The CIO's Coach

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.

 

 

Why Personal Branding?

I’m about to ask you one of the most important questions in your career.

It’s a question that many people don’t even think about. Nor do they realize how important it really is to their career. 

“What is your executive brand?” 

Why should you be able to answer this question?

First of all you may have noticed that opening doors to your next job or promotion has become more of a challenge now than it ever has been before.  With all of the mergers and acquisitions, leaner companies, etc., there are more executives competing for fewer positions, so you must differentiate yourself from your competition if you are to be successful.

Secondly, companies are looking for value-add in their executive hiring. They want you to bring that something extra that will help them be more competitive in the global marketplace. If you are known for something that brings extraordinary value and can powerfully articulate it, you’ll gain the attention of executive recruiters and hiring authorities.

If you’ve not taken the time to create your own personal executive brand, you are missing out. I encourage you to create one and see what a difference it will make to your job search and career management - whether you are seeking a new job, desire a promotion, or simply want to be successful at your current company. 

Watch this blog in the coming days for more information on personal branding and career management for Technology executives.

Here’s to your career success!