Posted March 2nd, 2010 by admin
For me, social networking is part of my job. Its a portion of how I brand our business. Its a way to cultivate relationships with partners, clients and influencers. Its how I keep up to date on what other vendors are doing.
It’s also been instrumental in my conversion of my blog from only being on ERE to its own domain at ImSoCorporate.com this fall. It has been through RT’s on twitter and networkedblogs.com on facebook – that I have met some really smart, interesting people.
On the flip side, if you follow my tweets – you know that it is about more than that to me as well. On a personal level – it has blurred that line between totally professional relationships, pseudo-friendships and in some cases, true friendships and relationships that will last a very long time.
I’ve gotten some advice from someone that I respect to change how I am online. That my ‘image’ isn’t what I want it to be and supplied some advice on perceptions of me. I thought a lot about it. A lot. It was the inspiration behind my 2010: Twitter post. It has caused me a internal debate and discussion. It has honestly caused a little bit of writer’s block.
It caused doubt.
I don’t live my life with doubt. I can’t. I don’t have the time, energy or emotional attachment to do so. Doubt to me is no different than failure.
So, Here is why I like social networking and why I’m not changing too much.
1. In person, I am kinda shy. For those of you that only know ‘online me’ this is typically a bit of a shocker. In fact, I do a pretty good job hiding it (usually via a cosmo or xanax) but know that I am actually really uncomfortable talking to you when we meet. You make me nervous and i’m a bit intimidated. As someone who is super uncomfortable in a 1-1 setting or in a small group of people, it has been a really interesting way to build relationships without the anxiety and fear that would normally stop us from meeting.
2. It allows me to be less judgmental. I’m not sure if she remembers, but the first time I met Laurie (PunkRockHR.com) she really, really didn’t like me. And to be fair, I felt the same way. We had next to nothing in common and that was the end of it. It was because of conversations we started having via social networking, tweets about life, books, etc that we discovered we had way more in common than I ever imagined. Social networking lets you watch, observe and learn about someone over time – not just that chance encounter – if you give it a chance.
3. It keeps me from talking to myself. I work at home. Alone in my basement. Its kinda boring down here – so while I work, I listen to music or get random Facebook Messages, IM’s & DM’s throughout the day from other people that are in the same situation. Its like our version of running into someone my the water cooler, or popping our head over the cube. Its like a little insulated support network that reads over each others blogs before they go public, helps get us unstuck when we can’t figure out how to do something on our new mac or just someone saying Hi.
4. I learn stuff. A lot of stuff from a lot of people who are way smarter than I am. Sometimes it isn’t so much of learning as it is a new perspective that I hadn’t considered before. I love to constantly be expanding my mind and learning new things – even when they are totally random.
5. I can do it on my own time. Unlike webinars and meetings and whatever – I can do social networking while i am working, when I am at the gym, or sitting on my couch. It doesn’t matter to anyone else if I am there at a particular time as long as I get back to them. (This may go back to my commitment issues…hmm….)
6. I can just be me. (well, the me you would get if you knew me) I am who I am and people will judge me regardless. If you think I am a ‘party girl’ because I post pictures of us having fun at conferences – then you obviously choose not to see that I am also there at 8am tweeting on the sessions or know anything about me. Like many things, I am a bit of an aquired taste – you love me or you don’t and that is fine. My goal is to be me, not try and be who you think I should be.
7. I like the personal/social part of it. My goal in life isn’t to be friends with you. I’m not impressed by the fact that you have 40,000 readers on your blog or you speak at SHRM. I don’t really ready all your PR you send out. Honestly, who cares. That isn’t YOU.
8. I rarely travel where I am alone. Because of this network – anytime I travel – I have someone to grab lunch, dinner, drinks, etc with. It makes work trips much less boring and I usually end up making really great connections because of it.
Cross Posted from www.ImSoCorporate.com
For more career coaching, check out these articles:
It’s About Time You Answered Your Calling
Wrong Job or Just Bored?
Five Signals You Should Make A Change
In the modern job search, the littlest of things can make a HUGE impact. There are tons of little things that go into making a successful online job search and the more you know the better prepared you can be when you see the ideal job posting.
Today, there are consulting services and career coaches with whom you can expect to spend thousands of dollars for advice; literally, thousands of dollars for career consulting, career coaching, interview coaching, resume consulting, personal brand coaching and much, much more.
But what about the rest of us, who are unable to spend the exorbitant sums needed for these types of services? What if I (the modern job seeker) have questions about my job search, my resume, and my upcoming interview?
The answer is MyOnlineCareerCoach.com.
Posted February 17th, 2010 by admin
Are You a Monster or a Resource?
Transform your brand from company cop into valuable resource.
Have you ever wondered why you get perceived as the “bad guy” when you’re in human resources to help people? Have you ever wondered why some employees view you with doubt and skepticism? Have you ever walked into the break room to find conversations ending and nervous glances coming from the corners of your coworkers’ eyes?
The title of “office cop” has become an unfortunate brand identity for the vast majority of human resources professionals. Unfortunately, the preconceived notions and stereotypes rampant in the industry don’t help you accomplish your job. No one goes to college to be a PC policeman – I mean PC policeperson.
Creating a Better Workplace
The brand you’ve been handed doesn’t improve your job satisfaction and may ironically create an uncomfortable work environment. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Instead of accepting the negative identity you’ve been handed, you can take your personal strengths and create a new, unique identity that will make you more effective professionally and make you happier in your job.
It’s called Personal Branding. Dynamic human resources professionals are working to break out of the mold and revolutionize their career field. By communicating their roles as facilitators and helpers, they provide better services to clients and improve their work environments. The process requires some work, and occasionally some deprogramming – but in the end the brand you develop is a better fit for your professional objectives, and will make each day more rewarding.
Put You First
Because the very letters “HR” can immediately turn off fellow professionals, the first step to improving your career requires that you stand on your own. You must think about your personal strengths, weaknesses and character traits. You have to look at yourself and see how you break the stereotypes that people might associate with your field. Knowing your audience empowers you to draw commonalities and promote your personality before your job title.
Then, at orientations, briefs, training sessions, and other events, you can promote yourself and the agenda that are the foundation of your brand. Daily, you can look for ways where you can stand out as a unique, valuable asset to members of your organization. You then work to present a consistent Personal Brand that fights stereotypes and fills a beneficial position in the hearts and minds of your fellow employees.
There’s nothing stopping you from building a Personal Brand identity that’s as effective as Charles Schwab, Oprah Winfrey, or Michael Jordan, on a smaller scale. You can be an in-house celebrity. The fundamental principles that you must follow in building your Personal Brand are:
• Differentiate yourself. Schwab and others started out by hanging their marketing hats on an attribute or characteristic that made them different from their competitors. As a HR professional, you can highlight your drive to help people succeed, your personable approach, the level of service you wish to provide, or your expertise in a certain facet. Pick something that sets you apart from others and begin there.
• Create a position. Your position is the place you occupy in the minds of your prospects. Decide what position suits your background, abilities and audience, then focus on building your brand identity around driving that position home.
• Consistent and persistent. Once you’ve determined your position and your differentiator, create your brand by advertising yourself—over and over. Newsletters, memos, speaking engagements, meetings, office functions, company websites—use any medium available to communicate your name, your identity and your message to the target audience.
• Customize your services. Once you’ve built your brand, begin changing – evolving – your service style, attitude and approach to fit your identity. If you preach personalized services, you need to qualify your identity by promising to offer a specified amount of one-on-one time with coworkers. If you talk about your commitment to improving employees, start a program that helps them.
Branding in Action
The stereotype of “company cop” isn’t career specific to Human Resources. James McDonald, a security guard company owner in California’s Inland Empire, had been having a difficult time developing a positive reputation at the businesses where he had posted security guards. The employees at the businesses he represented regarded his guards as “wannabe cops.” “They thought protection services was a joke,” said McDonald. “Our accounts were shrinking and we were constantly turning over our guards.”
McDonald needed to change the way he was doing business. One of his guards suggested he change the way he does business. People didn’t respect the guards because they didn’t know them and they didn’t understand their capabilities. Because the guards weren’t respected, their morale was low and their performance suffered. It was a vicious circle. McDonald had read a column in an entrepreneur publication about Personal Branding. He started introducing his guards to company executives. He improved their uniforms and encouraged them to learn the first names of the people who came and went during their shifts. In direct contrast to industry standards, McDonald increased his guards’ salaries and spent more on training.
“It seemed so basic, but once the guards had turned a corner in their behavior and interacted more with our clients, their value to company owners, performance, and morale soared,” said McDonald. “They weren’t faceless, unwanted ‘rent-a-cops.’ They were valuable members of the team who greeted people on their way into work.” As a result of Personal Branding training, McDonald had improved his workforce and positioned his company as a resource for quality security professionals. Over the course of 12 months, the company was awarded four new contracts – increasing their business by 25%. The company was able to increase the amount they charged clients because they stood above the competition.
A Single, Powerful Idea
Combine a personal connection with a memorable slogan and you’ve got something. A slogan is a single, powerful phrase that captures the essence of your position, your personality, and your services. Slogans like “Just Do It,” “Don’t Leave Home Without It,” and “The Ultimate Driving Machine” have become part of popular culture, showing the power of a memorable slogan.
In creating a slogan for your profession, focus on a simple, concise statement that captures you as a person. You don’t have to necessarily use your personal slogan on your resume, but you should use it to focus your behavior and to maintain a consistent identity. You could think of your slogan as a positioning statement – a sentence or two that sets you apart from other people in your field and makes you a valuable asset to your boss and the people around you. One of the core principles of Personal Branding is making your message unique to you, and for that you need a unique slogan and approach to promoting your identity.
The Master Plan
A thorough personal marketing plan is the first step in any successful marketing program. Sadly, it’s a step a lot of professionals ignore. A marketing plan takes time to create and revise, and that’s time that many busy professionals simply won’t invest. If you want to brand yourself properly and focus your Personal Branding efforts wisely, invest the time as carefully as you invest in any other important facet of your business.
Some elements of a useful marketing plan:
• Budget. How much are you going to spend on your Personal Branding campaign? It’s shocking how many people create a plan without any coherent idea of what they’ll be spending. Look at your marketing budget as a percentage of your total income, and plan on spending a healthy amount to improve, maintain and promote your Personal Brand. Everything you do or say communicates your Personal Brand – for better or worse. The way you dress, walk, talk, react, interact – everything you do sends a message to your coworkers and employer. Develop a budget to adequately handle direct and indirect Personal Branding.
• Strategy. What are your goals? What is your time frame? Who are your competitors, and where are they failing to meet the needs of your target audience? The answers will help you determine a strategy. The broad plans you have for your business; the growth goals, where you’d like to be in five years, and so on. List them as specifically as possible and then outline how you’ll get there. If you’re sick of being seen as Corporate Gestapo, you’re going to have to have a strategy to change your identity.
• Tactics. Would a personal website help people get to know you better as a person? What about a brochure? It might sound crazy at first, but imagine what influence you could have if you actually developed a Personal Branding campaign. If that seems over the top, think about the resources you have available – company wide e-mails, newsletters, employee websites … know what tools you have that can help you promote your Personal Brand. Evaluate each marketing channel at your disposal and focus your efforts to make a difference.
Some people think that a marketing plan is for those who are already successful. In reality, it’s what people do to become successful.
Marketing Always Has an Effect
The trouble you’ll take in creating a marketing plan, developing your position and promoting your Personal Brand is well worth it for one big reason: marketing is never without effect. It either enhances your image or makes you look ridiculous. Proper Personal Branding, given a year to work its magic, will turn you into a brand that endures even when you have to make the tough decisions that can make you unpopular amongst your coworkers.
Are You a Monster or a Resource? Transform your brand from company cop into valuable resource.
Have you ever wondered why you get perceived as the “bad guy” when you’re in human resources to help people? Have you ever wondered why some employees view you with doubt and skepticism? Have you ever walked into the break room to find conversations ending and nervous glances coming from the corners of your coworkers’ eyes?
The title of “office cop” has become an unfortunate brand identity for the vast majority of human resources professionals. Unfortunately, the preconceived notions and stereotypes rampant in the industry don’t help you accomplish your job. No one goes to college to be a PC policeman – I mean PC policeperson.
Creating a Better Workplace
The brand you’ve been handed doesn’t improve your job satisfaction and may ironically create an uncomfortable work environment. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Instead of accepting the negative identity you’ve been handed, you can take your personal strengths and create a new, unique identity that will make you more effective professionally and make you happier in your job.
It’s called Personal Branding. Dynamic human resources professionals are working to break out of the mold and revolutionize their career field. By communicating their roles as facilitators and helpers, they provide better services to clients and improve their work environments. The process requires some work, and occasionally some deprogramming – but in the end the brand you develop is a better fit for your professional objectives, and will make each day more rewarding.
Put You First
Because the very letters “HR” can immediately turn off fellow professionals, the first step to improving your career requires that you stand on your own. You must think about your personal strengths, weaknesses and character traits. You have to look at yourself and see how you break the stereotypes that people might associate with your field. Knowing your audience empowers you to draw commonalities and promote your personality before your job title.
Then, at orientations, briefs, training sessions, and other events, you can promote yourself and the agenda that are the foundation of your brand. Daily, you can look for ways where you can stand out as a unique, valuable asset to members of your organization. You then work to present a consistent Personal Brand that fights stereotypes and fills a beneficial position in the hearts and minds of your fellow employees.
There’s nothing stopping you from building a Personal Brand identity that’s as effective as Charles Schwab, Oprah Winfrey, or Michael Jordan, on a smaller scale. You can be an in-house celebrity. The fundamental principles that you must follow in building your Personal Brand are:
• Differentiate yourself. Schwab and others started out by hanging their marketing hats on an attribute or characteristic that made them different from their competitors. As a HR professional, you can highlight your drive to help people succeed, your personable approach, the level of service you wish to provide, or your expertise in a certain facet. Pick something that sets you apart from others and begin there.
• Create a position. Your position is the place you occupy in the minds of your prospects. Decide what position suits your background, abilities and audience, then focus on building your brand identity around driving that position home.
• Consistent and persistent. Once you’ve determined your position and your differentiator, create your brand by advertising yourself—over and over. Newsletters, memos, speaking engagements, meetings, office functions, company websites—use any medium available to communicate your name, your identity and your message to the target audience.
• Customize your services. Once you’ve built your brand, begin changing – evolving – your service style, attitude and approach to fit your identity. If you preach personalized services, you need to qualify your identity by promising to offer a specified amount of one-on-one time with coworkers. If you talk about your commitment to improving employees, start a program that helps them.
Branding in Action
The stereotype of “company cop” isn’t career specific to Human Resources. James McDonald, a security guard company owner in California’s Inland Empire, had been having a difficult time developing a positive reputation at the businesses where he had posted security guards. The employees at the businesses he represented regarded his guards as “wannabe cops.” “They thought protection services was a joke,” said McDonald. “Our accounts were shrinking and we were constantly turning over our guards.”
McDonald needed to change the way he was doing business. One of his guards suggested he change the way he does business. People didn’t respect the guards because they didn’t know them and they didn’t understand their capabilities. Because the guards weren’t respected, their morale was low and their performance suffered. It was a vicious circle. McDonald had read a column in an entrepreneur publication about Personal Branding. He started introducing his guards to company executives. He improved their uniforms and encouraged them to learn the first names of the people who came and went during their shifts. In direct contrast to industry standards, McDonald increased his guards’ salaries and spent more on training.
“It seemed so basic, but once the guards had turned a corner in their behavior and interacted more with our clients, their value to company owners, performance, and morale soared,” said McDonald. “They weren’t faceless, unwanted ‘rent-a-cops.’ They were valuable members of the team who greeted people on their way into work.” As a result of Personal Branding training, McDonald had improved his workforce and positioned his company as a resource for quality security professionals. Over the course of 12 months, the company was awarded four new contracts – increasing their business by 25%. The company was able to increase the amount they charged clients because they stood above the competition.
A Single, Powerful Idea
Combine a personal connection with a memorable slogan and you’ve got something. A slogan is a single, powerful phrase that captures the essence of your position, your personality, and your services. Slogans like “Just Do It,” “Don’t Leave Home Without It,” and “The Ultimate Driving Machine” have become part of popular culture, showing the power of a memorable slogan.
In creating a slogan for your profession, focus on a simple, concise statement that captures you as a person. You don’t have to necessarily use your personal slogan on your resume, but you should use it to focus your behavior and to maintain a consistent identity. You could think of your slogan as a positioning statement – a sentence or two that sets you apart from other people in your field and makes you a valuable asset to your boss and the people around you. One of the core principles of Personal Branding is making your message unique to you, and for that you need a unique slogan and approach to promoting your identity.
The Master Plan
A thorough personal marketing plan is the first step in any successful marketing program. Sadly, it’s a step a lot of professionals ignore. A marketing plan takes time to create and revise, and that’s time that many busy professionals simply won’t invest. If you want to brand yourself properly and focus your Personal Branding efforts wisely, invest the time as carefully as you invest in any other important facet of your business.
Some elements of a useful marketing plan:
• Budget. How much are you going to spend on your Personal Branding campaign? It’s shocking how many people create a plan without any coherent idea of what they’ll be spending. Look at your marketing budget as a percentage of your total income, and plan on spending a healthy amount to improve, maintain and promote your Personal Brand. Everything you do or say communicates your Personal Brand – for better or worse. The way you dress, walk, talk, react, interact – everything you do sends a message to your coworkers and employer. Develop a budget to adequately handle direct and indirect Personal Branding.
• Strategy. What are your goals? What is your time frame? Who are your competitors, and where are they failing to meet the needs of your target audience? The answers will help you determine a strategy. The broad plans you have for your business; the growth goals, where you’d like to be in five years, and so on. List them as specifically as possible and then outline how you’ll get there. If you’re sick of being seen as Corporate Gestapo, you’re going to have to have a strategy to change your identity.
• Tactics. Would a personal website help people get to know you better as a person? What about a brochure? It might sound crazy at first, but imagine what influence you could have if you actually developed a Personal Branding campaign. If that seems over the top, think about the resources you have available – company wide e-mails, newsletters, employee websites … know what tools you have that can help you promote your Personal Brand. Evaluate each marketing channel at your disposal and focus your efforts to make a difference.
Some people think that a marketing plan is for those who are already successful. In reality, it’s what people do to become successful.
Marketing Always Has an Effect
The trouble you’ll take in creating a marketing plan, developing your position and promoting your Personal Brand is well worth it for one big reason: marketing is never without effect. It either enhances your image or makes you look ridiculous. Proper Personal Branding, given a year to work its magic, will turn you into a brand that endures even when you have to make the tough decisions that can make you unpopular amongst your coworkers.
For more career coaching, check out these articles:
It’s About Time You Answered Your Calling
Wrong Job or Just Bored?
Five Signals You Should Make A Change
In the modern job search, the littlest of things can make a HUGE impact. There are tons of little things that go into making a successful online job search and the more you know the better prepared you can be when you see the ideal job posting.
Today, there are consulting services and career coaches with whom you can expect to spend thousands of dollars for advice; literally, thousands of dollars for career consulting, career coaching, interview coaching, resume consulting, personal brand coaching and much, much more.
But what about the rest of us, who are unable to spend the exorbitant sums needed for these types of services? What if I (the modern job seeker) have questions about my job search, my resume, and my upcoming interview?
The answer is MyOnlineCareerCoach.com.
Posted February 16th, 2010 by admin
I used to think that finding happiness in my career was just as much my boss’ responsibility as it was my own. Once I got the education I needed and accomplished a few wonderful things, the people around me were supposed to recognize me, reward me and push me up the corporate ladder. Well, they didn’t. Company after company, these people failed to hold up their end of the deal. Of course, the problem wasn’t really them, it was me and how I planned things (or failed to plan things). In this post, I’ll share some tips on managing your career satisfaction and expectations.
Ghandi once said ‘Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.’ It took me a few years to understand what this means. When I was working on my college education, building new skills and solving hard problems, I was happy. My career was going just fine. But when I went to work and the novelty wore off, things got tougher. I didn’t feel that my job was moving my career any. My career just slowed to a halt.
I kept a notebook to capture all my ideas. For years, I would write things down that I needed to accomplish. It wasn’t until I went back to this book and analyzed it that I figured out what my issues really were. When I thought back to the times of my lowest levels of satisfaction, I noticed that I hadn’t written down as many ideas as I had during the happier times. My satisfaction was linked to my effort. I became unhappy with my career when I wasn’t doing something that I thought would help it grow.
Here are a few things that seem to help me keep my career satisfaction level high.
Plan your career. Writing your goals down puts your subconscious into action. Your subconscious will work on your career even your conscious is busy with something else. When I was in college studying to be an engineer, I would wake up in the middle of the night with a solution to a problem. But I was asleep. How could my conscious mind solve this problem? You can apply the same thing to your career. Writing your goals down burns your objectives into your mind so that it constantly scans your environment for opportunities that help you reach your goals, even when you aren’t. These solutions will come to you as a salvo or an epiphany. Bam…then an idea pops your head. It’s a seemingly simple activity that has big returns.
Create Real Expectations. Many of the MBA graduates I talk with have great expectations for their career. When I ask them how and when they plan to achieve these things, the answers that are returned don’t reflect those that come from deep thought and consideration. In short, they haven’t really thought about it. Are their expectations real? An MBA graduate expects to make more money, get a promotion, improve upward mobility and be exposed to greater opportunity. The question is how will this come about and when will it occur. One year after graduation? Two years? If we don’t a plan to grow our career and put a significant investment of energy into it, creating expectations that these things will occur anyhow will only bring dissatisfaction. Make your expectations make the level of effort you plan to put into your career and success will be much brighter.
Build a mentor group. Reaching high levels of success aren’t obtained from individual effort. Well, not if you want to achieve it quickly. You’ve heard it a million times already but I’ll repeat it once more, the economy now is global. Thinking that one can simply stay in one spot and reach the summit with the efforts of only two hands is outdated. I once read that it took about 26 years to rise to level of CEO. The people who’ve done it in less time have benefited from the development of their network, or mentor group. These are successful professionals who are prepared to help and advise you when called upon. I’ve known people who’ve used their mentor group to keep themselves employed for 15 years, just by asking them to help find the next opportunity. Now, that’s security.
Craft your surroundings. A mentor group is just one part of a successful environment. Most sports team love a home field advantage. It is where they have the support of all of their fans and community. They feel comfortable with the stadium, feel of the ground, temperature of air and sounds of screaming fans. All of these things create the excitement they need to perform at their peak. Our job and career aren’t any different. It’s not too difficult to assess our co-workers, managers, executives, customers, vendors, suppliers, etc. and determine if they give us the support we need. The tough part is taking the initiative to correct it or find another location when it doesn’t support us appropriately. As Malcolm Gladwell states in his book Outliers, the path to greatness passes through supportive environments that rush to the best and make them better.
Develop a winning attitude. Everyone knows that building a career in today’s economy is a serious challenge. The odds aren’t ideal since competition is high, opportunities are few and the future is unclear. However, people love those who face insurmountable obstacles with confidence and enthusiasm. You know these people. Despite our own doubts and fears, they convince us that our efforts are worthy and victory is eminent. In all the things we have to overcome in building our career success, changing our attitude is the easiest one to do and has the greatest impact. The requirements for developing an attitude of success are good risk-management and evaluation skills, emotional control and self-discipline. If you look at the previous tips, you’ll realize that all of these will be present once you take action and put them in place.
Author:
Todd Rhoad, MSEE, MBA is Director at BT Consulting, a career consulting firm in Altanta, and author of Blitz The Ladder. He can be reached at todd.rhoad@blitzteamconsulting.com
(Via Career Rocketeer – Career Search and Personal Branding Blog.)
It’s About Time You Answered Your Calling
Wrong Job or Just Bored?
Five Signals You Should Make A Change
In the modern job search, the littlest of things can make a HUGE impact. There are tons of little things that go into making a successful online job search and the more you know the better prepared you can be when you see the ideal job posting.
Today, there are consulting services and career coaches with whom you can expect to spend thousands of dollars for advice; literally, thousands of dollars for career consulting, career coaching, interview coaching, resume consulting, personal brand coaching and much, much more.
But what about the rest of us, who are unable to spend the exorbitant sums needed for these types of services? What if I (the modern job seeker) have questions about my job search, my resume, and my upcoming interview?
The answer is MyOnlineCareerCoach.com.
What do all of these misconceptions have in common? You are thinking too much about yourself. This is understandable given that the issue is personal branding. However, when it comes to social media, the emphasis is social—there are other people to consider. So instead of asking ‘how can I look better?’ ask ‘how can I help other people?’
