Ask HN: Employees personal brand – Threat or Weapon?

1 points by midspectrum 3 years ago | 2 comments

Hello Stranger,

Considering the current scenario where a majority of the employees in the team are aspiring to be creators in their niche, what do you think of it as a founder or recruiter?

In my 1st experience as a manager, management asked me to reject candidates who are more invested in their own thing stating they won't devote much time to their jobs and responsibilities.

Currently, I'm encountering job postings asking for candidates' social presence which makes me clueless whether the same is being asked as shortlisting criteria or rejection.

I would love to hear from you, what's your take on this?

fabianholzer 3 years ago |

I think the premise that "every employee in the team is an aspiring or budding creator in their niche" is for the majority of companies incorrect. In my experience it is much more likely to encounter "Dark matter developers" [1] than their opposite.

When the personal brand building is not done on company-time (unless on behalf of the company, for example in a developer advocate role), it is no business of the company. To borrow a sentence from Cate Huston: "My employer buys my time, they rent my personal brand." [2]

[1]https://www.hanselman.com/blog/dark-matter-developers-the-un...

[2]https://cate.blog/2021/09/20/being-the-dri-of-your-career/

midspectrum 3 years ago | |

I've updated the premise. Thanks for pointing it out.