Off the Clock

Don’t confuse branding with “packaging”. If you’re a tofu burger packaged as an all-beef burger, it’s just not going to work. Packaging preps us for what’s inside. Packaging helps us to quickly sort through options.

The main mistake I see careerists make with branding is they focus too much on the packaging, and not enough time on discerning what’s IN the package. If there is consistency between the two, your brand is much more authentic and credible.

Starting with a thorough self-analysis is great. Ask yourself what you’re good at. The words people use to describe you as a professional. What sorts of problems you solve well. Self-assessment is a huge piece to the branding process.

But don’t stop there. You must, must, must get outside input. Gasp. Yes, I am suggesting that you ask others for their input. You need to know how others perceive you. Gasp. Trust me, the process is way more illuminating than you might think. You’re normal if you’re both a little anxious and excited. Most people crave this type of candid insight about themselves. I’ve done a lot of research on this topic, and the best tool out there is the Reach Personal Branding assessment. (Full disclosure: I am a certified brand strategist with Reach. For what it’s worth – I’ve invested my own money and time in it; it’s that useful.) You can get a limited account at no charge. But if you’re spending the time and effort, get the upgrade to a full account. It’s well worth the charge. I offer a discount on the upgrade for clients.

Manifesto poster

If you don’t like your job, quit. Yes, it really is that simple.

I did a workshop a few weeks ago about job interviewing. And when I talked about the importance of making sure that your interview is consistent with your personal brand, I had several blank looks from workshop participants.

What can I tell you about branding that you don’t already know? From a career coach perspective, I think it’s this — it is what’s most unique about you. I’m going to blog about this topic for a few weeks, so you can better understand “You, The Brand” and how to decipher and recognize your own personal brand.

Here’s your homework: Identify one or two strong brands that really resonate with you. For example, New Seasons (Portland’s local grocery store), Burgerville, Nike or Nordstrom. Jot down at least five attributes that you associate with each. For example, for New Seasons I’d select: Local, community involvement, organic/sustainable, quality and quirky. Now write down the brand attributes you associate with the brands you’ve selected.

Additional homework for the uber-students — a great article to read:

I have this conversation at least a few times a week. Sometimes is a frustrated professional who relocated to Portland a year ago, and finds herself under-employed and has grown uneasy about her resume. Or its someone who’s wanting to relocate to Portland but is mystified about how to approach a long distance job search effectively. Or it’s a mom who’s returning to the workplace who doesn’t have a local professional network in place.

Here’s how the conversation goes:

Client: “I’m having a really hard time with my job search.”

Me: “What are you doing?”

Client: “I’ve been looking for work for a while. I go to networking meetings, but when I make a connection and follow-up, I never hear back from them. I’m applying to jobs that I find online, but I never hear back about those either. And, when I tell people that I meet that I’m looking for a job, they don’t seem to know how to help. It’s never been this hard, and I’m not sure if I’m even looking in the right places.”

Me: “How connected to the Portland community are you?”

Client: “What do you mean? How big is my professional network in Portland?”

Me: “Not really. I mean, how connected are you? Did you go to school here? Do you have family here? Do you do volunteer work? What do you do for fun?”

Client: “I’m looking for a job, not a date.”

Me: “Right, and Portland is a very small town. Portland is a “its-not-what-you-know-but-who-you-know” place, unlike any other city that I know of. Sure, networking is important in any job search in any city, but even more so in Portland. We’re a city with high unemployment, a very desirable lifestyle, and very few large companies. People move here, and they don’t want to leave. They come to school here, and they don’t want to leave. But professionals don’t network here like they do in other cities — instead of networking after work, Oregonians are more likely to go hike or head out for a beer with friends. That’s one of the main reasons the job search can be so frustrating here.”

Client: “So what can I do?”

Me: “Re-focus your job search. Relax a bit.”

OK, I share more specific strategies with them other than advising them to relax. Really. But it depends on his or her individual situation/circumstance. I wish I had a one-size-fits-all answer– but those approaches just don’t work. You’re unique. You’re special (not that kind of special). Don’t sell yourself short by thinking that a one-size-fits-all approach will work for you.

On the fence about attending the interviewing workshop I’m doing with nonverbal communications expert Sari de la Motte on May 18th in Portland?

Read this article from the highly regarded news source, The Onion

And then register for our workshop, Beyond the Firm Handshake

Early on in my career, I wasn’t as professionally generous as I could have been. I often didn’t share job leads or open up my network to others. Why? A few of the reasons that come to mind are: Too busy. Not sure how to best help. Hesitant to bother my contacts. Not wanting to be a pest/nuisance. Not understanding how I could make connections. Not appreciating the value and impact of a simple professional introduction.

I hope I’m making up for it now, but if I could change the past, I would have actively looked for ways to connect others. I would have asked more questions of my friends, acquaintances and colleagues to better understand their expertise and interests. I would have stayed in touch more. I wouldn’t have been as private or guarded. And I wouldn’t have worried about whether it was right or if I was doing it right. I would have just done it.

Now I help connect people for a living, and I see, almost daily, how being stingy is just bad karma. Be generous. Share. Take a personal interest. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.

So a writer for a new website (personal finance) called to interview me on common resume mistakes for a column called “HR Confidential”. It is REALLY hard to be original with resume material/tips. Trust me. So here’s what you really need to know — if it isn’t relevant, don’t include it. Not sure if it’s relevant? Don’t include it.

Last week, someone called me to see if I would endorse their career book. After reading some excerpts, I had to decline. There was nothing in the book that felt new, different or particularly insightful.

But here’s a book I like, if you’re looking for a green job. I highly recommend it.
Its focus is on the Portland market, but MUCH of the content could be creatively applied to other markets/areas.

What car was that?  Oh yes,  Oldsmobile.   Totally dating myself here.  Personally, I don’t remember this commercial, but check out all the wonderful stock footage used (I digress… my experience working for a stock photography agency forever changed the way means I look at ads, magazines, books, etc.) –  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qcsUWMaQAE.

So what’s my point? Friends, 2011 promises not to be your father’s job market either. 

Career stability or even predictability is a thing of the past.  Change is hard, I know.  But the personal benefits we gain outweigh the bad.  Trust me — professional development, more meaningful work, greater autonomy and more control over your work/life balance are great potential outcomes.

I love to research innovators — check out some of the most innovative companies.  Notice that many of them are small, niche organizations that have evolved out of some other industry or area.  So many parallels to today’s career paths.

http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010/industry/list

I’m writing about resumes soon, I promise.