Executive Career Insights

Is Your Online Brand Effectively Selling You?

I am so excited to announce that I completed the Online ID Strategist certification program through Reach Communications. It was a very interesting and in-depth learning course about online identification and brand management strategies - tools and techniques for executives, careerists and entreprenuers.

You should know by now whenever you are seeking a new job, new consulting gig or even a new contract, potential employers and recruiters will do a Google search on your name BEFORE they call you...yes, this occurs more than 85% of the time. Based on the information that they find, they would have already formed an opinion about you - good or bad - by the time they meet you or have a conversation on the phone.

My question to you today is...if they "Googled" your name what will they find? Well, here are some things you DON'T want them to find:

1. An outdated or sparse LinkedIn profile
2. A link to an unflattering picture of you at a social event or party
3. Tons of links to other people with the same name like yours (but none of referring to you!)
4. An announcement about your new position from ten years ago
5. Links to incomplete social media and social networking profiles
6. Offensive comments made by you on highly controversial blogs
7. Newspaper or magazine articles that describe and portray you in a negative light
8. Absolutely no information or data about you - you don't exist!

As technology continues to define and re-define how we live work and play, think of your Google results as the new millenium resume. If you are not online, get started today.

Related posts:

Is your online brand confusing employers?

Five questions to help you zero in on personal brand

Moving Beyond Your Career Mistakes

I clearly remember the level of frustration and despair from a client a few years ago when she could not forgive herself or move past old career decisions that haunted her later.

Whether its accepting a lower-paying position, making a sudden career change or transitioning to a new industry, we can all look back with some regret over past career choices.

The challenge is working hard to find the hidden "gems", embracing the learning experiences and positioning yourself for optimal career growth.

Sounds logical, but a lot harder to execute in reality. There has to be nothing more discouraging and deflating than having to give your best in an environment that does not support your talent and top strengths.

However, instead of complaining and throwing in the towel, let's examine a few career rebounding techniques that can get you back on track:

1) Release Yourself Emotionally

Take a deep breath and begin to forgive yourself. For more than a decade of providing executive career services, I am yet to meet a client with a perfect career background. I have met talented executives who all have some unique challenges that need to be addressed in their personal marketing strategies.

So don't keep lamenting past decisions and engage a more positive mindset before making long-term critical career decisions. An immediate remedy is to minimize that "hard-to-explain" job's space on your current resume and career marketing documents.

2)   Learn To Shine In The Storm

Many executives caught in unfulfilling job situations are feeling trapped in this economy as new, better suited opportunities are harder to find. Determine if your current position is a really complete loss

 - explore the possibilities of getting re-assigned to more challenging roles

- evaluate how far off you really are from your career goals

- compete for internal leadership opportunities even if it is in a different field

- make an overall commitment to yourself to give and do your very best until you can change jobs

Don't underestimate how a powerful testimony or referral can support you when it's time to get back on your feet.

3) Advance Your Training

Is there a new certification or degree program that you have been wanting to complete, but never had the time? Keep yourself challenged and motivated by enrolling in evening classes or online programs. What better way to take full advantage of a lull in your career growth than to enhance your competencies and marketability.

4) Look For Leadership Opportunities

Anticipate your story and start building your selling points - seek out leadership roles within your community, professional/local associations and even alumni groups. Be proactive in filling the "gap" in your career path because once you start an aggressive job search, you will need strong achievements and S.T.A.R. stories to overcome your career shortcomings.

5) Develop And Launch An Aggressive Job Search

If the situation feels too unbearable, focus your energies and efforts toward landing a better position - get your executive resume in order and execute a highly focused and strategic job search - with career glitches working against you, your efforts have to be consistent, time and time again.

Check out these related posts on executive job search:

Top five things to do if laid off (these tips work in any career rebound situation)

Powering your job search with social media

Six job search strategies that work

Executive resume best practices

7 Ways To Rev Up Your Personal Brand

You cannot live or breathe today without hearing about personal branding. By now, you should understand that identifying your own unique personal brand is very critical for personal, business and career success.

After all, who wants to blend in with everyone else? Without a standout, memorable personal brand where would successful people like Martha Stewart, Michael Jordan, Madonna, Prince and Donald Trump be?

Well, let's assume that you have done the hard work, soul-searching and in-depth analysis required to identify your personal brand, now how do you make it a part of your everyday life?

Here are 7 ways that you can successfully exude and promote your personal brand so that it becomes natural perception of who you are - both to yourself and to others who encounter you.

1) Develop and master a unique subject matter – focus on area that you want to learn more about, one that is close to your heart and something that drives your passion. Aim to be that "go-to" person on the topic or area of specialty.

2) Write about it – why keep your expertise and area of knowledge to yourself? Identify online channels and print publications to share your knowledge wealth with others.

3) Take it to the road – partner with professional, social, association and other membership-based groups to offer lectures, seminars and speciatly classes.

4) Create a following – want to consistently share your thoughts with others? Establish your own blog, set up a Twitter account that links to you blog and talk/write to your heart's content.

5) Design a customized email signature – allow others to quickly learn more about you and your value proposition through a distinctive email signature. Don't be afraid to be creative and add your photo, personal brand statement, links to your social profiles, blog and website and your own signature colors and/or symbols.

6) Use personalized note cards/business – maintain a consistent theme with colors, brand attributes and messaging with all your stationery and accessories. Don't forget nice pens that carry your brand message.

7) Prepare a 30-second pitch that sells you – put together a personal introduction that is memorable and compelling - you want to make it easy for people to remember you. Use this pitch in networking events, group presentations, and even social events.

Related posts:

Five questions to help you zero in on personal brand

Personal branding - truly the only way to survive in any economy

Resume Fraud, White Lies, False Qualifications - It's Just Not Worth It

I came across a very interesting article the other day addressed the increasingly level of resume fraud and deception among jobseekers as the economic situation grows worse and the job market grows intensely fierce in competition.

While it may be tempting to simply add a degree that you don't have or re-create your career history to fill the gap in your experience, your actions always come back to haunt you.

I live by a personal philosophy that suggests that one lie only starts a long series of lies to cover the previous lies. I personally knew someone who lied on her application to get a job and spent the next few years in fear of being discovered until one day, she was fired.

Employers are smart and they are doing their homework and due diligence just like you.

"At the executive level, vetting is generally more thorough, and has gotten stricter with the increase in regulatory scrutiny during the past several years, experts say." (According to article)

-- If you lack the required education for a position, emphasize your value to the company through your achievements and be sure to highlight quantifiables like revenue growth, cost reduction, market share, process improvement, and employee retention.

-- If you have employment gaps, simply use a one-line sentence to address the time off and reserve valuable real estate on your resume for position responsibilities and achievements.

-- If you don't have direct experience required for the position, pay close attention to your volunteer and community activities and see if there is opportunity to show experience through those leadership roles. Volunteer work is still valuable experience - often you can pull leadership capabilities, project management, staff/volunteer supervision, and budget administration.

Read more about the red flags employers are looking for in resumes and make sure that you are doing everything in your executive resume to avoid them.

Please note that while the article suggests using the month/year format (3/2000 - 9/2007) for your resume, I personally recommend using the year only format (2000 - 2007), but be prepared to give specific dates on an interview or when meeting with an executive recruiter.

Abby Locke
Executive Career Strategist
www.premierwriting.com
www.financeexecutiveresumes.com
www.premieroutplacement.com

How Do You Rank...Digitally?

Whether you are a technology guru or a marketing executive, you should accept that more than 80% of recruiters and potential employers will "Google" you long before they call you for an interview. Surprised? That's the new world of Job Search 2.0.

Have you ever Googled yourself to see what search results come up? If not, you should get into the practice of doing so regularly.

Why? If there is inaccurate, unflattering information about you floating in the world wide web, you want to catch it before you are actively job searching.

What is funny is that on the flip side - if you Google yourself and nothing pops up - that's just as bad in the eyes of recruiters and potential employers.

One of my colleagues and a personal branding guru, William Arruda offers this food for thought....which category do you fall into?

Digitally disguised: Scary...you don't exist. You have no online identity and anyone researching you come up with zero results.

Digitally dissed: Okay, so we see you, but what we see is not good. Any online information on you is inaccurate, inconsistent, and/or not flattering.

Digitally disastrous: Your name may come up with several search results, but is it really you or someone who has the same name. Are your personal profiles showing you in an unprofessional light?

Digitally dabbling: Good news...there is some relevant, branded information on you - maybe through your LinkedIn profile that ranks high in the Google results.

Digitally distinct: Everyone knows/can know your name. All the search results related to you are relevant, strategically positioned, strongly branded, and send out the message you want to potential employers.

Note: I actually pre-screened a potential, disastrous client by Googling her first. Try this unique tool to learn more about your online identity.