A little self promotion never hurt anyone

A little self promotion never hurt anyone I didnt plan on blogging twice today, but I cant pass this one up. Id like to share with you a write-up on JibberJobber from a CNET website, Webware.com. Rafe Needleman is the editor, and has a long history of writing about tech companies. Im honored that he spent time poking around JibberJobber and doing this write-up. Notice that the image on his post is a screen that he grabbed with his own data, so you can see that he actually played around with it! Go check out what Rafe has to say and then, if you have a digg account, please click here to digg it. Now, my comments on his post (you didnt think I would leave it at that, did you??): First, the tagline in the logo is cool web apps for everyone I know JibberJobber is cool, and Im really glad to see that it made it in this write-up because it really is, in my opinion, for everyone. Whether you are in your job search or not (and Rafe talks about this) it has applicability to you! Second, he says there are some worksheets to create your own personal 30 second pitch. Make that, pitches. This is critical because you may have a pitch for an interview with a big company that is different than the pitch for the small company. And then there are the pitches for the casual networking event, the bumped-into-you at the grocery store, the pitch for position x and a pitch for position y, etc. A pitch for your own business, your hobby, etc. You probably cant have too many pitches. Third, he says the user interface is downright plain and lacks a few buttons good thing this is web-based so that those additional buttons can just show up once we develop them! As far as being plain, we work hard to keep everything as simple as possible, and more importantly, uncluttered. I dont have any sponsors yet Id love to have some sponsors but I dread figuring out how to put their images up without detracting from the application. I want to make this a pleasant experience for you! Fourth, and this blew me away, he says In some ways, JibberJobber is a completely private version of LinkedIn What a compliment! I see it as a complementary toolset to LinkedIn and other social networking sites, but to even be compared with a powerhouse like LinkedIn is a great complement. Ill be grinning all night long, but I must give credit where its due (read: this is going to sound like Ive just received an Emmy or something skip this paragraph if you dont want to get cheesed-out). I have a very talented development team behind me, and there is no way that we could be where we are at with such a classy product without this outstanding talent. Id like to name them but, well, I cant yet Also, I have been honored to have been featured in many blog posts from veteran bloggers and newbies alike, and that has significantly contributed to where Im at. Equally important is the feedback that Ive received from users who have asked for simple changes to make it work a little better, or huge changes to add significant features. All of this has helped the product grow as it should. Last but not least, my investors and mentors have been steadfast and encouraging, and have played a significant role in helping me iron out the business. Its been a fun ride and, as usual, I have some cool news coming soon. Stay tuned! A little self promotion never hurt anyone I didnt plan on blogging twice today, but I cant pass this one up. Id like to share with you a write-up on JibberJobber from a CNET website, Webware.com. Rafe Needleman is the editor, and has a long history of writing about tech companies. Im honored that he spent time poking around JibberJobber and doing this write-up. Notice that the image on his post is a screen that he grabbed with his own data, so you can see that he actually played around with it! Go check out what Rafe has to say and then, if you have a digg account, please click here to digg it. Now, my comments on his post (you didnt think I would leave it at that, did you??): First, the tagline in the logo is cool web apps for everyone I know JibberJobber is cool, and Im really glad to see that it made it in this write-up because it really is, in my opinion, for everyone. Whether you are in your job search or not (and Rafe talks about this) it has applicability to you! Second, he says there are some worksheets to create your own personal 30 second pitch. Make that, pitches. This is critical because you may have a pitch for an interview with a big company that is different than the pitch for the small company. And then there are the pitches for the casual networking event, the bumped-into-you at the grocery store, the pitch for position x and a pitch for position y, etc. A pitch for your own business, your hobby, etc. You probably cant have too many pitches. Third, he says the user interface is downright plain and lacks a few buttons good thing this is web-based so that those additional buttons can just show up once we develop them! As far as being plain, we work hard to keep everything as simple as possible, and more importantly, uncluttered. I dont have any sponsors yet Id love to have some sponsors but I dread figuring out how to put their images up without detracting from the application. I want to make this a pleasant experience for you! Fourth, and this blew me away, he says In some ways, JibberJobber is a completely private version of LinkedIn What a compliment! I see it as a complementary toolset to LinkedIn and other social networking sites, but to even be compared with a powerhouse like LinkedIn is a great complement. Ill be grinning all night long, but I must give credit where its due (read: this is going to sound like Ive just received an Emmy or something skip this paragraph if you dont want to get cheesed-out). I have a very talented development team behind me, and there is no way that we could be where we are at with such a classy product without this outstanding talent. Id like to name them but, well, I cant yet Also, I have been honored to have been featured in many blog posts from veteran bloggers and newbies alike, and that has significantly contributed to where Im at. Equally important is the feedback that Ive received from users who have asked for simple changes to make it work a little better, or huge changes to add significant features. All of this has helped the product grow as it should. Last but not least, my investors and mentors have been steadfast and encouraging, and have played a significant role in helping me iron out the business. Its been a fun ride and, as usual, I have some cool news coming soon. Stay tuned!

Personal Branding Interview David L. Rogers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Interview David L. Rogers - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Today, I spoke to David L. Rogers, who is the Executive Director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership at Columbia Business School, and author of The Network Is Your Customer: 5 Strategies to Thrive in a Digital Age. In this interview, David talks about how social networks change our relationship with brands, his five strategies that businesses can use to create value, and more. How do social networks change our relationships with brands? From our smartphones to our social networks we are all connected now by tools that allow us to create and interact with each other on a mass scale. This is changing our relationships not just with each other, but with organizations of all kinds. In the past, businesses relied on a broadcast model to influence customers: mass production, and mass marketing, projected at masses of aggregate consumers. To succeed today, businesses need a different model â€" a model of customer networks, which are engaged, interacting, and able to participate with, or challenge, your organization. What are your five strategies that any business can use to create new value? The focus of the book is primarily on customer behaviors, rather than technology. By understanding the core behaviors that drive customer networks, I identify five strategies that any business can use to create new value: ACCESS: be faster, be easier, be everywhere, be always on ENGAGE: become a source of valued content CUSTOMIZE: make your offering adaptable to your customers needs CONNECT: become a part of your customers conversations COLLABORATE: involve your customers at every stage of your enterprise In the book, I illustrate these strategies with more than 100 cases of successful digital strategies from every type and size of business â€" from B2B, consumer, and even nonprofit organizations. Do you believe in the process of co-creation with customers? What are the pros and cons to this strategy? Each of the books five strategies can be applied to a variety of business objectives, from driving sales, to enhancing innovation, reducing costs, gaining customer insight, or building breakthrough products and services. A COLLABORATE strategy focused on innovation is what is often called co-creation. I have found successful examples of this and other COLLABORATE strategies, from the 2008 Obama campaign to Apples App Store, using diverse platforms, from online competitions, to open APIs, to web platforms like eBay. The key to any COLLABORATE strategy is to pick the right platform and to be very clear about the motivations of your customer network â€" Why would they participate? Whats in it for them? What value do they gain? What really exists on the network? What should we know about the network? Customers lives are increasingly lived digitally. So businesses would be wise not to think of digital as a function to stick in a particular department of their organization. In our daily lives, the distinction between online vs. offline is increasingly blurred as we integrate mobile devices into our conferences, meetings, dinner conversations, and TV watching. My son doesnt understand the distinction between a computer and the Internet, because he never experienced the former without the latter. I suspect his children will not fully grasp our distinction between online and offline. What inspired you to write this book? I was inspired by all the organizations I had met, taught, or advised that were creating really innovative new strategies, marketing, and business models for customer networks. These werent just web companies like Google or Facebook, but car companies, hospitals, retail stores, fashion brands, B2B services, and education start-ups. Writing the book offered an exciting opportunity to research hundreds of such cases and think deeply about the underlying patterns, and to offer some practical advice for anyone grappling with business strategy in our digital age. David L. Rogers is a widely-recognized leader on brands and digital strategy, known for his unique insights into customer networks. He is the author of The Network Is Your Customer: 5 Strategies to Thrive in a Digital Age published in 2011 by Yale University Press. He is the co-author, with Bernd Schmitt, of Theres No Business Thats Not Show Business: Marketing in an Experience Culture and co-editor of The Handbook on Brand and Experience Management. David tweets at twitter.com/david_rogers and blogs at www.davidrogers.biz. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Marketplace, and Reuters. David teaches on brands, marketing, and digital strategy at Columbia Business School, where he is the Executive Director of the Center on Global Brand Leadership, the leading global forum on branding issues for researchers and executives.

Tips for Saving Time while Building Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Tips for Saving Time while Building Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Are you one of the many who use lack of time as a reason to put-off building a personal brand by writing provocative thought leadership articles, books, starting a podcast, frequently updating your blog, or submitting guest posts on other blogs? If you dont have the time now, when will you have the time? Lack of time is an unfortunate reality for most of us; today, everyone is stretched then by family demands, financial pressures, job expectations, and an always connected Internet/cell phone world. Nevertheless, each year, new subject area experts appear as competitors in every area. Whats their secret? Since everyone shares 24-hour days, and no amount of wishful thinking is likely to reduce your workload, there are mainly just 2 things you can do to find the time to build your personal brand: Commitment. Commitment means making your personal brand a priority in your life, not just something you do when you finish your real job. Commitment involves recognizing the importance of creating a personal brand, making difficult choices, and cultivating the habits needed to create the content you need to establish a a compelling personal brand in your field. Efficiency. After making the commitment to build your personal brand, you have to cultivate the habits of efficiency. Efficiency involves multiplying your time by accomplishing in 30-minutes a day what would normally take you 60 or 90 minutes a day. Efficiency involves writing strategically, so your words and key ideas can be leveraged as broadly as possible. The following are some ideas learned from authors and subject area experts whom Ive interviewed during the past 18 months. 7 time-saving personal branding tips Time limits. Try writing your blog posts in 30-minutes, or less. Stress builds, and productivity often gets clogged, when you take a writing task too seriously. The solution is to commit to writing your blog posts in 30-minutes. Words are far more likely to flow when you spend your time writing, rather than over-thinking the topic before you begin writing. Writing quickly also gives you more time to review and self-edit your post before sharing it with the Internet. Technology. One recently self-published author I interviewed purchased an inexpensive, hand-held digital recorder and dictates blog posts and sections of chapters while driving to client meetings or stopped at traffic lights. When he gets back, he plugs the digital recorder into his computer, and his voice recognition software program transcribes his dictation and prepares the first draft. Expanding topics. Although the practice is by no means universal, more and more individuals are building their personal brands and leveraging their writing by expanding blog posts into articles, ebooks, and chapters of brand-building books. Condensing topics. The same idea works in reverse; blog posts can be condensed to their essence and reused as tip sheets and sidebars in articles and books. Reformatting. Content ideas should transcend media; ideas that first appear as blog posts can be addressed in podcasts and YouTube videos. Likewise, after creating a podcast, you might be able to convert the topic into 2 or 3 separate blog posts addressing aspects of the podcast. Each media has its own followers. More important, each time you re-address a topic, youre likely to come up with new ideas. Live connections. One of the easiest ways to develop new content is to present an on-going series of free interviews and teleseminars which are recorded and transcribed.   Live events create deadlines that overcome procrastination and prompt action. Your enthusiasm builds, and your voice changes, when youre projecting to a live audience, and the ideas flow as they tend to during conversations. Crowd-sourcing. Many profitable personal brands have been based on tapping into the power of others, often by providing an opportunity for others to share their expertise and ideas. By soliciting success stories and examples of mistakes made and lessons learned, or even just commenting on the videos found on the TED.Org site, ( not only taps into the power of story, but provides a foundation for your critical analyses and observations. Personal branding sense demands efficient content creation The above are just a few of the ways you can save time while building your personal brand with helpful and relevant content. Theres no time to waste! If you want to succeed in the Web 2.0 world, you must establish your personal brand, and personal brands dependent content. Your ability to build your personal brand is, ultimately, tied to your ability to save time creating content. Do you agree? Whats your favorite time-saving technique? Do you have a tip youd like to share with others? Submit your ideas as comments, below. Author: Roger C. Parker shares ideas for planning writing, promoting, profiting ideas and strategies in his daily writing tips blog. His latest book is #BOOK TITLE Tweet: 140 Bite-Sized Ideas for Compelling Article, Book, Event Titles. to Save Time while Building Your Personal Brand

5 Ways to Move Past Overwhelm in Your Job Search - Classy Career Girl

5 Ways to Move Past Overwhelm in Your Job Search In honor of my job search overwhelm tips being published on Mashable yesterday, I wanted to bring you even more tips! Why do I have so many tips about being stuck and getting through it, because I was once right where you are. Rejection emails. No responses to connection requests. Never hearing back from my dream job or (even worse) hearing back that they chose someone else who was more qualified. Overwhelm is the most common battle that job searchers face. Where do you even start? Do you update your resume, sign up for a networking event or search for jobs online? You surely can’t do everything at once, especially if you are job searching while still working a full-time job. If you are battling overwhelm or scared to fail, here are some suggestions to help you out. 1. Learn to say no No one will hate you. It’s ok to say no. I have a client whose boss keeps having her do his work for him. Before she could actually have the time to job search and get her career unstuck, she needed to clear the tasks on her plate and stop doing his work. I know it is sometimes hard to say no because we want everyone else  to like us. But, you have to think about how important your time really is. You need to set boundaries for yourself. When you do turn down the request, keep your no short; something along the lines of “I’d really love to, but I can’t.” The more wiggle room you give, the more ammo the other person has to attempt to change your mind. Never apologize and don’t dwell on it or feel guilty. This will get easier with time I promise! Once you see how much more control you now have over your life, saying no will become second nature. Other tips for saying no are to tell your boss that you can help him or her later when things calm down. Or ask your boss  to prioritize your tasks for you. Let your boss know that you already have too much on your plate and you want to do things well so you need his help. 2. Prioritize Most feelings of overwhelm comee down to setting realistic goals and incorporating them into your daily routine. Assuming that you already have a to-do list, pick out the one item you most dread doing… that’s your first priority for the day. Once you’ve finished the activity that you most dread, the rest of your goals for that day will be a little easier to achieve. I often ask myself, “What is the most important thing I can do right now?” Do you need to be doing everything or can you focus only on the most important things in your life and career and say no to everything else. I once had a client that was volunteering for everything she could. Yes, it will look great on her resume but if her goal is to make a career transition in the next 3 months, she needs to focus on doing that first. Also, don’t forget what can be accomplished if you simply wake up a bit earlier. Have some quiet time and drink your coffee. The worst thing for overwhelm is to spend your day rushing from one thing to the next. You’re not a superhero and you can’t do everything all at once, no matter how hard you try. Try to block out 15-30 minutes right when you wake up to focus on your most important goal in your job search. This will move your career forward if you are dedicated to your goals first thing in the day. 3.  Dont compare Each of us has our own unique journey to finding our ideal career path. For me it was over a 4 year journey. Don’t judge yourself. We are often our worst critics. Don’t think you have to be like everyone else’s path. Your path is unique and will be different. There is no “perfect timeline.” You are on the RIGHT PATH! Even if you feel like it is taking way too long. I spoke to a client last week who was worried because her search was taking too long. She had gone through my Love Your Career Formula course  and was close to finishing. She had targeted a career field and then realized that the career she thought she wanted to go into wasn’t the right fit for her. She was feeling really frustrated by it but I told her that it was actually a GOOD thing! She was right on track because she was narrowing career fields down and wouldn’t end up in a career field that wasn’t a good fit for her. Everyone’s journey is different. You can’t compare yourself to anyone else. 4. Find positive people Remember, you don’t have to talk to everyone about your job search plans. Another one of my clients recently told me that after a big blowout with her dad who didn’t agree with her career choices, she said she realized that she should only talk to her career coach about her career. Some people will build us up and some people will bring us down. You don’t have to share everything with everyone. Surround yourself with people that are positive and bring out the best in you. Find people to add to your network that inspire you and believe in your career goals and dreams. 5.  Be present Most of us live in either the past or in the future. We regret what we’ve done (or not done), or we worry about what’s to come. There are no problems in the present. You are okay right now. You have a roof over your head, you have food in the fridge, and you feel fine. Stop living in the future. Your stress and blood pressure build as you think about everything you need to accomplish. Too much to do and too little time. This is what happens when you’re living in the future. You think and stress about all the things that need to be done in the future. Fears of not being able to get the job you want, reaching your career goals and disappointing others haunts you. When I am overwhelmed, I just focus on being mindful and I try to meditate for two minutes. If you become  more aware of the present moment, you realize that you’re doing the best you can under the current circumstances. Close your eyes and breath or try yoga or meditating. Let it go. You are on the right path. Readers, what do you think? How do you battle the overwhelm that comes with job searching and managing your future career success?

Christian Resume Writing - How to Write a Great Christian Resume

Christian Resume Writing - How to Write a Great Christian ResumeWhen you're a Christian who has found employment in the United States, your first thought is probably to apply for the Christian resume writing services available. The vast majority of Americans are Christians, so this isn't a particularly big surprise. But if you've never applied for a job outside of your religion, or you're not a Christian, you might be confused about how to write a Christian resume. In this article, we'll explore some of the fundamentals.Of course, Christians don't go out and practice how to write resumes, so they will need help from Christian-oriented professionals. There are websites that provide all manner of writing-related services. You can order and submit papers, learn how to organize a workstation, and much more. You can also do this for free, but the quality may not be as good as some paid programs offer. For this reason, you might consider using a paid program for the job of writing your Chr istian resume.One of the most basic requirements for a Christian resume is to indicate your belief in God and the Bible. Ask your church if they have any guidelines for how to write a Christian resume. Some of them will require the use of direct quotations from the Bible or direct references to Christian theology. It would be helpful to make sure you know what specific kinds of words to use and which are acceptable in the workplace. If your church doesn't provide guidance, ask them to look over your Christian resume and assist you with any specific questions.Writing is an art, so always try to use a hand-written character. If you use a computer-generated outline, be sure that it's professional-looking and reflects your personal personality. Write something that makes you proud to show to employers, because this will reflect positively on your work performance. Use your own words, not someone else's.Above all, as a Christian, you should be confident in who you are and what you believ e. Because you'll be using your resume to get a job, you need to portray a positive image of yourself. If you're not confident in your ability to do so, you might want to seek the advice of a Christian counselor. At the very least, your pastor can be very helpful in telling you what to do, such as choosing a topic and taking a position at a certain company. Make sure that you can clearly communicate what you want from your employer in your resume, especially if you're applying for a management position.In addition to writing content, there are several other skills required to effectively communicate your faith in writing. While it is possible to find Christian resume writing services that will provide cover letters and other personal information for you, it's also important to get the full picture with a resume before you submit it. Review the information that you've provided in the application and make sure it's accurate and that everything that you're submitting is a good represen tation of who you are.Finally, in order to be a good candidate for a Christian resume writing service, you need to be self-motivated. Your Christian employer wants to hire people who are willing to work hard and offer honest and forthright feedback. If you don't care about what you write, your Christian employer won't either. Therefore, don't underestimate your personal abilities and your religious beliefs.If you want to learn how to write a great Christian resume, take advantage of a Christian-oriented writing service. With these services, you'll learn how to avoid common mistakes and learn how to properly portray yourself in a professional manner.

Study Even your satisfied employees may be looking to leave

Study Even your satisfied employees may be looking to leave Study: Even your satisfied employees may be looking to leave An 11-year marketing veteran of a fast-growing technology company, Ron has a great job. He gets to travel, works with great people, and gets stock options as well as a competitive salary. However, even though hes employed, hes looking. He invested in his own laptop for his job search, hired a job coach trainer and started taking interviews. Most importantly, he started networking in the community, researched his market value and brushed up on his job search skills. Yes, hes still with his current company but it might be his old company soon. Whats driving Ron to go on the job hunt? His managers are just so-so, there is no promotion on the horizon, hes been in the same role for three years, and he doesnt see career growth in the near future. His overall impression of his own career is meh. Rising trend By now youve all heard the news that, according to a recent Gallup poll, employee engagement is a whopping low of 31.5 percent. In 2014, about half of employees said they were not engaged and 17.5 percent were actively disengaged. The news gets worse with a new survey, Jobvites annual Nation Jobseeker Study, a comprehensive report that provides insight on the tools people use to job hunt, the characteristics of different types of workers and whether job hunters are more or less confident this year than last. The study also reveals some interesting insight into mobile use and how jobseekers are leveraging devices in their job search and application processes. The biggest and most surprising finding is around employee loyalty and workers willingness to jump ship for better opportunities: 45 percent surveyed are satisfied with a current job but are open to a new job. Eye-opening stats Other results of Jobvites study include: Reflecting on the past year, 60 percent of job seekers are equally or more optimistic about job opportunities, up significantly from 45 percent in 2013. Job seekers are surfing the wave of career opportunities. Technology has the highest short-term turnover, but no industry is exempt. Fifty percent of employed job seekers see a current position as a placeholder, 28 percent view a current position as a stepping-stone, and another 22 percent view it as entry-level. These are indicators that people see their jobs as growth experiences rather than an endgame. Money is still the most influential factor both in deciding to leave a job and in choosing a new one. While money was ranked highest, location and work/life balance came in at the second and third spot respectively, for both men and women. Heres a way to sum it all up: Minimal pay and lack of growth make leaving a job inevitable. While I wouldnt say that job seekers are in the drivers seat, they are getting more comfortable with leaving a company for a better overall opportunity. After you read Jobvites data, ask yourself: What am I doing to keep and motivate my best employees?

If someone you care about is thinking about quitting a terrible job, support them - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

If someone you care about is thinking about quitting a terrible job, support them - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This is the ultimate cost of not quitting a job you hate: A British teenage apprentice car mechanic killed himself after being bullied by coworkers: On one occasion, the young man said his colleagues had locked him in a cage at the garage by force, doused him in a flammable liquid and set fire to his clothes. His father told the inquest that the evening before his death, George had been pacing around the house, saying I have to quit, I cant go back there over and over again. Having told his son not to resign from his job and that things would get better, Mr Cheese said he now realised how ridiculous this response was. First of all, the workplace should be held legally?responsible for letting that kind of behavior happen. The supervisor even knew about it: Georges line manager,?Simon?Wright, who admitted to playing a number of pranks on George, told the inquest: I was in the workshop when a prank was played on George and he was set on fire. It did not go too far. We knew where to draw the line, he said. It was not bullying. Oh yes it was. The main?lesson to take away form this is that if?someone?you care about?is miserable at work and wants to quit, support them. The correct answer to I hate my job and want to quit, is not You just need to tough it out, things will get better. The correct answer is Great idea, how can I help you in that situation. Quitting is not an easy choice but sometimes it is the only choice. And the price of not making that choice can be very, very high. Related posts The top 5 myths about quitting your job International Quit Your Crappy Job Day 3 reasons why Never give up is terrible advice Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related