Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

You need a social resume. Get one here!

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You’re a job seeker or a small business owner. You know you need an optimized online presence, but it’s too important to go it alone. Today, I am launching a new product – a social resume or “YourName.com.”

When we are finished, you will have a website with a custom URL and an online “home” to let employers or customers know what you offer. Having a website helps you control what Google knows about you.

Microsoft found, “79 percent of United States hiring managers and job recruiters surveyed reviewed online information about job applicants. Additionally, 70 percent of United States hiring managers in the study said they have rejected candidates based on what they found.” When you have your own site, you seize some control over what people find when they google your name.

Let me help put YOU in the driver’s seat to steer your reputation from a position of strength!

YOUR SITE WILL:

  • Link you to a community of colleagues, experts and potential mentors.
  • Provide opportunities to expand your network, instigate two-way communication and meet new people from around the world.
  • Help you further define your message and potentially become known as a subject matter expert.
  • Serve as a 3-D portfolio of your work.
  • Influence how Google and other search engines index your name, and therefore what people find when they search for you.

Learn more about how to get your social resume.

steering wheel photo by NateBW

Personal Branding Magazine

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Dan Schawbel is one of the authorities on the topic of personal branding, particularly for the Millennial generation. I am happy to serve as a co-editor of Personal Branding Magazine, along with Jessica Lewis. The new, free sample issue is available. This is how Dan describes it:

Enjoy nine articles in the free sample issue, which can be found on PersonalBrandingSample.com. You’ll read partial interviews from Kathy Ireland, Vanna White and others. You’ll also see two articles on how to be socially responsible, authentic and build a remarkable brand.

Full issue available May 1st (paid subscribers only)

The full issue will be out on May 1st, including complete interviews with major business celebrities and a combined 28 articles for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to subscribe before May 1st in order to receive this issue.

More information can be found at PersonalBrandingMag.com.

Features

Exclusive interviews with:

  • Kathy Ireland is an American former-model, actress, entrepreneur, CEO and designer of her eponymous brand product marketing company, Kathy Ireland Worldwide. Her company’s  products are sold at over 50,000 locations in 15 countries, generating an estimated $1.4 billion in retail sales. Ireland’s annual take is thought to be around $10 million, which has prompted Forbes to name her the “prototype for model-turned-mogul.
  • Vanna White is an American television personality, best known as puzzle-board presenter and co-host on the long-running game show Wheel of Fortune. White also has made cameo appearances on television shows such as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, 227 and Full House; and in movies such as Naked Gun 33â…“: The Final Insult. She guest-starred on Married…With Children, in a gender-bending spoof of the movie Indecent Proposal.
  • Jalen Rose is a retired professional basketball player. In college, he was a member of the University of Michigan Wolverines’ “Fab Five” (along with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson) that reached the 1992 and 1993 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship games as both Freshmen and Sophomores.
  • Daymond John is a fashion designer, author, and businessman from New York. He is best known for being the founder and CEO of the fashion company FUBU. John is a ‘Shark’ on the new ABC television show Shark Tank. His latest book is called The Brand Within.
  • Leslie Scott is the creator of Jenga, the second-best selling game in the world, and the co-founder of Oxford games. One of the world’s few professional game designers, Scott spends her time in the Oxford countryside and the African plains with her two children and her husband.
  • Dan Heath is co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die.  It was also a BusinessWeek bestseller for two years.  Dan and his brother, Chip, published their second book, Switch, in February 2010, which is a #1 New York Times bestseller.
  • Harvey Mackay is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including Swim With the Sharks (Without Being Eaten Alive), Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt and his latest book Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door. He is a nationally syndicated columnist, and one of America’s most popular business speakers. His books have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 35 languages and distributed in 80 countries.

Contributors

Experts, authors, and bloggers such as:

Body language matters in your job hunt

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I’ve been writing about listening skills last week don’t miss 7 tips to become a better active listener and 6 ways to become a better listener. One point that came up several times – body language is an important element of good listening. Think about it – eye contact, nodding, leaning in to listen – all of these help your conversation partner recognize how engaged you are and helps him or her feel valued as part of a conversation.

Body language may be more important than you think in a job hunt.

Kate Lorenz wrote about the topic for CareerBuilder.com. She said:

Research has shown that the first impression you make on an interviewer really sticks. In one study, untrained subjects were shown 20- to 32-second videotaped segments of job applicants greeting their interviewers. When the subjects rated the applicants on attributes like self-assurance and likeability, their assessments were very similar to the interviewers’ — who had spent more than 20 minutes with each applicant.

Seems like focusing on your body language – and first impressions – matters – a lot!

I once wrote a term paper about the importance of body language. The quote I remember from it,

“Don’t underestimate the power of body language,”

from The Little Mermaid, is no less true today!

(Yes, I really quoted a Disney movie in my paper. It worked.)

Did you know that people who are positive and confident outperform their peers in their job searches? Research shows that persistence and a postive attitude pay off in the job hunt. You can always pick out a pessimist by his or her body language – slumped shoulders, eyes down, expressionless (or frowning). No one wants to hire someone who seems sad or pessimistic. Straighten up, smile and make eye contact. Your body language speaks louder than your words.

In fact, research also shows that body language makes up more than half of how our communication is perceived. That means that you may be describing your greatest business accomplishment, but if your posture isn’t good and you don’t make effective eye contact, you might as well tell the interviewer about the time you lost your portfolio on the way to a presentation.

Another telling body language tool is the handshake.

How many times do we have to tell you – strong and firm gets the job done! BusinessWeek wrote about several different types of handshakes to use and some to avoid. Eye contact along with a firm handshake can make a world of difference to how you are being perceived.

Remember – the little things matter.

In fact, the “little things” may actually be the BIG things! Focus on every aspect of your presentation to ensure that you put your best foot forward with your job search.

photo by Gerwin Filius

"Be brilliant in the basics" and other career advice from the Olympics

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I am not even going to pretend to be a hockey fan. It is not a sport that interests me in the least. In fact, when I saw a tweet about the game between the U.S. and Canada, I thought, “Okay – I can take a night off from watching the Olympics.”

However, I was interested to learn that Team USA defeated the Canadians in their showdown earlier today. This is how Yahoo! reported it:

“The Americans didn’t believe in miracles. They just believed.

And they pulled off the biggest Olympic hockey upset since the Miracle on Ice, stunning Canada 5-3 on Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of an already mixed-up tournament.

Brian Rafalski scored two goals, Ryan Miller held off a flurry of shots and the Americans quieted a raucous, pro-Canada crowd that came to cheer its dream team, only to see it upstaged by a bunch of unproven kids.

One day short of the 30th anniversary of the country’s greatest hockey victory—the unfathomable win over the Soviet Union in Lake Placid—these underrated Americans were faster, more disciplined and more determined than Canada’s collection of all-stars.”

With a historical (30-year old!) “Dream Team” on their minds, an exceptionally young team, wearing uniforms almost identical to that storied, gold-medal winning team, beat the Canadian gold-medal favorites.

How did that happen?

Yahoo! reports:

“U.S. team officials ringed the team’s dressing room with motivational messages, like “Be Brilliant in the Basics” as a reminder that Olympic games are won with team play, good goaltending and attention to detail, not necessarily by the team with the biggest names. They got all the above.”

See your career message? “Be brilliant in the basics.” How great is that? You don’t need to be the one with the biggest reputation, or have the most experience to land the job. You need to pay attention to the details, to work hard, and to go for your dream in a way that only someone who tastes the victory can do.

You don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. You need to work the hardest. That means preparing – doing research, creating amazing materials (resume, letter, online profiles, etc.), interviewing with heart and passion AND being prepared to explain how and why you are the only one who can solve the organization’s problems.

If you have been looking for a job for an extended time, you may be getting discouraged. Don’t let it happen to you. You can only imagine the downward spiral a negative attitude will have on your job search. Think like a winner. BELIEVE that you CAN do it, but also know that you need to MAKE IT HAPPEN. Just as the underrated Team USA was  “faster, more disciplined and more determined” than their opponents, as a job seeker, what can you do to get the advantage you need?

“The Americans didn’t believe in miracles. They just believed.”

What do you believe?

photo by crackerbunny

Help for job seekers in a rut

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There is a church down the road from my house with a marquee. It says, “Don’t count the new year. Make the new year count!” That message really rings true for me. So, how to make the most of the new year? Count on yourself! [Read more…] about Help for job seekers in a rut