I thought in my old job that I was little too "in" to LinkedIn.
It's worse now. I'm on it all day. And what I'm seeing, well... to be honest... it's not pretty. And while we mostly give advice for recruiters and HR pros here on FOT, time for some advice from a sourcer to the job seekers out there. If you're a jobseeker on LinkedIn, if you're even thinking about being a jobseeker on the down low, help me out here.
Linkedin Fill in your profile. I don't need the Great American Novel, but give me a job title, some skillset information, professional certifications, whatever makes you "you" and gives you a step up on your peers. And think carefully about your "industry". I see a lot of people who pick their industry based on their profession. That's not always a good idea. If you have worked in telecomm, select it. Same for Non-profit, Accounting, etc. Research pro's often get tasked with finding professionals with specific experience and will use LinkedIn's search functionality to whittle down candidates, For example, if I need an Accounting Manager with Non-Profit experience, I'm going to look at Accounting Managers working in the Non-Profit industry. And don't forget your resume. LinkedIn will let you upload your resume or use it to complete your profile, but if you're not really looking, yet, keep the scope somewhat narrow. Hit the high points.
Use your profile like a business card. Link it everywhere and make your information available.
References are great, but if I see you have the background I need, I'm not going to stress that. I'm still old school enough that I'll ask for them during the vetting process.
Give me some way to contact you. Sure, I'll use inmails. Quite happily I will. But I can let you know quicker that I've got an awesome opening if you give me a link somewhere in your profile or even embed your email in the traditional imajobseeker[at]abc-company[dot]com. I'm completely cool with the fact that no one wants spam - but at least link to your resume somewhere else or something.
Get rid of your duplicate profiles. Yeah, I know you have 'em. Find a way to dump the old one. Help LinkedIn do some quality control.
Network. There are lots of ways to do this. Some free, some incredibly cheap. But grow your network. You have a better chance of being seen by a recruiter searching the site internally if you do this. Look for open networkers to get yourself started. There are tons of us on there.
Pay It Forward. Get notified about a job but it's not your cup of tea? Send it out to your network. You never know who's looking, and there are so many jobs not being advertised through traditional channels that your network will thank you.
Got a question? Want to connect? Awesome. You can find me at www.linkedin.com/in/kellydingee. If I don't have a job for you now, I may in the future. And who knows, maybe our mutual networking can help us pay it forward for a jobseeker who needs a job now. Want more advice on using LinkedIn as a jobseeker? Bill Boorman wrote a piece here that has some really valid suggestions.
Editor's Note -- Kelly Dingee is a professional stalker Strategic Recruiting Manager with Staffing Advisors. Prior to joining Staffing Advisors, her experience includes developing and training material for AIRS-A Company of The RightThing, sourcing for Thales Communications, Inc., and Internet recruitment for Acterna (now known as JDSU). Follow her on Twitter and get the lowdown on what's going on each day in sourcing - she's a Twitter machine.
EGO CAN ROB A CAREER OF ITS HAPPINESS---- BY HOWARD FIGLER
What drives people to work and succeed? There are two main sources of motivation in careers: being yourself (ESSENCE) and seeking the approval of others (EGO). So, it can be your career, it can be “theirs,” or some combination of the two.
A lot of career unhappiness derives from an unsatisfied Ego. And the more a person feels bad about what she has or has not “accomplished,” the more she may neglect being herself.
From the time we hold our breath and show our school report cards to our parents, we sense that approval-seeking is the game. Parents morph into teacher, bosses, customers, and the general public. We want them all to say we’re great!
The biggest problem with Ego fulfillment is that people never get enough. More is always better. Their contracts are only renewed a year at a time. Once they attain a certain level of approval, they feel obligated to maintain it.
“What have you done for me lately?” is a chilling question.
People who are excessively Ego-driven often say things to themselves such as:
“When I _____________, only then will I be happy.”
“I want to ____________ by the time I’m _________ (age).”
“I won’t rest until I ____________.”
Ego is very future-oriented and results-oriented. Essence is very present-oriented. Ego-oriented individuals worry about “how it’s going to turn out.” Essence-oriented professionals accept outcomes and assume that being themselves will work out OK.
Ego is a voracious devourer of career energy. Our culture glamorizes success, celebrity, money, and status, so that people are constantly seeking them. In the process, they may lose the peace of mind and happiness that comes from being themselves.
Essence asks that you live entirely in the present, letting her energy go where it takes her. In Essence, a career choice is not a plan, but answering, “What do I want to be doing right now?” Essence is you turning to your intuition, inner energies and deepest drives.
EGO/ESSENCE – an interesting conundrum…
Best wishes and keep networking alive,
Rod Colón, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
CEO & Director of Career Management
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
732.367.5580
Connect with me on:
http://www.RodColon.com
http://twitter.com/RodColon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RodColon
http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1
A lot of career unhappiness derives from an unsatisfied Ego. And the more a person feels bad about what she has or has not “accomplished,” the more she may neglect being herself.
From the time we hold our breath and show our school report cards to our parents, we sense that approval-seeking is the game. Parents morph into teacher, bosses, customers, and the general public. We want them all to say we’re great!
The biggest problem with Ego fulfillment is that people never get enough. More is always better. Their contracts are only renewed a year at a time. Once they attain a certain level of approval, they feel obligated to maintain it.
“What have you done for me lately?” is a chilling question.
People who are excessively Ego-driven often say things to themselves such as:
“When I _____________, only then will I be happy.”
“I want to ____________ by the time I’m _________ (age).”
“I won’t rest until I ____________.”
Ego is very future-oriented and results-oriented. Essence is very present-oriented. Ego-oriented individuals worry about “how it’s going to turn out.” Essence-oriented professionals accept outcomes and assume that being themselves will work out OK.
Ego is a voracious devourer of career energy. Our culture glamorizes success, celebrity, money, and status, so that people are constantly seeking them. In the process, they may lose the peace of mind and happiness that comes from being themselves.
Essence asks that you live entirely in the present, letting her energy go where it takes her. In Essence, a career choice is not a plan, but answering, “What do I want to be doing right now?” Essence is you turning to your intuition, inner energies and deepest drives.
EGO/ESSENCE – an interesting conundrum…
Best wishes and keep networking alive,
Rod Colón, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
CEO & Director of Career Management
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
732.367.5580
Connect with me on:
http://www.RodColon.com
http://twitter.com/RodColon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RodColon
http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1
ETP Charlotte Networking Group
On Thursday, October 28, 2010 ETP Charlotte Networking Group had the honor of having Mr. Carl E. Reid, as our guest speaker for the evening. Mr. Reid is the Chief Operations Officier of ETP. In adition to being a sought after speaker and published author, Mr. Reid advises small businesses on Internet Business-2-Business opportunities. Combining 40+ years of business experience with 27 years in the Information Technology field, Mr. Reid has a proven track record in identifying emerging technology business opportunities, before they become trends. He has also helped many people successfully advance their careers and start businesses with 15 years as a Business Career Coach.
It was a honor having Mr. Reid attend our meeting and coach the members of our team on the The 7-Step Job Search Methodology. I would like to also extend congratulations to our newest member Edwin Martinez for winning the WIN THE RACE for 21st CENTURY JOBS by Rod Colon.
To get your copy of WIN THE RACE for 21st CENTURY JOBS by Rod Colon
you can order it now from AMAZON
FREE $20 Membership Gift Certificate with Book Purchase
I want to thank all our members for attending. I also would like to thank ETP Network for honoring me as the ETP Charlotte Networking Leader I could not have done it without the ETP Members standing behind me and allowing me to grow as a leader in the group.
I had the awesome opportunity to speak at the ETP Charlotte Networking Group. This career management training education team located in Charlotte, NC is hosted by Empowering Today's Professionals (ETP) faculty leader Amanda Sherman. She is also CEO and founder of Gala Affairs by ATUrBest, which provides event planning services in the Charlotte area. On behalf of the ETP executive committee, I also had the honor of presenting a leadership excellence award to Amanda. This places Mrs. Sherman in the ETP Who's Who Hall of Fame, for outstanding leadership in pioneering the Charlotte Networking Group, ...The Four Capacities Every Great Leader Needs (and Very Few Have)
BY FC Expert Blogger Tony SchwartzFri
When I was a very young journalist, full of bravado and barely concealed insecurity, Ed Kosner, editor of Newsweek, hired me to do a job I wasn't sure I was capable of doing. Thrown into deep water, I had no choice but to swim. But I also knew he wouldn't let me drown. His confidence buoyed me.
Some years later, I was hired away by Arthur Gelb, the managing editor of The New York Times. This time, I was seduced by Gelb's contagious exuberance about being part of a noble fraternity committed to putting out the world's greatest newspaper.
Over the last dozen years, I've worked with scores of CEOs and senior executives to help them build more engaged, high performance cultures by energizing their employees. Along the way, I've landed on four key capacities that show up, to one degree or another, in the most inspiring leaders I've met.
1. Great leaders recognize strengths in us that we don't always yet fully see in ourselves.
This is precisely what Kosner did with me. He provided belief where I didn't yet have it, and I trusted his judgment more than my own. It's the Pygmalion effect: expectations become self-fulfilling.
Both positive and negative emotions feed on themselves. In the absence of Kosner's confidence, I simply wouldn't have assumed I was ready to write at that level.
Because he seemed so sure I could--he saw better than I did how my ambition and relentlessness would eventually help me prevail--I wasted little energy in corrosive worry and doubt.
Instead, I simply invested myself in getting better, day by day, step by step. Because we can achieve excellent in almost anything we practice with sufficient focus and intention, I did get better, which fed my own confidence and satisfaction, and my willingness to keep pushing myself.
2. Rather than simply trying to get more out of us, great leaders seek to understand and meet our needs, above all a compelling mission beyond our immediate self-interest, or theirs.
Great leaders understand that how they make people feel, day in and day out, has a profound influence on how they perform.
We each have a range of core needs--physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Great leaders focus on helping their employees meet each of these needs, recognizing that it helps them to perform better and more sustainably.
Arthur Gelb helped my meet not just my emotional need to be valued, but also my spiritual need to be engaged in a mission bigger than my own success. Far too few leaders take the time to figure out what they truly stand for, beyond the bottom line, and why we should feel excited to work for them.
3. Great leaders take the time to clearly define what success looks like, and then empower and trust us to figure out the best way to achieve it.
One of our core needs is for self-expression. One of the most demoralizing and infantilizing experiences at work is to feel micromanaged.
The job of leaders is not to do the work of those they lead, but to serve as Chief Energy Officer -- to free and fuel us to bring the best of ourselves to work every day.
Part of that responsibility is defining, in the clearest possible way, what's expected of us--our concrete deliverables. This is a time-consuming and challenging process, and most leaders I've met do very little of it. When they do it effectively, the next step for leaders is to get out of the way.
That requires trusting that employees will figure out for themselves the best way to get their work done, and that even though they'll take wrong turns and make mistakes, they learn and grow stronger along the way.
4. The best of all leaders--a tiny fraction--have the capacity to embrace their own opposites, most notably vulnerability alongside strength, and confidence balanced by humility.
This capacity is uniquely powerful because all of us struggle, whether we're aware of it or not, with our self worth. We're each vulnerable to believing, at any given moment, that we're not good enough.
Great leaders don't feel the need to be right, or to be perfect, because they've learned to value themselves in spite of shortcomings they freely acknowledge. In turn, they bring this generous spirit to those they lead.
The more leaders make us feel valued, in spite of our imperfections, the less energy we will spend asserting, defending and restoring our value, and the more energy we have available to create value.
All four capacities are grounded in one overarching insight. Great leaders recognize that the best way to get the highest value is to give the highest value.
Reprinted from TonySchwartz.com
Tony Schwartz is President and CEO of The Energy Project, a company that helps individuals and organizations fuel energy, engagement, focus, and productivity by harnessing the science of high performance. Tony's most recent book, The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance, was published in May 2010 and became an immediate The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Follow him on Twitter @TonySchwartz.
When I was a very young journalist, full of bravado and barely concealed insecurity, Ed Kosner, editor of Newsweek, hired me to do a job I wasn't sure I was capable of doing. Thrown into deep water, I had no choice but to swim. But I also knew he wouldn't let me drown. His confidence buoyed me.
Some years later, I was hired away by Arthur Gelb, the managing editor of The New York Times. This time, I was seduced by Gelb's contagious exuberance about being part of a noble fraternity committed to putting out the world's greatest newspaper.
Over the last dozen years, I've worked with scores of CEOs and senior executives to help them build more engaged, high performance cultures by energizing their employees. Along the way, I've landed on four key capacities that show up, to one degree or another, in the most inspiring leaders I've met.
1. Great leaders recognize strengths in us that we don't always yet fully see in ourselves.
This is precisely what Kosner did with me. He provided belief where I didn't yet have it, and I trusted his judgment more than my own. It's the Pygmalion effect: expectations become self-fulfilling.
Both positive and negative emotions feed on themselves. In the absence of Kosner's confidence, I simply wouldn't have assumed I was ready to write at that level.
Because he seemed so sure I could--he saw better than I did how my ambition and relentlessness would eventually help me prevail--I wasted little energy in corrosive worry and doubt.
Instead, I simply invested myself in getting better, day by day, step by step. Because we can achieve excellent in almost anything we practice with sufficient focus and intention, I did get better, which fed my own confidence and satisfaction, and my willingness to keep pushing myself.
2. Rather than simply trying to get more out of us, great leaders seek to understand and meet our needs, above all a compelling mission beyond our immediate self-interest, or theirs.
Great leaders understand that how they make people feel, day in and day out, has a profound influence on how they perform.
We each have a range of core needs--physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Great leaders focus on helping their employees meet each of these needs, recognizing that it helps them to perform better and more sustainably.
Arthur Gelb helped my meet not just my emotional need to be valued, but also my spiritual need to be engaged in a mission bigger than my own success. Far too few leaders take the time to figure out what they truly stand for, beyond the bottom line, and why we should feel excited to work for them.
3. Great leaders take the time to clearly define what success looks like, and then empower and trust us to figure out the best way to achieve it.
One of our core needs is for self-expression. One of the most demoralizing and infantilizing experiences at work is to feel micromanaged.
The job of leaders is not to do the work of those they lead, but to serve as Chief Energy Officer -- to free and fuel us to bring the best of ourselves to work every day.
Part of that responsibility is defining, in the clearest possible way, what's expected of us--our concrete deliverables. This is a time-consuming and challenging process, and most leaders I've met do very little of it. When they do it effectively, the next step for leaders is to get out of the way.
That requires trusting that employees will figure out for themselves the best way to get their work done, and that even though they'll take wrong turns and make mistakes, they learn and grow stronger along the way.
4. The best of all leaders--a tiny fraction--have the capacity to embrace their own opposites, most notably vulnerability alongside strength, and confidence balanced by humility.
This capacity is uniquely powerful because all of us struggle, whether we're aware of it or not, with our self worth. We're each vulnerable to believing, at any given moment, that we're not good enough.
Great leaders don't feel the need to be right, or to be perfect, because they've learned to value themselves in spite of shortcomings they freely acknowledge. In turn, they bring this generous spirit to those they lead.
The more leaders make us feel valued, in spite of our imperfections, the less energy we will spend asserting, defending and restoring our value, and the more energy we have available to create value.
All four capacities are grounded in one overarching insight. Great leaders recognize that the best way to get the highest value is to give the highest value.
Reprinted from TonySchwartz.com
Tony Schwartz is President and CEO of The Energy Project, a company that helps individuals and organizations fuel energy, engagement, focus, and productivity by harnessing the science of high performance. Tony's most recent book, The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance, was published in May 2010 and became an immediate The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Follow him on Twitter @TonySchwartz.
A NEW TWIST ON TAGLINES
By Chip Hartman
Empowering Today's Professionals, Editor-in-Chief
Sept. 6, 2010
As more and more professionals discover the value of running their careers as a business,the need for high-impact personal branding becomes a necessity, not a luxury.
The judicious use of taglines can be a powerful tool for helping ME, Inc. professionals announce their unique value to the business world.
Good things come in small packages. This is especially true of taglines, those often-overlooked word groups strategically placed near corporate logos to announce the unique value and benefits of a brand. As such, taglines have what Eric Swartz (The “Tagline Guru”) calls “marquee value.”
Taglines have been around ever since businesses started using advertising to generate sales. Over the years, some have actually become quite memorable, e.g., Morton Salt (“When It Rains, It Pours”), Hallmark Cards (“When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best”), and American Express (“Don’t Leave Home Without It”).
In the world of marketing, branding and advertising, taglines often get a bad rap. That’s because development of a “winning” tagline is an unusually daunting task; it must convey the essence of a brand in a powerful, concise way without being vague, pretentious, or overly trendy. Copywriters often spend long, tedious hours developing the perfect tagline.
And while the graphics team can misfire on a precise shade of lavender for a brand’s logo and still deliver powerful visual appeal, copywriters have no comparable margin of error. They either nail the one, indisputable winning tagline to the thunderous ovation of a wildly approving crowd — or give it a quiet, nondescript burial. Mediocre taglines — and even some better-than-average ones — never see the light of day.
TAGLINES FOR PEOPLE ?
OK, now for the twist.
Most of us have been conditioned to associate taglines with products or services provided by companies to keep their brands resonating in the minds of clients and would-be customers. But a growing number of professionals — especially those in transition — are latching on to the 21st century paradigm of managing their careers as a business. As CEOs of their own “ME, Inc.” enterprise, they become responsible for all functions carried out by actual CEOs (e.g., R & D, Sales & Marketing, Public Relations, Finance, Legal, etc.) and that, in turn, means they must be just as well-branded as any other viable commodity in the marketplace.
[Note: For those who have adopted this model, described fully in the new book “Win The Race for 21st Century Jobs” (by Rod Colón and Chip Hartman, etp press, © 2010), the primary reason this must be done is because the actual product of a ME, Inc. business is the business-owner himself/herself.]
Is it far-fetched to think of an individual branding herself with a clever and succinct tagline? Not at all. Most ME, Inc. business owners can benefit greatly by creating a genuinely memorable tagline following their names — electronically and in print — everywhere it appears. If the tagline successfully captures the individual’s unique “value added component”, then the consistent use of this phrase becomes a mantra that reinforces the promise in an exceptionally powerful and innovative way.
SOME ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
It’s easy to write about an idea such as “ME, Inc. taglines” or “vanity taglines” but it’s a totally different task to develop a sufficient number of plausible examples to illustrate the message.
The list below presents the concept of personalized taglines. If you understand the basic idea, find a copywriter to help you craft your message to achieve realistic brand quality. Since the examples below are for illustrative purposes only, they should be regarded only as branding fiction, not standards of excellence in tagline development.
GRAPHIC ARTIST (possible taglines might be …)
· Graphically agile, creatively nimble
· Formidable imagery … unbeatable value
· A full spectrum of ideas and solutions
· We visually translate your most complex thoughts.
· We remove the need to airbrush your bottom line!
TAX ACCOUNTANT (possible taglines might be …)
· In taxing times, count on us.
· Find an error in our calculations and we’ll pay your fee!
· We axe the tax so you can relax.
· Think Positive. Think Refund.
FORENSIC SCIENTIST (possible taglines might be …)
· We will unravel evidence of underperforming personnel
· Our solutions are the chalk outlines around your biggest problems
· We’d appreciate your fingerprints, signature, and DNA on a contract
DENTAL HYGIENIST (possible taglines might be …)
· Invest in your smile … call us today!
· Your gentle dental health engineers
· Enjoy life: Get the crud out of your mouth!
· Your frontline defense against Toxic Mouth Syndrome
INVESTMENT MANAGER (possible taglines might be …)
· Think of us as your money’s personal day care center.
· Our idea of fun is dollar-cost-averaging the night away
· Our portfolio of ideas will expand your portfolio of investments
WEB DEVELOPER (possible taglines might be …)
· You need a web site. We need a contract. Let’s talk.
· We eat, breathe, and dream HTML 24 by 7
· We build web sites to die for … although it’s quite unnecessary to do so.
· ROI-driven, business-savvy, technical artistry. But enough about me …
PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!
While the idea of a personalized tagline may sound like a great idea, you’d be well advised to discuss your ideas and examples with a branding professional before making the commitment to publish. If you fail to capture the unique essence of your ME, Inc. business in a catchy, concise and high-impact way, you could easily be headed for a large-scale branding disaster.
The reason for this should now be apparent: There is a veritable obstacle course of language and semantic pitfalls just waiting to sabotage your best efforts in devising that perfect personal tagline. The fact that the tagline must speak for you when you are unable to do so makes it all the more risky. Whatever you do, be sure to consult with a branding expert who also has a masterful grasp of language to increase your chances for success.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME, INC.?
As a ME, Inc. business owner, you have an obligation to brand yourself, recognizing that if you fail to do so, others will inevitably do it for you — and their perceptions may fall far short of yours.
You say you’re an aspiring event planner but haven’t been able to land the position of your dreams? If you’re signing your name as “Very truly yours, Mary Smith”, you’ve completed the basics of closing out your letter but you’ve missed a terrific opportunity to distinguish yourself from the other 829,000 individuals going after the same position.
By contrast, what if your closing went something like this: “Very truly yours, Mary Smith, Inc. : Event Planners to Make All Your Moments Memorable” — do you think that might garner some extra attention? Or maybe just a little curiosity to find out more?
Let’s put it this way: In an era marked by an ever-increasing need to stand apart boldly from your competition, the wisely-developed and judiciously selected personal tagline can clearly promote your CEO of ME, Inc. business. As the global marketplace becomes larger and more complex each day, it’s vital for the survival of your business to stake out every possible opportunity to differentiate yourself from the masses.
A personalized tagline may be just the answer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Colón, Rod, Win The Race for 21st Century Jobs, etp press, © 2010
2. Cone, Steve, Powerlines: Words That Sell Brands, Grip Fans, & Sometimes Change History, Bloomberg Press, © 2008
3. Swartz, Eric, The Tagline Guru (personal research of his published work on taglines and telephone interview)
4. Swartz, Eric, The Tagline Guru (web site: www.taglineguru.com)
5. Trout, Jack, Differentiate or Die – Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition, John Wiley & Sons, © 2000
_____________
Chip Hartman is an online marketing and branding specialist based in Montville , NJ . He is the owner of MeridiaSystems.com, LLC, a visual communications company that has distinguished itself with its unique emphasis on the tight integration of powerful writing, web technology, and graphic design (www.meridiasystems.com). Chip is the Editor-in-Chief of Empowering Today’s Professionals and can be reached at chip@meridiasystems.com.
Chip Hartman
Powerful – Polished – Professional
MeridiaSystems.com, LLC
http://www.meridiasystems.com/imba/imba-volume-1.html
http://www.wintherace21.com
chip@meridiasystems.com
Empowering Today's Professionals, Editor-in-Chief
Sept. 6, 2010
As more and more professionals discover the value of running their careers as a business,the need for high-impact personal branding becomes a necessity, not a luxury.
The judicious use of taglines can be a powerful tool for helping ME, Inc. professionals announce their unique value to the business world.
Good things come in small packages. This is especially true of taglines, those often-overlooked word groups strategically placed near corporate logos to announce the unique value and benefits of a brand. As such, taglines have what Eric Swartz (The “Tagline Guru”) calls “marquee value.”
Taglines have been around ever since businesses started using advertising to generate sales. Over the years, some have actually become quite memorable, e.g., Morton Salt (“When It Rains, It Pours”), Hallmark Cards (“When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best”), and American Express (“Don’t Leave Home Without It”).
In the world of marketing, branding and advertising, taglines often get a bad rap. That’s because development of a “winning” tagline is an unusually daunting task; it must convey the essence of a brand in a powerful, concise way without being vague, pretentious, or overly trendy. Copywriters often spend long, tedious hours developing the perfect tagline.
And while the graphics team can misfire on a precise shade of lavender for a brand’s logo and still deliver powerful visual appeal, copywriters have no comparable margin of error. They either nail the one, indisputable winning tagline to the thunderous ovation of a wildly approving crowd — or give it a quiet, nondescript burial. Mediocre taglines — and even some better-than-average ones — never see the light of day.
TAGLINES FOR PEOPLE ?
OK, now for the twist.
Most of us have been conditioned to associate taglines with products or services provided by companies to keep their brands resonating in the minds of clients and would-be customers. But a growing number of professionals — especially those in transition — are latching on to the 21st century paradigm of managing their careers as a business. As CEOs of their own “ME, Inc.” enterprise, they become responsible for all functions carried out by actual CEOs (e.g., R & D, Sales & Marketing, Public Relations, Finance, Legal, etc.) and that, in turn, means they must be just as well-branded as any other viable commodity in the marketplace.
[Note: For those who have adopted this model, described fully in the new book “Win The Race for 21st Century Jobs” (by Rod Colón and Chip Hartman, etp press, © 2010), the primary reason this must be done is because the actual product of a ME, Inc. business is the business-owner himself/herself.]
Is it far-fetched to think of an individual branding herself with a clever and succinct tagline? Not at all. Most ME, Inc. business owners can benefit greatly by creating a genuinely memorable tagline following their names — electronically and in print — everywhere it appears. If the tagline successfully captures the individual’s unique “value added component”, then the consistent use of this phrase becomes a mantra that reinforces the promise in an exceptionally powerful and innovative way.
SOME ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
It’s easy to write about an idea such as “ME, Inc. taglines” or “vanity taglines” but it’s a totally different task to develop a sufficient number of plausible examples to illustrate the message.
The list below presents the concept of personalized taglines. If you understand the basic idea, find a copywriter to help you craft your message to achieve realistic brand quality. Since the examples below are for illustrative purposes only, they should be regarded only as branding fiction, not standards of excellence in tagline development.
GRAPHIC ARTIST (possible taglines might be …)
· Graphically agile, creatively nimble
· Formidable imagery … unbeatable value
· A full spectrum of ideas and solutions
· We visually translate your most complex thoughts.
· We remove the need to airbrush your bottom line!
TAX ACCOUNTANT (possible taglines might be …)
· In taxing times, count on us.
· Find an error in our calculations and we’ll pay your fee!
· We axe the tax so you can relax.
· Think Positive. Think Refund.
FORENSIC SCIENTIST (possible taglines might be …)
· We will unravel evidence of underperforming personnel
· Our solutions are the chalk outlines around your biggest problems
· We’d appreciate your fingerprints, signature, and DNA on a contract
DENTAL HYGIENIST (possible taglines might be …)
· Invest in your smile … call us today!
· Your gentle dental health engineers
· Enjoy life: Get the crud out of your mouth!
· Your frontline defense against Toxic Mouth Syndrome
INVESTMENT MANAGER (possible taglines might be …)
· Think of us as your money’s personal day care center.
· Our idea of fun is dollar-cost-averaging the night away
· Our portfolio of ideas will expand your portfolio of investments
WEB DEVELOPER (possible taglines might be …)
· You need a web site. We need a contract. Let’s talk.
· We eat, breathe, and dream HTML 24 by 7
· We build web sites to die for … although it’s quite unnecessary to do so.
· ROI-driven, business-savvy, technical artistry. But enough about me …
PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!
While the idea of a personalized tagline may sound like a great idea, you’d be well advised to discuss your ideas and examples with a branding professional before making the commitment to publish. If you fail to capture the unique essence of your ME, Inc. business in a catchy, concise and high-impact way, you could easily be headed for a large-scale branding disaster.
The reason for this should now be apparent: There is a veritable obstacle course of language and semantic pitfalls just waiting to sabotage your best efforts in devising that perfect personal tagline. The fact that the tagline must speak for you when you are unable to do so makes it all the more risky. Whatever you do, be sure to consult with a branding expert who also has a masterful grasp of language to increase your chances for success.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME, INC.?
As a ME, Inc. business owner, you have an obligation to brand yourself, recognizing that if you fail to do so, others will inevitably do it for you — and their perceptions may fall far short of yours.
You say you’re an aspiring event planner but haven’t been able to land the position of your dreams? If you’re signing your name as “Very truly yours, Mary Smith”, you’ve completed the basics of closing out your letter but you’ve missed a terrific opportunity to distinguish yourself from the other 829,000 individuals going after the same position.
By contrast, what if your closing went something like this: “Very truly yours, Mary Smith, Inc. : Event Planners to Make All Your Moments Memorable” — do you think that might garner some extra attention? Or maybe just a little curiosity to find out more?
Let’s put it this way: In an era marked by an ever-increasing need to stand apart boldly from your competition, the wisely-developed and judiciously selected personal tagline can clearly promote your CEO of ME, Inc. business. As the global marketplace becomes larger and more complex each day, it’s vital for the survival of your business to stake out every possible opportunity to differentiate yourself from the masses.
A personalized tagline may be just the answer.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Colón, Rod, Win The Race for 21st Century Jobs, etp press, © 2010
2. Cone, Steve, Powerlines: Words That Sell Brands, Grip Fans, & Sometimes Change History, Bloomberg Press, © 2008
3. Swartz, Eric, The Tagline Guru (personal research of his published work on taglines and telephone interview)
4. Swartz, Eric, The Tagline Guru (web site: www.taglineguru.com)
5. Trout, Jack, Differentiate or Die – Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition, John Wiley & Sons, © 2000
_____________
Chip Hartman is an online marketing and branding specialist based in Montville , NJ . He is the owner of MeridiaSystems.com, LLC, a visual communications company that has distinguished itself with its unique emphasis on the tight integration of powerful writing, web technology, and graphic design (www.meridiasystems.com). Chip is the Editor-in-Chief of Empowering Today’s Professionals and can be reached at chip@meridiasystems.com.
Chip Hartman
Powerful – Polished – Professional
MeridiaSystems.com, LLC
http://www.meridiasystems.com/imba/imba-volume-1.html
http://www.wintherace21.com
chip@meridiasystems.com
The RELEVANT Style Resume Format
David Anderson’s “Relevant” style resume format engages the resume reviewer quickly in the area of need – technical skills. David shows his experience with KSM Associates first because it is his strongest work experience in technology rather than listing his resume in the standard reverse chronological or functional style formats.
The “Relevant” style resume is a creative approach to resume writing. It allows the candidate to engage the resume reviewer immediately by sharing pertinent work experience rather than the weaker functional format. David than provides the resume reviewer with a full reverse chronological experience listing, making sure no deception was intended.
The typical resume reviewer will evaluate the resume looking for the recent work experience and make a quick judgment if the candidate has the required skills - What have you done over the past few years and is it relevant. The “Relevant” style clearly puts the onus on the reviewer to make a decision based on looking at relevant experience first rather than reviewing irrelevant experience first.
The “Relevant” style resume, a different way to market and empower the professional.
Rod Colón, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
CEO & Director of Career Management
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
732.367.5580
Connect with me on:
http://www.RodColon.com
http://twitter.com/RodColon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RodColon
http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1
The “Relevant” style resume is a creative approach to resume writing. It allows the candidate to engage the resume reviewer immediately by sharing pertinent work experience rather than the weaker functional format. David than provides the resume reviewer with a full reverse chronological experience listing, making sure no deception was intended.
The typical resume reviewer will evaluate the resume looking for the recent work experience and make a quick judgment if the candidate has the required skills - What have you done over the past few years and is it relevant. The “Relevant” style clearly puts the onus on the reviewer to make a decision based on looking at relevant experience first rather than reviewing irrelevant experience first.
The “Relevant” style resume, a different way to market and empower the professional.
Rod Colón, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
CEO & Director of Career Management
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
732.367.5580
Connect with me on:
http://www.RodColon.com
http://twitter.com/RodColon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RodColon
http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1
Maintaining Your Network
by Keith Ferrazzi
Never Eat Alone
One way I’ve found to make maintaining my network of contacts, colleagues, and friends easier is to create a rating system for the network that corresponds to how often I reach out. First, I divide my network into five general categories: Under “Personal,” I include my good friends and social acquaintances. Because I’m generally in contact with these people organically, I don’t include them on a contact list. The relationship is established, and when we talk, it’s as if we’d been in touch every day. “Customers” and “Prospects” are self-explanatory. “Important Business Associates” is reserved for people I’m actively involved with professionally. I’m either doing business with them currently or hoping to do business with them. This is the mission-critical category. Under “Aspirational Contacts,” I list people I’d like to get to know, or I’ve met briefly (which is anyone from your boss’s boss to a worthy celebrity) and would like to establish a better relationship with.
Rod Colón
Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
Never Eat Alone
One way I’ve found to make maintaining my network of contacts, colleagues, and friends easier is to create a rating system for the network that corresponds to how often I reach out. First, I divide my network into five general categories: Under “Personal,” I include my good friends and social acquaintances. Because I’m generally in contact with these people organically, I don’t include them on a contact list. The relationship is established, and when we talk, it’s as if we’d been in touch every day. “Customers” and “Prospects” are self-explanatory. “Important Business Associates” is reserved for people I’m actively involved with professionally. I’m either doing business with them currently or hoping to do business with them. This is the mission-critical category. Under “Aspirational Contacts,” I list people I’d like to get to know, or I’ve met briefly (which is anyone from your boss’s boss to a worthy celebrity) and would like to establish a better relationship with.
Rod Colón
Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter
EMPOWERING TODAY’S PROFESSIONALS - HOW IT ALL STARTED
By Rod Colon
I have 26 years of experience as a corporate HR management insider, outside agency recruiter, professional networker, adjunct professor/lecturer on career management and career coach with an unusual but common sense approach to networking and career management. In addition, I have in-depth knowledge of international staffing, recruiting and networking which gives me the ability to both coach and consult with today’s professionals and with executives around the world.
Obviously, I’ve seen the job search challenge from both sides of the interviewer’s desk. Along the way, I’ve seen many people struggle with the job search and interview process. As a result, I’ve discovered some of the more obscure pitfalls which trap people when they seek new jobs.
This discovery convinced me to devote my life to helping as many people as possible avoid these traps. I also wanted individuals to experience a much higher success rate in landing the jobs and managing their careers. Because I knew I had a gift for teaching, training, and coaching, I decided to leave the corporate world and pursue my one true passion: the development of an organization committed to networking and helping people in transition. And I didn't want to help these people merely get close to their next job — I wanted to help them nail it down and develop a long-term strategy to career management!
I started Empowering Today’s Professionals in 2004, at first just to eliminate the tedium of repeating nearly identical coaching and networking training to a long line of individuals. As the organization sprouted roots through e-mail exchanges, I made the decision to move to a virtual community style forum to exchange documents, questions, and job search issues and then supplemented that with a weekly Sunday evening conference call. In the beginning, there were just a handful of attendees. Today, our membership is global and growing steadily.
The foundation of our community service organization is to educate each individual (student or professional) to manage their career as a business. Each individual will promote himself or herself to the position of CEO of ME, Inc. and make a conscious decision to run their career as a business. I have seen personally how transforming one’s career to the CEO of ME, Inc. has powerful impact to individuals globally. It is - the priceless reward of what we do.
Empowering Today’s Professionals is here to support the business owner within you.
Best wishes for a wonderful Labor Day weekend and keep networking alive,
Rod Colón, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
CEO & Director of Career Management
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
732.367.5580
Connect with me on:
http://RodColon.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/RodColon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RodColon
http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1
I have 26 years of experience as a corporate HR management insider, outside agency recruiter, professional networker, adjunct professor/lecturer on career management and career coach with an unusual but common sense approach to networking and career management. In addition, I have in-depth knowledge of international staffing, recruiting and networking which gives me the ability to both coach and consult with today’s professionals and with executives around the world.
Obviously, I’ve seen the job search challenge from both sides of the interviewer’s desk. Along the way, I’ve seen many people struggle with the job search and interview process. As a result, I’ve discovered some of the more obscure pitfalls which trap people when they seek new jobs.
This discovery convinced me to devote my life to helping as many people as possible avoid these traps. I also wanted individuals to experience a much higher success rate in landing the jobs and managing their careers. Because I knew I had a gift for teaching, training, and coaching, I decided to leave the corporate world and pursue my one true passion: the development of an organization committed to networking and helping people in transition. And I didn't want to help these people merely get close to their next job — I wanted to help them nail it down and develop a long-term strategy to career management!
I started Empowering Today’s Professionals in 2004, at first just to eliminate the tedium of repeating nearly identical coaching and networking training to a long line of individuals. As the organization sprouted roots through e-mail exchanges, I made the decision to move to a virtual community style forum to exchange documents, questions, and job search issues and then supplemented that with a weekly Sunday evening conference call. In the beginning, there were just a handful of attendees. Today, our membership is global and growing steadily.
The foundation of our community service organization is to educate each individual (student or professional) to manage their career as a business. Each individual will promote himself or herself to the position of CEO of ME, Inc. and make a conscious decision to run their career as a business. I have seen personally how transforming one’s career to the CEO of ME, Inc. has powerful impact to individuals globally. It is - the priceless reward of what we do.
Empowering Today’s Professionals is here to support the business owner within you.
Best wishes for a wonderful Labor Day weekend and keep networking alive,
Rod Colón, Career Coach, Professional Speaker & Author
CEO & Director of Career Management
Empowering Today’s Professionals
Running the Business of "ME"
www.ETPnetwork.com
rod@etpnetwork.com
732.367.5580
Connect with me on:
http://RodColon.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/RodColon
http://www.linkedin.com/in/RodColon
http://www.facebook.com/RodColon1
Seven Truths about Change to Lead By and Live By
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter
I call these the Change Agent Bumper Stickers. Here are seven universal sayings that can comfort and guide anyone engaged in the effort of setting a new direction, orchestrating innovation, establishing a culture, or changing behavior.
"Change is a threat when done to me, but an opportunity when done by me." I coined this truth in my book The Change Masters, which compared innovation-friendly and innovation-stifling corporate cultures, and then saw it in operation in personal relationships, too. Resistance is always greatest when change is inflicted on people without their involvement, making the change effort feel oppressive or constraining. If it is possible to tie change to things people already want, and give them a chance to act on their own goals and aspirations, then it is met with more enthusiasm and commitment. In fact, they then seek innovation on their own.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Big goals can seem overwhelming. The magnitude of the problem, the difficulty of the solutions, the length of the time horizon, and the number of action items can make change feel so complex that people feel paralyzed, and nothing happens. This saying from China's Chairman Mao is a reminder to get moving. Do something, get started, take the first steps however small they seem, and the journey is underway.
"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." A clear destination is necessary to guide the journey of change. Many change efforts falter because of confusion over exactly where everyone is expected to arrive. In the children's book, Alice in Wonderland, Alice, who is confused anyway, asks the Cheshire cat which road she should take. The magical cat responds with this helpful reminder to pin down your goal first. Zoom in on the destination on your mental map, and then zoom out to pick the best path.
"Change a campaign, not a decision." How many people make vows to improve their diet and exercise, then feel so good about the decision that they reward themselves with ice cream and sit down to read a book? CEOs and senior executives make pronouncements about change all the time, and then launch programs that get ignored. To change behavior requires a campaign, with constant communication, tools and materials, milestones, reminders, and rewards.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Baseball legend Yogi Berra was known for oddball sayings that contain gems. There is an aspect of change that involves trial and error. Fear of mistakes can sometimes leave paths unexplored. It's important to seize unexpected opportunities. Some sidelines are dead ends, but others might prove to be faster routes to the goals.
"Everything can look like a failure in the middle." I've observed this so often that I call it Kanter's Law. There are numerous roadblocks, obstacles, and surprises on the journey to change, and each one tempts us to give up. Give up prematurely, and the change effort is automatically a failure. Find a way around the obstacles, perhaps by making some tweaks in the plan, and keep going. Persistence and perseverance are essential to successful innovation and change.
"Be the change you seek to make in the world." Leaders must embody the values and principles they want other people to adopt. This famous Gandhi quote reminds us all — executives with associates, political leaders with followers, or parents with children — that one of the most important tasks is personal: to be a role model, exemplifying the best of what the change is all about.
Copyright © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School .
Best Regards,
Daniel Arbeeny
Phone: (917) 597-2006
I call these the Change Agent Bumper Stickers. Here are seven universal sayings that can comfort and guide anyone engaged in the effort of setting a new direction, orchestrating innovation, establishing a culture, or changing behavior.
"Change is a threat when done to me, but an opportunity when done by me." I coined this truth in my book The Change Masters, which compared innovation-friendly and innovation-stifling corporate cultures, and then saw it in operation in personal relationships, too. Resistance is always greatest when change is inflicted on people without their involvement, making the change effort feel oppressive or constraining. If it is possible to tie change to things people already want, and give them a chance to act on their own goals and aspirations, then it is met with more enthusiasm and commitment. In fact, they then seek innovation on their own.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Big goals can seem overwhelming. The magnitude of the problem, the difficulty of the solutions, the length of the time horizon, and the number of action items can make change feel so complex that people feel paralyzed, and nothing happens. This saying from China's Chairman Mao is a reminder to get moving. Do something, get started, take the first steps however small they seem, and the journey is underway.
"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." A clear destination is necessary to guide the journey of change. Many change efforts falter because of confusion over exactly where everyone is expected to arrive. In the children's book, Alice in Wonderland, Alice, who is confused anyway, asks the Cheshire cat which road she should take. The magical cat responds with this helpful reminder to pin down your goal first. Zoom in on the destination on your mental map, and then zoom out to pick the best path.
"Change a campaign, not a decision." How many people make vows to improve their diet and exercise, then feel so good about the decision that they reward themselves with ice cream and sit down to read a book? CEOs and senior executives make pronouncements about change all the time, and then launch programs that get ignored. To change behavior requires a campaign, with constant communication, tools and materials, milestones, reminders, and rewards.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Baseball legend Yogi Berra was known for oddball sayings that contain gems. There is an aspect of change that involves trial and error. Fear of mistakes can sometimes leave paths unexplored. It's important to seize unexpected opportunities. Some sidelines are dead ends, but others might prove to be faster routes to the goals.
"Everything can look like a failure in the middle." I've observed this so often that I call it Kanter's Law. There are numerous roadblocks, obstacles, and surprises on the journey to change, and each one tempts us to give up. Give up prematurely, and the change effort is automatically a failure. Find a way around the obstacles, perhaps by making some tweaks in the plan, and keep going. Persistence and perseverance are essential to successful innovation and change.
"Be the change you seek to make in the world." Leaders must embody the values and principles they want other people to adopt. This famous Gandhi quote reminds us all — executives with associates, political leaders with followers, or parents with children — that one of the most important tasks is personal: to be a role model, exemplifying the best of what the change is all about.
Copyright © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School .
Best Regards,
Daniel Arbeeny
Phone: (917) 597-2006
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