Today’s post is in honor of Job Action Day, a day for all job-seekers and workers to take stock of their situations and make plans and/or take action steps to improve their careers. QuintCareers.com spearheads and runs this event every year, and I’m delighted to contribute and to suggest you visit other post about the topic. Follow #JAD2012 on Twitter for information.

Experts often disagree about exactly how important it is for job seekers and professionals to focus on the concept of what is widely known as a “personal brand.” Reach Personal Branding defines the personal brand as:

“What is authentic to you, differentiating from your peers and relevant and compelling to those who are making decisions about you…Personal Branding is the process of unearthing your unique promise of value and demonstrating that value in everything you do. Itâ€s about consistently being your best self so you achieve your goals while adding tremendous value to your team, organization and company.”

So, whatâ€s controversial? Some people believe asking people to focus on themselves and their brand is self-centered, and any “branding” they do is too ego-centric to be important for job seekers or others who seek to advance their careers.

Regardless of what you believe about the existing conversation about personal branding, one thing is certain: the job market is changing. Research continues to come out showing that the contingent – otherwise known as temporary, or contract, workforce, is growing. The Harvard Business Reviewâ€s Tammy Erikson wrote, “Temporary placement service provider Adecco predicts the growth rate for contingent workers will be three to four times the growth rate among traditional workforces, and that they eventually will make up about 25% of the global workforce.”

What does this mean for you? Even if you have a traditional job now, you may eventually find yourself in a position where your livelihood depends on your ability to market yourself as a one-person company. The writing is on the wall: the job market and career opportunities are changing – you need to change, too. If you want to secure a place as a known expert in your field – someone people will mention and refer to others – for both traditional and contract jobs, itâ€s up to you to step up and focus on what you have to offer outside the walls of your traditional office and beyond the realm of the colleagues who know you personally.

Hannah Morgan and I have been discussing personal branding as it relates to people who many need to start to re-envision themselves as entrepreneurs instead of job seekers. We even coined a new term that we believe hones in on what people engaged in personal branding really need to understand.

The term is VIV-id, which stands for Virtual Individual Verified-id.

Dictionary.com defines the word vivid:

1. strikingly bright or intense, as color, light, etc.: a vivid green.

2. full of life; lively; animated: a vivid personality.

3. presenting the appearance, freshness, spirit, etc., of life; realistic: a vivid account.

4. strong, distinct, or clearly perceptible: a vivid recollection.

5. forming distinct and striking mental images: a vivid imagination.

We thought it was a perfect launching pad for an acronym to replace the term personal brand, and to help people redefine the concept in a way that makes sense for todayâ€s reality. (Note: we’re not redefining the concept of personal branding, but we hope this new term, broken into definable parts, can help clarify the elements that go into creating a strong personal brand.)

Virtual reminds us that we no longer have the luxury to bask solely in a community of people who know us personally if we want to be competitive in this new economy. Instead, we’ll all be judged, in part, based on our online and social media activity — our virtual selves.

Individual concentrates on what is unique and special about you. You want to know yourself first and be sure the “package” you create represents you authentically as an individual. You won’t be able to represent your VIV-id without knowing yourself and engaging in some self-exploration. This piece of the acronym also reminds us that your “real” self (not only your “virtual” identity) comprises your VIV-id (your personal brand).

Verified. This is an important factor we believe many people overlook. It refers to the fact that we cannot define ourselves inside of a vacuum if we want to make effective connections with other people. In other words, you can do a lot of self-reflection and know what YOU offer, but that is only part of the equation. You must also look outside of your own needs, skills and accomplishments and understand how to market what you offer in a way that your target audience will appreciate it.

Reach’s definition captures this concept by explaining that your brand should be “relevant and compelling to those who are making decisions about you.” Hannah and I hope choosing the word “verified” (as in researched, or double-checked) as 25% of our acronym to explain the concept of personal branding will remind people to focus on this important aspect of learning to market their own skills.

My analogy for this concept of “verified” is wrapping a gift. When you focus on your VIV-id, you package yourself, and itâ€s important to consider the recipients in order to ensure they are thrilled with the offering . For example, if you are preparing a gift for a 4-year old boy, itâ€s unlikely youâ€ll use pink, frilly bows and princesses. Even if you really love pink, bows and princesses, youâ€ll think first of the little boy and what he will want; what will make the package look like it was uniquely prepared for him?

Similarly, itâ€s your job to research and investigate exactly what you offer that your target audience will appreciate. (Itâ€s going to be a little more involved than deciding a young boy likely prefers cars and trucks to frilly ribbons.) Youâ€ll need to study job descriptions, read and analyze online information from companies that interest you, comb through publications and blogs from thought leaders in your field, conduct online and in-person conversations and read whatâ€s said at your professional associations and conferences.

The Id refers to your psyche, or your unconscious. It is closely aligned to something that makes you happy, or gives you pleasure. Itâ€s an important piece of this definition, not just because it rounds out the acronym, but because, to be most successful, what you offer should be authentic (real) and something you’re excited to showcase.

Hannah and I hope re-explaining the concept of personal branding via this new acronym will help job seekers and potential entrepreneurs focus on what is really important when they market themselves. Think about your VIV-id — how can you define and package what you offer?

Learn more about Job Action Day via Quint Careers and connect to the various bloggers writing about this topic today.

The post Re-explaining “personal branding” for Job Action Day appeared first on Keppie Careers.

This may surprise candidates who make a habit of protecting their privacy so stringently online that a Google search reveals no results at all. Privacy is important, but someone who wants to learn something about a candidate and finds no obvious results may be inclined to search tools offering access to the “deep web,” also known as the “invisible web.” Pipl.com, one site providing access to this content, explains, “The term ‘deep web†refers to a vast repository of underlying content, such as documents in online databases that general-purpose web crawlers cannot reach. The deep web content is estimated at 500 times that of the surface web, yet has remained mostly untapped due to the limitations of traditional search engines.”

There are two types of information available online: data posted by a candidate and things someone else posts about him or her. Think of the former as a “digital footprint” and the latter as a “digital shadow.” Donâ€t let a shadow dictate what employers will find out about you.  Why? It gives control to someone else, which can be dangerous in some cases.

For example, Patrick Ambron, CEO of BrandYourself.com, shared a story about Cody, who was applying to law schools without success. It turns out, the very first result in a Google search of his name revealed a post created by an ex girlfriend containing embarrassing, unflattering comments about Cody. Since he did not have other information online to combat one personâ€s vendetta against him, admissions officers were left with questions about his character.

What can someone do to regain control of an unflattering or non-existent, online identity? Ambron suggests the following five steps:

1. Google yourself. This is crucial, because itâ€s impossible to know what could possibly negatively affect a reputation otherwise.

2. Claim your domain name and build a personal website. Owning Yourname.com and other versions of a personal URL, such as YourName.org or YourName.com will help put control of an online identity in a jobseekerâ€s hands.

3. Set up profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Ideally, capture online “handles,” or user names that include your actual name.

4. Do some basic search engine optimization. In addition to using your own name wherever possible in online monikers, Ambron reminds job seekers to be sure to “Link all your various pieces of online content to one another. 

5. Sign up for alerts. Itâ€s important to keep up-to-date on what Google indexes that could affect you. Ambron suggests setting a Google alert, which will send an email when your name  (or someone with the same name) ­appears in a news article or blog post.

Read the entire post, with all of the tips, on my U.S. News & World Report blog.

–

The post Why you don’t want to be invisible online appeared first on Keppie Careers.

This issue of Personal Branding Magazine (which I co-edit) focuses on attracting the affluent. If you do plan to target this demographic, be sure you have a good reason and do so with intent! Most importantly – use your strengths to help the people who need and appreciate you the most!

I found myself nodding vigorously when reading Dan Gershensonâ€s article suggesting we all use our best strengths and “use them often” (and consistently) when creating a name for ourselves. Maybe everyone is jumping on one tool or another, but youâ€re doing yourself a disservice if you get involved in something that doesnâ€t showcase your strong points. Do what youâ€re good at if you want to succeed. And, donâ€t forget – you canâ€t build a reputation without people who believe in you. Jack Humphrey explains the importance of nurturing brand evangelists; he reminds us not to do too much alone. If you are a lone wolf, you are working too hard. Who are your brandâ€s allies? Keep your eyes (and ears) out and make them your partners.

This is true if you’re a business owner, and equally valid if you are looking for a job.

As a subscriber, you will find interviews with Patti Stanger, who is Bravo TVâ€s “The Millionaire Matchmaker.” Her clientele? Strictly millionaires who donâ€t have time to date because theyâ€re too busy running their businesses. Wealthy individuals usually have higher expectations and can be difficult to attract, especially when youâ€re first starting out. This issue will explain how to go about being a brand that serves them.

Take a look at the features:

• Full paid issue (February 1st):  19 articles total
• Sample issue:  8 articles total
• Interviews with:  Patti Stanger (Bravo TVâ€s The Millionaire Matchmaker), Ali Velshi (anchor for CNNâ€s “Your Money), David Novak (CEO of Yum! Brands), Dan Roam (bestselling author) and Meg Hirschberg (Inc. Magazine columnist).
• Free sample URL: http://personalbrandingsample.com
• Paid subscription URL:  http://personalbrandingmag.com
• Facebook page: http://facebook.com/PersonalBrandingMagazine

The post Market yourself to your target audience appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Features:

• Full paid issue (May 1st): 25 articles total
• Sample issue: 9 articles total, including how to make a good first impression, how to manage your digital image, and wardrobe tips.
• Interviews with: Doug Conant (CEO of Campbells), Jim Quigley (CEO of Deloitte), Bob Taylor (CEO of Taylor Guitars), Sam Calagione (CEO of Dogfish Head), Brian Halligan (CEO of Hubspot), and Andy Boynton (Dean of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College).

• Free sample URL:http://personalbrandingsample.com
• Paid subscription URL: http://personalbrandingmag.com
• Facebook page:http://facebook.com/PersonalBrandingMagazine

Be sure to click through or subscribe for useful information, insights and details!

The post Personal Branding Magazine – CEO strategies appeared first on Keppie Careers.

One way to help you demonstrate your expertise is to share your thoughts via LinkedIn’s Answers section.

If you are not familiar, LinkedIn’s Answers offers a venue for people to ask and reply to questions about all different topics. The questions run the gamut; some seem silly, but others are quite serious. A quick review shows the following as current questions:

• Is it time for the Cinema industry to rethink its business plan?
• How will the recent tax bill effect solar and renewable energy finance?
• Pick a letter in the alphabet and write a sentence using letters in the alphabet in order… Example: “A big cat does everything”…
• Looking for virtual purchasing guest lecturers in GA 400 Corridor.

To find questions to answer, follow the MORE tab along LinkedIn’s top toolbar. Select Answers. (See the figure below.) To search based on topics (For example: Administration, Business Operations, Business Travel, Career and Education, Conferences and Event Planning, etc.), select Advanced Answers Search (right next to the Answers Home tab). Select the topics of interest and click on SEARCH.

Read through the questions, choose the ones you are interested in answering and reply in the form provided. LinkedIn allows you to suggest other LinkedIn contacts to answer the question and offers the opportunity to share a link in reply to a question. If you have a blog, you may consider replying via your blog and sharing the link. Or, you may already have a post that provides a good answer; share that link.) You can even reply privately to the questioner if you do not want your answer to be public.

Answering questions and demonstrating your expertise will help alert others in your industry and those interested in your work (whether you are a job seeker or entrepreneur) that you are willing and able to serve as an expert. In fact, I connected with my very first online client after answering some career oriented questions and hired my first web developer after he answered my question

One way to keep track of questions you might want to answer is to subscribe to the RSS feed of a topic of interest. If you are not familiar, RSS stands for really simple syndication. It is a way to receive information either via a “reader” or in your email, so you don’t need to personally visit every website or blog you enjoy to see if there is new information (or a new question). Common Craft has a great video to describe RSS.

(If you don’t use a feed reader already, maybe it is time! I use iGoogle, which you can use by signing up via your Google account. The video points out how to get started.)

Here’s how to subscribe to LinkedIn’s Answers:

From LinkedIn’s top toolbar, select MORE, then select ANSWERS.

Scroll down…

On the right side of the screen, you will see a column called BROWSE.

Select any topic from the list. (For example, “LAW AND LEGAL”).

Once you selected it, scroll down again.

At the bottom of the column, it will now have a little orange RSS symbol (shown to the right) and it should say:

Subscribe to new question in:

Law and Legal

Click on it.

Select the feed reader you use, for example, I use GOOGLE.

Choose to add to your reader or your homepage.

You’re done!

Subscribe to as many as you’d like, or  just plan some time every week to review questions in LinkedIn.

Stay tuned for more ways to demonstrate your expertise and stand a head above the rest!

The post Job seekers and entrepreneurs: subscribe to LinkedIn’s Answers appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Here is how Dan describes it:

Summary: Volume 4, Issue 2 is focused on dressing for success both in person and online. What you wear in your online pictures provides a first impression to the majority of the world. What you wear in interviews is just as important as your attire on the first day of work. When it comes to looking professional, stylish and showing personality, this issue will navigate you in the right direction. With interviews from three editor-in-chiefs from Hearst Magazine, you will know how to present yourself  successfully.

Features:

• Full paid issue (November 1st): 23 articles total covering how to become a valuable and indispensable brand.
• Sample issue: 9 articles total, including how to make a good first impression, how to manage your digital image, and wardrobe tips.
• Interviews with: Kate White (Cosmo), Joanna Coles (Marie Claire), Ann Shoket (Seventeen), Nancy Lublin (Founder of Dress for Success), Hitha Prabhakar (CNBC contributor), Patricia Handschiegel and Meghan Cleary (Huffington Post columnists) and Silvia Tcherassi (Latin America’s leading fashion designer).

• Free sample URL: http://personalbrandingsample.com
• Paid subscription URL: http://personalbrandingmag.com
• Facebook page: http://facebook.com/PersonalBrandingMagazine

Be sure to click through for useful information!

Need help getting a job? Check out THE CAREER SUMMIT for lots of great career advice.

The topics include everything from how to think about finding a job you love, to what has changed in search, demystifying the recruiting process, online career management, interviewing and (last but not least) — strategies and tips for your resume, social media profile and job search. Read more HERE or visit the site HERE to learn more.

The post How to dress for success, online and in person appeared first on Keppie Careers.

So, have you thought about what color is brand YOU?

photo by bernatcg

The post What color is brand YOU? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Today, I’d like to share an interview that Pam Slim (author of Escape from Cubicle Nation) conducted. You can tell how passionate Gary is about the subject:

Interview with Gary Vaynerchuck, author of Crush It! from Pamela Slim on Vimeo.

A summary of the highlights:

• Stop doing what you hate – the cost of doing what you love is a lot less than it was 10 years ago.
• Everybody has a voice. Being in business now is like “working a room.” You can’t control the conversation.
• Quality of your product is key.  Content is king.
• Regarding integrity/credibility. If you are worried about credibility, it means you don’t have it.
• Do what you love. Apply what you understand about social media to your passion. Apply social media to make things happen – it’s free! The gatekeepers are gone. Going through the trenches is gone.

Gary’s book is mainly directed to people who are considering breaking out and becoming a business owner. However, it’s important to focus on the fact that these points apply equally well to anyone who wants to work for someone else, but doesn’t want to get lost in the crowd.

If you think about what you have to offer and take some time to share it, you will improve your career profile and the number of opportunities available, whether or not you need them right now. I think it is worth investing some effort. Your return could be more than you think.

Think you could use a little help raising your career profile? I can help! Learn more about Keppie Careers.

photo by shellysblogger

The post Stand out in a crowd to improve job prospects. Here's how. appeared first on Keppie Careers.

It’s a great guide for job seekers and entrepreneurs (or “wanna-be” business owners) who hope to make a name for themselves. There are some additional points I wanted to share that I thought were particularly important:

It takes hustle – lots of hard work – to Crush It!

There really are no true shortcuts to success. Gary says, “…Hustle is it. Without it, you should just pack up your toys and go home…You might have thought your old boss was bad, but if you want YOUR business to go anywhere, your new boss had better be a slave driver (p. 88).

Gary doesn’t believe you can pay “lip service” if you want to succeed. He says, “The only differentiator in the game is your passion and your hustle…Expect this to be all consuming” (p. 89).

Personal Branding

Gary makes a lot of great points about personal branding, which I think is a bit of a mystery for a lot of job seekers. He says, “Developing your personal brand is the same thing as living and breathing your resume every second that you’re working (p. 38).

In essence, your personal “brand” is just that – YOU!  Everything you do online just gives you the opportunity to share YOU with an audience.

However, the most important piece of a personal brand according to Crush It? Quality. What you have to offer is more important than how you offer it. It’s the underpinning of every job seeker or entrepreneur: if you aren’t good at what you do, Gary says, no one will care.

Something to think about!

Do you need help demonstrating your best “YOU” online and in your job search materials? I can help!

Photo by Erik Kastner

The post Gary Vaynerchuk on personal branding and working hard appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Where can you find High Velocity Radio? Follow THIS LINK to Stephanie’s blog for a “listen live” player.

There is no “one size fits all” career advice. Don’t you deserve the best, personalized information and help? Learn how I can help you with your search.

Frustrated that your search isn’t resulting in a job? In Atlanta? Join me and Stephanie for our series of in-person job search interventions. Read more about how to propel your search and sign up here.

The post Live on High Velocity Radio! appeared first on Keppie Careers.