Change How Your Colleagues See You

"Whether you're trying to shift how colleagues perceive you or debating a bigger move into a new field, the question is the same: how do you rebrand yourself without undermining your strengths? That's what Dear HBR: hosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn talked through with consultant and author Dorie Clark in the 2018 episode originally called "Personal Rebranding." Dorie's written extensively about professional reinvention, including the book Reinventing You."

"I actually had multiple reinventions, Dan, and it started with an ignominious failure which is that I got laid off from my first job, so I was forced to reinvent myself. [LAUGHTER] I had been a political reporter, and so I thought, all right, if I'm not having any luck in newspapers, maybe I can do this other adjacent thing. And so that's how I became a spokesperson first on a governor's race and then on a presidential race. Of course, they lost, too. [LAUGHTER]"

Multiple professional reinventions can follow an initial career setback such as a layoff, prompting shifts from one role into adjacent roles that leverage existing skills. Lateral transitions, including spokesperson positions on political campaigns, illustrate how transferable capabilities open new pathways even when prior roles vanish. Career change often involves both altering job responsibilities and reshaping how others perceive professional identity. Many people seek to change reputation more than function, aiming to narrow the gap between current perception and desired advancement. Effective rebranding preserves core strengths while deliberately framing new expertise to colleagues and potential employers.

Read at Harvard Business Review