How to Build Your Career Success by Becoming an Authority in Your Field

I saw an article on Forbes.com the other day called “15 Ways to Establish Authority in Your Field.”  I thought it contained some great career advice.  While some of these 15 tips are more suited to entrepreneurs, every one of them can help you build your personal brand – and a strong personal brand is an important key to your career success.

Here are the 15 tips on establishing yourself as an authority in your field….

1. Write a book.
2. Publish articles.
3. Host a blog.
4. Build a social network following.
5. Create a YouTube channel.
6. Become a professional speaker.
7. Be a guest on internet radio shows.
8. Host your own radio show.
9. Host teleseminars.
10. Host online events.
11. Claim your expertise with a catchy tagline.
12. Become a leader.
13. Create and distribute information products.
14. Form strategic alliances.
15. Teach classes and workshops.

If you’re an entrepreneur you should make use of every one of these techniques.  I have used all 15 at one time or another and currently actively use numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14 and 15.  If you work for a company, you should still be using many of them.  Let’s take a look at thefive I think are best suited to someone climbing the corporate ladder…

Publish Articles – There are many great article distribution sites.  In my opinion Ezine Articles is the best.  Write an article on your area of expertise – it can even be a case study describing one of your successful projects.  Submit it to Ezine Articles.  Once it’s up, make sure you share it with your colleagues and boss.  Also, there are no shortage of industry specific publications.  Most are looking for authors.  Take a look at the publications circulating in your office.  Pick one that you like and send them an article proposal.  It’s always great to be in a magazine read by people in your company and industry.

Build a Social Network Following – You can do this via Twitter (one of my favorites).  Start tweeting about issues in your industry.  People will find you and you’ll build a following.  Or join LinkedIn and become a member of groups that apply to your filed or industry.  Stay up on discussions in these groups.  Offer your opinions in a thoughtful way.  Better yet, start some discussions.  And, if once you really get into it, create a group of your own.

Become a Speaker – You don’t have to become a professional speaker to speak.  Offer to do a talk for one of the professional organizations to which you belong.  I did a lot of talks at my local American Society for Training and Development early in my career.  Also, get in touch with local services organizations – Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist International etc.  These groups always need speakers for their weekly or monthly meetings.  Speaking does two things for you: 1) it helps you sharpen and clarify your thoughts and ideas, and 2) it is a nice thing to have on your resume – even when you are applying for a promotion within your company.

Become a Leader – As I mentioned above, there are tons of professional and service organizations.  All of them need volunteers to handle the leadership responsibilities that come with running a professional or service organization.  Get involved.  I guarantee that if you find an organization you like, and get actively involved you can progress from being a member to President in five or six years.  It takes time and effort, but it is a good way to demonstrate your leadership abilities.

Teach Classes and Workshops – You can do this inside your company, or out.  Volunteer to teach a lunch and learn session in your area of expertise for people inside your company.  If you r company doesn’t have a lunch and learn series, start one.  Most communities have a variety of adult education venues.  Choose one and teach a class there.  In addition to building your resume, you’ll be making contacts and clarifying your ideas.  You never learn something as well as when you teach it to others.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.   If you want to create the career success you deserve, your personal brand should establish you as an authority in your field.   Forbes.com lists 15 things that can help you establish yourself as an authority. I think that there are five that are particularly important – and while they require a little effort, they are not too difficult to do. 1) Publish articles. 2) Build a social network following. 3) Become a speaker. 4) Become a leader. 5) Teach classes and workshops. Put these five tips to work and you’ll establish yourself as an authority – and be on your way to creating the career success you deserve.

That’s my career advice on how to establish yourself as an authority.  What do you think?  Please share your thoughts with us in a comment.  I’d really like to hear your success stories.  So take this opportunity to brag on yourself a little.  As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my daily musings on life and career success.  Thanks.  Come back often.  I have new content five days a week.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less.  The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site last September.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  You can find out about the membership site by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.