Today’s job market is very competitive. As a job seeker, you must play your “A” game and do everything you can to stand out, in a good way, as a valuable candidate for the jobs you seek.
When I speak at various associations and job networking events, I am still surprised and saddened, however, to see that not all job seekers have all of the right tools.
Take a Tip from the World of Marketing
The job you are seeking may not be in sales but, as a job seeker, sales and market is your current job. You must be able to market and sell your skills and experience. The tools you need are even referred to as marketing materials. Today your marketing materials include more than just a resume.
Picture this: a salesman, Fred, has an appointment to sell a $10,000 laptop. Yes, I said $10,000. Where most laptops cost between $600 and $5,000, this computer is amazing, loaded with all of the leading edge features. Fred stands before the customer and extols the virtues of this amazing laptop. The customer hangs onto every word and her eyes get bigger as she is convinced of the value of this laptop. She is sold; she just needs to figure out where in the budget she has the money to purchase it. She asks Fred for his contact information so she can call him when she has the money ready. Fred rips a piece of paper off his notepad, scribbles his name, phone number, and e-mail address onto the torn paper and hands it to her.
Now, you know a professional salesperson would never tear a piece of paper and scribble his name on it to give to a serious customer. But every day I meet job seekers who are selling a product that costs more than $10,000 and do just that.
The most successful way to find a job today is through networking. Through networking you have the opportunity to learn about the majority of available jobs that are not listed online, known as the hidden job market. Every in-person encounter is an opportunity to network and the most acceptable way to exchange contact information is through the exchange of business cards.
Therefore, regardless of the job you are pursuing, you should never step outside your front door without a sufficient supply of business or networking cards containing, at a minimum, your contact information.
Where to Get Cards
Whether you call them business cards, contact cards, or networking cards, you need to have them. There are two approaches to obtaining cards: buying finished cards or purchasing the business card stock and creating your own.
Printing Your Own Cards
At most office supply stores and online you can purchase business card stock. There are two types of paper, one that has the cards pre-perforated and the other that is referred to as clean edge. The problem with the pre-perforated type is that when the cards are separated, a jagged edge still exists along the edge of the card. This type looks less professional so I highly recommend the clean edge stock.
Here are a few other tips about printing your own cards:
• Do not consider buying large paper stock and cutting your own card stock. I have never seen this successfully implemented.
• Be sure to check out the weight of the card stock. Some cards I have received are very flimsy and feel cheap. You do not want your name to be associated with poor quality.
• If you decide to print your own cards, be sure the paper feeds through the printer so the text is not printed at an angle and so the ink does not smear. You do not want to give the impression you are sloppy.
Buying Finished Cards
Office supply and other stores offer printing services and can print cards for you. There are online companies that offer similar services.
While in a job transition, most job seekers are watching their money. There are professional, affordable options available; one such service is VistaPrint.com. They offer a selection of designs for “free” other than the price of shipping.
I am a fan of VistaPrint.com but have to say that I am personally disappointed with their latest selection of “free” designs; very few of them are acceptable for job networking (see Card Designs section below). Consider purchasing one of their “premium” cards and understand that you will usually receive offers from VistaPrint.com in the future to receive premium cards for “free” or consider checking out one of their competitor’s selections.
Card Designs
Although many of us like animals and I too love flowers, these patterns are not the best for professional networking cards unless that is relevant to your career. If you are in a creative field, your card should reflect your creativity. If you are in a more conservative field, a more conservative pattern or graphic is best. When picking a design, consider the impression you are leaving with your audience.
When laying out your card, do not use all of the white space (unprinted areas) on the front; it will make the card too hard to read. Also do not use the entire back of the card for text. Some printing services offer preprinted options for the back of the card such as a calendar; pass on these options. You can use the back for additional information about your value but leave space for other people to make notes.
Here are some other thoughts on card design:
• Try to select designs that not everyone else is using.
• People may want to write on your card so avoid the glossy finish that makes it hard to write on them.
• Do not pick dark backgrounds; they are usually hard to read. Stay away from using dark font on a dark background and light font on a light background.
• Be judicious with the use of bold font style; it can make your card harder to read.
• Leverage color in the design and / or in the font to make the card more interesting but do not overdo the use of colors or the card will become busy.
• With VistaPrint.com you can use the designated fields for data other than their original intended purpose (e.g. you can use the address field for your phone number). Better yet, there is an advanced editing option that allows you to layout the fields exactly where you want them and modify the font style, type, size and color.
The Information the Card Should Contain
The basic information that every card should contain are as follows:
• Name
• The title of the job you are seeking
• Phone number
• E-mail address
• LinkedIn profile URL
Additional information that can be added include 2-3 core competencies, professional credentials and recent graduates can list their degree. The networking card is not a miniature resume so keep the other information concise and brief.
There is some debate about the merits of including a professional headshot. Headshots are not used on resumes anymore except where the profession requires them (a TV anchor or a model for instance). If you decide to add a professional headshot, for consistency use the same one you have on your LinkedIn profile.
Use the same name on your card that you have on your resume and your LinkedIn profile. For example, if you used your middle initial or nickname on those, use your middle initial or nickname on your card.
The card should also communicate the value you bring and the position you are seeking. (See my three-part article about Personal Branding at: http://bit.ly/mD2QI6) If you have a tag line, your card is the perfect place to use it. You can also add other key points that distinguish your uniqueness.
Use a professional e-mail address that includes your name.
Be sure the font is legible. It should be a large enough font to read without a magnifying glass. Also, in selecting a font type (ex. Arial) make note of any information that contains numbers and letters that can be mistaken for one another. In some fonts the number one (1), the lower case letter L (l), and the upper case letter I (I) are hard to differentiate. Select a font type where the letters and numbers are distinct.
Just like on the resume, you should not list multiple phone numbers. Most, if not all of us have answering systems for times we cannot be reached. The caller can leave a message and you can call them back when you are available. Use the one number where you want to be reached.
Do not preface the phone number with “cell:” or “phone” or the e-mail address with “e-mail”; the formats will indicate what information is listed.
There is an urban legend that if you put your home address on your business card, you could be stalked. The truth is that there is so much information about you on the Internet that people can usually find your address regardless of what is on your business card. Do not exclude your address from your card for that reason.
There may be reasons, though, to leave your home address off the card. If you live in an area that may be too far from the business to be considered an acceptable commute for most people, then leave your home address off the card so you are not excluded from consideration.
Other Tips Regarding Cards
• Do NOT use a business card from your former company. It is unprofessional to scratch out the old information and write in your current information. If you are currently employed, secure your own contact cards if you are looking for a job. You should not be looking for a job on your employer’s time so do not give out the company e-mail and phone number for your job search.
• Make sure you maintain a supply of cards on hand so you don’t run out of them before an important event.
• Every day make sure you have an ample supply of cards on you.
• Before entering a networking meeting, take your cards out of the case and put them in your right hand pocket. Place an ink pen in your left hand pocket for when you want to make notes.
• As you receive business cards from other people, jot on their card what you need to contact them about.
• Keep their card in your hand as long as you are speaking with them. One advantage of keeping their card in your hand is that you can reference it if you forget their name.
• Put their cards in your left hand pocket. You do not want to mix up your cards with other people’s cards.
• At the event, when you have a moment and are no longer actively networking, sit and write the name and date of the event on the back of every card you received.
• Follow-up immediately on any actions you need to take as a result of the networking event.
• Organize the cards, or the information on them, for easy access. Some people use plastic sleeves specifically made for three-ring notebooks to store cards. Other people key the information into their contact management system whether it is Excel or another software. If you receive a large number of cards, like I do, you can use a tool such as Neat Works which will scan the cards and automatically propagate contact software, which in my case is Outlook.
• It is not a bad sign when you have given out all of your cards and need to reorder more. It is not a measure of job search failure but is instead a measure of networking success. You are developing a network of people who will not only help you in this job transition but in the future as well.
• Keep your cards in a card case where they do not get bent or marked on. There are some very reasonably priced card cases at local office supply centers.
• When designing the card, verify that all of the information is correct. You do not want to pay for 250 cards only to see that you transposed characters in your e-mail address or phone number.
• Have someone else give you feedback on your card design before you order or print them.
There are many more items in a job seeker’s set of marketing materials besides a resume. To stand out from your competition, be sure to leverage them all appropriately including professional looking networking cards.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Part 3: Another Job Search Essential: Your Personal Brand
The job market continues to change and so must your approach to finding a job. Personal Branding is the latest key to success for your job search. The market is very competitive and a Personal Brand will help you stand out from your competition.
You may be wondering though “what is personal branding and how do I implement it in my search?” In this three part series we cover the what, where, why, and how of personal branding.
Part 1 covered
What is personal branding?
Why should I implement branding in my job search?
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-job-search-essential-your.html
Part 2 covered
How do I identify my brand?
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/07/another-job-search-essential-your.html
In the third and final part of this series you will discover where to use your brand in your job search.
THE BASIC CONCEPT
The basic concept of personal branding is that your entire job search has a consistent message, look, and feel. Think of it as your ad campaign.
Other than Geico, which has multiple ad campaigns going at one time, the gecko, the talking money, and the Rod Sterling character, most companies only have one ad campaign running during a particular timeframe. You should be like most companies and only have one campaign going at a time.
Here is a list of things to check to be sure you are being consistent with your marketing materials:
Name: Do you use the same name on all of your marketing materials or do you have your formal name in some places and not others? Do you use a middle initial in one place but not everywhere?
Job Title: When you state what you are looking for, are you consistent with the job title? If you list various titles for the same job, do you list them in the same order?
Document Header: Is the header (content and format for your name and contact information) on your resume the same as on your networking guide and cover letter? This is like your stationery. If you laid out all of the pieces of your marketing material together on a table, would you instantly know they are for the same person without having to read the name?
Color and Font: If you have a website, is it the same color scheme as your business card? Do you have a logo or graphic that you consistently use for your marketing materials?
Consistent with the Product: Is your brand consistent with the product - you? Are you looking for a position based on its title or pay but is not consistent with what you can do or want? If you are looking for an upper management position, do you dress and groom like upper management? For instance I dress conservatively (suits) so my appearance would not be consistent with someone in fashion or a creative field.
Now let’s cover the specific places to add your branding message to your marketing materials.
IMPLEMENTING YOUR PBS AND TAG LINE IN MARKETING MATERIALS
RESUME
Tagline:
If you developed and want to use your tagline on your resume, it should go immediately under the header and is considered part of your header. If you have a horizontal line under your contact information, then the tagline can go under the graphic line.
Consider typing the tagline in italics and in title case (first letter of each primary word is capitalized). Decide if you want the tagline in color so it stands out when viewed or printed on a color printer. Realize however that if the recipient prints on a black and white printer it will show in a shade of gray so you may want to test printing it in black and white to see how it looks.
Personal Brand Statement (PBS):
You do not need to use both a tagline and personal brand statement on the resume. If you use both, do not use the exact same set of words. Example: my tagline is “The Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach”. If I use that on my resume and want to use my personal brand statement as well, I will want to use other words for “affordable” and “successful”.
If you use your personal brand statement in your resume it should go where you have a career summary. It can be used in place of your existing career summary or blended in.
Accomplishments:
Be sure to list your accomplishments in the section “above the fold” and under the job history that support your brand. If you don’t, your brand will ring hollow.
COVER LETTER
If you added your tagline to your resume header, you should add it to the header on your cover letter. You should always use the same on all of the job search documents you create.
Using the T cover letter format, you should be sure the qualifications you list support your brand. For more about the T Cover Letter go to:
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/04/most-powerful-cover-letter.html
BUSINESS CARD / CONTACT CARD
Side note: Every job seeker should have a business / contact card. In fact it has surprised me how many job seekers do not have or use one. My next article will be on the importance to job seekers of having a contact card.
It is essential that you add your tagline to your contact card. You may also want to add a few points from your Personal Brand Statement onto the card, maybe in bulleted format. Do not add the entire PBS to the card; it is too much text.
E-MAIL SIGNATURE BLOCK
If you use an e-mail system that has the feature to add a signature block to the e-mail (name, contact information), you want to preformat the signature to include your tagline.
If your e-mail system does not have that feature, open a Word document and develop a signature block yourself that you can use to copy and paste into your e-mails. That will also help make your correspondences more professional looking.
LINKEDIN & OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
In your LinkedIn profile, you can include your tagline in the free form field under your name. Your entire profile, including your photo, should support your brand as well. Be sure to request recommendations from people who can attest to your brand. Your photo should be consistent with your brand.
Hiring authorities will search on-line for your name to see what is out there about you. Before they do, you should do a search on your name to discover what’s out there about you. Take the time to clean up your Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and blogs from anything that could eliminate you as a candidate.
By doing an internet search on your name now you will know what is out there currently. What about new entries? There is a tool you can use to alert you to future mentions. Google Alert can be used to identify any mention of your name on-line that the search engine encounters. Note however, it will give you alerts for anyone and everyone with the same name. It is easy though to quickly review all alerts and delete the ones that are not relevant.
ELEVATOR PITCH
The basic elevator pitch includes your name, title, what you are looking for, and ends with a closing question in the form of a question. Your elevator pitch should also include your tagline whether you use the one you developed or a conversational version of it.
NETWORKING GUIDE
The networking guide is the one page document you should give to people in your network so they have something specific and actionable to do to help you in your job search. Just like with your resume and cover letter, the networking guide should include your tagline or brand statement.
INTERVIEW
When I worked in Information Technology (IT), I was known for taking over teams that were struggling and turning them around. I improved productivity and quality and increased customer satisfaction and employee engagement. That is what I want to communicate during an interview with an IT company.
During the interview, you want to be sure to communicate your brand, what you are known for, the value you bring, and how this company will benefit by hiring you.
Maintain your brand. Be sure other people know about you and the value you bring by participating in in-person networking and LinkedIn groups.
Develop new skills, increase self-awareness, expand your network, and evolve your brand as you evolve.
TO FIND OUT MORE
There are some fabulous books on the market about personal branding. They include but are not limited to the ones listed here. If you have recommendations about other books on personal branding, please e-mail me the titles and authors.
Me 2.0, Revised Edition by Dan Schawbel
Career Smart: Five Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand by Sherri Thomas
Managing Brand You by Jerry S. Wilson / Ira Blumenthal
Judi Adams is the Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach. In addition to her coaching practice, Ms. Adams is a keynote speaker and her blog of job search articles are read world-wide. Ms. Adams is about to publish her first book. Stay tuned for more about her upcoming, one of a kind, book about the job search.
You may be wondering though “what is personal branding and how do I implement it in my search?” In this three part series we cover the what, where, why, and how of personal branding.
Part 1 covered
What is personal branding?
Why should I implement branding in my job search?
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-job-search-essential-your.html
Part 2 covered
How do I identify my brand?
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/07/another-job-search-essential-your.html
In the third and final part of this series you will discover where to use your brand in your job search.
THE BASIC CONCEPT
The basic concept of personal branding is that your entire job search has a consistent message, look, and feel. Think of it as your ad campaign.
Other than Geico, which has multiple ad campaigns going at one time, the gecko, the talking money, and the Rod Sterling character, most companies only have one ad campaign running during a particular timeframe. You should be like most companies and only have one campaign going at a time.
Here is a list of things to check to be sure you are being consistent with your marketing materials:
Name: Do you use the same name on all of your marketing materials or do you have your formal name in some places and not others? Do you use a middle initial in one place but not everywhere?
Job Title: When you state what you are looking for, are you consistent with the job title? If you list various titles for the same job, do you list them in the same order?
Document Header: Is the header (content and format for your name and contact information) on your resume the same as on your networking guide and cover letter? This is like your stationery. If you laid out all of the pieces of your marketing material together on a table, would you instantly know they are for the same person without having to read the name?
Color and Font: If you have a website, is it the same color scheme as your business card? Do you have a logo or graphic that you consistently use for your marketing materials?
Consistent with the Product: Is your brand consistent with the product - you? Are you looking for a position based on its title or pay but is not consistent with what you can do or want? If you are looking for an upper management position, do you dress and groom like upper management? For instance I dress conservatively (suits) so my appearance would not be consistent with someone in fashion or a creative field.
Now let’s cover the specific places to add your branding message to your marketing materials.
IMPLEMENTING YOUR PBS AND TAG LINE IN MARKETING MATERIALS
RESUME
Tagline:
If you developed and want to use your tagline on your resume, it should go immediately under the header and is considered part of your header. If you have a horizontal line under your contact information, then the tagline can go under the graphic line.
Consider typing the tagline in italics and in title case (first letter of each primary word is capitalized). Decide if you want the tagline in color so it stands out when viewed or printed on a color printer. Realize however that if the recipient prints on a black and white printer it will show in a shade of gray so you may want to test printing it in black and white to see how it looks.
Personal Brand Statement (PBS):
You do not need to use both a tagline and personal brand statement on the resume. If you use both, do not use the exact same set of words. Example: my tagline is “The Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach”. If I use that on my resume and want to use my personal brand statement as well, I will want to use other words for “affordable” and “successful”.
If you use your personal brand statement in your resume it should go where you have a career summary. It can be used in place of your existing career summary or blended in.
Accomplishments:
Be sure to list your accomplishments in the section “above the fold” and under the job history that support your brand. If you don’t, your brand will ring hollow.
COVER LETTER
If you added your tagline to your resume header, you should add it to the header on your cover letter. You should always use the same on all of the job search documents you create.
Using the T cover letter format, you should be sure the qualifications you list support your brand. For more about the T Cover Letter go to:
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/04/most-powerful-cover-letter.html
BUSINESS CARD / CONTACT CARD
Side note: Every job seeker should have a business / contact card. In fact it has surprised me how many job seekers do not have or use one. My next article will be on the importance to job seekers of having a contact card.
It is essential that you add your tagline to your contact card. You may also want to add a few points from your Personal Brand Statement onto the card, maybe in bulleted format. Do not add the entire PBS to the card; it is too much text.
E-MAIL SIGNATURE BLOCK
If you use an e-mail system that has the feature to add a signature block to the e-mail (name, contact information), you want to preformat the signature to include your tagline.
If your e-mail system does not have that feature, open a Word document and develop a signature block yourself that you can use to copy and paste into your e-mails. That will also help make your correspondences more professional looking.
LINKEDIN & OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
In your LinkedIn profile, you can include your tagline in the free form field under your name. Your entire profile, including your photo, should support your brand as well. Be sure to request recommendations from people who can attest to your brand. Your photo should be consistent with your brand.
Hiring authorities will search on-line for your name to see what is out there about you. Before they do, you should do a search on your name to discover what’s out there about you. Take the time to clean up your Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and blogs from anything that could eliminate you as a candidate.
By doing an internet search on your name now you will know what is out there currently. What about new entries? There is a tool you can use to alert you to future mentions. Google Alert can be used to identify any mention of your name on-line that the search engine encounters. Note however, it will give you alerts for anyone and everyone with the same name. It is easy though to quickly review all alerts and delete the ones that are not relevant.
ELEVATOR PITCH
The basic elevator pitch includes your name, title, what you are looking for, and ends with a closing question in the form of a question. Your elevator pitch should also include your tagline whether you use the one you developed or a conversational version of it.
NETWORKING GUIDE
The networking guide is the one page document you should give to people in your network so they have something specific and actionable to do to help you in your job search. Just like with your resume and cover letter, the networking guide should include your tagline or brand statement.
INTERVIEW
When I worked in Information Technology (IT), I was known for taking over teams that were struggling and turning them around. I improved productivity and quality and increased customer satisfaction and employee engagement. That is what I want to communicate during an interview with an IT company.
During the interview, you want to be sure to communicate your brand, what you are known for, the value you bring, and how this company will benefit by hiring you.
Maintain your brand. Be sure other people know about you and the value you bring by participating in in-person networking and LinkedIn groups.
Develop new skills, increase self-awareness, expand your network, and evolve your brand as you evolve.
TO FIND OUT MORE
There are some fabulous books on the market about personal branding. They include but are not limited to the ones listed here. If you have recommendations about other books on personal branding, please e-mail me the titles and authors.
Me 2.0, Revised Edition by Dan Schawbel
Career Smart: Five Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand by Sherri Thomas
Managing Brand You by Jerry S. Wilson / Ira Blumenthal
Judi Adams is the Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach. In addition to her coaching practice, Ms. Adams is a keynote speaker and her blog of job search articles are read world-wide. Ms. Adams is about to publish her first book. Stay tuned for more about her upcoming, one of a kind, book about the job search.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Another Job Search Essential: Your Personal Brand - Part 2
The job market continues to change and so must your approach to finding a job. Personal Branding is the latest key to success for your job search. The market is very competitive and a Personal Brand will help you stand out from your competition.
In this three part series we will cover the what, where, why and how of personal branding.
What is personal branding?
Why should I implement branding in my job search?
How do I identify my brand?
Where do I use it?
In Part 1, we covered what is personal branding and why you should implement it in your job search. The link to that article is:
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-job-search-essential-your.html
Part 2: How do I Identify My Personal Brand?
Now that you understand how branding will set you apart from your competition in your job search, you need to know what that brand is.
You actually already have a brand. Hopefully before you updated your resume you inventoried your skills, abilities, accomplishments, values, interests, etc. If not, that is where you want to begin. Your brand is a combination of how you are unique, what you want to do, and how the company will benefit from this.
Ask these questions:
• What am I known for?
• What is my expertise or what am I an expert at handling?
• What do I do better than others and enjoy doing?
You can start identifying your brand by noticing the trend in the things you have done for other companies that you enjoyed doing and became known for.
Picture your boss holding a box that contains a problem or situation. The boss is looking at you and your peers and asking himself, “Who is the best person to take care of this problem or situation?” What is the problem or situation in that box where you are the best person to give “it” to?
The “it” should be something you enjoy doing and you should have at least three separate examples or STARs that support your claim at being good in this area.
Brainstorm
Start to write down ideas that come to you as you review the list of accomplishments you documented. Do not edit the words or ideas; just let them flow.
Once you have jotted your thoughts, verify that they can be supported by at least three separate accomplishments. If what you did was fabulous but you only did it once at one company, that is not your brand.
Then start to form your Personal Brand Statement which is 3-4 lines long. When I am working with clients on their brand statements, I make sure I have a blank MS Word document open so I can type in the various words and use the Thesaurus to see if there are better words that more concisely communicate the idea.
Once you have a tight PBS then find the most powerful concepts to create your brief your tag line (no more than around seven words).
Test It Out
Now try out your personal brand statement and tag line on someone else to be sure it “works”. Ask the other person if your PBS and tag are clear and clearly communicate your audience, your value to the audience, what you want to do, and how you are unique at it. Then share with them the three STARs you feel support the brand.
Next: Where to Implement Your Brand
Now you have two parts of your brand. In the next and last installment you will learn how to incorporate your brand in your entire job search.
*1 For more on STARs, go to
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2009/06/power-of-your-star-statements.html
By Judi Adams, the Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Ms. Adams is a keynote speaker and her blog of job search articles are read world-wide. Ms. Adams is about to publish her first book. Stay tuned for more about her upcoming, one of a kind, book about the job search.
In this three part series we will cover the what, where, why and how of personal branding.
What is personal branding?
Why should I implement branding in my job search?
How do I identify my brand?
Where do I use it?
In Part 1, we covered what is personal branding and why you should implement it in your job search. The link to that article is:
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2011/06/another-job-search-essential-your.html
Part 2: How do I Identify My Personal Brand?
Now that you understand how branding will set you apart from your competition in your job search, you need to know what that brand is.
You actually already have a brand. Hopefully before you updated your resume you inventoried your skills, abilities, accomplishments, values, interests, etc. If not, that is where you want to begin. Your brand is a combination of how you are unique, what you want to do, and how the company will benefit from this.
Ask these questions:
• What am I known for?
• What is my expertise or what am I an expert at handling?
• What do I do better than others and enjoy doing?
You can start identifying your brand by noticing the trend in the things you have done for other companies that you enjoyed doing and became known for.
Picture your boss holding a box that contains a problem or situation. The boss is looking at you and your peers and asking himself, “Who is the best person to take care of this problem or situation?” What is the problem or situation in that box where you are the best person to give “it” to?
The “it” should be something you enjoy doing and you should have at least three separate examples or STARs that support your claim at being good in this area.
Brainstorm
Start to write down ideas that come to you as you review the list of accomplishments you documented. Do not edit the words or ideas; just let them flow.
Once you have jotted your thoughts, verify that they can be supported by at least three separate accomplishments. If what you did was fabulous but you only did it once at one company, that is not your brand.
Then start to form your Personal Brand Statement which is 3-4 lines long. When I am working with clients on their brand statements, I make sure I have a blank MS Word document open so I can type in the various words and use the Thesaurus to see if there are better words that more concisely communicate the idea.
Once you have a tight PBS then find the most powerful concepts to create your brief your tag line (no more than around seven words).
Test It Out
Now try out your personal brand statement and tag line on someone else to be sure it “works”. Ask the other person if your PBS and tag are clear and clearly communicate your audience, your value to the audience, what you want to do, and how you are unique at it. Then share with them the three STARs you feel support the brand.
Next: Where to Implement Your Brand
Now you have two parts of your brand. In the next and last installment you will learn how to incorporate your brand in your entire job search.
*1 For more on STARs, go to
http://rightchangesjobsearchcoach.blogspot.com/2009/06/power-of-your-star-statements.html
By Judi Adams, the Affordable and Successful Job Search Coach. In addition to her coaching responsibilities, Ms. Adams is a keynote speaker and her blog of job search articles are read world-wide. Ms. Adams is about to publish her first book. Stay tuned for more about her upcoming, one of a kind, book about the job search.
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