Social Media and Personal Branding

I came across two podcasts with slides, excellent content on creating an online presence to find your next career move and something discussed previously on this blog personal branding. 

I hope you find them useful

    

Click here for "socialising online could get you a job" www.short.ie/thuah6  

 

Click here for "Ten Steps to Personal Branding" www.short.ie/iz9vy9 

Talent Tank

Here is a novel approach to getting your next career move!

http://www.talenttank.ie/

re - Energising your job search or career move - Part 2 Networking

In the second part of this series of posts on re-energising your job search or career move, I want to look at the area networking. For some people the words networking can bring about an incredible compulsion to pull the duvet up and stay at home. This is not for a second in anyway irrational our fear of people or social situations (sociophobia) ranks second behind arachnophobia (fear of spiders), amazingly our fear of death ranks tenth!!! 

So why is networking such an important part of a new and energised approach to job search or changing careers? Research from career development company Harmonics has shown that an incredible 84% of positions are recruited through networks or speculative approaches, this is what they consider to be the proactive approach to job hunting. On the other hand the reactive approach includes the Internet, advertising and recruiters. One of the key learning's in our network has been the power of sharing contacts and leads with one and another, it has helped in interview preparation, job search, generating business ideas and even getting a venue for our meetings. 

I would like to share with you five things to help with getting started or improving your ability to meet new and valuable contacts - more importantly being proactive about your career move or job search. 

So when considering who you want to meet or who could best help you five things to keep in mind. 

1) Be courageous - as Mary Oliver asked in her poem "tell me what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" or as Delboy puts it "he who dares, wins" ( you have to flick your wrists as you say that one) If you need some courage to get started come along and join us on a Friday

2) Be Natural - you have to be yourself, there are few things in this world others will reciprocate without hesitation..... a smile is one of them

3) Be authentic - Seth Godin has a point of view on this one!!! http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/authenticity.html   

4) Be interested..... not trying to be interesting...............

5) LISTEN....... in order to LISTEN you must be SILENT

I have also included an excellent article from Miriam Ahearn, the network manager for Dublin City Enterprise Board's Link Network http://www.dceb.ie/networking/link!

BE PROACTIVE

re - Energising your career move or job search (Part 1)

This is the first of a series of four posts looking at ways to re - Energise your career move or job search. Today's environment creates a challenge to all job seekers, it is now an employers market, turn around times are incredibly slow and the competition for positions is fierce. Getting into the game requires new levels of thinking and a creative approach. In today's post I want to look at the area of self marketing. Self marketing is essentially getting your name out there and getting noticed, first things first you have get to work on the "self" piece and this boils down to confidence. Here are three things I believe you can do to help build your self confidence;

1) Self talk- do you notice how you talk to yourself from one end the day to next? (for the sceptics if you just said no! hmmm something to think about). Do you listen to what you are saying? In order to create the right frame of mind your self talk must be positive, "I have a lot to offer", "this is a great opportunity for me", you need to actively work hard to remove the negative words in your current vocabulary and create a positive story.

Tip: try taking some time each day and writing down your thoughts and then reflecting on them, this will give you a picture or your current story. 

There is an old saying "the quality of ones thinking determines the quality of ones life" 

2) Personal Brand - it is all about image, who you are and the statement you make to the world. It is very easy to slip into casual mode if you are not working and that's fine, however if you do have to go somewhere, say into town, dress for the occasion, wear something nice who knows who you may meet! I would also add if you do have some redundancy money, invest in a new suit (ladies and gents), shirts, blouse, shoes and accessories. They must look and feel expensive and be of the highest quality, this will not alone make you feel good, it will also make a statement about who you are. Now is a good time to invest, there are sales on everywhere and I might add it is not about spending riduculous money, it is however about quality! For the guys go see Gerry Magee in the Baumler shop on Dawson street and tell him I sent you. 

3) Breathing - yes breathing! that old process where we get some oxygen into the lungs. Believe it or not breathing is quite an under rated process, you may not think it is not all that important when it comes to building self confidence, however get it right and see how your performance may improve. Have you ever wondered why you sometimes get sweaty palms or butterflies in your stomach? ever wondered why that tingle appears in the back of your throat just as you are about to speak? Well, when we are faced with stressful situations are levels of adrenaline increase are internal functions begin to speed up, what is required during these stressful times is.... yes you guessed it OXYGEN!!! and lots of it. So how do you make sure you are getting enough oxygen? Follow this simple exercise http://cas.umkc.edu/casww/brethexr.htm

Now the marketing piece, in advance of discussing networking, job search and interviews there are a couple of things you need to do to get the marketing piece right. This will require some quality relfection time, a pen/pencil and some blank pages. You will need to create a number of lists; Your skills, your values, your achievements, your competencies, your value added proposition, your strengths, your weaknesses, your beliefs, your plans, your goals, your mission in life, your purpose, what you have to offer the world or an employer. Ask a lot of questions and right down everything that comes into your head.

When you have this completed, put it aside and go out and do something exciting, when you come back add to it. When you have a final version you can then begin to create your marketing material. 

Your CV - 1000 words, two pages, lots of white space, simple, clear and concise. Always asking yourself "so what"

Your 2 minute networking speech - who you are, what you do, who you would like to talk too, what you have to offer

Your 30 sec elevator speech - who you are, what you do, how big an asset you are to someones business

Your linked in profile - similar to CV

Remember in today's environment opportunities are presenting themselves in the most unlikely ways, you must be prepared for all eventualities, meeting someone in a coffee shop, in a pub or on the street. Think of it like this, if you meet someone on Grafton Street you have not seen in a few years, guaranteed the question "so what are you up to?" will come up. Instead of saying "I was made redundant last month" what about "Up until a couple of weeks ago I was working in a really exciting area of IT, what I am doing now is looking for opportunities in cloud computing, it's the next big think, what about you? You never know their Dad's, sister in law's, brother could own a company and is looking for someone.......

Next time Networking - if you are not on linked in go there now http://www.linkedin.com/in/aarondownes30

If the weather is good!!!

If you have time on your hands and you are interested in some golf. 3 mobile are offering free tickets

http://www.3irishopen.ie/blog/2009/05/01/register/ 

The leap of faith

I have written in the past about the opportunities losing your job can present, for me it was the realisation that starting a business for myself was what I always wanted to do. I have to say the feeling of empowerment and the level of responsibility can be exhilarating. I just have to keep it up. Reading blogs and getting out to meet really interesting people is certainly one way of keeping up the momentum. Here is an excerpt from Guy Kawasaki's blog "How to change the world" blog.guykawasaki.com 

How to Quit Your Job and Start a Company

Over at the American Express Open Forum I just posted thisinterviewwith Pamela Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation. In this interview she explains how to quit your job and start a company to change the world. It’s a must-read for anyone thinking of taking the leap.

Read more: "How to Change the World: How to Quit Your Job and Start a Company" -http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/05/how-to-quit-your-job-and-start-a-company.html#ixzz0FIfURsF4&A

A Day of change - A life of happiness

A Day of Change - A Life of Happiness on LinkedIn Events and thought you might be interested in going! http://events.linkedin.com/Day-Change-Life-Happiness/pub/63771

A Day of Change - A Life of Happiness

Sat, May 16 D4 Ballsbridge Court Hotel (formally Berkley Court), Dublin 4, 

Keywords: positive thing, goals, belief systems, excelling in challenging times, values, self improvement, happiness, success, motivation, money

 

A Day of Change A Life of Happines Date: May 16th 2009 Time: 10am – 5pm Price - €150 (All bookings confirmed by May 8th will be charged at a discounted rate of just €99) About the course: May 16th will be a day that will enable you to free yourself of any unwanted obstacles in your life a... http://events.linkedin.com/Day-Change-Life-Happiness/pub/63771

Workwise - Free Conference 28th & 29th May 2009

Workwise is a free conference that has been organised by the training company Evolve in association with the National College of Ireland (NCI). It is designed to help people who have recently been made redundant or lost their jobs to re-enter the workforce. The conference will take place in the NCI on Thursday and Friday 28^th and 29^th May.

 

Topics

Day 1

Stress Management - Handling the stress of unemployment. Tips on keeping mentally and physically strong in your changed circumstances

Career Detection – What is your perfect role? This workshop is designed to help participants identify their transferable skills and help them get jobs. You will be shown how to find a career and job that suits you.

Personality Profiler - Psychometrics will help us understand ourselves better and assist us in communicating effectively while seeking employment

 

Day 2

Interview-wise - How to succeed at Job Interviews? Top tips on applying for jobs, writing letters and CV’s and preparing for interviews. This workshop will also focus on participants developing excellent interview techniques.

What Employers Want? – This session gives participants an opportunity to ask top recruiters what they look for when recruiting. Top interview mistakes that people should avoid.

Opportunity in Disguise – Motivational speaker who will outline how with mental strength and a strong resolve you maybe able to turn your current challenging circumstances into an opportunity for a new start

 

Speakers:

Brian McIvor

The conference will be led by top author and trainer Brian McIvor. Brian was a staff member of the International Career and Life Change Workshop run by the legendary Dick Bolles, author of the best selling career planning book What Colour is your Parachute? He will help participants identify new career directions and identify their transferable skills in a session entitled Career Detection: How to find your New Career. He will also run the seminar Interview-wise: How to succeed at Job Interviews.

 

John Ryan

John Ryan, one of Ireland’s top trainers in the area of personal impact, will be MC for the conference. He will also show participants how to communicate with more success and get their message across. John is also a county councillor in Wicklow and has experience first hand of the pain experienced by constituents who have lost their jobs and don’t know where to turn.  

 

Ray McKiernan

Ray McKiernan, a stress specialist, will help to equip participants with techniques to handle the stresses that will affect someone who has suddenly lost their job. The People Group, one of Ireland’s premier recruitment companies, will tell participants what employers will be looking for from candidates and how some candidates make themselves more employable.

 

Brody Sweeney

Brody Sweeney, owner of O’Brien’s Sandwich Bars, will talk about his personal experience highlighting that you may have to take a different direction in you life to succeed.

 

Dr. Paul Mooney

The National College of Ireland are providing their facilities for the conference free of charge for the two days. Dr. Paul Mooney, President of NCI says unemployment is the single biggest issue facing the Irish Economy and has hugely negative consequences particularly at a personal level for the people affected.

 

The Sales Institute of Ireland have also come on board to support this initiative and Director John McCormack says he is happy to assist people defining their own personal value proposition and key differentiators so they can rejoin the workforce as soon as possible.

 

The event is open to people who have lost their jobs in the last 12 months.  If you know anyone that has recently become unemployed, please pass this email on.  Organisers are expecting high demand for places. They will select 300 people by lottery from those that register to take part at www.evolve.ie before Friday 15^th May 2009.

 

For More Information contact John Ryan, Evolve, on 087 2585738

To book a place click on the link www.evolve.ie

Adversity Protocol (Robin Sharma LWT)

I spent today with Robin Sharma http://www.robinsharma.com/ (along with 200 others). Robin if you do not know is a leadership expert, he travels the world teaching people how to lead without title. Today was a truly inspiring day and thank you to all the really great people that I met.

I wanted to share with you a tool Robin presented today. I feel this can have tool an immense impact on anyone facing the challenge of redundancy and unemployment. Robin calls it the "Adversity Protocol". In introducing the concept today, Robin talked about the challenges we all face and he made what I believe to be a truly profound remark "but for problems you would not get to own more of your resources"!!!!

The adversity protocol is a tool to reframe your problems and challenges into opportunities, this process of reframing is built on having a set of really good questions. I have discussed really good questions in previous posts and how much of an impact they can have on how we approach problems and challenges.

The adversity protocol questions go something like this;
1) Has anyone died here?
2) What's the opportunity here?
3) How could this be worse?
4) What am I grateful for?
5) How can I make this fun?

Depending on the circumstances they might seem like challenging questions. Is it not a good thing to challenge our thinking in difficult times?

One last point from Robin during this exercise which has stayed with me was his comment "gratitude cannot live in the same room as worry"!!!!!

Maybe try question 4 and see where you go from there.

Back in business

I have had a short absence, my new laptop arrived today! Back in business!!!

May Day

Today is May 1st, also known as Labour day or the International day of Workers. However, I thought it would be a nice idea to list some lesser known facts about May 1st, which is a feast day in many cultures around the world for reasons that have nothing to do with work! So, if you are unfortunately out of work, don't let the whole Labour Day fuss get you down. Depending on what you want to believe, there are plenty of other reasons to celebrate today.

In Ireland, the first of May is also the pagan feast of Bealtaine, celebrating the arrival of summer (those pagan guys must be laughing now, considering we ruined everything with global warming). In the UK, you may participate in such activities as Morris Dancing, crowning a May Queen or celebrations involving a May Pole. In France, loved ones traditionally exchanged lily of the valley flowers on this day, a tradition dating back to 1561. German males from the Rhineland deliver trees wrapped in streamers to the house of a girl they are interested in. In Hawaii, May Day is celebrated as Lei Day, a celebration of island life.

So go on attach some bells to your socks and enjoy a good dance around the sitting room!!!