Accelerate Your Search™ Now

• No reply
• Rejection
• Nagging from your family
• Talking about yourself
• Networking
• Worrying about what people think
• Worrying about never finding another job

These are among the most common replies I hear when I ask the question above.  What is your answer?   I do hope you will post it below.

Different people “hate” different things.  For example, if you are someone who hates talking about yourself, personal branding may feel like trying to sink a hole-in-one during every round of golf.

Branding is about communicating points of difference and what makes a product or service unique.  It is about creating a connection that helps the target audience feel an emotional or analytical response instantly.

Would you love to connect with future employers and other professionals instantly?

Would you enjoy having recruiters, hiring managers and others call you directly?

If you don’t like to chase down leads and would rather have recruiters call you -or- you are not clear on how to grab the attention of hiring managers, then embarking on the work required to unlock and leverage your personal brand may be for you.

Let me offer you fair warning — personal branding is not a quick fix.  It is not one-and-done.  It is not a cute logo, a new catchy tagline or a few quick updates to your resume.

Personal branding is also not for those who don’t want to do some work.  Real work.

Unlocking your personal brand allows you to create an amazing and sustainable career.  You have a brand, everyone does.  Putting it to work for you can change your life and your earnings potential.

Leveraging your personal brand is about awareness.  It is about understanding the value you offer.  It is also a discovery process that takes time to sort out exactly what to share (about your values, skills and experience) and how to best communicate those attributes.

Does your brand elicit cold and prickly or warm and fuzzy feelings?  Does your brand clearly demonstrate stability, professionalism and success?

When done right, personal branding opens doors and creates connections.  Leveraging your personal brand is not a fad, it is a professional competency.  As a leader ready for your next move, personal branding can be the key to accelerating your success and achieving your goals.

Do you have a question about personal branding?  Post it below or contact me.

The world around you runs on ideas, thoughts, judgements and conclusions.  Those you interact with help write your story.  Some will fill in the blanks with a “good” story, others with a “bad” story.   But, they are not the only ones influencing your story  — you are also are critical to the story told, to your reputation.

Ask people what they have too little of and odds are the response will be, “Time and money.”  Usually in that order.  With most of the world feeling the time crunch, people will naturally look for the fastest, shortest and easiest way to do things.  Can you relate?

People are built, at least in my view, to look for the shortest and quickest path possible to a decision or the solution to their issue.  Employers are people.  Employers, especially hiring managers, seek information from others to help solve their problems and get more done, in less time.

This is where your reputation [a.k.a., your personal brand] comes into play.  Your reputation includes what others think and feel when they interact with you -AND- what others are saying about you.  These things speak volumes and impact your success and the speed at which you land your next position.

As a kid, my mother would say, “Cindy, your reputation precedes you. Think about who you hang out with and what you do.”   I did not get it then.  I saw it as nagging and assumed she just didn’t like my group of friends.  However, she was right.

A reputation, whether great, good, neutral, poor or bad, is critical.  Your reputation alone can be the reason you receive an interview, or not.

Recently, I read a description of your reputation as a “shadowy twin.”  A twin that is everywhere and ensures you are in two places at once.  Be sure your “shadowy twin” is helping you rather than causing harm to your career.

You and your reputation are always evolving.  If you are currently seeking a promotion, are in career transition, or thinking of a career move, pause and look at your reputation.

Discover how to be your own best ambassador, both in person and online.  Understand how others view you.  Leverage that information to enhance your online profiles and all your professional and personal communication.

As people, including recruiters and hiring manager, seek to make quick decisions and draw conclusions about your value and whether or not to offer you an interview, make sure your reputation is working for you.  Don’t let your LinkedIn profile, resume or emails wound — or worse yet — assassinate your career. 

What time or energy have you invested in positively communicating you reputation?

How do others view you?

When was the last time you paused and really looked at how your unique values comes across to those who are making hiring decisions?

Do you have a question about communicating your reputation?  Post it below or contact me.

What is your fear?  Telling the truth?  Sharing your truth?  Or, perhaps, of being rejected?

Fear can stop you in your tracks.  Why?

First, it is not easy or comfortable to step into your truth.  Second, telling and sharing your truth and what makes you unique makes you vulnerable.  Third, some will reject you for your truth.

“When you are true to yourself, people will love the truth in you” – Stacey Martino

The above quote is from an amazing woman I am honored to know.  She has built a business that few would dare to.

Additionally, she is sunny, bubbly, warm, open and highly excitable.  Stacey can be loud and describes herself as “overly-loving.”  To be in her presence is like unlocking a door and walking into a room filled with pure joy and fun.

So what does this have to do with you securing your ideal job?  Absolutely everything!

Stacey Martino is a person who knows herself.  She discovered she wanted to be herself all the time and she stopped hiding her strengths and talents because of fear.    A few weeks ago, in her blog, Stacey shared she was afraid of, “getting crushed by people who wipe the floor with OPEN people like me.”

Stacey didn’t ask me, but if she did, I would absolutely tell her to include that she is a sunny, bubbly, warm, open and sometimes loud and highly excitable person in her résumé.  Would this screen her out of some jobs as a marriage counselor?  ABSOLUTELY!

Why?  Simple.  There are workplaces, that no matter her skills, education or experience, her unique style would not be appreciated and in the end it would not serve the organization or her.  The result?  You guessed it — rejection!

If any of these fears are holding you back, consider this:  when your resume is one of 200 (or more!) being considered for a single position, it is not only your skills and career history that are reviewed.  Résumés need to be sifted and sorted and the pool narrowed to the select few who will be granted an interview.  In the end, your “unique truth” plays a huge role in securing an interview, a second interview and an offer.  Each applicant brings a unique and different dimension to a potential position, in addition to their skills and experience.  Remember, hiring is a process and not a perfect science.

Believe it or not, hiring managers are looking to make the best decisions using the facts they have or can obtain.  Every organization and every hiring manager needs to narrow the field and the methods used to do this vary.  Some immerse themselves in the pile of résumés, others search LinkedIn profiles or request recommendations from key contacts — some do it all.

Although there are proven methods to improve your results, getting your resume to land atop the pile can be a frustrating process.  And, while everyone understands how maddening the process can be, few are willing to do what it takes to positively impact their results.

The truth about who you are, what you do and how you do it helps in this process.  So does the truth that you are loud and fun!

Yes, many résumés are filled with lies.  Many lies are easy to spot.  Such as when a résumé states “excellent writer” and then the résumé is filled with bad grammar and misspellings.   Many more résumés simply omit the truth.

Have you neglected to help the hiring manager say “Yes!” to you?

Have you omitted your unique value and your truth in your résumé?

Are you pursuing a search of limiting your rejection rate in lieu of a search to land the job you want?

If you are unsure how to add your unique value to your résumé or you need assistance landing the job you want, contact me.

Everyday you have opportunities to connect, build relationships and get your brand in front of decision-makers.  Businesses understand the value of this type of connection.  Think about it.  Everyday you receive coupons and offers via snail mail or company newsletters via email.  Why do they invest time and resources in staying in touch?  Simple.  They want you to think of them when you need their product or service.

For example:  If I need a plumber and the plumber I met at the Chamber of Commerce meeting last March mailed me a note, then a coupon, then another note and enclosed a refrigerator magnet with his logo, website and phone number, odds are good that the magnet is on my refrigerator or at least I will recall his name when I (or a friend) need a plumber.

Starting this year, find or create a system for staying in touch with your network and getting those people to be your brand ambassadors.

How do you get started?  Follow the steps below:

1. Create your list.

Who needs to know you?  Start small and focus on key influencers.  You are not building a mass marketing list.  Think of the people you really want to connect with during the first quarter of the year and those you will stay in touch with throughout the year.

2. Make your regular connection all about them.

Whether you craft a note, letter or email (I recommend giving snail mail a try), don’t go on and on about you.  Focus on what the person means to you, acknowledge them as a person and thank them for previous projects — you can even share an experience or fun memory you’ve had with them in the past.  If appropriate, you can mention what you are doing or ask to connect in person.  Don’t send your card, but do add your phone number under your signature or in other appropriate places.

3. Think about your system and how you plan to continue to connect.

A personalized plan is best.  Decide how often you will stay in touch.  Once per quarter is ideal — more often and you are less likely to actually follow-up (or your contacts may begin to wonder why you have so much time on your hands!).  Add holidays, business events and personal events like birthdays or work anniversaries to your systemized plan.

4. Have an impact and make a statement.

This method of connection also helps your network connect with the things that are important to you.  Do you run in charity events?  You could send a card that also supports that cause.  If you are a golfer, send a postcard from your favorite course.  Or design a card yourself using your own personal color of ink.  My plumber does not send coupons for his services, but rather for purchasing trees to help with reforestation and he sends recipes for his favorite cookies around the year-end holidays.  What have I now learned about my plumber?

5. Mix it up.

Don’t always do the same thing — be creative.  There are many tools to help you find creative ways to “reach out and touch” your network.

Connecting, nurturing and staying in touch with your network is a necessity.  Being known and trusted requires being present.  If you wish to leverage your network, you must invest in your network.  Personal marketing, building relationships and connecting helps others know you, which in turn, helps your career and your brand.  When others know who you are they are able to speak to your uniqueness and value.

Connecting with your network is not just a job search task, it is a career management must.  What is your plan for this year?  How will you really connect with your network?

In late January, I am hosting a 3-part workshop:  Identify, Leverage & Own Your Uniqueness.  The workshop is designed to help you quickly identify your strengths and see how others view those strengths, so that you can stand out in the eyes of hiring managers.

If this opportunity speaks to you, drop me an email.  I will send you the details and information on how to sign up for the workshop.

Have an amazing week!

“What simple things do you do every day that impact your life and income?”

“Please share the ones that absolutely help you enjoy life and work and improve your personal income.”

I recently asked the above questions to my clients and colleagues earning 6+ figures.  While not a scientific survey, I’ve compiled the top and most common tips to share with you.

Why do so?  To help you make 2014 a year of improved performance, higher earnings and, simply, more fun!  Perhaps you too can adopt a few of the things that these highly productive, and happy, people find helpful.

Here are the results:

1.  Maintain your health and care for yourself.  Eat right, rest and exercise.  Self-care, staying fit and maintaining your health adds to your wealth and well-being.    This is a top tip on almost every list!

2.  Know yourself and leverage your strengths.  Performance and earnings increase when you do what you do best.

   “Once I learned to stop focusing on and trying to fix weaknesses, my income jumped 26.5 %.  What an impact that had on me and my family.”  – DDA

3.  Look ahead and set goals.  Know where you want to be in a year, 5 years and 10 years from now.

4.  Maintain personal discipline and be organized.  The tips on this vary.  While there is no one way to do this, each person queried stated that having a set of rules or guidelines for achieving tasks and goals is important.  Whether lists, calendars or assistants, find your system and use it daily.

5.  Read and continue to learn.  Read books, newspapers and blogs.  Read to your kids or family.  Learn and stay current.  Many shared they re-read books that impacted them.  Odds are when you re-read a book, you will learn something new.

6.  Market yourself and stay connected.  One of my mentor says, “Not marketing yourself is selfish.”  Share your talents and passions with everyone who needs to know — you never know when you can be of service.

7.  Invest your time wisely.  Time is the great equalizer.  We all have the same amount of time each day.  Think about, plan and invest your time wisely.  Invest in yourself each day.  If you don’t invest in yourself and think you are worth investing in — why would others take a risk on you?

8.  Don’t fly by the seat of your pants.  It is fine to take risks and to be spontaneous, but know the impact of what you are doing and then decide what you want to do.  Don’t just allow things to happen.  Make a decision.

9.  Be personally responsible.  Whether the outcome is good or not so good, own what you do.  When you’ve made a mistake, own it, and figure out how to correct the action.

10.  Be who you are.  Be comfortable in your own skin.  Know who you are and show and share it with the world!

Enjoy these tips.  Adapt them to help you.  Unleash your uniqueness, your energy and earn what you deserve this year.

Do you have a great tip?  Post it below.

In late January, I am hosting a 3-part workshop:  Identify, Leverage & Own Your Uniqueness.  The workshop is designed to help you quickly identify your strengths and see how others view those strengths, so that you can stand out in the eyes of hiring managers.

If this opportunity speaks to you, drop me an email.  I will send you the details and information on how to sign up for the workshop.

Have an amazing week!

Unlocking and unleashing your uniqueness isn’t hard.  Yet, it certainly can feel that way.  Why is that?  I believe that our talents come so naturally to us that we fail to recognize them as unique, and, as such, we don’t focus on that uniqueness.

The systems in our schools and workplaces are not designed to encourage us to look for and leverage those things that make us unique.  Instead, the focus falls on our weaknesses or other areas of improvement.  When encouraged to only seek out and improve your weaknesses, you shift your focus and it is easy to overlook your strengths.

Life is very busy and our brains assist us by filtering all that information.  Research shows we create the filters in our brain through what we focus on.

You know the adage, “Seek and you will find,” right?  If you focus solely on your weaknesses, that is what you will see — all other information is filtered out.  It is hard to see what you are not looking for and you may very well overlook the “special sauce” that makes you unique and successful.

Here are three steps to help you unleash your uniqueness and accelerate your success:

1.  Identify your strengths, gifts and talents.  Begin by compiling a list.  Think about what you do well, what you like to do and what you are good at doing.  Next ask friends, co-workers, even your manager (or look back on old performance reviews) to define your strengths. Then take assessments like StrengthsFinder 2.0, MyNextMove, and 360Reach Personal Branding Survey.

2. Review your strengths list and for each item, ask yourself these questions:

• Does this make me compelling to the decision-makers in my life?
• Does this set me apart from others who do the work I do?
• Does this inspire me and why?
• How does this help me achieve my goals?

3.  Next, put a star by your top three strengths.  Create focus around those strengths.  Observe how these help you achieve your daily duties and bigger professional goals.  Select actions every day that highlight your strengths.  Keep a list of how your strengths help you achieve your goals, inspire you and enhance your performance.

In 30 days you will have unleashed your uniqueness!  I look forward to your sharing YOU with the world — post a comment below and share your unique strengths.

In January, I am hosting a 3-part workshop:  Identify, Leverage & Own Your Uniqueness.  The workshop is designed to help you quickly identify your strengths and see how others view those strengths, so that you can stand out in the eyes of hiring managers.

If this opportunity speaks to you, drop me an email.  I will send you the details and information on how to sign up for the workshop.

Have an amazing week!

This year is quickly coming to an end!  In this season of go and do, it absolutely takes focus to keep your career moving forward.  You need to find a way to keep your value visible among all the glitz and glitter of the lively fourth quarter.  With that said, it is a great time of year to leverage your personal brand.

Whether you are preparing your year-end progress report (a.k.a. your performance review), putting the final touches on your 2014 plans or seeking a new position, you want to be well-positioned to leverage and discuss your value.  Your personal brand and workplace contributions directly effect the salary you command.

Your personal brand is what sets you apart — and it is the fastest way to get noticed in a crowded field of solid performers.

Leveraging what makes you unique (your “special sauce” if you will) helps others quickly connect to you and better understand your value.  However, this does not just happen.  You need to engage the process.

Without leveraging your personal brand, you may not get the offer you desire.  Your skills and experience count, but what makes you different matters the most in any selection process.

Imagine you are searching for a Christmas tree at the local lot.  There are many trees to chose from and most look similar, are in the same price range and will serve the purpose.  To find the “right” tree, you narrow your selection by considering the qualities you most desire and then you look at only those trees.

Finally, you look for a unique feature — something only one tree possesses.  You end up selecting a tree because it fits your wants, needs and has something special — a signature strength, element or specific look.

The tree that goes home with you has become a resource to help you create exactly the holiday experience you desire!

Getting hired, securing a promotion or building your career is very similar to the tree selection process.  Those who best leverage what makes them unique are the ones selected for an interview and ultimately hired.

The tree you chose was selected not only because it was, in fact, a tree, but also for what made it different and unique.

Are you leveraging your uniqueness — that special part of your personal brand?  Yes?  Great, share what you are doing below.

In my next post I’ll share the steps to help you focus on your unique strengths.  You don’t want to miss it!

In January, I am hosting a 3-part workshop:  Identify, Leverage & Own Your Uniqueness.  The workshop is designed to help you quickly identify your strengths and see how others view those strengths, so that you can stand out in the eyes of hiring managers.

If this opportunity speaks to you, drop me an email.  I will send you the details and information on how to sign up for the workshop.

Have an amazing week!

A basic building block for effectively communicating your personal brand is color.

Color is key in creating visual connections to your personal brand.  It helps you stand out and reinforces your brand attributes.  According to a University of Loyola study, “Color increases brand recognition by up to 80 percent.”

Think about strong corporate brands.  They absolutely leverage color to help the marketplace recognize their brand.  For example, UPS, thought of as the world’s logistics company, uses what colors in their branding?   That’s right – brown and gold.  Brown and gold are everywhere — employee uniforms, delivery trucks and marketing campaigns.  

Color instantly creates a visual and emotional connection to the brand.

What color is best for you?  Select your brand color(s) carefully as they determine overall impact, help spread a clear, authentic message and make you more memorable.  This process of selecting your brand color is not about picking your favorite color.  It is about selecting color(s) that reinforce your brand attributes.

How are you using color as a component of your personal brand?  What personal characteristics and brand attributes are you reinforcing with your use of color?

Does the color you are using set you apart and authentically communicate your value and brand?  Have you developed a solid strategy for using color to support your personal brand identity system? 

Review all the components of your brand identity system and use your color selection consistently.  Color can be used in your résumé, email signature block, business card, personal stationery and all other career marketing materials.  Your brand color should permeate all you do, helping to set you apart and enhance how you are known and recognized. 

Share how you use color to be recognized or stand out.

It is mid-year — time to review where you are, update your résumé and plan your career strategy for 2014.

Does your résumé share YOU and what makes YOU unique?  What should change?  Ask the tough questions as you review, edit or craft your branded résumé.

Performing a mid-year check of all your personal marketing tools, including social media profiles (LinkedIn) and your elevator pitch, is important in maintaining an up-t0-date brand and career focus.

Here are three tips to guide you:

1. Use your words.   Your words are the best words to describe your work and what others experience when working with you.  Repeating the words in a job description will tell someone you can read, yet it won’t help you stand out or create a competitive advantage.  You will sound like every other candidate.
2. Tell about your experience in short stories.   Share your current experience.  Write down your accomplishments and results in the last six months. Draft your short specific stories and be sure to include how you work.  Your stories will help you communicate to your boss, the CEO or a hiring manager how you work, the results you achieve and will provide evidence that you can solve the problems the manager, team or business faces.  Remember, a hiring manager wants to know you can do the job, how you will do the job and what the results will be.
3. Express why you do the work you do.   What is it about this work that excites you?  What is it that drives you, interests you and makes you want to jump up each day and engage in the work? Are you the architect who loves to create beautiful buildings? Sharing why your work matters is important – what is the emotional connection for you?

It is time to stand out, share what makes YOU unique and leverage your powerful competitive edge.

Additionally, think about who needs an updated copy of your résumé.

Help others keep YOU top of mind and quickly recall what you have to offer your employer, your next employer and the world.

Do you fret about rejection as you prepare or send your résumé?

Are your thoughts so focused on rejection that your résumé is ambiguous, general and plain?

Hopefully, your fear is not driving you to send out a boring résumé.  If it is, it is time to revolutionize the way you think about your résumé. (Remember, not every employer or hiring manager is going to like you or your experience — and that is OK!)

At the end of a recent presentation, a woman approached me and shared how frustrated she was having to spend endless hours targeting her resume to the large list of job openings found on the internet.  She shared her disappointment that after 100’s of applications, she had received a handful of rejection emails and not one interview.

Her kind soul, bright smile and brief words led me to believe that she was an organizer of projects, people and things.  She was someone who knew how to keep customers happy and projects moving forward.  I knew this in just a 3 minute conversation.

With tears and a crack in her voice she asked if I would look at her résumé.  I did.   The skills and personality that I experienced in our brief meeting were totally absent from her résumé.

I inquired if my impression of her was correct.  She confirmed it was.  Then, I inquired why she had elected to omit her uniqueness from her résumé.

In a bolded voice she stated, “Rejection is awful.”  She pulled her résumé from my hand, saying, “I am old school and what you are asking about does not belong in my résumé.”

Standing out, sharing who you are and how you deliver value can feel uncomfortable.  Clearly, this was outside of the woman’s comfort zone.

I smiled – I do get it.

Many people like to play it safe.   Innovation can feel risky.

For years, I was afraid to stand out or to share how I am different and unique.  Why? I didn’t know how to communicate my unique value in a way that worked for me.

Therefore, I took the safe, blend in, be the same as others, approach.  It seemed far less risky than standing out and facing the ridicule I feared.

Here is what I discovered — there is far more acceptance of my unique value when I genuinely share who I am.  It doesn’t mean everyone likes me or that I don’t experience rejection, I do.   Not everyone likes me, wants to work with me or hire me.

Are you leaving YOU out of your résumé?  WHY?

Is it fear of rejection?  Fear of ridicule?  Not sure how to communicate your unique value in a manner that is comfortable for you?

Here is a activitiy to help you revolutionize your thinking:

• Write down all the possible rejection and ridicule you might experience in a week, a month, in a year.
• Beside each item, note how many times you experienced the specific rejection or ridicule.
• Describe the rejection or ridicule experience in detail, then note how likely the same experience is to occur again.

The discovery for me?  The odds that the response I feared would actually occur were minimal.

Here are additional questions for you:

What is the real risk of genuinely sharing what makes YOU unique in your résumé?

Will sharing your unique value really increase the number of times your résumé is rejected?

What are the potential benefits of taking the risk and sharing your unique value?