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How to Build a Career-Changing Personal Brand That Opens Doors With Leigh Welsh · Work It Like A Mum

• 0:00
  Elizabeth Willetts: Why should we prioritize building a personal brand and who should prioritize who should try and find the time to do this?
• 0:07
  Leigh Welsh: My simple answer to that would be everyone, and the benefits are on hold from a personal level, from a career progression level, from a building a business level.
• 0:17
  Leigh Welsh: If we link it to the corporate world.
• 0:19
  Leigh Welsh: It has not only elevated my career, but what I do for my clients now is Everything you've just said about connecting with someone and feeling like you already know them.
• 0:30
  Leigh Welsh: Isn't that exactly where you want your business to be the best and biggest brands in the world?
• 0:35
  Leigh Welsh: How create an emotion?
• 0:37
  Leigh Welsh: You have a connection with that brand.
• 0:39
  Leigh Welsh: You wear that brand because it provides you with a feeling.
• 0:43
  Leigh Welsh: You follow that person because they allow that connection.
• 0:46
  Leigh Welsh: So the simple answer is everyone the benefits that can come off the back of that.
• 0:51
  Leigh Welsh: If we just think about work specifically right, because I imagine a lot of your audience thinking well, the main reason I would want to develop a personal brand is not for likes on instagram or for my friends to think I'm doing well.
• 1:03
  Leigh Welsh: It's for my employer to recognize it.
• 1:05
  Leigh Welsh: Off what other potential employers or potential customers to recognize what I'm doing.
• 1:11
  Leigh Welsh: That is the biggest benefit you could look at personal brand In that you are creating a network of people.
• 1:18
  Leigh Welsh: We're in an age now it used to be what you know.
• 1:21
  Leigh Welsh: That it was who you know, and now it's who knows you.
• 1:26
  Elizabeth Willetts: Hey, I'm Elizabeth Willis and I'm obsessed with helping as many women as possible achieve their boldest dreams after kids and helping you to navigate this messy and magical season of life.
• 1:39
  Elizabeth Willetts: I'm a working mom with over 17 years of recruitment experience and I'm the founder of the investing in women job board and community in this show.
• 1:48
  Elizabeth Willetts: I'm honored to be chatting with remarkable women redefining our working world across all areas of business.
• 1:54
  Elizabeth Willetts: They'll share their secrets on how they've achieved extraordinary success after children, that boundaries and balance, the challenges they faced and how they've overcome them to define their own versions of success.
• 2:08
  Elizabeth Willetts: Shy away from the real talk.
• 2:09
  Elizabeth Willetts: No way.
• 2:10
  Elizabeth Willetts: Money struggles, growth, loss, boundaries and balance we cover it all.
• 2:15
  Elizabeth Willetts: Think of this as coffee with your mates, mixed with an inspiring Ted talk sprinkled with the career advice you wish you'd really had at school.
• 2:22
  Elizabeth Willetts: So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, make sure you cozy and get ready to get inspired and chase your boldest dreams, or just survive Mondays.
• 2:32
  Elizabeth Willetts: This is the work it.
• 2:34
  Elizabeth Willetts: Like a mom podcast, this episode is brought to you by investing in women.
• 2:42
  Elizabeth Willetts: Investing in women is a job board and recruitment agency helping you find your dream part time or flexible job with the UK's most family friendly and forward thinking employers.
• 2:54
  Elizabeth Willetts: Their site can help you find a professional and rewarding job that works for you.
• 2:59
  Elizabeth Willetts: They're proud to partner with UK's most family friendly employers across a range of professional industries, ready to find your perfect job?
• 3:08
  Elizabeth Willetts: Search their website at investinginwomencouk to find your next part time or flexible job opportunity.
• 3:17
  Elizabeth Willetts: Now back to the show.
• 3:19
  Elizabeth Willetts: Hi Lee, thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast.
• 3:23
  Elizabeth Willetts: We're going to be chatting all about personal branding, who should have a personal brand, why a personal brand is important and how to get started building your personal brand.
• 3:33
  Elizabeth Willetts: So before you dive in, lead you mind, just give me an overview as to who you are, what your background is and what brought you into the personal branding space.
• 3:40
  Leigh Welsh: Absolutely, liz, and thanks for having me.
• 3:43
  Leigh Welsh: It was quite weird being on the other side of the camera.
• 3:46
  Leigh Welsh: To be honest with you, I'm used to doing these myself and personal branding is something that I've been passionate about for a long time, but I actually started out my corporate career in recruitment 10 years ago, so, similar to yourself, I know we have both worked at the same company years and years ago not at the same time but for me, personal brand has always been super, super important in recruitment, especially because it's such a competitive industry and really your personal brand is everything.
• 4:15
  Leigh Welsh: I felt.
• 4:16
  Leigh Welsh: The more I could develop and build my own personal brand, the more business I was going to win, the more people will see that I'm quite different to other recruiters in an industry that sometimes gets a bad name.
• 4:28
  Leigh Welsh: And it took me 10 years to realize where my passions truly lie, and that was less in the day to day recruitment and more in the building personal brands, branding, marketing.
• 4:40
  Leigh Welsh: I was putting out a lot of video content.
• 4:42
  Leigh Welsh: I launched my first podcast whilst in a recruitment business and quite quickly realized that that was the sort of stuff that I was looking forward to each week, rather than actually finding candidates and delivering on roles.
• 4:55
  Leigh Welsh: I definitely miss the people element of recruitment because you know you get to chat to loads of interesting people day in, day out.
• 5:02
  Leigh Welsh: But I think when you end up in quite a senior role in recruitment it's a lot of P&L's, kpis, budget expectations and actually I kind of defaulted to what I actually enjoy doing each and every day and I've built a business around that.
• 5:19
  Elizabeth Willetts: Obviously.
• 5:19
  Elizabeth Willetts: I mean, I've been in recruitment a long time.
• 5:22
  Elizabeth Willetts: When I first started recruitment, it wasn't LinkedIn, it was pre-linked in just when personal branding, when you started becoming aware of personal branding, and then how you sold the concept of personal branding to your employer at the time and persuade them maybe to invest in this podcast.
• 5:38
  Leigh Welsh: Well, I think I was quite aware early on with the nature of what I was recruiting.
• 5:42
  Leigh Welsh: I started out recruiting digital marketing, so naturally the candidates that I was speaking to, the client briefs that I was taking and the jobs I was filling, were marketing related roles, and so it might be social media Paid social was starting to come out.
• 5:57
  Leigh Welsh: Crm was getting quite big, email marketing and social media was evolving and developing across that.
• 6:05
  Leigh Welsh: 10 years into you had the Instagram age coming out of influencers and Rolexes and Lambos and fancy meals out, and then branding from a corporate Side of things was all about about us pages and values and messaging, and so I was kind of somewhere in the middle of that and I just, I think, tagged quite early on to the concept of if I can push out my LinkedIn profile to enough people where All of my clients are now spending a lot of time, if I can get in the face of those on LinkedIn and and, I guess, provide a different angle than can you give me some jobs, can I work with you, actually show them who I am with a, which you can't do on email, right, you can't send someone an email and really show who you are, whereas putting out a video or a post or starting a podcast, you can really get your personality out there.
• 6:55
  Leigh Welsh: It took me a very long time to actually sell the depth of concept, with personal branding, to the businesses that I was working because I still had a day job, I still had to recruit and place people and make money and it was only my most recent recruitment business that actually went to know what, because of what your podcasting about and because of what you're talking about, is so aligned to us as a business.
• 7:19
  Leigh Welsh: It was women in tech.
• 7:21
  Leigh Welsh: It was, you know, all about gender diversity and breaking stereotypes and pushing through barriers that women face.
• 7:27
  Leigh Welsh: That was quite aligned with the business that I was working in, so they were for it and then it took me a little while to actually show them the value that we're getting from that, because the more and more people that are seeing that, listening to that podcast, seeing those posts, end up being clients or interacting with the company that I was working for.
• 7:46
  Leigh Welsh: So it just naturally evolved and developed with the work that I was putting in.
• 7:50
  Leigh Welsh: But because it was kind of recreational to a certain extent, it was outside of my day job I just found it quite difficult to manage the two, and barely mind 20% of my role was the personal branding and the podcasting and the marketing stuff.
• 8:04
  Leigh Welsh: That was the bit I enjoyed.
• 8:05
  Leigh Welsh: So then I had to really, really focus on what do I want to be doing day in, day out?
• 8:11
  Leigh Welsh: And they let me to hear.
• 9:03
  Elizabeth Willetts: Wow, so we've spoken actually quite a bit now about personal branding.
• 9:06
  Elizabeth Willetts: Somebody listened to this night and never heard of the concept before personal branding.
• 9:10
  Elizabeth Willetts: What is personal branding?
• 9:12
  Leigh Welsh: For me, I think personal branding is how people feel when they interact with you online.
• 9:21
  Leigh Welsh: Now, I think personal brand we naturally develop in our day to day lives.
• 9:27
  Leigh Welsh: We naturally exude a personal brand.
• 9:30
  Leigh Welsh: It may be at a networking event, it may be picking your kids up from school.
• 9:33
  Leigh Welsh: Whatever you're doing on a day to day, you're projecting this image.
• 9:37
  Leigh Welsh: It's how others perceive you, how they want you, what they think about you, how they feel when they see you.
• 9:44
  Leigh Welsh: That is what we're trying to get to in an online presence and specifically on LinkedIn.
• 9:50
  Leigh Welsh: Right, I think personal brand people think personal brand is a reputation.
• 9:55
  Leigh Welsh: Yeah everyone has a reputation.
• 9:57
  Leigh Welsh: It might be good, it might be bad, it might be indifferent, but we've all got one just based on the interactions that we have with people, with companies, in different walks of life.
• 10:05
  Leigh Welsh: Whereas personal brand is how you want people to see you, rather than it just being given as a reputation, and you can promote that as much as you want, personal brand is a conscious effort To portray who you really are and I think sometimes it can be given a bad rap and people associate personal brand with Instagram, lamborghini's yachts, that kind of ego driven personal branding, or they perceive brand as the word is, as Coca-Cola, nike, brands that are, you know, huge in the market, and I think personal branding is somewhere in between.
• 10:43
  Leigh Welsh: We're not going down the look at me, I've drive a Lambo, but we're also not hidden behind about us pages and core values and you know, cookie cutter, stereotypical corporate content.
• 10:55
  Leigh Welsh: You've not.
• 10:57
  Leigh Welsh: Your personal brand is essentially Creating a feeling that someone has when they interact with you or your content.
• 11:06
  Elizabeth Willetts: You know what?
• 11:06
  Elizabeth Willetts: There's so many people I follow online.
• 11:08
  Elizabeth Willetts: Obviously, a lot of people are like this.
• 11:10
  Elizabeth Willetts: People I follow online you just have a real connection to and you've never spoken to them before in your life.
• 11:16
  Elizabeth Willetts: You feel like you know them, you feel like your friends, and I think that is just probably a really good example of someone who's done an amazing job of building a personal brand Absolutely and, if you think, if you met that person in real life.
• 11:29
  Elizabeth Willetts: I'd be so excited.
• 11:30
  Elizabeth Willetts: But I feel like I know that, I feel like I would know them like I would know a neighbor.
• 11:35
  Leigh Welsh: And so if we quantified that good job that they're doing with personal brand, it probably comes down to a few different points.
• 11:41
  Leigh Welsh: One is they're authentic as they can be.
• 11:44
  Leigh Welsh: They're not trying to be someone else, they're not trying to copy someone else.
• 11:48
  Leigh Welsh: They are projecting their true, authentic self in whatever format that works for them.
• 11:53
  Leigh Welsh: It might be video, it might be written, it might be images, it might be podcasts, whatever they feel most comfortable in that format, and then they're consistent with it.
• 12:02
  Leigh Welsh: Right, they're not thinking about oh, I shouldn't post this or I haven't got time to post this.
• 12:08
  Leigh Welsh: They are documenting and creating on a consistent basis which gives you a glimpse into their life, their journey, their story, the business they're running, the career path they're on.
• 12:19
  Leigh Welsh: They're giving you that inside.
• 12:21
  Leigh Welsh: I try every possible opportunity and so, therefore, when you do get three months, six months a year, two years, three years down the line, a following person, you start to build that connection with their Content.
• 12:34
  Leigh Welsh: Even if they've never responded to your comment, never messaged you back, you still feel that you know them because they're letting you into their life.
• 12:43
  Elizabeth Willetts: I built my business off the back of a personal brand and that was because I had, no, no money for marketing.
• 12:48
  Elizabeth Willetts: But someone listening to this might think it sounds a lot of work, and it is a lot of work.
• 12:52
  Elizabeth Willetts: Why should we prioritize building a personal brand and who should prioritize who should try and find the time to do this?
• 13:00
  Leigh Welsh: My simple answer to that would be everyone, and the benefits are untold from a Personal level, from a career progression level, from a building a business level.
• 13:10
  Leigh Welsh: If we link it to the corporate world.
• 13:12
  Leigh Welsh: It has not only elevated my career, but what I do for my clients now is everything you've just said about connecting with someone and and Feeling like you already know them.
• 13:23
  Leigh Welsh: Isn't that exactly where you want your business to be the best and biggest brands in the world?
• 13:28
  Leigh Welsh: How create an emotion?
• 13:30
  Leigh Welsh: You have a connection with that brand.
• 13:32
  Leigh Welsh: You wear that brand because it provides you with a feeling.
• 13:35
  Leigh Welsh: You follow that person because they allow that connection.
• 13:39
  Leigh Welsh: So the simple answer is everyone the benefits that can come off the back of that.
• 13:44
  Leigh Welsh: If we just think about work Specifically right, because I imagine a lot of your audience are thinking well, the main reason I would want to develop a personal brand is not for likes on Instagram or for my friends to think I'm doing well.
• 13:56
  Leigh Welsh: It's for my employer to recognize it or for other potential employers or potential customers to recognize what I'm doing.
• 14:04
  Leigh Welsh: That is the biggest benefit you could look at personal brand in that you are creating a network of people where we're in an age now where it's not.
• 14:15
  Leigh Welsh: It used to be who you know, it used to be what you know, that it was who you know and now it's who knows you.
• 14:21
  Leigh Welsh: Everything is connected, right, we can see, and, bearing in mind any potential employer, they're gonna look at your CV.
• 14:31
  Leigh Welsh: They're gonna want to interview you.
• 14:33
  Leigh Welsh: Before that interview happens, they are going to look at your social media, right, little wrongly, they'll be looking at your LinkedIn, absolutely, and take it from someone 10 years in recruitment.
• 14:43
  Leigh Welsh: They're probably gonna look at your Facebook page and your personal accounts, and so it's.
• 14:49
  Leigh Welsh: How are you Emulating your personal values?
• 14:52
  Leigh Welsh: Right?
• 14:53
  Leigh Welsh: You've got a course set of values that you live by.
• 14:55
  Leigh Welsh: How do those translate into the corporate world?
• 14:58
  Leigh Welsh: How do you show up every single day?
• 15:00
  Leigh Welsh: What is your day-to-day routine look like?
• 15:03
  Leigh Welsh: How do you conduct yourself at work?
• 15:05
  Leigh Welsh: What difficult situations have you been in that you've navigated?
• 15:08
  Leigh Welsh: There's so many different avenues you can explore with personal branding that it doesn't just have to be a fancy restaurant and a meal out and that ego driven stuff that we hear a lot about On social media because of the influence of world that we live in.
• 15:23
  Elizabeth Willetts: I mean, I can see how hugely valuable it is, the certain people I follow online.
• 15:26
  Elizabeth Willetts: Obviously, there's people a lot of people I follow that run their own businesses that have done amazing.
• 15:30
  Elizabeth Willetts: We were building a personal brand, but also employees, and we all know how fickle the workplace is and there is obviously always redundancies.
• 15:38
  Elizabeth Willetts: But I do think, like you, if you can build a personal brand, it makes you so much more valuable as an employee and potential employee.
• 15:46
  Elizabeth Willetts: And I see some amazing people employed, you know, produce brilliant content, and I just think their employer would never in their right mind want to get rid of that person and if they did, they'd be like five other competitors straight on the phone trying to hire them.
• 16:02
  Elizabeth Willetts: So I do think it's a good thing to brief your career.
• 16:06
  Leigh Welsh: Well, you've got a couple of elements to it, haven't you?
• 16:08
  Leigh Welsh: You've got the.
• 16:09
  Leigh Welsh: I'm currently working in this business and I have a big online presence.
• 16:12
  Leigh Welsh: The business then has to consider not just what skill gap are we losing in our business if we lose that person.
• 16:19
  Leigh Welsh: What impact does that have on our business brand?
• 16:23
  Leigh Welsh: If that person leaves, what is the messaging that goes out associated with that person?
• 16:28
  Leigh Welsh: Because they've got their own audience who may be potential customers or current customers or people that would buy our product.
• 16:35
  Leigh Welsh: What are those people going to think if we make this person redundant?
• 16:39
  Leigh Welsh: I wouldn't say it's completely safeguarding you against that situation, because we know business can be very, very cutthroat at times, but what it does do is add an extra layer of protection because there has to be that consideration from that business.
• 16:54
  Leigh Welsh: If that person is made redundant or ejected from the business, it's a really difficult situation.
• 17:02
  Leigh Welsh: But you've also got to think the other side of that is, if that situation does happen, you are so much more desirable, as you say, for a potential employer because you're not just bringing yourself and your skill set and your CV I can get a real glimpse of who you are in the online arena but also you're bringing a network of people of following your scene as a thought leader in your space.
• 17:26
  Leigh Welsh: If I go back to sales force recruitment that I most recently recruited for, the people that earn the most money and are the most desirable in the candidate market are the ones who are seen as thought leaders and trailblazers in their fields, and the more that you can promote that, the more the better.
• 17:46
  Elizabeth Willetts: So someone's listened to this and they may have never been on LinkedIn.
• 17:49
  Elizabeth Willetts: They may have a dusty profile that they haven't looked at for years.
• 17:52
  Elizabeth Willetts: How, would you say, is the best way to get started building your personal brand?
• 17:57
  Leigh Welsh: So the key to that question is get started.
• 18:00
  Leigh Welsh: So many people sit and wonder and think and theory craft and find reasons why not to get started, and actually you've just got to get on and do it.
• 18:11
  Leigh Welsh: I found this myself.
• 18:12
  Leigh Welsh: In the beginning I was hesitant to post.
• 18:15
  Leigh Welsh: I was worried about what people might think, I was worried whether the content would be any good and, like with anything, you've got to do it to get better.
• 18:24
  Leigh Welsh: Right, it doesn't matter what you're doing, what job you're doing.
• 18:28
  Leigh Welsh: Personal branding is a conscious effort to put yourself out there and the more you do it, the better you'll get.
• 18:33
  Leigh Welsh: I look at, you know, some of my earlier podcast episodes and I'm like I feel like I've got so much better.
• 18:38
  Leigh Welsh: My questionings got better, my speaking's got better, I'm less agit.
• 18:42
  Leigh Welsh: You know, jittery, nervous and that takes time.
• 18:46
  Leigh Welsh: The only way you're going to do that is by getting started and don't worry about what other people think If those people are going to pull you down or send you a message like I used to think.
• 18:57
  Leigh Welsh: Oh, if I put something online and one of my friends messaged me on WhatsApp and they're like what is that?
• 19:02
  Leigh Welsh: Why are you talking about women in technology?
• 19:04
  Leigh Welsh: And you know what's all this rubbish you're putting out.
• 19:06
  Leigh Welsh: They're not my friend Like, because the content that I'm putting out is so closely aligned with my personal values and what I believe in that if you are not on board with that and you're just going to pull me down because of what I'm putting out online, then you shouldn't be in my circle anyway.
• 19:20
  Leigh Welsh: You want those people that go mate.
• 19:22
  Leigh Welsh: Well done Like.
• 19:23
  Leigh Welsh: That looks brilliant.
• 19:24
  Leigh Welsh: I don't know enough about that subject, but I know more now.
• 19:27
  Leigh Welsh: Or, that was a great post, that was a great video.
• 19:30
  Leigh Welsh: You want those people around you and so don't worry about what the other people think.
• 19:34
  Leigh Welsh: If they're going to pull you down, they're not the people that you're trying to engage with anyway.
• 19:39
  Leigh Welsh: People worry about oh, what if a potential customer sees this and they don't like it?
• 19:43
  Leigh Welsh: Then they're not a potential customer.
• 19:44
  Leigh Welsh: We're not trying to appeal to everyone, right?
• 19:48
  Leigh Welsh: You're not trying to capture the entire world.
• 19:50
  Leigh Welsh: You're trying to capture an audience of fans, not followers.
• 19:55
  Leigh Welsh: People get hung up on this.
• 19:56
  Leigh Welsh: Oh, I need more followers and more likes.
• 19:58
  Leigh Welsh: People follow you for the sake of following you.
• 20:00
  Leigh Welsh: Wife sister has got a huge following on Instagram.
• 20:04
  Leigh Welsh: How many of those people actually believe in what she does, what she stands for?
• 20:09
  Leigh Welsh: Or are they following her because she's got a big following and they're hoping other people following will see that they're following and it's it becomes this follower society of let's just, you know, drive a number up for our ego.
• 20:22
  Leigh Welsh: We're looking for a legion of fans who will stand by you when things aren't going great, will support you when you know nobody else is.
• 20:30
  Leigh Welsh: They're the people that are going to buy your products.
• 20:32
  Leigh Welsh: They're the people that are going to talk about your products or your services.
• 20:35
  Leigh Welsh: You want those people that are advocating for you, speaking to other people and going.
• 20:39
  Leigh Welsh: Have you seen this post?
• 20:40
  Leigh Welsh: Have you seen what they're doing now?
• 20:42
  Leigh Welsh: You've just said at the start of this podcast about people that you've connected with and you've engaged with.
• 20:48
  Leigh Welsh: They're the people that you talk about.
• 20:49
  Leigh Welsh: I remember when we spoke last time about Stephen Bartley and the Diaries of a CEO.
• 20:54
  Leigh Welsh: You're advocating for him, having never spoken to him before.
• 20:58
  Leigh Welsh: But you are a fan, not a follower, and it's really, really important to move away from the follower ego metrics to I want, I don't care, even if it's 10 people.
• 21:10
  Leigh Welsh: If those 10 people support me and are going to help me get to where I want to get to then they're 10 more people than I had before.
• 21:17
  Elizabeth Willetts: I've obviously done a bit of link to Enchanted in the people it gets similar.
• 21:21
  Elizabeth Willetts: I get similar objections to why they don't want to post or start personal brand and it's obviously similar to what we spoke about but slightly more specific as well.
• 21:29
  Elizabeth Willetts: So one is oh, I'm worried that my colleagues gonna think who do they think they are posting that?
• 21:35
  Elizabeth Willetts: You know they're really up themselves which is prevalent in women as well.
• 21:38
  Leigh Welsh: Right, we've got to remember that women are evaluated more harshly in their networks, in their groups and especially at work with who does she think she is.
• 21:48
  Leigh Welsh: And it's really, really important for women to self advocate and get over that hurdle and start believing in their journey, their process and start documenting it, because I think there's a real concern.
• 22:02
  Leigh Welsh: What I hear a lot is I don't know where to start.
• 22:05
  Leigh Welsh: I want to get started, so we've done that bit.
• 22:07
  Leigh Welsh: I know that I need to do it, but I don't know what to post.
• 22:10
  Leigh Welsh: I don't.
• 22:11
  Leigh Welsh: You know, I'm not like these content creators that can come up with this amazing concept and write a story that gets 500 likes.
• 22:18
  Leigh Welsh: We're not trying to do that, just documents first.
• 22:21
  Leigh Welsh: And I think it was Gary V said it when I read his book years ago, and he's been bleeding the same message, which is document rather than create.
• 22:29
  Leigh Welsh: We're not trying to create something, we're just trying to let people into our lives.
• 22:34
  Leigh Welsh: So document what you're passionate about, the trouble that you've had, the journey that you've been on, your failures.
• 22:41
  Leigh Welsh: Give people that real, authentic glimpse into who you are, and that is enough for you to start you as a person, at whatever age, have got enough to talk about with just the journey that you've been on and where you want to get to, before you have to start worrying about creating some glossy linked in post that's going to get a load of likes.
• 23:00
  Elizabeth Willetts: The other objection I get and I'll be really keen to hear your thoughts on this is, for example, I spoke to somebody the other way and she was like I'm really passionate about working parents and work life balance and flexible working.
• 23:11
  Elizabeth Willetts: So the companies that I want to apply for are banks and they obviously have a reputation for not being particularly supportive of work life balance and flexible working.
• 23:21
  Elizabeth Willetts: So she was like how do I square that my values and the types of things I want to post with actually the companies I want to work for and their thoughts?
• 23:32
  Leigh Welsh: But they should be aligned.
• 23:33
  Leigh Welsh: Liz, and my question to that person in particular would be if your personal values of work, life balance and being a mom, and if they're not aligned with banking, then why am I trying to get into banking?
• 23:44
  Leigh Welsh: And I would strip that back to that first section, which is why do I want to work in that business if they're not aligned with my value?
• 23:52
  Leigh Welsh: So we're not trying to create this facade that I really like work, life balance and I really want to spend time with my kids, but I know you as a bank really don't support it, so you know I've got to find a way of navigating that.
• 24:03
  Leigh Welsh: No, if you're not on board with that, then you are not a company that I want to be involved with.
• 24:08
  Leigh Welsh: So it all should work together in harmony, really, because you'll be in authentic with your true self, like uncovered in tattoos.
• 24:16
  Leigh Welsh: If there was a business that felt that tattoos were unprofessional and I was going to give the wrong impression with their client, they're not a business I want to work with.
• 24:26
  Leigh Welsh: It's as simple as that, because my tattoos are who I am.
• 24:28
  Leigh Welsh: I believe in my tattoos.
• 24:29
  Leigh Welsh: My sister does them, she's a fantastic artist and I love going and getting tattoos and I can't wait to get booked in with her.
• 24:36
  Leigh Welsh: If a business doesn't support that, it's not for me.
• 24:39
  Leigh Welsh: I also love spending time with my kids and working from home, and I've spoken a lot on LinkedIn about flexible working, the impact that that has on parents, especially if you're not allowing me, as a parent, to spend time with my kids or you're expecting me to see my job as everything and you know family, kids looking after my mom, whatever it is you've got else going on, if you're not allowing me to take that into consideration as a priority alongside my working day, you're not the business for me.
• 25:09
  Elizabeth Willetts: Yeah, I like that and I think that confidence obviously makes you attractive.
• 25:12
  Elizabeth Willetts: You know, to employers, to customers not everyone has that confidence that you always been quite confident in who you are.
• 25:19
  Leigh Welsh: I project a confident self because I have to force myself to be confident, and what personal branding and posting and social media really helped me with is getting over that barrier of what people are going to sit and think and how am I going to come across.
• 25:35
  Leigh Welsh: That's really enabled me to do that.
• 25:37
  Leigh Welsh: I mean, I grew up fairly quiet, fairly timid, always wanted to be the Joker at school and make people laugh and wasn't particularly academic, I think, growing up in a pub.
• 25:47
  Leigh Welsh: My auntie had a pub and I spent a lot of time in there.
• 25:49
  Leigh Welsh: I had to interact with lots of different characters on a day to day basis.
• 25:53
  Leigh Welsh: So holding a conversation I'm pretty good at public speaking I've never had an issue with.
• 25:58
  Leigh Welsh: But the actual confidence piece of how I feel I still post stuff.
• 26:02
  Leigh Welsh: Now I'm like should this be going out?
• 26:04
  Leigh Welsh: I don't know.
• 26:05
  Leigh Welsh: And then I'm like I just always default back to.
• 26:07
  Leigh Welsh: The advice that I give to my clients is just post it, just get it out there.
• 26:12
  Leigh Welsh: What's the worst that can happen?
• 26:14
  Leigh Welsh: Are you going to lose your job over this?
• 26:16
  Leigh Welsh: If it's something misogynistic, racist, something that's going to get you cancelled, you probably need to look at your personal values and what you believe in before you're even looking to project that and post that externally like let's look at that first.
• 26:30
  Leigh Welsh: If that's going to be a problem Outside of that sort of stuff, what's the worst that's going to happen?
• 26:35
  Leigh Welsh: Someone's going to go.
• 26:35
  Leigh Welsh: That content wasn't great.
• 26:37
  Leigh Welsh: They're going to scroll, scroll past and, as I said you before you've got to post that average, mediocre some posts are going to land some arm for you to really get to a point where you found the format that works for you.
• 26:50
  Leigh Welsh: Some people love Writing and they're really, really creative.
• 26:53
  Leigh Welsh: They're still trying to do videos because they know that video gets more reach, more shares, get, you know, does better from a metric standpoint.
• 27:01
  Leigh Welsh: Stick to the stuff that you feel comfortable with and that you're really good at.
• 27:05
  Leigh Welsh: So trying to push a video when you don't feel comfortable on video because it's that's going to come through in the content that you're putting out.
• 27:13
  Elizabeth Willetts: Yeah, that's a really good point in terms of I guess as well, people are a bit worried if they work for quite corporate organization.
• 27:20
  Elizabeth Willetts: If they post something that's a little bit, you know, on the edge, how do they sort of square that as well?
• 27:26
  Elizabeth Willetts: You know getting their points across while working for a big corporate.
• 27:31
  Leigh Welsh: So I would be looking at what is the benefit of putting that post down if it's that I want to project my true, authentic self Now.
• 27:39
  Leigh Welsh: Naturally, when you're working in a business have to, especially on LinkedIn, because your job role is associated with your profile.
• 27:47
  Leigh Welsh: Anybody that sees that post or sees you online can see who you work for.
• 27:51
  Leigh Welsh: That has to be taken into consideration, which is why it took me so long to be able to launch a podcast and I really had to sell the idea on multiple occasions and there was even certain posts.
• 28:03
  Leigh Welsh: I remember doing a post in my last business writing out and it was me taking a picture of some on the tube and everybody that I could see.
• 28:11
  Leigh Welsh: I was standing in the carriage and everybody I could see was down there on their phones on the way into work and I was just thinking, like I'm all about digital.
• 28:19
  Leigh Welsh: I've done tech recruitment and digital recruitment for years, but this is really quite sad.
• 28:24
  Leigh Welsh: Nobody looking up, no emotion, personality, authenticity, anything from anyone.
• 28:30
  Leigh Welsh: Everybody's just down at their phone and I my immediate reaction to that when I got into the office was I'm writing out a post saying get off your fucking phone.
• 28:39
  Leigh Welsh: Basically like, get off of your phones.
• 28:41
  Leigh Welsh: We're completely absorbed by these smartphones and we're losing that human connection.
• 28:46
  Leigh Welsh: And it was only writing it out that I knew it was on the edge that my boss walked in and I went what do you think of this?
• 28:52
  Leigh Welsh: Read it out to him.
• 28:53
  Leigh Welsh: And he went I probably wouldn't put that one out.
• 28:54
  Leigh Welsh: And I was like you're probably right, you know the ones that are just teetering on the edge and get that second opinion.
• 29:02
  Leigh Welsh: You may find that your director, hiring manager, founder, is completely aligned with that message that you're trying to send.
• 29:10
  Leigh Welsh: And so they go yeah, good on you, I agree, put it out.
• 29:14
  Leigh Welsh: But there's also got to be that consideration.
• 29:16
  Leigh Welsh: When you are in that corporate world.
• 29:18
  Leigh Welsh: I have to have these conversations with the founders of businesses, right?
• 29:22
  Leigh Welsh: It's like you know.
• 29:23
  Leigh Welsh: Are you right in putting that out?
• 29:25
  Leigh Welsh: Could we frame that slightly differently?
• 29:27
  Leigh Welsh: I get the point that you're trying to say but how's that going to be received online?
• 29:31
  Leigh Welsh: That consideration has to be there.
• 29:34
  Leigh Welsh: But again, if you don't go and approach that, I made the point of writing out that post and I was ready to send before I went and asked the question.
• 29:41
  Leigh Welsh: Don't go and ask the question without getting that far, because then you haven't resided yourself to actually go and do it.
• 29:49
  Elizabeth Willetts: You're right.
• 29:50
  Elizabeth Willetts: It's like my husband.
• 29:51
  Elizabeth Willetts: He's sort of trying to build a person and he works for an organisation and he often just posts without asking me.
• 29:55
  Elizabeth Willetts: The other night he wrote a post.
• 29:56
  Elizabeth Willetts: He went what does this sound like?
• 29:57
  Elizabeth Willetts: And it didn't sound well.
• 29:59
  Elizabeth Willetts: I was like no, I don't think that's going to land.
• 30:01
  Elizabeth Willetts: Well, I think you're right.
• 30:02
  Elizabeth Willetts: He the fact that he had to ask me.
• 30:04
  Elizabeth Willetts: Obviously he said I'm weird, this is a bit controversial, and it was so I was like, yes, don't post that one.
• 30:10
  Elizabeth Willetts: But I think you do know, don't you?
• 30:13
  Leigh Welsh: And what's the benefit of that post Right?
• 30:16
  Leigh Welsh: Could we frame it slightly differently?
• 30:17
  Leigh Welsh: Could we soften it slightly?
• 30:18
  Leigh Welsh: You're still getting your message across.
• 30:20
  Leigh Welsh: You're still, you know, offering that glimpse into who you are, but are we positioning it in the right way?
• 30:25
  Leigh Welsh: Because don't forget when we're, especially when you're writing content, the same way you'll receive.
• 30:30
  Leigh Welsh: I receive a text from my wife sometimes and I'm about sounds a bit frosty, and then she'll get home and I'll be like, what is that text about?
• 30:37
  Leigh Welsh: And she'll be like, oh, I didn't mean it like that.
• 30:39
  Leigh Welsh: I just was saying this, this and this.
• 30:40
  Leigh Welsh: It can just be received in different ways, because there's no body language, there's no tone of voice, it's just words on a bit of paper.
• 30:48
  Leigh Welsh: So just be really, really mindful of that.
• 30:50
  Leigh Welsh: Think how your audience is going to receive it and then the impact that might have on the company brand that you're working for.
• 30:57
  Elizabeth Willetts: Good advice I've kept hearing.
• 30:59
  Elizabeth Willetts: There's the theme, and I've written it down because I didn't want to forget is about does this align with your values?
• 31:04
  Elizabeth Willetts: You know, just say the employer, potential employer line with your values.
• 31:07
  Elizabeth Willetts: Is your posts align with your value?
• 31:09
  Elizabeth Willetts: Some listeners might think I don't know.
• 31:10
  Elizabeth Willetts: I do want my values are.
• 31:12
  Elizabeth Willetts: Is that the first step to building a personal brand, identifying your values?
• 31:15
  Elizabeth Willetts: How do you do that then?
• 31:17
  Leigh Welsh: It's really looking into who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in, what you're passionate about.
• 31:24
  Leigh Welsh: Think about how you feel when you watch certain parts of the news or when things are going out and you're reacting to it in a certain way.
• 31:33
  Leigh Welsh: I support that.
• 31:34
  Leigh Welsh: I don't agree with that.
• 31:35
  Leigh Welsh: That's all shaping what you believe in and what your values are.
• 31:39
  Leigh Welsh: I would then go and ask a second opinion or a third opinion or a fourth opinion.
• 31:43
  Leigh Welsh: Call your friends and be like how would you describe me?
• 31:45
  Leigh Welsh: How do you feel when we spend time together?
• 31:48
  Leigh Welsh: What feelings do I leave you with when I leave time?
• 31:50
  Leigh Welsh: But some will say I'm bloody exhausted, mate.
• 31:52
  Leigh Welsh: To be honest with you, you chew my head off.
• 31:54
  Leigh Welsh: Some will say you know what?
• 31:56
  Leigh Welsh: I wish I could see you more.
• 31:58
  Leigh Welsh: Work doesn't allow it.
• 31:59
  Leigh Welsh: You know we've both got our own lives, but I wish I could see you more.
• 32:02
  Leigh Welsh: And the reason being is because we're aligned on this, this, this and this.
• 32:05
  Leigh Welsh: I love when we joke about this.
• 32:06
  Leigh Welsh: I love when we put the world to rights about this and you create a narrative on what you stand for and what you believe in.
• 32:13
  Leigh Welsh: So the first step has to be understanding what your values are.
• 32:18
  Leigh Welsh: Values have become a real buzzword.
• 32:20
  Leigh Welsh: They have been in business for years and years and years and years.
• 32:23
  Leigh Welsh: As long as I can remember, it was what are your core values, what is your mission statement?
• 32:27
  Leigh Welsh: And that's just translated into the personal arena because we're able to project more and more online.
• 32:34
  Leigh Welsh: Before it was, a business is a business and the messages they put out are that business.
• 32:38
  Leigh Welsh: Then LinkedIn comes along and it's like well, that's the business and that's the messaging of the business and these are the people that work for that business.
• 32:46
  Leigh Welsh: What do they believe in?
• 32:47
  Leigh Welsh: And then personal social media takes steps in and now we can get a glimpse into okay, that's the business, that's the brand messaging.
• 32:55
  Leigh Welsh: They're the people that work for the brand and that's their messaging.
• 32:57
  Leigh Welsh: What are they like in their personal lives?
• 33:00
  Leigh Welsh: And then you build this picture of branding and values and all of these buzzwords creep in.
• 33:06
  Leigh Welsh: But it starts with that alignment on what you actually believe in.
• 33:11
  Elizabeth Willetts: If you're a company, should you encourage your employees to build their personal ramps.
• 33:15
  Elizabeth Willetts: 100%, 100%.
• 33:17
  Leigh Welsh: Providing you've got that, I wouldn't be putting too much of rigid framework in place for what they can post, what they can't post, because then you lose that authenticity.
• 33:26
  Leigh Welsh: If you think about the biggest influencers of the world, they deliver the best brand messages and paid advertising when they're given free reign by the clients that they work with.
• 33:37
  Leigh Welsh: If a client is coming to a person that believes in their brand and going I want you to post this in this format, with you doing this, this, this and this is the script, I want you to say it's so obvious that it hasn't come from them, because the people that follow them have spent years as you said earlier on in this podcast of getting to know them, knowing their tone of voice, knowing their humor, knowing their wit.
• 33:58
  Leigh Welsh: If suddenly they're putting a paid advert out that's aligned with a business they aren't a part of, it's super, super obvious.
• 34:05
  Leigh Welsh: So it's absolutely paramount.
• 34:06
  Leigh Welsh: There is a framework in place, but it's not too rigid.
• 34:12
  Leigh Welsh: Once you've got that framework in place and there's an understanding that employee is aligned with what we believe as a business, because that's why we hired them, that's why they're still working here, then why would you not want them advocating for those messages that you collectively share and the more that that person, bearing in mind that brand message is shared by people, so personal profiles are linked in are also linked in Are over 20 times more shared than by a company page.
• 34:41
  Leigh Welsh: Why would you not want them pushing them?
• 34:43
  Leigh Welsh: Because anyone that visits their profile is going to see that they work for your company and I can assure you that if they are as passionate about your business as you are and that's why you hired them then they're going to be promoting your business along the way.
• 34:56
  Leigh Welsh: They're going to be talking about that new event that they're going to, that new product you've just launched, and it's going to come across as an authentic post because, one, they're not being paid for it and they have to do so, and that's the framework they've been given.
• 35:10
  Leigh Welsh: But, two, they believe in what your company has to offer.
• 35:13
  Leigh Welsh: So for me, I don't see any downside, as long as all of those values everything we've spoken about are aligned.
• 35:21
  Elizabeth Willetts: Yeah, you have that framework Because I guess there is obviously the certain footpoints where it may go a bit wrong.
• 35:25
  Elizabeth Willetts: If there's a post that goes out that you know how would you advise to a client.
• 35:30
  Leigh Welsh: Then, if a post goes out they don't approve of, Well, one thing I struggled with in a previous company was working for a big corporate.
• 35:37
  Leigh Welsh: I was working for a very, very big recruitment company and anything I wanted to do creatively so, whether it be posts, whether it be podcasts, whether it be video I had to always run it past their big marketing team and the message and response was always sorry, that's not on brand guidelines, sorry, and, as you can imagine, I didn't stay in that business very long.
• 35:59
  Leigh Welsh: My advice to any company that has an employee that is posting something outside of the brand messages that they're trying to portray is let's go back a step and understand where that alignment is.
• 36:13
  Leigh Welsh: Again, what is it that they're posting that's so far out and what you believe in as a company?
• 36:19
  Leigh Welsh: Because then you need to question who you've got in your business and how aligned they are with your mission, because if it goes against that, we've got a much bigger problem than a post that might get a bit of hate online.
• 36:30
  Leigh Welsh: Or you know the founder looks at the post and goes oh, I don't know what that's talking about, I don't like that.
• 36:36
  Leigh Welsh: Or I don't like the language of that.
• 36:37
  Leigh Welsh: There's things like swearing and language and you know some businesses don't care, some businesses really care and they have their own reasons for that.
• 36:45
  Leigh Welsh: So that's where that framework comes in.
• 36:47
  Leigh Welsh: But if you're a company that's got the ump because one of your employees has posted something, depending on what that is, how serious it is I would be scaling that back to where is that message your post come from, and is that really aligned with us as a business?
• 37:02
  Leigh Welsh: If it's not, you've got a bigger problem in your hands.
• 37:05
  Elizabeth Willetts: So really all that starts with values, doesn't it?
• 37:07
  Elizabeth Willetts: Company values and individual values, and then making sure you're aligned.
• 37:11
  Elizabeth Willetts: That's something obviously people can explore when interviewing with organizations.
• 37:15
  Leigh Welsh: If you want authenticity, because we can all project something that we're not businesses that typically fall, reject something they're not.
• 37:24
  Leigh Welsh: If you look at the Willy Wonka experiencing Glasgow prime example, right, we're projecting an experience that it isn't and so naturally it gets a load of stick in the media and a load of crying, screaming kids, because it's that expectation versus reality.
• 37:41
  Leigh Welsh: Right, we've always talked in sales under promise over deliver.
• 37:45
  Leigh Welsh: That is the same in your online persona, right, it's like I'm not trying to promise you that I'm the finished article.
• 37:53
  Leigh Welsh: I'm not trying to promise you that I get everything right all the time and I know it all.
• 37:58
  Leigh Welsh: I'm real and I have my flaws and I've failed and things go wrong, and I don't care if I'm in a C sweet position in a FTSE 250, things sometimes go wrong and the more that you can push that and show that glimpse into reality, the more authentic the content is going to be.
• 38:17
  Leigh Welsh: Rather than forget about values, forget about messaging, I'm just going to put some stuff out because I've seen that it worked for that person.
• 38:24
  Leigh Welsh: Or I saw that company is pushing the gender diversity agenda, so we're going to jump on board with that.
• 38:32
  Leigh Welsh: But if you're not actually believing in that and you're not authentic with it.
• 38:35
  Leigh Welsh: It's so easy to see through online, and AI plays a massive part of that.
• 38:40
  Leigh Welsh: Now, liz.
• 38:41
  Elizabeth Willetts: What's your views on AI?
• 38:43
  Leigh Welsh: I think AI is absolutely incredible and saves me a load of time with a load of different stuff.
• 38:50
  Leigh Welsh: Where I think AI is the same with any tool right, it can be used for good, used for bad.
• 38:56
  Leigh Welsh: Where I think it's super, super obvious that it doesn't work is when you're trying to create marketing or brand messaging, that a computer I don't care how clever it is is telling you or generating that post for you.
• 39:12
  Leigh Welsh: That then isn't you.
• 39:13
  Leigh Welsh: I know you can train it and you can tell it to speak how you speak.
• 39:18
  Leigh Welsh: For me, the human element of marketing is getting pushed aside with AI, because we're seeing more and more and they're so easy to spot right, and maybe they'll get less easy to spot as AI develops.
• 39:30
  Leigh Welsh: But for me, I can see that you've literally just put into chat GPT write me a post on LinkedIn about gender diversity and they've just copied and pasted it and I'm like that doesn't.
• 39:40
  Leigh Welsh: It's not consistent with the other messages you've been putting out.
• 39:43
  Leigh Welsh: I know that that is something that is half-assed, you couldn't be bothered, so you've just gone.
• 39:47
  Leigh Welsh: Whereas if you genuinely believe in gender diversity, then let's actually sit down and hear from the people that have had challenges and triumphs in that arena.
• 39:57
  Leigh Welsh: Let's hear from the people that have gone through those troubles, and then let's translate that into an impactful post that is actually authentic and coming from you, rather than it being an AI chatbot.
• 40:10
  Elizabeth Willetts: I think it is about that consistency, because we're recording this as International Women's Day, I think on Friday, and you know there'll be certain organisations that post about it, but that'll be the only time they post about it.
• 40:20
  Elizabeth Willetts: They'll post about once a year.
• 40:22
  Leigh Welsh: Which is worse, which is worse than not posting anything at all.
• 40:25
  Leigh Welsh: It's the same businesses that pride flag on for Pride Month but don't say anything about the LBQT Q plus for the rest of the year.
• 40:34
  Leigh Welsh: It's those same businesses that go.
• 40:36
  Leigh Welsh: I know everybody else is doing that and it's the hot topic for the month, so we should probably do that.
• 40:43
  Leigh Welsh: Let's also put the Ukraine flag on when the war started and let's show our support.
• 40:47
  Leigh Welsh: How are you actually supporting?
• 40:50
  Leigh Welsh: And there is nothing that frustrates me more than businesses doing that obligatory post in March for International Women's Day, when their board is 90% men or 100% men and the rest of the year there's absolutely no discussion about gender diversity.
• 41:05
  Leigh Welsh: It's just something they've seen.
• 41:06
  Leigh Welsh: They need to post online.
• 41:08
  Elizabeth Willetts: Absolutely so.
• 41:09
  Elizabeth Willetts: Before we wrap up, just some top tips for people you know.
• 41:12
  Elizabeth Willetts: Give a bit of some rate.
• 41:12
  Elizabeth Willetts: Why should you build a personal brand and how to get started.
• 41:16
  Leigh Welsh: So we've established the why is absolutely obvious, and building a personal brand is going to elevate your career.
• 41:26
  Leigh Welsh: It's going to elevate your feeling about yourself.
• 41:29
  Leigh Welsh: It's going to build confidence, as it did with me.
• 41:31
  Leigh Welsh: It is going to put you in a position that you are harder to get made redundant in the world that we live in at the moment, because you have a following, you have a presence, you're seen as a thought leader.
• 41:43
  Leigh Welsh: It's going to take a lot of time.
• 41:45
  Leigh Welsh: You're going to have to be consistent with it and we need to start with those values and what you believe in.
• 41:50
  Leigh Welsh: Then forget about creating, start documenting, start thinking about the journey that you've been on, where you're trying to get to, the challenges you've had along the way and the interest that people might have in that story, because everybody has a different story.
• 42:02
  Leigh Welsh: I have it on my podcast, right the imposter syndrome of guests going.
• 42:06
  Leigh Welsh: Well, people aren't going to want to know what I've been through or my story, and I'm like it's completely unique.
• 42:11
  Leigh Welsh: No one has been on the same journey, and so there's an interesting element there that's going to resonate with some people, not everyone, but we don't want the everyone we've already established.
• 42:22
  Leigh Welsh: We want fans, not followers.
• 42:23
  Leigh Welsh: Embrace you, be as authentic as you can be.
• 42:27
  Leigh Welsh: Don't think about how am I going to position this for that audience or how am I going to put this out that is going to resonate with that demographic.
• 42:34
  Leigh Welsh: I'm just going to post me.
• 42:36
  Leigh Welsh: I'm going to show the world me.
• 42:38
  Leigh Welsh: I'm going to gloss it up in whatever way I feel most comfortable with, but without the Lambos and the fancy dinners and the Rolexes and the rubbish that people think personal brand or branding is associated with on Instagram.
• 42:51
  Leigh Welsh: Don't copy others.
• 42:52
  Leigh Welsh: Don't try and be someone you're not and get out there and start posting.
• 42:56
  Elizabeth Willetts: That's great.
• 42:57
  Elizabeth Willetts: Do you know what you're going to put?
• 42:58
  Elizabeth Willetts: Loads.
• 42:58
  Elizabeth Willetts: Thank you so much, lee, for joining me today.
• 43:01
  Elizabeth Willetts: Thank you so much to everybody that has listened.
• 43:03
  Elizabeth Willetts: I hope you found it helpful, and why don't you tag me and Lee in your first post or your next post on LinkedIn?
• 43:10
  Leigh Welsh: Yeah, I love that.
• 43:11
  Leigh Welsh: Thank you, Liz.
• 43:12
  Elizabeth Willetts: Thank you.
• 43:12
  Elizabeth Willetts: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Work it Like a Mum podcast.
• 43:22
  Elizabeth Willetts: If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and subscribe, and don't forget to share the link with a friend.
• 43:28
  Elizabeth Willetts: If you're on LinkedIn, please send me a connection request at Elizabeth Willett and let me know your thoughts on this week's episode.
• 43:35
  Elizabeth Willetts: You can also follow my recruitment site Investing in Women on LinkedIn, facebook and Instagram.
• 43:41
  Elizabeth Willetts: Until next time, keep on chasing your biggest dream.