Workface.com is a great new site for extending your personal brand narrative.
Companies use their brands to gain traction in the market place, establish a unique value proposition which resonates positively with consumers, and gain greater market and revenue share.
Yet the vast majority of executive candidates–many of whom have helped extend their companies’ brand build–fail to establish a personal brand to maximize their chances of landing a great job or furthering career success.
Some of us chuckled last fall when a straight-faced Mitt Romney declared that “corporations are people too, my friend.” But truth be told, people who brand themselves as carefully and effectively as the successful companies represented in Mitt’s 401k are the most successful. Without a personal brand establishing one’s unique professional value, a candidate will likely struggle to land that great job or achieve lasting career success.
When most of us think about brands we visualize logos; the ubiquitous Nike “swoosh” or Ford Motor Company’s blue oval convey powerful messages about brand value. And yet, few of us have a personal logo, thus, the idea of the personal brand becomes an abstract notion. Rarely visualized, the personal brand becomes a literary narrative which communicates one’s uniqueness and his or her lasting value to the marketplace.
So, what is your personal brand narrative? Do you even have one?
Whether you are in the middle of a job hunt or not, now is the time to be thinking about you as a top brand. What is it about you–the professional–which makes you versatile, valuable, sorely needed, and unique? An effective brand narrative for you will go a long way towards providing the most appropriate message to your current and future hiring managers.
Prime Real Estate for Brand Awareness: The Résumé
The top of your résumé is where your personal brand narrative needs to be–that is because the top of the résumé is where hiring managers spend the most time. Your personal brand–placed there–captures the attention of attention-depleted hiring managers who will pick up the phone to call you.
Extending Brand Awareness via Social Media
Blogs are where many ambitious candidates build and further their positive brand narratives. Easily set up on free platforms like wordpress.com, a personal blog may be used to highlight your current achievements and other career accomplishments. What is more, your blog content will show up in Google searches, thus, extending your exposure and positive brand story.
And now, through Workface, executive candidates have a great new tool to communicate their value to their future hiring managers…and get those managers to seek them out for phone or face-to-face conversations.
Whether you are an accomplished brand marketer or not, you must craft a compelling personal brand narrative to gain traction in the marketplace. It need not be highfalutin, but your personal brand must be compelling.
Earth Day is a great time for teachable moments. Here my daughter observes plant and animal life in Virginia's Rappahannock River.
Earth Day 2012 takes place this Sunday, April 22. And there is no better opportunity than this occasion to walk the walk and talk the talk of trailblazing green business careerists–The Green Suits.
Each year at this time, I resolve to further my efforts to give back to the planet and empower people. This year, I resolve to make these 12 things happen:
Plant more native seedlings around my property. My species of choice: River Birch and Red Maple. These fast growing trees help prevent soil erosion, offer shade, and provide habitat to perching birds and other critters.
Add more flowers. In year’s past, we’ve relied on perennial flowers to attract honeybees to our property. But this year, we’ll attract more of them–plus butterflies and hummingbirds–with a colorful assortment of annuals including Zinnias, Petunias, and Morning Glories. The seedlings have already sprouted.
Resist the urge to water the lawn. For five straight years–even through the worst droughts and heatwaves–we have let the lawn turn brown. We’re sure our neighbors don’t like it–actually we know they don’t like it–but we save thousands of gallons of water. And given that we’re in a drought situation every drop counts.
Install more LED lighting throughout the house. We have a few LEDs in use, already. They are expensive. But they don’t get hot and they use less energy than compact fluorescent lighting (CFL). Plus, unlike CFLs, LED lights do not contain mercury.
Save more paper. Over the past seven years, we have cut back considerably our use of copy paper; in 2005 we used about ten reams of paper per month, but now we’ve cut that to less than one ream per month (and will try to extend that further). We reuse every printed-on-one-side copy sheet for printing draft documents and to use as “scratch paper.” Printing less has saved us money too; on average our toner cartridge costs have dropped from about $80 per month to less than $10.
Use less laundry detergent. Six years ago, we stopped washing clothes in warm or hot water as cold water washing does just fine. Now, we’ve cut by as much as half the amount of detergent added to each wash load. And guess what? Despite less detergent used, our clothes still wash clean!
Swap our old, inefficient appliances for new EnergyStar-rated models. We had no idea just how much water our old dishwasher used until we replaced it last summer with a brand new EnergyStar-rated model. Incredibly, our dishwater consumption has been cut by more than half.
Buy local. Ditch the chains and frequent locally owned restaurants, grocers, and retail stores. Our local establishments know the community. They use their profits to buy local supplies. And they help keep people employed where they live.
Encourage skill-based volunteerism. As The Green Suits, we know to use our management skill to help people help themselves. This year, I will urge all of The Green Suits’ clients to find ways to leverage the skills of their staff members to help needy people in their community develop financial literacy, stay gainfully employed, keep a roof over their heads, and other things. We will also help clients to establish “green teams” so that they may launch their first sustainability programs, or make their existing ones bigger and better.
Make more noise. We’ve gotten busy with new executive search assignments. But that’s no excuse for not making noise through our own opinion editorials, blog posts, radio interviews, adjunct teaching, speaking engagements, and other opportunities. As The Green Suits, we must make the case every way we can for Triple Bottom Line thinking–to increase profits, but also save the planet and empower people.
Drive less. Gas at $4.00 per gallon (locally) is enough of an incentive to drive less. But we’ve worked hard to plan more efficient travel and cut down our gasoline consumption by about 35 percent. And we always make sure that tires are properly inflated, and…
Seize teachable moments. Last week my daughter and I explored for plants and animals which live in the nearby Rappahannock River. We found snails and baby leeches living in the riverbed. Then we spied a Bald Eagle that swooped in to grab shad from the river and bring [the prized meal] back to the aerie. The jaw-dropping reaction on my daughter’s face to the Bald Eagle’s swoop-in? PRICELESS!
Do resolve to change the world. Enjoy a great and meaningful Earth Day 2012!
Do you have what it takes to be our client's next Solutions Architect? Then contact Randall Byrn at The Green Suits.
We’re excited about the new Solutions Architect opening we have posted to our Jobs Page. It may be worked from a virtual office (anywhere in the US) or from one of our client’s regional offices including NYC. This is a great opportunity with a fantastic company!
Check out the job spec. If you think you’ve got what it takes then email your résumé and salary history to Randall Byrn right away!
Radio Host Diana Dehm hosts Sustainability News and Entertainment Radio. Her show airs Saturdays at 10AM Eastern Time on WSMN Radio 1590 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Afterwards, show segments are available as podcasts.
At 10AM Eastern Time this Saturday April 14, I will be host Diana Dehm’s guest on her show, Sustainability News and Entertainment. The show airs on WSMN Radio in Nashua, New Hampshire and may be heard via the station’s website. In case you miss the Saturday airing, you may listen to the rebroadcast Sunday, April 15 at 10AM Eastern Time, or, listen to the podcast.
Diana and I discuss the current state of green business career development and how talented and purpose-driven executives may use their knowledge, skill, and experience to successfully pivot into “green” careers. We talk about “skill-based volunteerism”–a truly great and noble way to add greenness to a professional résumé–and much more.
To quote another radio host with a similar name, NPR’s Diane Rehm: “Do join us!”
GXT Green's Ed Weisberg is a key advisor and subject matter expert for The Green Suits.
We are pleased and excited that one of our key advisors and subject matter experts, Ed Weisberg, will be host Diana Dehm’s guest on the Sustainability News and Entertainment Radio Network. Ed is the Senior VP of Marketing and Business Development for GXT Green in Billerica, Massachusetts.
This Saturday, you can tune into WSMN, 1590 AM in Nashua, New Hampshire, or listen to their live stream. After Saturday, you can also download the podcast. The radio broadcast will be repeated at 10:00 on Sunday. As Diana Dehm’s guest, Ed discusses the roots of GXT Green, the excitement brewing around their ECOgrade degradable shopping bags, and GXT Green’s Earth Day Honor Roll initiative.
We’ll be listening in. And hope that you will, too!
Writing a thank-you note to a prospective employer or not may be the difference between getting that great job...OR NOT!
I’ve been at this headhunting thing almost 15 years.
Yet, it never fails to surprise me how many polished and well-prepared candidates neglect the most important of career advancement steps: sending well-written thank-you notes to hiring managers and others who have interviewed them.
Did something happen when we embraced social media as our main points-of-contact with the outside world? As a result, did we forget that sending thank-you notes actually matters?
This post serves as a reminder that if you are vying for a new assignment you must deliver a concise but well-written thank-you note to each person who interviews you. Here are 5 reasons why it matters:
A thank-you note is a formal declaration of your interest in the position. Most hiring managers are smart, insightful people. But few are clairvoyant–they cannot read your mind to determine your interest or lack of interest in the position. Stating your interest in a thank-you note confirms that you are a serious candidate for the job.
A thank-you note can help convince a hiring manager and others that you are a spot-on candidate. Pick up on one or two key points made during the interviews to show that you are indeed able to meet and exceed the requirements of the position.
A thank-you note indicates that you are truly excited about the prospects of joining the team. As we pointed out in a previous post, the “fit-check” is one of three criteria a hiring manager uses to gauge your suitability for an assignment. Elaborate on your visualization that you will indeed be successful in the role.
A thank-you note demonstrates that you can get to the point without being brusque. This is not War & Peace. Instead, a thank-you note is a concise statement–usually no longer than three paragraphs. I’ve seen perfectly good candidates sandbag their shot at a plum job by not getting to the point, and…
A thank-you note relays that you a gracious person whom the hiring manager and his or her peers will enjoy adding to the team. The tone of your note must always be friendly and reassuring.
Surely, some of you are wondering: if no one sends “snail-mail” anymore, how do I post my thank-you note?
The answer is this: email is the preferred channel of delivery for thank-you notes. Emailed, a thank-you note need not be hand-delivered and it arrives instantly (and privately). Please avoid using LinkedIn to send your thank-you notes; many hiring managers check their accounts infrequently and–because of that–they may be left wondering why you haven’t followed up . However, if the person you interviewed is “old school” then it may be entirely appropriate to type out and mail a thank-you note.
Actually, that might be a refreshing alternative to email delivery.
But let me end on this important point: SPELLING AND GRAMMAR COUNT. With spell-check and grammar-checking tools built into most email software, there is no excuse to send out an uncorrected dispatch. Further, do read–and re-read several times–your note to make sure it is well-written.
If you are currently interviewing, we wish you the best of luck. Now, make your thank-you note communicate your passion for that great job and company.
An interesting thing is happening throughout Corporate America: company employees are ditching their office lines.
What?
No, it’s true. An acquaintance of mine works for a leading brand in the insurance space. Last week, she pulled a shiny new ‘smart phone’ from her pocket. “This is my new office line,” she said.
For this executive, the move to smart phones is a smart corporate move. She continued, “we work in bullpens, and meetings take us from floor to floor, building to building. When I had the [desk] phone, I spent hours returning missed calls.”
“Now,” she says, “my productivity has improved dramatically. Plus, I miss fewer calls.”
Is the 'smart phone' a smart alternative to a wired office phone line? For a company with 50 employees that spends $1200 per line, the cost-savings could actually fund a new hire.
Could this be the new normal?
Companies of all sizes–from the Fortune 500 to the smallest start-ups–are eliminating redundant communications technology because doing so saves a boatload of cash. A small business may cleave $1200 per phone line per year from their operating budgets by ditching wired lines. And, for a company with 50 employees, that’s $60,000 in savings–enough to hire another team member.
Increased productivity is the key benefit. But an executive who spends less time returning phone calls is a happier executive.
Many executive candidates we engage gave up their land lines at home a long time ago; the number listed on their résumés is almost always for a mobile line. So ditching the office phone is no big woop.
Beyond moving to smart phones, experts like my friend Steve Garson at Better Cost Control will help you reduce your company’s energy costs–so you can use the savings to hire even more talent and act more sustainably.
Perhaps the CV was written by the senior executive who enjoyed years of consistent career success but suddenly finds himself out of work. Or, it shows up courtesy of the management professional who—for sheer stubbornness or other motivation—refuses or never seeks critical feedback from others. For these and many other reasons, résumés full of meaningless jargon arrive in my email in-box on a daily basis.
In and of itself, jargon is fine. In conversation it is often makes the back-and-forth refreshingly cheeky.
Executive Recruiter Tim Welo says: "What I look for in the résumé is credibility in the form of numbers and results."
But headhunters like me groan at the sight of meaninglessness résumé jargon. Often times, candidates rely heavily on these “word droppings” in the vain effort to set themselves apart from other professionals; in reality it blends them back into the towering CV stack. Executive recruiters are usually of the same mind: meaninglessness résumé jargon belongs in a jar. Here are 10 examples:
1. Any compound word which starts with “proven,” such as: proven-leader, proven-performer, and proven-successful
In the words of SNL’s Seth Meyers: “REALLY?” What’s your proof?
2. Effective team leader
What exactly does this mean?
3. Detail-oriented
Your CV is seven pages-long. I GET IT!
4. Meets and exceeds goals
For goodness sake, I do hope you meet and exceed your goals. (But now I wonder, which goals did you miss by a mile?)
5. Expert presenter, negotiator, and deal-closer
Uh oh. My BS-O-Meter is RED-LINING!
6. Always gets the job done
So if I bump into you at the Apple store 10 o’clock on a Monday morning–checking out the new iPad3–I must conclude that you are there because you are an amazingly talented task master with lots of free time?
7. Track Record of Success
Listen Casey Jones: choo-choo train metaphors are overplayed to the point of absurdity. Sure, “track record of success” is used ad nauseum in job specs. But you are writing your CV for maximum effect–to gain the positive attention of a hiring manager. Move this bit of jargon to the rail yard.
8. Seasoned
Personally, I prefer wet-marinades. They keep the food from burning on the barbie… (Oh, that’s not what you meant?)
“Seasoned” is a term often used by executives who believe it makes them seem “more experienced.” And it does. But, it is also a pejorative; it can mean…tired, complacent, and completely out-of-touch.
9. Go-to Resource
Oh…please…STOP!
10. Strong communication, customer services, and organizational tool-box
So if your boss asks you to “tighten up” that executive summary you just drafted, will you pull out C-clamps, spring clamps, or Jorgensen Clamps from your tool box? (Enough, already!)
But wait. There’s one more meaningless bit of jargon to offer:
Use too much meaningless jargon in your résumé and the "BS-O-Meter" will red-line!
Out-of-the-box thinker
I think this term came into vogue thirty years ago–in the ascendancy of Management by Objective–to describe rugged individualists: the type of successful people who as kids ignored the teacher, using their 12-pack of Crayola crayons to color outside the lines. Thirty years later, “out-of-the-box-thinker” is the prime example of overused and meaningless CV jargon.
Let’s be real: a résumé without jargon is like a day without sunshine—dark, flat, devoid of feeling and emotion. It is as dry as a job-application form.
And there are some examples of jargon which do catch my attention. I like “change agents” and I want to know more about them.
But a résumé with too much meaningless jargon is…a deal-killer.
Now, you ask: what makes jargon meaningless? And, I’ll tell you: jargon becomes meaningless when it is not backed up by credible career-success metrics. Executive recruiter Tim Welo makes this point crystal clear:
“What I look for in the résumé is credibility in the form of numbers and results. I respond to statements like, ‘I did X and the result was Y.’ Claims must be backed up by numbers like ‘sales of $10 million,’ ‘Y was over quota by 11%,’ and the like. I want to see what a candidate has done which contributes to success in business—be it revenue gains, operational efficiency, staffing growth, or other measures.”
Thanks, Tim. That is great insight.
Here’s my takeaway. Jargon is fine. Used well in the CV, it can set you apart from other candidates. But, as Tim Welo points out, jargon must be supported by great metrics. Example:
Change agent who led Acme Industries to achieve impressive Triple-Bottom Line improvement
- Cut carbon emissions by 46 million metric tonnes
- Recycled 98 percent of factory material which would have been placed in landfill, returning $3.8 million dollars to operating budget, and
- Led 100 skill-based volunteers in mission which taught life-management strategies to long-term unemployed adults.
Greetings on this warm breezy summer late March day. Here in Northern Virginia, my cherry tree blossomed three weeks early and is already past peak. My plum-tree leafed out over the past weekend. And my dogwood tree is about to flower–a FULL MONTH EARLY.
How about that climate change?
But I digress.
Murray Lender helped turn the bagel--a staple of Eastern European Jewish cuisine--into a classic American food item. And as a TV pitchman, he helped bring Lender's Bagels to the masses. (photo h/t the Lender Family)
Today, I honor the memory of Murray Lender who died yesterday at the age of 81.
He was an incredible marketer and salesman. Murray, along with his brothers Sam and Marvin, turned the family’s New Haven, Connecticut-based business–Lender’s Bagels–into the world’s largest manufacturer of bagels. Lender’s Bagels pioneered high-volume bagel production, singlehandedly created the frozen bagel category, and helped boost sales for other brands in the supermarket frozen food aisles. One story has it that other manufacturers sought the marketing maven’s help with sales promotion; March was always the slowest month for frozen food sales at grocery stores. So, Murray created the “March is Frozen Food Month” campaign. Soon after, frozen food category sales took off.
March was always the slowest month for frozen food sales at grocery stores. So, Murray created the "March is Frozen Food Month" campaign. Soon after, frozen food category sales took off.
The bagel is a staple of Eastern European Jewish cuisine. But Murray, the charming TV pitchman, turned the bagel–and specifically Lender’s Bagels–into classic American food. His commercial fame landed him a guest appearance on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show couch.
Growing up in New Haven, I knew Murray but not well. But I can tell you that I’ve never met a more generous man.
Years ago, I had developed a business model for a consumer marketing process–even got a patent for the technology that I had invented. I called Murray and asked if he’d be willing to free up a half-hour of time for me to run through my pitch because I truly valued his knowledge of consumer brand marketing and his business “sechel” (good sense). I asked for thirty minutes, but Murray gave me over three hours of his time; where other people I’d shown the business plan shot it full of holes and told me to give up, Murray offered only high praise and encouragement. He congratulated me for being creative and daring, and he offered great counsel.
That was Murray. A prince among men.
The hits on his online obituaries are already trending skyward. And I am pleased to see that he is described in many of the headlines as “Philanthropist Murray Lender.” From talking to the people who knew him best–including his daughter Haris–it is clear to me that is how he wanted to be most-remembered. Murray donated time and money to many causes, including the Lender School of Business Center at Quinnipiac University and the New Haven Jewish Federation. A playground in New Haven, built on the land where the original bagel shop stood, is named in Murray Lender’s honor.
His funeral will take place this Sunday in Connecticut; I am sorry that I won’t be in attendance. I wish his family and friends strength during this difficult time.
Onboarding takes hard work and commitment; the company, hiring manager, the team, and the new hire need to be "on board" with onboarding.
In my pre-recruiter days–when I was the one being hired–I often chuckled when senior managers greeted me with their standard saying: “Welcome aboard!” And here I thought I was joining an integrated marketing agency–not an elite cruise line. But all kidding aside, that nautical greeting has merit. Hiring managers greet newbies hopeful that they will help the ship stay on an even keel, ready for stormy seas ahead. New hires will graciously accept the greeting hopeful that they’ve boarded a nimble and well-fortified Aegis-class warship on which they may lead many difficult missions to successful outcomes.
What in some larger companies and organizations was simply called orientation–and smaller ones was “hey, show the new hire around the company”–is now called “onboarding.” George Bradt, author of Onboarding – How To Get Your New Employees Up To Speed In Half The Time, offers this detailed explanation:
Onboarding is the process of acquiring, accommodating, assimilating, and accelerating new team members, whether they come from outside or inside the organization. The prerequisite to successful onboarding is getting your organization aligned around the need and the role.
Align: Make sure your organization agrees on the need for a new team member and the delineation of the role you seek to fill.
Acquire: Identify, recruit, select, and get people to join the team.
Accommodate: Give new team members the tools they need to do the work.
Assimilate: Help them join with others so they can do the work together.
Accelerate: Help them and their team deliver better results faster.
This week, The Green Suits reached out to experts in the recruitment space to address the importance of onboarding. Here is what they had to say:
Megan Bell, Corporate Recruiter: “It can be really frustrating for me and our hiring managers to go through all that work preparing the orientation and training to ensure new hires know everything they need to know about their jobs and company policy when, a day later, [they] act like they’ve never heard it. So, during their first day/week, new hires MUST: be actively engaged; ask questions if something is not clear; show excitement and enthusiasm for the new role and new company–don’t show up complaining about how tired you are or look like you just woke up 15 minutes ago; bring a notepad and pen to take notes; and pay close attention to your orientation. I know there is a lot to take in, so TAKE NOTES and then review them each day till it can be remembered.”
Cora Mae Lengeman, Managing Partner at Norwood Network Associates: “I have plenty of stories from placed candidates who walked into nightmares like this:
A new hire arrives at work but no one knows it is his first day. HR and the folks who hired him are off-site at a conference. He has no desk, cubicle or anywhere to sit for two weeks. Plus, he has no computer, phone, or anything else to do his job. Luckily, on his own, he found the men’s room. One day after the new hire’s first two weeks, the president of the company–who he interviewed with–walks by. Seeing the new hire seated in a hallway reading company product manuals, the president asks: ‘Is this what you were hired to do?’ The new hire had had enough and told the president exactly why he was in the hallway and had been for two weeks doing nothing because the company wasn’t prepared for him to sit anywhere else. That minute, he started working in the president’s office. He is now an Executive Vice President with the company, but when he was new on the job he was close to walking out the door.
From what I have experienced, it is not candidates who need advice on onboarding to make a good impression; many companies are totally unprepared and uneducated on how to onboard or welcome a new hire.”
Sandra McCartt, President of Professional Search, Inc.: “One of the biggest mistakes I see during the onboarding process involves those new hires who will work in-the-field and are brought into corporate offices for onboarding. Being far from home, staying in a hotel, they make the mistake of going out for drinks with other new hires. The stories of new hires doing something stupid in these situations are legendary. Resist the temptation to go out for a drink or two or ten with other new hires. Go back to your hotel room, call home, and go to bed. And, don’t put lobster and prime rib on the room service tab just because the company is paying for room and board. Sometimes the impressions made by a new hire during onboarding are more important than the interview which got them hired; they can make or break a career path with that employer. Use onboarding as a time to meet and establish favorable impressions with as many people as possible.”
What is clear from Bradt and our esteemed experts is that onboarding takes a lot of hard work and commitment; the company, hiring manager, the team, and the new hire need to be totally “on board” with onboarding.
Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering Yourself for an Executive Career in the New Green Economy is available for purchase through these and other booksellers:
