m Ben Halpern, Creator of Forem. Ask Me Anything!

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Ben Halpern

Good question!

  • Publish helpful things. It doesn't have to be too often, but create a baseline of sharing solutions with the world. Link to the places you're publishing from your personal site.
  • Try and seek out a few key online relationships, not follower counts. Getting to sort of know some folks in the industry in an online way will lead to a healthier relationship with social media than trying to chase "thought leadership".
  • Don't over-design your personal website unless you're a brilliant frontend developer. If you're a newbie, try to be simple and minimalist.
  • Keep your personal brand active enough that someone can eyeball your presence and get a sense of where you fit in in the ecosystem, but don't invest any extra time unless it's bringing you personal joy. Ultimately you'll find your place in this career and your personal brand should work for you, not the other way around.

Btw Rachel I checked out your online presence and I think you're doing all of this really really well! Keep it up. You are way further along than I was at your age.

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Ben Halpern

Oh, I'll also add:

All else equal, your personal brand should be tailored to what you want to accomplish with it. If you want to get your first job, orient fo that. If you want to help others, orient for that. If you want to find mentorship, orient for that.

It will be more effective to have a goal and examine yourself from that perspective vs trying to just "have a good personal brand" without a detailed outcome in mind.