hashtalk 003: why “cheating” on your corporate career is not a bad thing and it actually helps your corporate career
By Eva Georgieva
What’s up bugs? I usually like talking about 10 different things at once, but kinda felt that this one needs a bit more attention, so let’s try and keep the focus for just a tiny fragment of time.
Hors d’œuvre
Today’s hashtalk’s topics:
- Personal branding: yay or nay
- When does your professional identity stop and your personal begin or is it all just a load of bullshit and you can be everything, everywhere, all at once
Personal Branding
Personal branding while working in a corporate environment can be a powerful tool if done strategically — and with a bit of flair.
Now what is personal branding?
Personal branding is the practice of marketing yourself, your skills, and your personality as a “brand.” It’s essentially about shaping how others perceive you, especially in professional settings, to highlight your unique strengths, values, and expertise.
With a strong personal brand, people know who you are, what you stand for, and what makes you different. It’s about creating an identity that feels authentic and provides value to others, which, in turn, can open up career opportunities, networking connections, and the chance to make a more significant impact in your field.
One important thing when it comes to personal branding is not to make it your second job. The “brand” develops itself while you do things that you stand behind, things that emphasize your creativity and that you’re really passionate about and like doing. If you’re doing a combination of the above and share it publicly with the world, congrats, you’re developing your personal brand.
Where to start?
- Develop a unique professional persona. Sit down and write about what are your strengths, where do you excel, what is your goal, what do you want the world to see? Is there a personal project you’re passionate and want to develop it in front of the public eye? Whatever it is, make it very clear for yourself. Part of the brand is also how you dress, speak and interact with people.
- Discover the toolset that you will need to accomplish this. Is this a coding project? Maybe Github is your guy. Or is it writing, in which case you might consider Medium, Substack or other platforms.
- Do things with integrity. Once you start creating online presence you’ll most likely get a lot of different offers. Only say yes if you really believe that the opportunity aligns with who you are and how you want to represent yourself and even in some cases, the company you work in.
Identities, identities, identities
Sometimes when you’re working in a corporate environment but are also quite passionate about things outside of your working hours and want to contribute your expertise to different projects, areas, conferences, podcasts, it might be a bit of a gray zone on how to do it properly cause there are so many variables that you need to consider. Sometimes it feels a bit like “cheating” on your corporate career and you’re left wondering where your professional identity ends and your personal begins and can you mix them together.
Personally, I am a big believer that “cheating” on your corporate career — pursuing side projects, personal learning, attending podcasts, participating in discussions, outside of work — can actually be one of the best things you do for your career. While it might sound counter intuitive, embracing interests outside of your corporate job can make you more skilled, versatile, and valuable to your employer. Here’s why this approach is actually a smart, career-boosting move.
- Fueling creative energy and preventing burnout — corporate roles often come with structured responsibilities, and you can have the most interesting job in the world, however some tasks will repeat and there might be periods where you feel quite limited. Engaging in side projects lets you explore different fields and reinvigorates your interest in your primary role. This is especially important in fields that require constant innovation, like cybersecurity or tech, where burnout can quickly impact performance. By giving yourself a creative outlet, you’re actually more likely to bring fresh ideas and a positive outlook to your corporate role.
- Developing an entrepreneurial mindset — when you “cheat” on your corporate job with side projects, you’re exercising entrepreneurial muscles that often don’t get a workout in structured corporate settings. The entrepreneurial mindset is all about problem-solving and agility — two qualities that are incredibly valuable in corporate environments that want to stay competitive.
- Skill expansion — while becoming an expert in your job you’re mainly strengthening one particular skill that you want to be really good at. Sometimes, that puts other things in the background. If you do things outside of your work, that aren’t necessarily aligned with what you do day-to-day, you step out of the box and start thinking about ways on how those other skills, tools, ideas can be implemented in what you do day-to-day. That way you constantly stay innovative and keep up with how the industry is developing. When you bring these new skills back to your corporate role, you’re suddenly a more versatile and innovative asset.
- Demonstrating initiative and drive — when employers see you dedicating time to a side project or industry-related learning, they recognize the ambition and dedication you bring to your field. It shows you’re committed to constant growth and willing to go the extra mile to improve. Side projects also give you practical examples to share in performance reviews, interviews, and company meetings — demonstrating that you’re always growing and bringing new strengths to the table.
In conclusion, as long as you’re transparent, open-minded, know when to step-back and know when to push forward, you can definitely strike a great balance between your corporate job and all the other passions that you want to pursue.
Let’s keep in touch
I’d always be willing to discuss more, exchange ideas and continue the hash talk.
Reach me at: evaincybersec@gmail.com
