Branding yourself was a great idea! You are well aware of your unique value offer; have leveraged it to position yourself as an expert in your field and "knockout" other heavy-weight champions. Great job! What’s next? To stay current, you must always revisit your personal brand’s core values and ensure the value offer you’ve focused on is still in alignment with your target employer’s fluctuating needs. If it isn’t, you may need clean up your personal brand. Related: Is Your Personal Brand Wrong? A re-tooling of your personal brand is sometimes necessary in reaction to fluid industry demands—very strategic and smart defense! HOWEVER, a proactive re-brand based on forecasted industry needs and a deep-dive self reassessment –is even smarter! (That’s offense, baby!) So, is it time to re-evaluate, refocus, polish and clean up your personal brand. Get your gloves, dust mops, and brooms… (pen and paper will work, too). Canvassing. Initiate contact with your target employer. Learn. What is important to them as they plan for the future. Evaluate. How does your personal brand meet their needs? Adjust. Discard the old, remove barriers to the new you. New. Package yourself anew this spring with a fresh and in-demand brand. This post was originally published on an earlier date. Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Does your personal brand need an update? A careerist said to me, "I need your help. I need to REBRAND my resume." Related: Are You Doing Enough To Promote Your Brand? Okay. So, I was expecting, "I need a resume like yesterday." Perhaps, "What is resume branding?" But, an outright "rebrand" — well! If I wasn't already sitting...
Are you feeling defeated because you've done all you could do to attain a job, but have yet to land one? Examine your internal dialogue. Yes, put down the resume, halt the job search, and join me in this deep-dive exercise of exploring your thoughts… Related: 5 Ways To Build Confidence For An Interview What are your beliefs about your candidacy? What “vibe” are you transmitting during your phone interview, exuding through your body language, projecting with your attire selection, and reinforcing via your marketing documents?
You've heard it before, "Network in order to optimize your job search." How exactly do you go about networking? It depends on the way you build relationships and the industry you are targeting. Related: 5 Tips For Better Super-Connecting Is the industry you seek employment in best penetrated online or offline? It's not as difficult as it seems. We are all human and we all want to help each other. The idea is to get in touch with as many people you can (in the right channel), make a connection, gain their trust, cultivate the relationship, and earn a good lead. It is as easy as pie! There are a myriad of ways to begin networking, whichever route you embark on keep the following in mind:
What is luck? How is it some job seekers seem to attract career opportunities easier than others who possess the same qualifications and the same job search tools? Is it really just luck? I think there is more to it and it begins with perspective. Related: 7 Tips For Organizing A Messy Job Search Discovering your luck is about expecting it, creating it, identifying when opportunity knocks at your door, following your gut instincts, taking risks, and looking at challenges from a position of power and not a victimized perspective.
The bills are piling up. It has been months since you lost your job. You are becoming extremely concerned. You feel as if you have done everything you can to secure a new job opportunity, but nothing has become fruitful - not even an interview. Related: 6 Ways To Be Interesting During Your Interview If this sounds familiar, don’t despair. I sympathize and many, unfortunately, are in your situation. Ironically, although the job market is challenged, usually there are blocks in a job search.
Does your resume resemble a checklist, to-do list, a laundry list? Have you desperately tried to convince your prospective employers of your qualifications by including everything but the kitchen sink on your resume? Related: How To Transform Your Resume From Vintage To Viral Don’t. Believe me, hiring managers know what a job description is... they have seen thousands of resumes. While the HR/hiring authority’s goal is to screen resumes and identify qualified candidates, the person doing the screening, well, is a person—and no one enjoys being "bored to death," especially not by sifting through long-winded resumes that regurgitate all-too-familiar job descriptions. Here is a little secret: Many hiring managers actually write job descriptions. So, you are not doing them (or yourself) any favors by including a sea of bullets with your daily job accountabilities. Understand your resume’s job is not to give away every little detail of what your job entailed. No siree, Bob. Instead, your resume’s job is...
Have you ever felt frustrated after an interview? Sure you have! I know you’ve mentally gone over your interview answers and you remember what you DID NOT say, and you realize you missed an opportunity to REINFORCE your candidacy. Well, this is what to say in a thank you card. Related: Mastering The Art (And Science) Of Thank You Letters Of course, it all depends on how badly you’ve screwed things up. Sometimes, there is no backpedaling, but let’s assume for a moment you can recoup or cement your candidacy... what then do you say in your thank you letter besides thank you? The problem with most thank you letters is they are usually prepared as just a nice gesture. Saying thank you is a very nice thing to do; it does go a long way, but if written as an ordinary thank you, it is not strategic enough to add another dimension to your candidacy... it leverages not an additional qualifier and doesn’t elevate your interview performance. In other words, use your thank you opportunity as a last marketing tool in order to gain a competitive distinction.