The CIO Coach

The Connected CIO

As you probably aware, many CIOs and other Senior Technology executives, are known for, well, not being 'known'.

Viewed as the executive somewhere at HQ running the company's technology, few within their own companies can even name them. And certainly few outside the company can either.

Why is this? And does it matter?

The answer to the first question is rather complicated. For many years technology executives were quite happy being 'unknown'. Focused on the task of keeping IT running, they were quite content to 'get to it' with a 'don't disturb me while I'm solving technical problems' attitude toward the business, shying away from meeting with internal or external customers. Viewed as techies who couldn't speak the language of business, and often introverts by nature, they were noticeably unsociable at executive gatherings and found themselves excluded from the C-Suite conference table and the executive golf course.

A case in point: a large corporation called me once and explained a problem that I know is not unique to their company. Each year, their CIOs and Senior Technology executives would gather from around the globe at the company's annual executive meeting, and would huddle in one corner of the ballroom. Unlike their business peers, they would not mingle with the other executives outside of IT. Why was that? Generally a lack of comfort speaking about the business with their peers and a greater interest in talking technology amongst themselves. For several reasons they needed to become more outwardly-focused and network with other business executives.

Much has changed in the past few years, of course, as CIOs in increasing numbers have stepped into the C-Suite with more of a strategic view of the business, many with business as well as technical degrees, and with a stronger ability to communicate with their business peers on the needs of the business.

For the most part, that is. Not every CIO is there yet. In fact, while writing this piece, I noticed an article from CIO.com entitled "CIOs Disconnected from the Business." It underscores how widespread the problem still is. It also confirmed what I've been seeing in my practice for quite a while. I do, however, have an additional take on 'connection' in this post today, which I will explain in a moment.

Now, to the question of "Does it matter?" The answer to this is simple: "Yes, it does." And this is why:

If you are an internally-disconnected CIO and are not known much within your company, it affects not only how you are viewed by your peers, CEO, and others, but it results in a lack of personal corporate influence - your ability to get things done. This, in turn, affects achievement and your career path inside the company. In addition, your reputation colors how you are viewed by your outside network, executive recruiters, and hiring authorities at other companies - those that have future opportunities you may want.

You KNOW that you are negatively acknowledged when technology breaks down, but are you positively acknowledged when your organization's achievements cause the company to be able to expand, bring a product to market sooner, delight a major customer, etc.? What are you doing to be well-networked inside your own company and spread your influence across the lines of business? (On an important side-note, if you have some wonderful achievements, are they powerfully documented, complete with strong metrics to prove their corporate worth, in your resume and value-proposition portfolio?)

Let's say you ARE well known within your own company and well connected within its walls? Are you well-known for what you WANT to be known for? Have you defined yourself, or allowed someone-else or something-else, to define you? If your answer to these questions is positive, and you are well-known and well-connected across your own company, you have clearly defined your personal brand, and you are happy with the results internally, well done, I congratulate you! Permit me to ask you this next question:

How well are you known OUTSIDE of your company? And what are you known for outside of your company? Can you answer this with a resounding "extremely well-connected and consistently engaged with my external network!" and "I am known overwhelmingly for my unique executive brand!"? If yes, hurrah! You are amongst a tiny percentage of CIOs who are! If you answer in the negative, i.e. you are not well-connected and known, nor consistently engaged with your external network, you have some work to do.

Why does it matter?

If you are a externally-disconnected CIO, you will find this to be a dismal strategy for your career. You cannot wait until you are suddenly looking for a new position to 'become connected' to your network. You'll be playing catch-up that will certainly put you behind the curve in job search. "I'm fine, I have 500 connections on Linkedin!" I hear you say. Remember you need to be consistently engaged with your network also. It's all about connection AND engagement. Those that are connected AND engaged are those that become 'top-of-mind' to their network when new opportunities arise.

You may wonder why I would write this when I haven't been posting to this blog for a while. I had an exceptionally unusual year in 2011 (a story for another time and place), resulting in not being able to blog as I would have liked to, however, I did connect and engage with my network through other avenues. Believe me, if you want the best opportunities to come your way, you must be connected and engaged with your network - inside and outside of your company. And now is the time!

If you'd like to gain the inside track on how best to be connected and engaged for your career, and how to craft your executive brand for the best results, contact me via CIO-Coach.com. It would be my pleasure to assist you.

So off you go...be a connected CIO!

P.S. - While you're at it, connect with me and your peers on:

The CIO Coach on Facebook

The CIO Coach on Twitter

See you there!

 

Social Media and the CIO

It may be a surprise to many that CIOs and CTOs have not been beating down the doors to adopt social media for their own use.

 

Some are even hesitant to adopt social media for use for their companies. Some of their hesitation is understandable. And some is not. To be fair, many of their counterparts in the C-Suite haven't been overly excited about joining in the fray either. 

 

But that is changing - slowly.

 

On the individual side, this time last year, you could almost count the number of CIOs actively using Twitter on your two hands. That's changed immensely in the past year, but still, we can't say the majority of CIOs have been early adopters here - although traditionally they ARE early adopters of technology - one reason they are in the field.

 

Let's look at some of the reasons, or excuses, I hear from CIOs for not utilizing social media:

 

"I'm way too busy for that."

"I don't care what people are having for lunch..."

"The Twitter GUI is the worst I've ever seen."

"I only use FB to keep up with family and friends. I don't want to mix up business with my private affairs."

"Privacy issues make me hesitant to get involved."

"LinkedIn is one big advertisement that I'm 'looking' - and I don't want to portray that image."

"The C-Suite doesn't blog or use social media."

 

I understand where you are coming from. I was there re: Twitter and Facebook - until a year or so ago. Although I'm not a techie (as some people mistakenly think), I've have ALWAYS been an early adopter of technology. Twitter and Facebook, however, those were another story for me...

 

I tiptoed in. Like many of my CIO clients, I just wasn't interested in what people had for lunch that day. Twitter just didn't appeal for that reason.

 

And Facebook - I didn't have time or inclination to get involved in 'friending' everyone, telling them all about my personal life and posting pictures to the world. Besides privacy issues were, and still are, rampant, and I have too many IT security experts as clients who warned me about those issues (the majority of which are true, of course.)

 

But mostly, it was a time issue. As if my life wasn't busy enough. I didn't even have the time to even find out if it was even worth the investment of time!

 

Then one day last year, I made the time to look into it. And all I can say is, I wished I had joined in sooner. And here's why:

 

Social Media is richer with content and conversation now:

• It's no longer a place alone for pajama-clad bloggers to spout off vitriolic political messages from their basement computer. They still do, of course, but the field is now much broader, richer, and fuller with more professional people sharing more intelligent content. I've learned so much from so many people in a short period of time. Smart and helpful conversations are going on you might want to be a part of.

Social Media doesn't have to be time-consuming:

• If time is an issue for you, as it is for so many of us, you can choose to use your time wisely in social media, just as you would anything else you decide to spend your time on. You can put a structure in place so that your time is well-used, not over-used, in social media.

User Interfaces for Twitter are more user-friendly now:   

• There are so many Interface options now, you don't have to use Twitter's GUI if you don't care to, you can use TweetDeck or Hootsuite, or other GUI for user-friendly dashboard approaches.

Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs are being used by companies, professionals AND executives:

• With the introduction of Fan Pages (or Business Pages), you can follow, and converse with, companies, executives and professionals of interest. It's not all about Aunt Suzy anymore. (Although, of course, you can still talk to Aunt Suzy on FB). And, of course, for your company or business you can set up your own business pages and talk directly - and often - with your prospects and clients.

• Twitter and Blogs are used as much as business platforms as personal platforms. They are also ideal for career, job search and executive influence. I'll talk about this more in my next post.

Privacy issues are being addressed, finally, by Facebook:

• You don't have to worry about being 'friended' by a business - most won't - and you can keep your private life separate from your professional life, especially if you've got the right privacy settings set (and if FB keeps the privacy holes closed, of course, but that's another post.)
• If you do have various types of people that you have friended, say colleagues, family and friends, you have the option to group them and keep messages relatively separate, if you want to.

LinkedIn has many more options than simply being a recruiting tool:

• With so many additions to LinkedIn's capabilities over the past couple of years, LinkedIn has become just as much as a solid networking, learning and enrichment tool, as it is a recruitment tool. Just because you have a solid profile on LinkedIn does NOT mean you are looking for a job, in fact there are no doubt many more passive candidates -those not looking - than active candidates in LinkedIn. Besides your boss is probably on there by now, so if you do not have a solid profile in LinkedIn yet, you should consider it strongly.

The bottom-line? Know that if you're not even tip-toeing in to see what social media is all about firsthand, you will find yourself way behind the curve ball - and that's not where you want to be.

Now...if you are a CIO, CTO, or other Senior Technology Executive, I invite you join your colleagues and me on Facebook at: The CIO Coach and on Twitter at: CIO_Coach - go on, join us today!

In my next post, I will address the benefits of using social media for your career and executive brand.

Can You Sum Up Your 2010 Vision in 3 Words?

Are you finding it hard to stay focused on all those goals you set at the beginning of the year?

If you've identified how you'd like this year to look (your vision) and how you can get there and make it happen (your goals and tasks) but you are finding it difficult to stay focused on them with everything else you have going on, here's a quick tip:

Try summing up your 2010 vision in just 3 words. It's powerful and much more enduring.

Let's say in 2010 the vision you have for your career is "To be among those executives that have a strong network."

Now, choose 3 words to capture this vision. Perhaps: "Year Of Connection." That's all. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet it can be so powerful because you can REMEMBER 3 words! And that's half of the battle.

If you want to make it even more memorable, use alliteration, like "Create Career Connections." 

For the rest of the year, simply keep your chosen 3 words in front of you at work and/or in your home office and you will be constantly reminded to choose activities that support this goal.

It's a great decision-making tool too. When choosing to spend your time one way or another - say take 10 minutes to recommend a work associate on Linkedin or browse the 'net for interesting sites - if you glance at your 3 words, you'll more likely choose the first activity, and therefore get closer to attaining your goal.

So, what are your 3 words?

2010 Success: Vision!

STOP! Before you set your plans in stone for this new year. There's something you ought to consider...

We are starting a new year and a new decade. So much potential. A time for new hopes, dreams, plans, resolutions. We start out with them, but as we all know, so often they fade after we fail a few times to make them reality - or in the busyness of our everyday lives, they can fade into our memory faster than you can say...February.

What gives a plan staying power? Of all the characteristics of a good plan, the most important is vision.

Can you have a plan without a vision? Well, yes, you can actually, but those kind of plans so easily fizzle out if there's no vision behind them. In fact, before you put a strategy in place, you need a vision, and after strategy comes the actual business plan.

So why do we start off with a plan for the year when we haven't a clear vision of where we'd like to go? We've probably all done it at one time or another...a tactical plan for the year, but without taking the time to reflect on our overall vision. You may even have a strategy, but do you really have a vision? You may get somewhere, but is it really where you want to be? (Reminds me of the saying: "Not sure where we're going, but we're making good time!")

If you have a vision, especially when fired by passion, then the strategy and planning stages can follow and more easily kept on track - or adjusted as the year progresses -to fit the vision. It just doesn't work so well when it's the other way around, i.e. building a plan, then adopting a vision somewhere along the way, or not.

The key is not to begin with minutiae, but with the bigger picture. Step back and view your life from the 30,000 ft level. What do you see? What do you like about what you see? What do you not like? What would you like to see?

Then remaining in big picture mode, consider the important areas of your life: your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being; your passions, hopes, dreams and aspirations, your values, your family; your finances, your work and business; and your contribution to others in this world. Ask yourself similar questions for each area.

Know first what is most important to you. Remind yourself of why you are working, and what you are working for. Remind yourself of the milestones you've already past. What did you like about last year? What did you do right? What would you like to do more of? Less of?

And most importantly, where do you want to go from here? What kind of person do you want to be? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

Don't just muddle forward into a new year without a vision and without direction. Take time to grasp a vision. Then once you have it, let it be your guiding compass throughout the year and build your strategy and plan around it.

KNOW what you really want, see it, feel it, touch it and let your thoughts reflect on it. Does it fire you up? If not, step back and try again. Let your vision be propelled by your passion -and then begin the process of strategy and planning. Your plan will be more sustainable and you'll be much more fulfilled and successful this year!

Twitter for the Timorous (or Networking for the Introvert)

I was interviewed recently for an upcoming book, The Twitter Job Search Guide (JIST, 2010). When asked about some tips for jobseekers who may lean more toward the introversion side of the scale, I offered these ideas:

Since at least 60% of my clients are introverts, and many of them find networking a challenge (even at their executive level), I recommend using Twitter as a tool to ease the building of a network, especially when combined with a Linkedin strategy.

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS (SMEs): Many introverts are Subject Matter Experts, especially in the technology arena, and if they are, they can highlight their expertise through Twitter, and find and garner followers around that expertise. I recommend that they choose a handle that accentuates their expertise - e.g.: @TechPrivacy and @ITInnovate - because others are more likely to ‘follow’ others based on topics of interest.

This is a terrific way for introverts to build a network, get on the radar screen of recruiters and companies who seek their type of expertise, and find opportunities.

THINKERS: Many introverts like to think first, act later, and social media like Twitter allows them to do just that - they can read a message, think on it, then reply, rather than being required to have a verbal reply on the spot, if they were face-to-face. Many are more comfortable with this avenue of conversation.

SHORT CONVERSATIONS: Another aspect of this is that introverts can begin conversations in small bits and bytes - of 140 characters, to be precise. Not too long a conversation, which again, many introverts prefer.

LISTENERS: Introverts are normally good listeners. Twitter allows them to listen intently to the views, comments and questions of others, look and listen for clues on industry, company, products and service challenges. This observing trait may enable them to find opportunities that others might miss.

So, if you are an introvert and networking is a challenge for you, consider Twitter as part of your strategy for building your network. Having a robust network is essential for career success today.

Not on Twitter yet? It's one of the best tools you can use in the job search. Contact me for strategies and assistance. Follow me on Twitter: @cio_coach

And, watch for the book, The Twitter Job Search Guide by Deb Dib (@CEOCoach) Chandlee Bryan (@chandlee) and Susan Whitcomb (@SusanWhitcomb) to be released March 2010!

Benefit-Bringers, not Skill-Slingers

Really, how many times have you heard something like this:

"Boss, I've had 5 years' experience in IT Security Incident Response systems, and a CISSP certification, I should be considered for Manager of this department."

That's a Skill-Slinger.

And that approach, so commonly used, is not enough to justify a promotion, or attract a new opportunity.

What if another candidate for the same management position said:

"Boss, I've an innovative idea that would transform our IT Security department from a defensive response-type department to a group that proactively enables organizational agility. Let me explain how..."

Wow. That's a Benefit-Bringer.

Who do you think would be most likely to be in line for promotion?

You've got it. Of course. The Benefit-Bringer.

Whether you are a professional desiring a promotion, or an executive seeking a new job, or even in business for yourself, remember it's benefits (value brought to others) more than skills or features about you that get the attention of those that hire or promote you.

Consider there's a good chance you are competing with others that have similar skills or experience; those things, although important, are not enough to differentiate you from the crowd.

It's what you do, the way you do it, for whom you do it, and the results that you bring that make the difference. 

Companies are looking for Benefit-Bringers, not Skill-Slingers.

So the question of the day: "What benefit do you bring to a company or group of people?"

And the second question: "Is there a theme or pattern in the type of benefits, or results, you bring on a consistent basis?"

And, if I may, one more question: "Do you have success-stories, with business-impactful results attached to them, as proof of performance to underscore your position?"

Answer these thoroughly and you'll have the basis for a powerful value proposition and personal brand.

Be a Benefit-Bringer, not a Skill-Slinger, you'll gain attention and be in demand for some time to come!

Stay Steady In An Unsteady World

Currently everything around us seems so unsteady - stocks and 401ks are up and down, jobs are being lost globally, major companies are closing or in bankruptcy, governments are spending taxpayer money at an unprecedented rate - all of which has made us jittery or even fearful.

So how do you stay steady in your career during this time?

Do you ' keep your head down' and hope that you won't be targeted for lay-off? Should you be looking for a new opportunity because your company is cutting back on expenses?

What does the CIO's Coach say?

Simply this: don't allow the recession to cause you to freeze up through fear. Fear will strangle your executive thought leadership. It causes either a fight or flight reaction, neither of which is helpful to your career.

In the market, fear may make you sell all of your stocks at once, when experts recommend that you continue to stay steady in your investments. Smart investors will examine their portfolios, of course, and if necessary move some investments into safer areas. That's common sense, but panicking is not.

In the same vein, examine your job and career. Don't panic and jump ship just because your company is cutting back on expenses - smart companies will do this during a recession as a matter of course. So don't let this make you flounder - stay steady and continue to add to your 'job and career account' looking objectively at where and how you are investing in your career.

Ask yourself: "Am I steadily adding to my bank of achievements even during this unstable time? Am I continuing to innovate, initiate, and improve the situation of my company, clients, people, processes and technology? Or am I just trying to survive? I would argue that it's more important than ever to do the former.

If you are innovating, initiating, and improving, you may well be doing so with a lower budget than in you've had in the past, but only this kind of steady (albeit agile!) strategy and execution will help your company strengthen its business, create a competitive advantage, and be able to expand even in these recessed global market conditions.

Speaking of agile, you want to remain flexible and be able to turn on a dime as market conditions change. This kind of forward-thinking strategy will, in turn, benefit you personally and the people that work for you. You will be adding to your wealth of achievements and not depleting your career 'savings' just because things are chaotic around you. This will make you a more valuable employee to your present company and to any future employer.

Having said all this, there are times when you need to examine your current environment and note any warning signs that may require you to look elsewhere. But do remember to stay steady when others are not. A cool head will serve you better than a hot one!

How about continuing to add to your personal and business network? Again, if you are just trying to 'keep your head down' you may not be giving and adding to your network at a time when you need to most. My advice? Stay steady here too - make strengthening your network something that is as much a part of your 'investment portfolio' as other areas of your career. And do it now, don't wait for more steady times. You may need that network anytime in the near future. As Harvey MacKay said: "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty." Don't wait until you need it, pay it forward.

There is also your own 'self-development account'. Ask yourself: "Am I continuing to grow or have I become stagnant with the recession? Am I going forward, standing still, or even moving backward?" If you are engaged in the latter two options, determine to invest in a different mindset and actionable strategy now. If you need an objective point of view, advice, encouragement, forward momentum and support, secure a mentor or executive career coach. Ask yourself: "What do I need to do to become a better executive? How should I be thinking right now? What do I need to do to strengthen my career portfolio?"

The conclusion? Examine how you are reacting to this recession. Stay steady in an unsteady world. Companies are always looking for the best talent, so keep investing in your career in all the ways noted above. You'll be better off for it, and your career will soar as a result!

It's No Longer Business As Usual...

Nor is your job search - usual, that is. If you are conducting a 'usual' job search, you may be frustrated at the time time it is taking to find the right opportunity, land interviews, and get the offer you desire. Without a change in mindset and approach, your job search may be further protracted.

With these unchartered and rapidly changing times, the global economic collapse and huge numbers of layoffs at all levels and industries, it takes a radically new mindset to gainfully and quickly secure your next position.

No longer can you simply 'put the word out' to a few select executive recruiters and wait for a barrage of phone calls with wonderful opportunities that you can't pass up. The recruiting community is feeling the downturn also - they don't have as many companies with plum opportunities requesting their services right now either. If you are top talent, they may still want to talk with you and keep up-to-date with your status, but they may not have an opportunity for you - yet.

So, what does this mean to you, the executive, or professional, in search mode? It means you must adopt a different way of thinking about marketing yourself - and take different steps than you have in the past.

It's a new era - you must think in a new way. No matter what you do for a living, you are the CEO of your own company in today's marketplace - "Me, Inc." as Tom Peters said. "Me, Inc." is your career and livelihood, and your own business, as it were. You must think like a CEO, and indeed, like the Chief Marketing Officer for your career.

What to do? Use innovative thinking strategies - new times call for new measures, new ways of doing business, new ways to market yourself. Think outside the box.

First of all, determine what it is you do - no, I don't mean your title or the responsibilities you have at a company, but what you deliver - consistently. What results do you bring time after time to the companies you work for? To the clients you serve? To the teams you lead? Qualify and quantify the business impact. Add your unique style to it and create your own personal brand. Show how you make a difference and bring outstanding results that no smart company would want to pass up.

Secondly, make sure your resume and other career documents are stellar and that they reflect this value proposition. Consider professional assistance to ensure that your message is powerfully articulated and presented.

Now apply innovative thinking to your job search strategy. How would you market a product or service? What steps would you take? What is working well in today's environment?

You might, for instance, create a list of potential 'clients', i.e. companies that could benefit from the results you bring. Research what their problems are and how you can help them solve them. Consider contacting them (the hiring executives, not HR) directly or through a networking referral, and put your value proposition to them. Be specific on how you can propel their business forward even in, and especially in, these economic times. You just may land the job you desire.

Use the internet to your advantage. Executive recruiters and companies will most likely google your name before calling you for interview - if so, what do they see? A recent study showes that 43% of companies are disqualfying candidates based on what they do or do not see when they google their names. Do you have an online presence? Do you show up strongly on the first 3 pages of your name search? What content do potential companies see? Have you established yourself as a thought-leader or subject-matter expert on the 'net? If not, you may be at a disadvantage in today's marketplace.

The internet has also changed the way people network. With the surge of business networking sites and groups such as LinkIn.com, Plaxo.com, Ziggs.com and executive job search sites such as NETSHARE.com, you can reach out to people easier than ever. Use these methods to find companies, leads and opportunities, as well as make the right connections to further your job search. Consider answering questions, offering advice and leads that may help someone else, you'll be amazed at what comes back to you.

By the way, companies and recruiters are trolling these sites for great talent; make sure your online profiles are strong and well-written to gain attention.

There are a myriad of ways to market yourself. The key is to be willing to take a risk, adopt an innovative mindset and create a solid plan to market yourself. You do this at work, why not do it for yourself and your career? You'll be much more successful today, if you do.

Top 10 Tips For Surviving Job Loss

1. Accept Your Situation - Job loss happens to most people at least once in their careers; try not to take it personally even if you were one of the few, or the only one, in your department or organization to lose your job.

2. Adopt A Future Focus - Look forward, not back. You cannot change yesterday, but you can affect tomorrow. Take a couple of days to recuperate from your loss, then move on. Adopt the mindset that you have a new job - your new job is to get a job, so you need to get going.

3. Avoid resentment, or self-pity - don't hold onto grievances toward your former employer/boss or colleagues. Again, take a couple of days to process and grieve your loss, then let go of all grievances - they will only drain you and you need to move forward energetically. To help with this:

• Write a list of everything you have to be thankful for today
• Get plenty of sleep (turn in early, if possible, have a hot bath, a warm milk drink and some kind of carbohydrate, such as toast before bed. Turn off the TV and instead read a book to help fall asleep easier.
• Determine to get out of bed with a fresh perspective and hopeful outlook
• Don't watch too much television news - the media thrives on negative stories, you want to stay positive
• Look at your situation as a temporary setback, tell yourself you are a survivor; pick yourself up, make lemonade out of lemons, and let everyone watch you succeed

4. Analyze your current financial situation - put any severance money into savings not to be touched unless needed. Cut back immediately on all discretionary spending such as entertainment, eating out, etc. Put your credit cards away temporarily, pay cash or don't buy, if you can. Create a budget that will work for you until your secure your next position. Sign up for unemployment, if appropriate, or take a temporary position, if need be to keep the cash flowing.

5. Aim for a specific functional target - Focus - don't generalize your resume to try appeal to everyone or a variety of jobs. Focused resumes get attention, generic resumes don't.

6. Ascertain the value you bring to the marketplace / a potential employer:

• Document your achievements and successes in your career - position by position. Quantify the results and the business impact these achievements had on your employers, clients, etc.
• Create a personal brand and value proposition (what do you bring to an employer that is exemplary and brings high value to them in terms of corporate benefit.)
• Prepare your resume and cover letter, at minimum. If executive level, add a career bio and leadership addendum of initiatives you've led and your leadership style to create an executive portfolio. Secure professional help

to correctly position yourself and prepare your documents, if you can.

7. Assemble a Job Search Plan

• Avail yourself of the most effective strategies to secure a new position in this marketplace and create a written job search self-marketing plan for the first 4 weeks to kick-off your job search. Hint: this isn't about sending out resumes to online job postings which is proving ineffective currently. There are several more effective ways to secure your next position. Take control of your job search and be proactive, not passive, in your approach.

8. Act on your Plan

• Take action in structured, methodical manner
• Be at your home desk on a Monday morning as if you were at a new job.
• Work at least 25 hours a week, with a refreshing break at the weekends
• Begin to gather references from former managers, colleagues, etc.

9. Adopt a feeling of confidence - Act 'As If" you are a star player - even if you have been demoralized by a layoff or firing. If you have done a review of your skill-set and strengths, achievements and value you bring to an employer, see yourself in a new position.  See yourself as a problem-solver of an organization's problems. See yourself successful again. Adopt a confidence you may not feel as you market yourself in interviews. Don't be arrogant, but hold yourself upright and assume your next job is just around the corner!

10. Adjust your Course, if needed - e.g. relocate, retool, add new certifications or education. If you find yourself securing interviews, but not gaining offers, seek professional help to determine what might be an obstacle that needs to be addressed and worked through, alter your technique and try again.

I wish you all the best!

The Economy & Personal Branding

With financial markets in tumult, the whole economy is adversely affected. People are worried about their job security. Can Personal Branding help stabilize your career, and even accelerate it, during times like these?

It can. And here's why:

During times of economic downturn, people are looking for exceptional value in their buying decisions. Companies are the same in that respect. Why would they spend money on someone who can just 'do the job' when they can invest in someone who can not only do the job, but brings something more to the table. By the way, this doesn't mean low-cost, just higher value.

So here's the question you need to ask yourself: "In comparison to my peers, what is 'it' that I consistently bring that creates high value for my company?" "How do I know? What is the impact on my company's clients, my team, the organization?"

Do you do something on a consistent basis that makes your company's clients more satisfied? More likely to stay and buy more? Do you enable your organization to attract and retain the best talent? Do you make your company more competitive in the marketplace?

What is it that you bring personally and consistently that makes you worthwhile investing in during an economic downturn? That makes you worthwhile investing in, especially during an economic downturn?

If you can identify what that is, you may have a personal brand that could work well for you. Think about it.