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Posts Tagged ‘Reputation’

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House Hunting, Dating, and the Interview

June 14th, 2010 ::

by Allison Kapner

Photo courtesy david.nikonvscanon/David Blaikie. Flickr Creative Commons.

An interesting twist… how are house hunting, dating and interviewing the same?

This week I thought I would add an additional twist to the mix. Some of our readers may be able to relate to this blog and others may not be ready to consider this question.

The twist: Not only do dating and interviewing share common characteristics, so does house hunting.

And really, all life-changing events can apply to today’s lesson: Patience, timing and optimism are critical.

We’ve discussed some of the fundamentals between dating and interviewing. Let’s take a minute to reflect on the process of buying a house.

You come across many different options and have to somehow begin to target houses within your budget and experience level (already renovated or do you have the ability to fix it up) as well as just the idea of whether each option is overall the “right” house.

Sound familiar? Finding a job or mate that does not align with your needs will not do you any good and will only cause future frustration.

Just like Monster.com, Match.com, and other sites we have discussed, there are house hunting websites where you can opt to have listings sent to you each day. Similar to dating, you won’t be attracted to every house and similar to job searching, they won’t all fit into your desired future plans. With job hunting, you interview to find out if you and a company make a good match. With dating, well, you go on dates. And with housing hunting, you tour houses. And in each case, hopefully you’ll know when you’ve found your match.

Research: House hunting, like job hunting and spouse hunting, takes research. You need to research neighborhoods and figure out what you want out of a house, similar to knowing what type of culture you are looking for in a job and what qualities you want in a mate. Without research, you will spin your wheels because nothing can fits with qualifications that don’t exist.

As someone who is going through the house hunting process, I can attend that it is a rollercoaster. Job searching is a roller coaster. Dating is a rollercoaster. My advice to you, do not try to do all three at the same time!

Allison Kapner headshotAllison Kapner is a Relationship Manager in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School where she is responsible for building partnerships with employers to ultimately create job and internship opportunities for students and alumni. She also advises and coaches students on job search techniques and brings a unique corporate expertise to assist candidates, as her past experience was as an Executive Recruiter in financial services in New York City.

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Posted in Allison Kapner, Dating, Interviewing, WhatsNextGenY | 1 Comment »

Why I will reject you…

June 2nd, 2010 ::

by Patrick Madsen

Photo courtesy smemon87 / Sean MacEntee. Flickr Creative Commons.

I am a part of what is known as “Generation X.” I am supposed to be your ally, part of the generation in the working world that understands you best. After all, we both come from a time of computers and the internet, and according to everything you read, we share a number of other characteristics and abilities. So why is it that I would reject your application, reject you during the interview, and may not even respond to you at all? Easy… because you are not showing me why I should.

Here are just a few reasons you may get rejected by me:

  1. Professional image: Yes, business attire has changed and business casual has become more of the “norm” in corporate American. BUT that doesn’t mean that you can wear flip-flops to work, not brush your hair, or wear “Saturday night” attire to an interview or to networking occasions. The people that are still in charge and making the hiring decisions will look for the professionally dressed.
  2. Your attitude: Just because I am not standing in front of you does not mean that I will not hear about EVERYTHING you said and did. I remember a student who showed up to our building for an appointment only to discover that I was not in the building. He threw a temper tantrum in front of our reception team, demanded to see my boss, and wrote a two page grievance letter to the dean. While printing this letter, he decided to check his email only to find out that he had mixed up the appointment day/time. He didn’t turn in the letter to the dean. But I still heard the whole story. So be careful about the image you are projecting AT ALL TIMES as it can affect your career opportunities in the future, especially when you don’t yet have a proven track record. No one wants to hire someone with a poor attitude or who cannot act professionally. (Side note: Even had I been wrong and gotten the date messed up, the temper tantrum in the lobby would have immediately put this student in the “no” pile had I been a hiring manager.)
  3. You don’t care: I can quickly pick out those who really care about the job and those who just see it as a means to an end. Find something you are passionate about and go after it. Don’t settle for something that you will hang onto only for a short time and then move on. Your passion, or lack thereof, can be seen on your face, your demeanor, and presentation. That said, I also don’t want you to think that your first job will be your “dream job” and will meet your every criterion. But there is a mid-point between those two extremes.
  4. Spelling and grammar: You’ve heard this before, I’m sure, but it bears repeating: One negative trend that technology has created is the lack of professional writing. With people instant messaging, tweeting, and texting, their ability to coherently develop structured writing based on the “rules” we learned in school has gone by the wayside. Emails that are poorly developed, resumes with one spelling mistake, or even a connection request on LinkedIn that has errors often will land you in the “no” pile vs. the “yes” pile.

People forget that a job interview is a sales call. You need to sell me your “value”! Why should I want to hire you if you cannot sell me on the idea of you? Think about yourself as a product. What would make a consumer purchase that product?

And remember that you are still playing in the world developed by those from the Baby Boomer Generation and Generation X. Learn as much as you can about how they think, how they work, and what motivates them. The more you know, the more it will help you interact with those from the generations doing the hiring.

Patrick Madsen, Director of Programs & Education in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business SchoolPatrick Madsen is the Director of Programs & Education in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. He manages the Programs & Education curriculum to include career advising services, speaker series, brand management training, and other events to help students prepare themselves for the world of work. His background includes a degree in Psychology from North Carolina State University, a masters degree in Counseling from East Carolina University, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership/Student Affairs from Nova Southeastern University.

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Posted in Cover Letters, Interviewing, Job Search, Networking, Patrick Madsen, Personal Brand, Resumes, WhatsNextGenY, Working World | No Comments »

The Truth About References in the Social Media Age

May 18th, 2010 ::

by Robin Ferrier

It used to be easy. A company asked for references. You provided the names and contact information of those people you knew would say good things about you. Simple, right?

Not anymore.

In case you didn’t realize it, in today’s social media-permeated world of LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter, it’s a lot easier for a hiring manager to get the “unofficial” scoop on potential job candidates. And it’s being done. I promise.

Just to prove my point, here’s an example from my personal life that supports this theory, even if it doesn’t involve a hiring situation. One of my colleagues was looking to connect with someone from a local biotech company. They asked if I knew anywhere there. I didn’t. However, a quick search on the company’s name via LinkedIn showed that I had a 2nd degree connection to someone from that company. A simple email to my connector point and a few days later I had a lunch meeting set up with that 2nd degree connection. It was that easy.

And if it was that easy (and quick) for me to make that connection, you can bet that recruiters and hiring managers are doing the same thing to check up on you and your past. They’re doing it to check up on how well you did at your internships, your summer jobs, your college activities…

So what does this mean?

  • It means you’d better work your a** off – and look to prove yourself – at everything you do, even when you’re “only” in college or “only” working a summer job. And even if that summer job is “only” manual labor.
  • It means you’d better conduct yourself professionally when you’re leaving a company for your second job. (And yes, there is a right and a wrong way to give notice and leave a job. More on that in another post.)
  • And it means information you think is private online isn’t. Because who knows if a friend of mine is a friend of yours and has access to your supposedly private pictures or musings on Facebook. (Of course, if you haven’t picked up on that fact yet, maybe you should just stop reading now!)
  • And it means that all bets are off when it comes to references these days.

Disconcerting? Yes. But it’s reality. And it’s just another reason you’d better realize that what you do = who you are = your personal brand = your reputation = your chances of getting hired.

And it makes me all the happier that all this social media hoopla didn’t exist when I was leaving college!

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Posted in Job Search, Networking, Personal Brand, References, Robin Ferrier, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

All good things must come to an end

May 12th, 2010 ::

by Patrick Madsen

Image: CarbonNYC / David Goehring Flickrstream. Creative Commons

Finishing up this stage of your life seems like the easiest thing to do, but many forget to look at what’s involved with the next stage. Life after college can become a real bear if you are not ready for it. Many of you are beginning to feel the pinch of student loans coming soon, to worry about the big move to somewhere new, or even to fret over the lack of a job to transition into. Stress will creep into your mind, this is normal—but there is something you can do to lessen the effects it may have. Prepare yourself as early as possible.

Thinking about the future is always the hardest part because you are never sure what you are leaving out or forgetting. Let’s generally talk about what you are going to need:

  • Budget: No longer can you just spend money on whatever you want at the moment. Bills will begin to fall on your lap – not only for those pesky student loans, but also for rent, utilities, and food… you know, all those things mom and dad used to cover! Create a budget so you can figure out how much money you’ll have left over each month after you pay your bills.
  • Insurance: Make sure you have health insurance, car insurance, renters/home insurance, and even disability insurance. Extras could include vision, dental, and even maternity insurance. If any of these are not included in your benefits package, then you might want to measure the pros and cons of having it.
  • Sharpen the saw: Keep mentally, spiritually, and physically fit. Exercise and proper nutrition, no how busy you are, will assist you in coping with stress and living a healthier life. Remember to use those vacation days! They exist for a reason.
  • Office Politics/Culture: Observe your surroundings and find where you fit in. Do not come in like a gangbuster and expect to change the world. Remember there are formal and informal rules throughout each job. Pick your battles… your job is not your life!
  • Thinking of the future: At some point you are going to want to retire… or will be forced to. Consider your future when planning your budget or career. Start saving now. Think about IRA plans, mutual funds, stocks, and a comprehensive portfolio to make sure you are comfortable as you age. Remember to plan for extras such as family, car breakdowns, moving expenses, sudden illness, or whatever else life throws our way.

Let me leave you with a few things my father liked to bore into my mind. Remember, this is a man who has been in the work world for more than 35 years — most of those years with the same company. He has had many experiences and passes these experiences on to my siblings and myself. So here they are for you:

10 commandments of my dad

  1. When you get done with work, be done.
  2. Be prepared for the working world.
  3. Understand what it is you want from life and take it.
  4. Have a life.
  5. Network, network, network.
  6. Continue to learn new things so that you never get bored or stuck.
  7. Respect your boss, don’t kiss ass.
  8. Don’t be the same as everyone else. Those who are different get seen the most.
  9. Relax… after all, what’s the worst that can happen?
  10. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like… SOMETIMES

Have a lesson you’ve learned from a parent, professor, friend, or your own working world experience? Add it below in the comments section.

Patrick Madsen, Director of Programs & Education in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business SchoolPatrick Madsen is the Director of Programs & Education in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. He manages the Programs & Education curriculum to include career advising services, speaker series, brand management training, and other events to help students prepare themselves for the world of work. His background includes a degree in Psychology from North Carolina State University, a masters degree in Counseling from East Carolina University, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership/Student Affairs from Nova Southeastern University.

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Posted in Life Transition, Networking, Patrick Madsen, Personal Brand, WhatsNextGenY, Working World | 1 Comment »

Best Of… Social Media — From Your Online Persona to Twitter to Job Searches

May 7th, 2010 ::

by Robin Ferrier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/benimoto/ / CC BY 2.0

There is so much good information floating out there in the Web-o-sphere — or the Interwebs, as one of my friends likes to call it — that it’s easy to find yourself in information overload. I see it every day with all the great articles my friends are posting to their blogs, their Twitter accounts, their Facebook pages… so I thought I’d start a regular “best of” feature for this blog that would be a regular round-up of some other great career resources/articles. (After all, why reinvent the wheel, right?) With that in mind, our first “Best of…” feature gets underway with a look at some of my recent “favs” regarding social media.

How I balance personal & professional on Twitter
from Denise Graveline (@dontgetcaught) of Don’t Get Caught communications

With tips ranging from why you should include some personal information in your tweets to advice on what you should leave out, Denise Graveline does it again, providing a thoughtful, insightful look at best practices in Twitter use.

MY ADDITIONAL TIP: Look at your tweet balance. By this I mean, how much is personal (in my case, my work on the Gaithersburg Book Festival, complaints about bad service at stores or restaurants, anything related to wine, dogs, or writing) vs. work (in my case, generally anything related to: marketing or PR, economic development, career development, or Johns Hopkins University)? I tend to think you should, in general, want to be 66-75% “work” and the remainder “fun.” (By the way, I tweet at @rferrier. Feel free to follow. You’ll find links to additional career resources and articles.)

Make sure your online self matches your real self during job interviews
by Jennifer Nycz-Conner (@JenConner), a Washington Business Journal reporter and blogger… and contributor to this blog

Jennifer writes about the importance of making sure your “online (unofficial) resume” matches the resume you’re presenting to employers.

Dear Bev: How Should I Use Social Networking In My Job Search?
from MediaPost Publications

A look at how you can EFFECTIVELY employ LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter in your job search.

MY $0.02: Yes, you should be on LinkedIn. Do it now. It’s one of the top professional social networking sites. As to recommendations on LinkedIn, make sure yours are not just from friends. The recommendations should come from your university professors, supervisors at summer jobs or internships, etc. Also, don’t underestimate the value of using the Answers section of LinkedIn. (In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t use them enough. But Jason Alba from JibberJobber is a pro at this and writes about the topic on a regular basis!) Ask questions. Answer others’ questions. It can help you start to establish your professional persona.

4 Ways to Utilize LinkedIn’s “Follow Company” Feature
by Andrew G. Rosen on Social Times

Did you know LinkedIn has a new “follow company” feature? I didn’t… until I saw this post. (Thanks, @GenerationsGuru for the tweet about this!) Andrew Rosen provides some great tips on how to use the feature, including a reminder that you should be targeting companies you want to work for as much as you are looking for jobs that fit what you want to do.

MY THOUGHTS: Where you work is as important as what you do. It truly is. A lot of people would benefit from following Andrew’s advice. I think there’s a lot of merit in taking a less-than-perfect job — at least according to its job description — if it’s for a company you admire and for which you want to work.

So there’s a round-up of some of my recent career-related readings. What about you? Any good articles you’d recommend? Or do you have your own advice related to these topics? Let us know. Weigh in below!

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Posted in Job Search, Networking, Personal Brand, References, Robin Ferrier, social media, Uncategorized, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

True Life Tales of Social Media Gone Bad

May 5th, 2010 ::

by Robin Ferrier

Image: jessicafm / Jessica Merz, Flicker Creative Commons

In the category of “great minds think alike,” Patti Nuttycombe Cochran sent in her post about career ending social media moves as I was contemplating a similar post. But I had a slightly different approach to this topic that actually provides a good follow-up to her post.

You may think her warnings were bluster and overblown cautionary tales that don’t apply to you. Others thought that as well… or just didn’t think, as the stories below will show. So, without further ado, I present: True Life Tales of Social Media Gone Bad… Very, Very Bad

Twitter, Memphis and FedEx: In 2009, a PR rep hopped on a flight to Memphis, Tennessee, to give a presentation about digital media to a large group of FedEx executives and staff. As he was landing, the employee tweeted his unflattering feelings about Memphis. A FedEx employee discovered the tweet and shared it with executives at FedEx and the PR agency for which the rep worked.

The employee was lucky in this case. The client forgave him and he wasn’t fired. But this move could have been a career ender if the circumstances were different — say, if the rep in question was only starting to establish his reputation (like we assume many of our readers are) or if FedEx wasn’t so forgiving and had pulled their business from the PR agency in question. (Read more about this story at Peter Shankman’s blog or ZDNet.)

The moral: Think before you tweet.

Twitter and the CiscoFatty: In 2009, a twitter user received an offer from Cisco. The user responded by sending the following tweet: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” A “channel partner advocate” for Cisco Alert saw the tweet and responded. And, thus, another internet sensation is born. We’re not sure whether Cisco rescinded the offer or not — we’ve seen it reported both ways — but regardless, the Internet won’t soon forget the CiscoFatty fiasco.

Lesson #1: Put best, perhaps, by Helen A.S. Popkin in her article on MSNBC: “Never post anything you wouldn’t say to your mom, boss and significant other.” (I’ve heard others use “grandma” in place of “mom.” I guess they are assuming grandma isn’t as hip or accepting as mom!)

Lesson #2: You may think what you say won’t get back to your boss because he/she doesn’t follow you. Think again! Viral is the name of the game online, and it doesn’t take much to stir up trouble!

And those are just two that turned high-profile. I’ve heard too many other similar tales from colleagues. Like the one about a person who went to a conference, represented herself as an employee of a company those she was there on her own and not a company rep, got drunk during an official conference event, and tweeted about it. She was fired.

Or the girl who updated her Facebook status to reflect her true feelings about her job and her boss. She, too, was fired.

My point? I’m willing to bet every one of these people thought they were “too smart” to fall victim to social media gone bad. Yet, they all did. And the fact they did so will live on — forever — thanks to the Internet.

So I think a few lessons bear repeating here:

  1. Always be aware of what you’re saying and think before your fingers start flying on the keyboard.
  2. Don’t assume your Facebook status updates won’t go beyond your friends. (Screen grabs are a great – and evil – thing.)
  3. Approach social media with this mantra in mind: Never post anything you wouldn’t say to your mom/grandmom, boss or significant other.

Actually, now that I think about it, these rules probably should apply to not only the social media realm, but also to any (in-person) networking situation as well.

Have your own tales of Social Media Gone Wrong? Share them below.

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group; co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland; and Chair of the PR Committee for the Gaithersburg Book Festival. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Posted in Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, Robin Ferrier, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Personal Branding and Your Online Persona

May 4th, 2010 ::

by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran

Image: emdot / marya, Flicker Creative Commons

You need to be vigilant 24/7 on all sites where you have a presence, profile… or where you’re adding “interesting commentary or banter” publicly on friends or colleagues’ sites.

I know it’s cool to engage in “exhibitionist-speak” on Facebook or Twitter. You know what I’m talkin’ about: those self-absorbed status updates that completely don’t matter to anyone but the author?? Or posts from those whom I’m sure feel superior or RELIEVED when they’ve just blasted off on someone on some social media platform.

Stop thinking these are private sites where you can have a one-on-one confidential conversation or exchange. Always assume that whatever you post is visible, viewable, usable and confusable by the entire free world! When you operate under this assumption, your posts will be less hip, cool, clever and funny and boomerang-like…

But a lot more acceptable, safe, generic and worry free. With the fabulous internet, things are out there forever — good or bad. There are no make-goods, “ooops-I-didn’t-mean-its”! It’s forever. Always. Undeniable. Attributable.

So, with that annoying fact out in the open, here are a couple examples of career-ending blunder statements that one can’t recover from. I offer these in the spirit of helpfulness. Translation: DON’T MAKE THESE MISTAKES!

Career Ending Social Media Status Updates…

  • “I hate my client” – Never use the word HATE! Anywhere… but certainly not on a Social Media site! And, HATE and CLIENT in the same sentence???? What are you thinking? Goodbye direct deposit from your paying gig…
  • “I don’t want to deal with anymore STUPID customers” — Okay, this is only SLIGHTLY less incendiary than the example above! Goodbye direct deposit from that paying gig, AND you’ll never work for any of those clients, either!
  • “Supposed to be working” — now THIS ONE seems benign, right? I hope you answered No. Yet, Twitter is riddled with this dumb comment! Clients, bosses and others who might be depending on you read this and think, “Wait a minute… we’ve got a project to finish… he/she’s on our dime…”
  • Updating Facebook when you’re supposedly ill. This one’s particularly stupid, too, when the person has “friended” their Boss on FB! Nice. So all through the day that you’re “illin’”, the boss is watching your updates about the fun stuff you’re doing. Makes the next day at work interesting!

Remember: don’t put your brand AND your relationships at risk. Be extremely self-aware and DEFENSIVE of your image: In the flesh AND online!

Patti Nuttycombe Cochran is Vice President-Client Services Consultant at Right Management, a global provider of Career Transition services and consulting expertise on Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Patti is an avid networker interested in building the region’s business and philanthropic communities.

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Posted in Job Search, Life Transition, Networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

8 Signs You’re Spending TOO Much Time on Social Media… even if Social Media IS Part of Your Day Job

April 28th, 2010 ::

by Robin Ferrier

Image: M i x y / Mixy Lorenzo. Flickr Creative Commons.

No one would question that in the current job market, it’s important to understand social media — what it is, how it works, how to use it for business purposes, etc. But recently, Jibber Jobber founder Jason Alba posted the following query to his Jibber Jobber blog:

When is social networking… LinkedIn, Twitter or whatever, TOO much? In other words, how do you manage your time and efforts and have the right balance between what you do online and what you do offline?

In honor of his question, I present my list of 8 Signs You’re Spending TOO Much Time on Social Media… even if Social Media Is Part of Your Day Job

  1. You only know your “friends” by their Twitter IDs. Many of us have twitter IDs that aren’t our name – people like @thejobsguy and @dontgetcaught. I can say I know @dontgetcaught personally and I know her real name. (Hello, Denise Graveline!) But @thejobsguy is someone I follow and occasionally converse with on Twitter. If you don’t know someone’s real name, he or she is a social media colleague/friend, but not a “friend.”
  2. Your boss joins Twitter to communicate with you because you’re more likely to respond to a message on Twitter than you are a phone call or voicemail.
  3. When you’re asked about your last social outing, you discuss a tweet up. (Hint: If you’re sitting at a desk or on a phone and there’s no one else in the room, it’s not a social outing… even if you are conversing with other people.)
  4. When you get engaged, you don’t even think about what your invitations will look like because you plan on inviting all of your friends via a Facebook event invite. (At least, I hope this idea is still considered crazy, even to those members of the “digital native” generation… some traditions should remain traditions!)
  5. When you meet someone new – in real life – you refer to it as “friending” them. (For those of us who grew up before Facebook, we made new friends on the playground, we didn’t “friend” them there.)
  6. You start to speak and think in 140 characters or less. All the time. (Don’t get me wrong… less is often more. But there is a thing as being too brief.)
  7. Your definition of networking is attending TweetUps, conversing in LinkedIn groups, and meeting new people via other social media channels. (Sorry, guys, but face-to-face networking is still key in business.)
  8. You’re engaging in ANY social media activities while at the gym. Ignoring other reasons, let’s just focus on the fact that when you’re using weights or machinery, you should focus on the task at hand. (I wonder if there are any statistics on gym injuries due to cell phone social media use…)

But seriously now…

I think, like everything else in life (including bad-for-you foods and alcohol), it’s all a matter of moderation and balance.

You can’t live so far in the world of social media that you’re ignoring other aspects of your job. But at the same time, you have to be far enough in it that you understand how to use it and, more important, use it effectively.

I try to intersperse my social media activities between my other responsibilities. I know I’m spending too much time in that world if other items on my to-do list aren’t being crossed off. Rudimentary way to measure, maybe. But it works for me. You just need to find what works for you.

But if you start showing any of my 8 signs above, it may be time to admit you’re a social media addict and do something about it!

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Posted in Robin Ferrier, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Your Personal Brand: An Individual Evaluation

April 16th, 2010 ::

by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran

As a result of my recent offer, several courageous readers requested a Personal Brand Evaluation and the process was interesting and happily very positive!

Let’s take the example of Glen Montgomery, a passionate video editor from Ohio who submitted himself and his online persona for a Brand Evaluation. After googling, twittering, yahoo-ing, myspacing, facebooking and Linking-In…here’s my evaluation:

Glen’s image is consistent and passionate. There’s a terrific alignment within his multiple profiles.

His Twitter following is impressive and he incorporates multimedia links which give his profiles depth. His passion for filmmaking, editing and the world of film is palpable on all sites. I came away really admiring his drive, passion and interest in his profession!

His photo image on Google and Yahoo and LinkedIn is a wonderfully happy photo. Facebook, while a different photo image, shows someone fun-loving yet is “safe” from judgment or scrutiny by recruiters or employers. He’s used filters well, so that what he chooses to keep private is kept private. Smart!

A couple thoughts:

  • Glen’s LinkedIn page was updated one month ago… perhaps more regular updates would keep his name active in LinkedIn’s status updates thereby creating a more prolific impression.
  • He also describes himself as “trying to find himself in the world of post-production.” This description is wistful, but suggests desperation or someone who’s seeking. A bolder description that claims his ability and passion would be stronger as an overall description.

But, generally, Glen’s done a terrific job of presenting himself to the world as a focused, passionate individual with clear direction.

I hope Glen will stay in touch with us — and perhaps even submit some blog posts for us talking about his quest to “find himself in the world of post-production” so we can see if he’s successful.

Patti Nuttycombe Cochran is Vice President-Client Services Consultant at Right Management, a global provider of Career Transition services and consulting expertise on Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Patti is an avid networker interested in building the region’s business and philanthropic communities.

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Posted in Job Search, Networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

My First Job… or Learning to Appreciate the "Menial" Tasks in Life

April 8th, 2010 ::

http://www.flickr.com/photos/valerianasolaris/ / CC BY 2.0

A recent post by blogger Tom Madrecki has generated some conversation — both on the blog and in other outlets — so I thought I’d respond by reflecting on my experience at my first job.

Like Tom, I left college ready to take the world by storm. After all, I had a college degree. What more could I need in order to make my mark on the world, right? Yup, you guessed it. That would be a big, fat WRONG.

I quickly learned that college degree = menial labor when it comes to your first job. And though I wasn’t happy about it, since my parents made it clear that a paycheck was key to my survival, I knew I had no choice. (I grew up in a very practical household. Aspirations were great and all, but first you paid the bills!)

My first job was as a literary assistant at a literary agency. Don’t get me wrong, I got to do some fun things. My favorite was reading the unsolicited queries from authors seeking representation and writing memos as to why I thought the agency should or shouldn’t sign the authors as clients. But that was a small fraction of my time, and it was often done at night or on weekends because the other, menial, have-to-get-done-now tasks took priority during the work day. These were things like inserting my bosses’ fixes to book contracts (using a typewriter!), answering phones, filing, ordering supplies, organizing (read: cleaning) my boss’s office, sending royalty checks and statements to clients… tasks I’d always thought of as “secretarial” — the sort of thing I’d gotten a college degree to AVOID doing.

At the time, I hated those menial tasks. Now, I can appreciate them for what they were: an incredible learning experience.

I learned more about the business by performing what I’d before thought of as “menial tasks” than I ever would have otherwise. One reason was that I decided if I had to do these things, I would do them well. (Not to mention I had a boss who was a stickler for details.)

What I found was that once I proved I could handle those detail-oriented tasks, my boss gave me increasing responsibilities. I was given the opportunity to edit one of the proposals, which was so much fun. And eventually, she asked me to supplement the public relations activities being done for her authors by the publishing houses. It was my chance to shine… and boy did I. It’s the reason I have the career I do today.

So what’s the moral? Or morals?

  • Those “menial tasks” you may think are beneath you right now present some of the best learning opportunities… if you let them.
  • Everyone has to work their way up the ladder, and sometimes that means taking a job that isn’t “ideal” just so you get your foot in the door.
  • Oh, and those “menial tasks” you think are beneath you? Trust me. They aren’t. Those “menial tasks” are often part of some of the most difficult jobs out there, and it takes a special person to be able to do them well and do them gracefully. (Case in point: When my current boss’ assistant goes on vacation, I handle my boss’ calendar. It’s time consuming. It’s challenging. I do it without complaining, despite being 10+ years into my career. And I’m always more than relieved when her assistant returns!)

Now I’m going to call on all of you. Please comment below and share your first job stories — both the good and the bad. I’m sure we’re all learn something from what you have to say.

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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