Recent Posts – Page 6 – Career Life Institute

Personal Branding Basics

A lot of my people tell me that they hear and read a lot about the personal branding in a job search but donâ€™t really understand what it means.

To me PERSONAL BRANDING is how you differentiate yourself from your competition and let people know how special you are.

So here are a few ways to establish a personal brand on your resume, online and in person.

1: Create a tag line that sums up who you are in one or two sentences.
For some it can be a very simple statement and for others something a little more innovative. Then place it at the top of your resume directly below your name and contact information separated by a double line. Here are 2 examples.

PPM \ PMO Manager
“Expertise developing process & methodology to manage a portfolio of 200 projects valued at $275M annually”

Highly Skilled R&D Engineer
â€œTransforming your existing products and processes into ones your competition will envyâ€

2: Design a great business card that accentuates your brand
Depending on your field, you can be conservative, colorful or innovative. Whichever you choose, use both sides of the business card. Generally the front has your contact info and your brand, and on the back of the card place has an ad for what you have to offer.

There are several companies online who have professional templates to choose from, or will print your artwork for you at a reasonable cost. Zazzle and Vistaprint are two I know of. They can also print matching stationary, return labels, hats, tee shirts and other materials to help grow your brand.

3. Work on your public persona
Position yourself as an expert in your field by seeking public speaking engagements in front of target audiences. You can join civic and fraternal organizations which can help you solidify your bonifides and help you build your network.

4. Be a networking group leader
Join a group and become the most active member, or start your own live or online networking group in your field or community. Look at what interests similar groups and bring your name and expertise to the forefront by asking and answering relevant questions and exchanging job and networking leads with as many people as possible.

5. Create a public perception
Work on your social media profiles. Keep them current and relevant and make sure they show people more than just a boring “widget maker” looking for a job. Let your personality shine through. Set goals and a schedule of how many group responses you will reply to and how many tweets you will post each week.

6. Maintain your own blog
Blogging is a great way to establish your brand, show yourself as a subject matter expert and network to get other people to join and contribute.

7. Be open and available
Let people you know, as well as total strangers know that you are always available to help them by sharing your knowledge, your skills and your contacts with anyone who needs it. Get in the habit of Paying It Forward and you will see a lot of payback.

Author:

Perry Newman, CPC CSMS is a nationally recognized executive resume writer, career coach, AIPC certified recruiter and SMMU certified social media strategist known for his ability to help his clients get results. You can view his sample resumes at http://www.perrynewman.com/, and email him your resume at perry@perrynewman.com for FREE resume critique.

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Dealing with Inappropriate Interview Questions

In your job search, if you are interviewing regularly, it’s highly likely that sooner or later you will be asked a question that may seem inappropriate or legally dubious. How you view that question, and how you respond will very likely have a great impact on your success.

I recently had someone in my job search class tell me about an interview he had at a small company. The hiring manager asked what year he graduated from college, as it wasn’t on the resume. The candidate told him it was an inappropriate question to ask.
The interviewer said he was curious, and really wanted to know. And for a couple of very uncomfortable minutes the two of them argued back-and-forth about the legitimacy of the question.

The candidate assumed it was an effort to determine his age, and make a judgment on his suitability for the job accordingly. I have no idea if that was the intent or not, however, questions like that do occur often. So how should you react? Here are some ideas that may help:

Most hiring managers are not HR and Legal experts! Although direct questions about age, race, family, and other topics are not supposed to be asked or considered in an interview process, they often get asked innocently. Certainly someone in HR ought to be very aware and conscious of inappropriate questions, however, a direct hiring manager may not be. Often they are simply getting to know someone and are not looking for ways to discriminate. It may not be possible to know if the question was asked out of ignorance or not, but the way you react may determine your fate anyway.

Getting to know you and small talk are not necessarily forms of discrimination. If the question was asked simply as a means to get to know you better, or as a form of small talk during the interview, an over-reaction can create a very negative impression if no discrimination was intended. Yes, an interviewer should know better than to ask inappropriate questions, however, when they come about from casual conversation, they often had no ill intent behind them. Your reaction generally has more to do with whether they move forward or not than the actual answer to the question.

You’re never obligated to take a job offer! While others may have differing opinions, my perspective is that candidates are generally best off not making large waves during the process and reserving their judgment and response for afterward. If an inappropriate question was asked. Answering respectfully, and minimizing the negative response enables the process to continue.

If you ultimately receive an offer, it’s likely no discrimination was ever intended or took place. An offer will generally be the proof. If you still aren’t convinced though, you certainly don’t have to take the position and you can decide whether to pursue the matter with them further then.

If you do not receive an offer. It still may have had nothing to do with discriminatory practices, but rather that they had another, better qualified candidate. If you have doubts, you can decide at that point whether to pursue the matter or not.

Getting into a verbal battle with them during the interview process, however, virtually guarantees they will not want to consider you further for the role… not because of discrimination, but because they are not interested in hiring a combative employee.

An appropriate response to a potentially inappropriate question might be:

“I’m very interested in this position and would gladly answer all appropriate questions you may have for me in order to determine if I’m the right fit. However, an answer to that question doesn’t necessarily shed any light on my relevant qualifications, so if you don’t mind, I’d prefer not to answer it. Can we move on to other more relevant topics?”

Many interviewers are likely to get the hint and move on. Some, however, may not. If they continue to press for an answer. In my opinion, it is often best to give them a quick, straight-forward answer rather than continue to challenge them on the appropriateness of the question. You can certainly determine further into the hiring process whether a further response on your part is warranted.

In the case of the person from my job search class… he actually did receive a follow-up interview. The hiring manager simply knew someone that went to the same college and was interested whether they might have graduated at the same time. He shouldn’t have pressed the matter, and he should have been more upfront with his reason for asking. However, no discrimination was intended in any way. The candidate was fortunate that the process continued on, however, certainly may not have in most cases.

Don’t assume every inappropriate question has dark motives behind it. It may have been asked innocently, or because of a lack of knowledge. How you react, however, can determine if a good opportunity progresses for you or not.

Author:

Harry Urschel has over 20 years experience as a technology recruiter in Minnesota. He currently operates as e-Executives, writes a blog for Job Seekers called The Wise Job Search, and can be found on Twitter as @eExecutives.

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Partner with a Coach for Results

Check out this excellent post about the benefits of hiring a coach by Donna Toothaker.

Lisa, a VA with three years in the business and a team of two, was stuck. When she left her corporate management job to work from home, she was excited and energized by the prospect of creating her own business, lifestyle, and an income substantial enough to enjoy some financial freedom.

Now, a few years in, the momentum that gave her a great start, has waned. Lisa, a bit of a micro-manager, finds herself too busy overseeing her team and handling the day-to-day running of the business to find the time she needs to effectively market and grow her business. She is also feeling the isolation that often sets in after going solo, and misses having colleagues with whom she could brainstorm and receive feedback. Unable to move forward alone, Lisa – like many thousands of other entrepreneurs, decided to seek help from a coach.

Does this sound like you? Most of us, at some turning point in our business, will seek guidance from a professional to give us the boost, and the tools we need to reach or exceed our goals. A coach will:

Identify goals and help you create a plan to get there. When you first started your business, you had goals, and a business plan. Somewhere along the way, you may have veered off the path. A coach will help you regroup, revise your goals and/or create new ones, and create a step-by-step plan to get you there.

Hold you accountable. Are you going to follow through with those steps? Many people can get through the planning steps effectively, but drop the ball when it’s time to execute, or do not execute effectively. Having a coach ensures that you have somebody else to report to on a regular basis — somebody who will push you so you are less inclined to procrastinate or let things go, and hold yourself to a higher standard.

Help remove roadblocks, so you can get out of your own way. The real reason we drop the ball or do not follow through effectively is because of fear – primarily fear of the unknown, which leads to doubt. This inner resistance to your positive momentum– the “what ifs” – can kill your dream instantly if not held in check. A coach will help you work through the “what ifs,” by removing some of the unknown – again through detailed planning, visualization and interactive exercises to prepare you for that sales pitch, speech, teleconference, interview, or product launch.

Provide honest feedback. As a solo-preneur, how do you know if you are hitting the mark? You may receive compliments or criticism from clients, but what about feedback from your team? Do they feel comfortable or secure enough to speak up about something that doesn’t seem to be working? A coach will give you an honest, productive opinion and suggestions for improvement in areas where you may never have thought you needed it.

Improve performance as a leader. Just because you own and run a business doesn’t mean you are born to lead. Many entrepreneurs excel at their craft, but fall short when it comes time to make the “grown up decisions,” or manage a team. A coach can help you step into the role of CEO, defeat the limiting beliefs and practices that have kept you on the front lines, and learn to delegate and give authority to those under you so you, and your team, can grow.

Defeat isolation. Although “going it alone” was an exhilarating and exciting prospect when you started out, you now realize that there are times when you miss having colleagues (or even that one great boss!) around to help you develop ideas, solve problems, offer a shoulder, or celebrate your successes with you. Even though you might have a team in place, a solo-preneur working virtually, from home, needs to know there is someone who has “been there,” and fully understands the many challenges of being your own boss, standing in her corner.

If you are stuck, consider a coach. It is an investment in yourself, and in your business, that will boost your confidence, efficacy, organization and creativity so you and your company can reach, and in many cases, exceed, your goals.

Donna Toothaker is CEO, founder and coach of Step It Up VA Coaching. These highly sought-after VA coaching programs have been created for established, successful VAs who wish to create the 6-figure business of their dreams. Visit http://www.stepitupva.com to receive the free report, Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid in Creating a 6-Figure VA Business.

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