When I decided to get back into programming I knew I had to update my skills from when I was a developer in the mid 2000s. I had no idea how to do this as I couldn't afford to go back to college, attend a for profit bootcamp, and the cacophony of free #CodeNewbie content hadn't materialized yet. I leveraged my soft skills on social media and local meetups to work on projects and slowly climb out of my Luddite cave. Before I knew it I found myself inadvertently creating a personal brand.
I do not normally consider myself the personal brand type. Self-promotion inherently feels wrong to my value system. The work should speak for itself, but it’s not enough to silently toil in the GitHub mines and hope things work out. As a career changer I needed help and to achieve that I needed visibility. I was a prolific tweeter updating my audience about projects and thoughts on the industry, I wrote blogs and tutorials, engaged in community and formed connections with people. I wanted to become someone who could extend the same courtesy and opportunity to others. Unbranding was my personal brand.
When I finally got hired the tutorials and blog posts fell by the wayside as I acclimated to a new workflow. I lost sight of my 'brand voice' and that was a misstep. I still have things to say and share. I do not consider myself a subject matter expert in anything but I am constantly learning and still get excited for new techniques and developments. Since tech doesn't have a labor union (yet) community is important. I want to help others get where they want to go and be able to lean on my network when I need help. It's time to refocus on learning and sharing.