Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Personal Branding Magazine – help lift up others to encourage personal success

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sampleissue6Your “personal brand” is what makes you special and unique – it is what you are known for in your circles (and beyond). It is amazing how a well-constructed online strategy can form a successful personal brand.

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.

This issue is dedicated to female brands and their impact on business and our culture. In this issue, we’ve interviewed some of the brightest and most talented female brands, including Sarah Austin, Laura Ries and Natalie Gulbis, to explore what these women are doing to make this world a better place. There are many tips and strategies for women who want to control their careers and command their futures, as well as for men who are looking to learn from these talented women.

This is an exerpt of my introduction to the magazine:

This issue of Personal Branding Magazine, “Female Power Brands” puts the spotlight on women who have made significant contributions in personal branding. By designating a special issue to highlight these women, I hope we don’t run the risk of marginalizing female contributions to the movement. Rather, it is a great opportunity to showcase some women whose work and insights are unique and significant.

Contributor Pamela Slim shares this quote that I believe helps set the tone for the issue:

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and liking how you do it.” — Maya Angelou

I hope our readers come away with the sense that one way to like yourself, what you do and how you do it is to focus on how you and your personal brand can benefit others. This is a theme that pervades this issue. Laura Ries points out that, “Using skills such as communication, compassion and candor allows women (and men) to be known as effective leaders and team players echos this sentiment. She asks, “How does one make sure to give meaning? Mostly by listening and learning, often by staying with it to help others. It’s that love thing. It has incredible power, when given freely.”

Contributor Judy Martin quotes Barbara Litrell, former publisher of Working Mother Magazine, as saying, “Women have been running businesses in great numbers since the 1970’s, but they are branding themselves more confidently now, as they support one another in partnerships, thus enhancing their own brands.”

So, brand yourself thoughtfully, but don’t forget how important it is for others to sense your kindness and generosity of spirit. One lesson to learn from this issue is that being a team player, giving of yourself and connecting with others because you genuinely care will help lift YOU to higher career heights.

FREE sample available today (HERE).

To subscribe to the magazine please follow THIS LINK.

Have no idea how to “brand” yourself? You aren’t comfortable self-promoting? I can help! From writing a great resume to showing you how to move your career forward – Keppie Careers is here for you.

What Twitter applications should you use for your job hunt?

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Regular readers will know that I am a huge fan of Twitter for the job hunt. (Click HERE to learn tips to get started on Twitter and why it is useful.)

Since I wrote that post, there have been so many new Twitter applications that can be useful for job seekers. It’s hard to keep up with all of them! Luckily, Tawny Labrum of AskBinc just posted a comprehensive compilation of 15 great Twitter applications and invited me to share it with my readers!

ConnectTweet – See what is going on inside the doors of a potential company, through the Tweets of their employees.  ConnectTweet allows individuals at the front lines of the company to add a #tag to their company relevant tweets, those tagged tweets are then filtered and posted to the companies @org’s Twitter account, allowing the company’s followers to clearly see the human voices on the inside.

TwitterJobCast– A local job search that allows you to see who is hiring on Twitter by browsing for jobs by city, state or zip code. It works by making requests to the Twitter API. Additionally, the Yahoo! Maps API is used to translate locations into geocodes for use with the Twitter API.

TweetJobSearch – An open source search engine for jobs posted on Twitter, TwitterJobSearch has posted 44,165 new jobs in the last 7 days.  Many of the jobs listed are tech related jobs, but through their search you can look for the position you want in the city you want.

Twellow – Also know as the Yellow Pages for Twitter it allows you to cut through the clutter Twitter sometimes creates.  It enables you to find real people who really matter.  The Twellow service grabs publically available messages from Twitter, analyzes and then categorizes the tweets into categories.  By using this service you can narrow your searching to specific niches and find who you are looking for, that way you can follow specific Tweeters and network your heart away.

TweetBeep – “TweetBeep is like Google Alerts for Twitter” TweetBeep is very simple, you signup for an account, confirm your email and set up alerts to be delivered to your email.  Want to know whenever someone posts a job for a Java Dev?  Set up and alert for that and you will be notified through email on a daily or hourly basis.

HashDictionary– #Hashtags are a way on Twitter to group certain conversations about a particular subject.  If you want your Tweet to be included in a special grouping put the group’s #hashtag somewhere in your Tweet and it will be grouped with other updates using the same hashtag.  HashDictionary.com is a community based dictionary for hashtags on Twitter. Hash tags have been described as collective digital bookmarks and are widely used throughout Twitter. If you want to you can also search the most popular hashtags at #hashtags.org or Tagal.

JobMotel– Allows you to search web developer jobs listed on Twitter.  From what I can tell JobMotel mines Twitter for web dev related jobs and rss feeds them onto their site.

TweetDeck – One of the more popular Twitter 3rd party application, Tweetdeck is a desktop application that acts as your personal browser for staying in touch with what’s happening by connecting you with your contacts on Twitter.  With TweetDeck you are able to create groups from Twitter users and have all those tweets filtered into one screen.  It also lets you do a search for a specific topic and get a live feed every time someone Tweets about that topic.  It helps out with your job search because you can create a filter for the companies you are interested in, see what the Twitterverse is saying about them and be aware when they post open jobs.

TweetMyJobs – TweetMyJobs is a service that brings recruiters, hiring managers and job seekers together on Twitter.  They create Twitter Channels for major cities and job types, and an easy-to-use interface to subscribe to those channels. You will get instant notification of any new jobs as a text message on your cell phone. In your job search all you have to do it create an account on Twitter and TweetMyJobs, subscribe to the desired Job Channels, and have any new openings automatically sent to your cell phone as a text message via Twitter. You can also access job openings on the web at TweetMyJOBS or Twitter.

VisualCV – Not quite a Twitter Application, but you can create your online resume on VisualCV and include a link to your resume in your Twitter Bio.

TwitterSearch – You can find job information on Twitter Search.  Type in the keywords that are important to you it will display results with all tweets that have those keywords, you can either view all the tweets and follow the users or create a RSS feed to read the results later.  Other Twitter Search applications are Just Tweet It and TwitterTroll .

NearByTweets – Search Twitter by Keyword and Location – find out if there are any jobs available in your area or the area you want to work.

Twollo – Twollo allows you to automatically follow users that have similar interests as you.  You tell the application what you like or what you are interested in and the program will generate tweeters for you to follow that have similar interests as you.

Twitscoop – Find out what is being talked about on Twitter right now.  You can search by keyword, allowing you to see realtime info on jobs and networking events.

As an industry expert, often called upon by major media outlets to serve as a source regarding using Twitter as a job hunting tool, I am well situated to coach you! Contact me to discuss how I can help get your search moving!

Keep in touch with your job references

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phone2600570497_cd1a8038b1_mDo you know what your references are saying about you?

Many job seekers overlook this important part of the job hunt. Especially if you have often reached the final stages without landing the job, touching base with those who may hold the keys to your next position is a great idea!

Whom to Ask? Ideally, you should have a current or immediate past employer as a reference.  Co-workers and trusted subordinates may also be references, but most hiring managers will want to hear from employers. If you are a student or recently graduated, faculty members may serve as references. If you have had a leadership role in a volunteer organization, “supervisors” from that organization may be good references for you.

Keep a list of people to contact. Joann Lublin recently wrote about this topic for the Wall Street Journal and suggested taking this step to be extra prepared. It’s important not to be caught off guard. Having a list of contacts (and up-to-date information) is important. Lublin also reminds readers that it’s a good idea to keep in touch with references. Sending emails, notes, updates about your search – all of these are great ways to stay in touch with the people who are key to helping you land the job of your choice.

She quotes William Arruda, founder of Reach, a New York personal-branding organization, who suggests job seekers set up “Google Alerts” for references so that you can quickly email a congratulatory note. I always suggest that my clients set up Google alerts for networking contacts to give them an extra reason to be in touch; extending this idea to references is a great idea!

Ask permission. Once you have in mind who you’d like to serve, ask their permission. If they seem hesitant or hedge at all, allow them to bow out gracefully. You don’t want to browbeat your references into helping you. (They may hurt more than help.) The best references are those who are enthusiastically supportive.

Prepare your references to support you! Be sure they have the most updated version of your resume and a cover letter for the position if you have one. Let them know if you expect they will be called, and offer suggestions of topics they may want to emphasize.

When I was applying for one of my jobs, I knew that teamwork and the willingness to pitch in when necessary were crucial for my potential employer. I emphasized how I was the perfect match (I really was!) in the interview. I also asked my current supervisor (who knew about my search and was my #1 reference) if she could mention some examples of my teamwork when she spoke to my potential boss, who offered me the job as soon as he spoke to her!

Hopefully, you will have a strong relationship with your references and will be comfortable making them partners in your search. Let’s face it – you can get right to the job’s door by having a great resume and interviewing well. The key to get in is in the hands of those who are willing to recommend you for the job!

Don’t overlook anything in your job search! I will help you every step of the way! Need a great resume? Interview help? Contact me!

photo by willposh

Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to get jobs and propel your career

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tellmecovercorrect“So, tell me about yourself?”

Is that not the most obvious interview question? The one that every job seeker should anticipate and prepare to answer? Unfortunately, it may seem so obvious, many don’t spend the time they should focusing on how to answer it.

In fact, most aspects of the job search rely on being able to tell your own story.

  • Networking (the all important elevator pitch)
  • Your resume – connecting your accomplishments with the employer’s needs
  • Cover letter – another opportunity to sell your skills to a targeted employer
  • Portfolios – online opportunities to connect with people
  • Interviews – sealing the deal
  • On the job – to connect and advance

I highly recommend that job seekers take a look at Katharine Hansen’s new book, Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling to Get Jobs and Propel Your Career.

Her book is organized into several sections:

  • Part I – Career propelling story basics
  • Part II – Using storytelling in your job search
  • Part III – Continuous storytelling

Katharine explains how stories can help you get a job by demonstrating your personality, helping to make you memorable and establishing trust. People who know how to tell good stories can communicate their value proposition, which is key for job seekers and careerists.

This book helps you with every aspect of telling your story – from figuring out what the story should be through tips for how to recall stories stored in your brain! (For example, give your stories names.) It is full of samples of stories and many, many ideas that are critically useful for job seekers and all professionals.

If you’re engaged in a job search – or maybe you should be – don’t miss this great resource!

UPDATED ON 6/21/11:

Could you use some help to come up with your story AND to learn how to tell it well in networking, interview and social networking situations? What about your resume? Does it tell your story and tell it well? I can help. If you’re ready to hire a pro to help you move ahead with your plans, contact me to find out how you can boost your job search – both online and off line. Check out my new book, Social Networking for Career Success, to learn how to tell your story in a way that can get you noticed.

Review of Me 2.0 by Dan Schawbel

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me-21I work with Dan as an editor for Personal Branding Magazine, so I’m delighted to review his book, Me 2.0. If you’re a regular reader, you have already learned about Dan and a bit about the book on my blog, but now that I have had a chance to read it, I thought I would share some highlights!

First, and most importantly, what is personal branding? Dan describes it as:

“…The process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leverage it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers and build self-confidence” (p. 4).

Who can benefit from reading this book? It’s a great choice for job seekers and entrepreneurs who are looking for ways to differentiate in this competitive market. While the target audience is Generation Y, I believe the information is useful for ANYONE hoping to stand out and get noticed.

Dan’s step-by-step guide takes the reader through several stages:

  • Brand discovery
  • Brand creation
  • How to communicate the brand
  • Suggestions regarding how to maintain your brand

My favorite takeaway…

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times – networking is key to job search success. Dan notes that networking and relationship building is one of the many aspects of personal branding.

One of the goals of successful personal branding is to be known in your field or industry for your expertise. Ideally, once you have established this expertise via a campaign of connecting with your peers and colleagues via in-person and online (social) networking, instead of having to apply for jobs, people will find YOU when an opportunity comes up.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds! With the right tools and attitude, I believe that all talented job seekers can discover and share a personal brand in the marketplace. Dan’s book offers a road map of sorts to help readers establish an authentic brand and create a “personal branding toolkit” and suggestions for how to communicate your brand to your target audience.

Dan shares his own ups and downs as part of the book, demonstrating the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is as true as ever.

If you are authentic, hard working, have something valuable to share, and are willing to see life as a giant networking event” Me 2.0 is just the set of directions that you need to get going. So, what are you waiting for?

I can help you optimize your personal brand for your job search. Contact me if you need some help with your resume, LinkedIn profile and techniques!