How Much is Too Much?

We've discussed some of the potential drawbacks to personal branding from the employee perspective, but we'd also like to consider the possibility that personal branding can have negative effects on the side of the employer as well. With its entire staff running through the online world talking about themselves, there is the potential for something to go wrong.

- Employees online profiles can reflect negatively on the company

- Employees can be easily headhunted by competitors

- Individuals profiles can reveal too much about the company strategy

While the cautious approach hasn't received as much attention as the benefits of online networking, it is all too possible that one of these hypothetical scenarios could become reality. The threat of revealing too many internal details about a company, whether about the company itself or the employees that make it up, raises important questions about how personal branding can reach far beyond the individual employee to have consequences for the company itself.