We live and work in a digital world and more than ever executives require their EAs to be digital experts. As a result, it’s important that you use your personal brand to build your reputation as a digital expert. In this blog, we look at how you can develop yours.

Firstly though, what is a personal brand? Your personal brand is the reputation you have as a professional – both within your current organisation and in the job market. It’s what you’re known for. As a result, you want it to accurately portray your skills and expertise.

Whether intentional or not, everyone already has a personal brand. Based on the way you work, the impression you make on your colleagues, your values and your digital footprint, you have a certain reputation. If you’re not sure what yours is, think about the topics that people come to you and you alone to discuss. Perhaps it’s day-to-day office management, business writing, internal communication or event organisation. Whatever it is, this forms the foundation of your current personal brand.

However, today’s EAs need a brand that encapsulates so much more than the traditional skills associated with the job. To stand out, you also need to incorporate your digital skills into your personal brand to become known as a digital expert.

So, how can you build your brand as a digital expert? Following is our advice – while I’ve focused on building your reputation as a digital expert, you can apply the same advice to your complete USP (unique selling proposition), or in other words, the technical and soft skills and competencies you want to be known for. Just make sure you keep your message consistent – no one is a master of everything, so focus your brand on those skills and competencies that you are good at and want to be known for.

Be genuine

Before you begin, it’s essential that you become a genuine digital expert. After all, you can’t create a personal brand for a skill you don’t honestly possess. So, make sure you become an expert in the various systems and apps that are used in your organisation – whether your executive uses them or not. From collaboration platforms to plugins, automation systems to CRMs, make sure you have a strong practical knowledge of each and know how to troubleshoot common problems. After all, an executive rarely has time to spare while waiting for the IT helpdesk to identify and fix an issue.

You should also look at ways AI and automation can be used for routine and repetitive tasks. For example, and as I’ve previously mentioned, you could implement software to manage travel bookings, schedule meetings and read and summarise reports. Order office supplies through an AI device, use document sending and signing tools and become a super user of new automation systems.

Online personal brand building

Once you are a genuine digital expert, you’re ready to start promoting your digital expertise. Use social media to create a public statement about yourself and your skills. On LinkedIn, start by making sure you have a strong headline – this is the text that appears below your job title. Using the appropriate keywords here can bring you higher in a recruiter or hiring manager’s online search results, so mention your digital skills in your headline. For example, “Digitally-driven Executive Assistant | complex scheduling | events | systems expert”

Similarly, make sure you include your digital skills in your summary and add any relevant short courses to your qualifications.

You could also ask colleagues who have benefited from your digital expertise to endorse these skills on LinkedIn or write you a recommendation.

Once you’ve updated your profile, regularly share content. Remember to be authentic when you post and only share information that is relevant to your network. You can also ask a question to encourage people to engage with you on social media.

To go a step further, you may like to consider starting a Twitter feed or blog to share useful troubleshooting tips and tricks for EAs. If you do, make sure you add the link to your LinkedIn profile.

Offline personal brand building

Building your personal brand shouldn’t be restricted to online activity. One simple and effective way to demonstrate your digital expertise and build your reputation internally is to assist colleagues with technical issues whenever you can. As an expert user, you’ll have the required knowledge to help, which will allow you to gain a reputation based on your digital proficiency.

Finally, it’s advisable to attend functions, short courses and webinars as often as you can. Join relevant LinkedIn groups and network with other EAs. This will help to keep your digital proficiency up-to-date while simultaneously supporting and building your own personal brand in this area.

By following the above steps, you’ll be able to stand out as an EA who is known for staying at the leading edge of their career and who can add value to their executive thanks to their digital expertise.

About this author

Alex Jones is Regional Director of Hays in New South Wales, with full day-to-day operational responsibility for several Hays business units.

Over his 17 year career with Hays, Alex has held a variety of roles. Alex started recruiting in London for Hays Education, where he placed secondary school teachers. He moved into managing teams very early in his career before relocating home to Sydney in 2007 to manage and expand Hays Education in Australia.

Since then, Alex has managed a variety of teams in both the public and private sectors. His success was quickly rewarded with promotions to Senior Manager and then Regional Director six years ago.

Alex is currently responsible for the Construction & Property, Office Support, Policy & Strategy, Healthcare, Education and Executive business units of Hays in Sydney and Newcastle.

Follow Alex on LinkedIn