The Personal Branding Blog: William Arruda and the Reach-Certified Personal Branding Strategists

How to Cut Your Job Search Time in Half

The December 2009 Reach Personal Branding Interview on Thursday, Dec. 10 at noon EST features tips and techniques from David Perry and Kevin Donlin, co-authors of Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0. In this guest expert interview with William Arruda, founder of Reach Personal Branding, David and Kevin will discuss job search secrets that have enabled their clients to land good jobs in less than half the time of the national average. This is a complimentary, live call and will also be recorded.

David Perry is a headhunter (managing partner of Perry-Martel International), in-demand public speaker, and co-author of the highly successful Guerilla Marketing series and the Guerilla Job Hunting blog. Contributing co-author Kevin Donlin’s company, Guaranteed Resumes, provides resumes, cover letters, and online job search assistance to client worldwide.

Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

Job Search Tips for Gen Y College Grads

BusinessWeek’s October 2009 issue highlighted “The Lost Generation” and the job search woes of young college graduates. With unemployment rates now at a staggering 10.2 per cent, the highest in 26 years, college grads are finding it especially difficult to secure their first career gig. In fact, many are unemployed or employed in jobs not requiring a college degree.

So how does a Gen Y college grad, with little experience, make a smooth transition to gainful, and perhaps even meaningful, employment? Join William Arruda, found of Reach Personal Branding, as he interviews Lindsey Pollak about her best-selling book Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World (HarperCollins).

The November 2009 Reach Personal Branding Interview is on Thursday, November 12 at noon EDT and will be recorded for download if you cannot attend the live event. You will learn:

- Why careers for Gen Y are different than previous generations’ careers,
- How college students and recent grads can avoid the biggest job-hunting mistakes,
- Tips for parents to assist their children,
- What universities can do to help, and
- Why social media is changing job hunting and career development.

Lindsey Pollak’s blog is consistently top-rated; she writes as well for The Huffington Post and FastCompany.com, heavy hitters in thought leadership. A graduate of Yale University, Lindsey is a sought-after speaker and college-to-career expert for media outlets such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

Dealing with Job Search Stress

Jordan Friedman, known as The Stress Coach, shares “Smart Stress Reduction Tactics to Use on a Job Hunt”. This article was featured in his recent newsletter Stress Release.

Take Control
Ask not what you can do for a potential employer, but what a potential employer can do for you. Feeling in control is vital to stress reduction, so inject this mindset into your job search and interviews to inoculate you against some of the stress of this process. Ask prospective employers about their mission, expectations, work environment and other traits important to you, a technique that also communicates confidence, self-respect and skill under pressure.

Shout Out Successes
List your many strengths from building efficient project teams to baking "top chef" chocolate cupcakes. Rejection can eat away at your self-confidence, so it's important to regularly review your menu of impressive skills, reinforcing self-esteem.

Call for Backup
Convene and consult people who praise, encourage, and if necessary, thoughtfully offer you wise suggestions for change. Think of them as essential members of your job search "committee," selected by you to keep you motivated and catch you if you fall behind.

Edit the Noise
Go on a media diet by cutting back on the constant feed of rising unemployment numbers,
mortgage default rates and shuttered shops. Beyond appropriately figuring current events into your job search strategy, this information does little more than ramp up our stress and wear down our spirits.

Take a Break
Balance the stress of your job search by working out, volunteering, basket weaving or taking part in other enjoyable activities that temporarily take you away from the job of job hunting. And try to kiss goodbye any guilt from doing so. These sojourns strengthen your psyche and your body--and therefore your ability to find work.

Jordan was interviewed in May by William Arruda of Reach Personal Branding about stress management. For an audio download of that interview, go to May 2009 Reach Personal Branding Interview (scroll down the page to May 2009 and look for the audio link).

Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

Stress Busters: Steps to Reduce Stress and Boost Success

Are you anxious about your job search? Are you stressed every day in your job? In either case, stress can lead to debilitating symptoms such as loss of sleep, irritability, fatigue, headaches, stomach aches, overeating, drinking too much, loss of interest in sex, poor productivity, and relationships in a downward spiral. In fact, according to a study by a British Medical Journal, chronic job stress is linked to both heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Whether you have experienced the loss of a job, or are now doing more in your job as a result of job positions which have gone unfilled, a root cause of your stress may be a sense of powerlessness as reported by Drs. Miller and Smith in their article Stress: Stress in the Workplace for the American Psychological Association.

Want to regain your power and learn professional success strategies that relate to stress management? Plan on attending the May 21, 2009 Reach Personal Branding Interview Series program “Bust Your Stress to Boost Your Success” with expert guest speaker Jordan Friedman at 12 noon Eastern. Reducing or managing excessive stress is paramount for career success, and Mr. Friedman will present effective tips to do just that, along with:

* Three most important things to do to manage stress
* The connections between stress reduction and personal branding
* The difference between good stress and bad stress
* How to maintain stress management over the long haul.

Jordan Friedman, The Stress Coach, holds an MPH and is the former Director of Columbia University’s health education program. He has given public presentations on stress management to vastly different  audiences, including college students, police officers, bankers, and prison inmates. Mr. Friedman is author of The Stress Manager’s Manual.

Additional methods for dealing with stress can be found at Stress at Work: How to Reduce and Manage Workplace Stress.

Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

Maybe it's you

Although I can be pretty direct, I enjoy a reputation for being a nice guy. Generally speaking, I’m pretty positive and optimistic in working with folks in career transition; and I’m especially sensitive and encouraging with people who were displaced from their companies. For most, being displaced is an outcome beyond their control and has nothing to do with performance. Sadly, there are occasionally individuals about whom I feel performance might have been an issue; nonetheless, I do all I can to set them off on a new path toward achievement.  

Still, there are times when I really want to say, “Maybe it’s you!”

Well, seems like I’m not the only one thinking that. I just read a post by Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media. Her post is clearly titled: It’s Not the Recession, You Just Suck. To provide just a small idea of the tone, Lisa says: “You couldn’t pay your mortgage and your house was foreclosed on? Don’t worry, it wasn’t you, it was the recession. You lost your job and now you’re stuck at home cruising Twitter ‘looking for a new one’ all day? Don’t fret. It wasn’t you, it’s the recession…. Actually, it’s probably not the recession. It’s probably you.”

She then goes on to point out “Entrepreneurs are ruling this recession,” and to give six things you can do to survive. Still, the tips she gives don’t provide quite the wake-up call that seeing where you’re falling short does. So, here’s a reality check. Maybe it’s you, if:

You believe there really isn’t much you can do until the economy improves. Still, just in case, you keep cranking out resumes and attend the occasional networking event, but you aren’t getting invited to interviews.

You lack clarity about what sets you apart professionally. You keep believing that you have the skills to be effective in a new position, and you even know others have those skills too. What you don’t know is what makes you stand out from all those others.

You haven’t clearly defined a target audience. Like lots of other people you believe the right thing to do in this economy is to be open to any opportunity. As a consequence, you lack a clear idea of who you should be talking with, and you're networking randomly. 

You have no clear plan for gaining visibility online. You scurry from meeting to meeting handing out business cards or resumes, but when people google you, they find little or nothing about you – and in today’s online–oriented world that means you lack credibility.

You’re reluctant to truly polish your networking skills. Whether you’re an extrovert who believes you’re a natural at connecting, or you’re an introvert who believes it’s hard to be outgoing, you simply don’t work to polish your relationship building skills. You may even believe that networking is simply about getting a new job and approach it on transactional basis.

Yes, it’s tough out there. In fact, I know people who face real barriers that are industry and specialty specific – yet, they’re still taking proactive steps in each of these areas. And while they still may face a longer than expected job search, they’re building a solid basis for long-term career success.

So, what are some positive steps you can take? In the second part of "Maybe it’s you," I’ll give you five ideas, with links to resources, which can help you exercise more personal responsibility for your career.

Cross-posted at Threshold Consulting Blog

The Great Work Journey

Finding and keeping a good job is a constant concern of job seekers’ these days. With tough economic times, desperation and fear thrive. Now, more than ever, the concept of finding a terrific job, maybe even a “perfect job”, seems remote.

So why bother trying? Michael Bungay Stanier, 2006 Canadian Coach of the Year, suggests that we are all hungry to achieve bigger and better things while enjoying work/life balance in the process. In his book, Find Your Great Work, Michael provides 12 Maps that serve as tools to aid in clarifying your current situation, revealing choices you must make, exploring possibilities with courage, and taking action to attain your great work.

Join Michael and William Arruda, personal branding guru and founder of Reach, in the March 2009 Reach Personal Branding Interview Series comp~li~mentary teleseminar “Finding Your Great Work: Strategies to Do More of the Work that Matters” on Thursday, March 19 (12 noon to 1:00 PM EST).

Learn more about:

* What constitutes Great Work
* How Great Work is different than regular work
* Strategies to find your Great Work
* How to balance Great Work with life’s demands
* Fundamental truths about Great Work
* What may get in your way on the road to Great Work

Michael Bungay Stanier is the founder of Box of Crayons, an organizational consulting company that helps individuals and companies on the journey to discovering and doing more Great Work. His Great Work Movie is an entertaining and motivating short video that encapsulates a selection of his Great Work truths.

Plan on attending the March 2009 Reach Personal Branding Interview "Finding Your Great Work" on Thursday, March 19. There are 150 spots available for the live call; just dial in early to secure your place. If you cannot attend the live call, the recording will be emailed to all subscribers of the Reach Personal Branding newsletter. Subscribe now at http://www.reachpersonalbranding.com.

As the Executive Producer of the Reach Personal Branding Interview Series, I can personally attest to Michael’s motivational and empowering strategies, creative charisma, and outrageous sense of fun. In fact, it was his irreverent and fun-filled approach that led me to Michael’s coaching, consulting, and public speaking work. His short Internet movies Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun and The 5 ¾ Questions You Have Been Avoiding have gained a global audience (175 countries) and a million-plus viewers!

Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

The Top 10 Secrets Successful Job Seekers Know

1)  They know their personal brand.

Successful job hunters know what sets them apart from everyone else that has their same job title.  They know their leadership role and how they contribute on a team.  They can easily tell someone their brand position in a simple statement that demonstrates their unique promise of value and how they can promote the company's brand. 

2)  They understand that their name will be Googled by potential employers and recruiters.

Eighty-seven percent of hiring managers and executive recruiters polled by Execunet stated that they do Google potential candidates before selecting them for an interview.  Successful job hunters know this and understand they need to build multiple, on-brand results showing their thought leadership in their field of expertise.  They may blog, post comments on high-ranking, relevant sites, microblog on Twitter, build their profile on professional networking sites, etc.  Many strategies exist for building online identity on Google.  Successful job hunters know if they have digital dirt that needs to be less visible on Google how to employ strategies to either remove the digital dirt or develop enough content to push the digital dirt to page four of their Google results. 

3)  They use multiple strategies to find a job.
Successful job seekers understand that unless they have a specific skill set, it will be difficult for them to find a job utilizing just online job boards.  Between 4-10% of people will find a position via a job board (source:  What Color is Your Parachute 2009).  Job boards are important, but they are not the only strategy that should comprise your job marketing plan. 

4)  They network online and offline. 
While social networking online is increasing in popularity, it is important to do live networking as often as possible.  It keeps you in the loop and on the pulse of what is happening.  Remember to always be giving to your network and thinking of ways that Joe could help Mary or Mary could help Steve.  Link your network members together to add value in their lives.  Send them items of interest and make sure that you keep in touch.  Networking is not about reconnecting when you need a job, but is about constantly maintaining relationships. 

Social networking online is a great way to reconnect with people from your past and present.  I quickly grew my network online from zero to 150 people on Facebook in a couple of months.  I make sure to read all of my friends' status updates on a daily basis and send supportive messages or resources whenever appropriate. 

Twitter is fast becoming a social networking phenomenon.  I hear it mentioned by the media  on different news programs.  Twitter has allowed me to attract followers of people who are interested in my target message. 

5)  They know their references, have asked permission, and have coached them.
Successful job seekers have asked permission to list someone as their reference and have coached them about previous achievements / successes on the job.  It is not telling a person what to say, but reminding them of the value you have provided.  For someone acting as a reference, this coaching is helpful as that person may not remember how you captured $1.2M in  sales by by identifying and penetrating new markets.  Coach them on your top three achievements. 

6)  They know their resume' is not the silver bullet.
Too often as a resume' writer, I hear people say that if they can get a professionally written resume', it will magically open doors to get them a job.  While I would certainly like to think that is true, I know that while it is an important career marketing document, it is not the ticket to a job offer.  Yes, you want to have a well written resume' as this is often the very first impression a hiring manager or recruiter will have of you.  However, realize that few, if any, people have been hired on their resume' alone. 

7)  They research their target companies AND their target companies' competitors. 

Successful job hunters not only research their target companies, but also find out information about the competing companies.  Why?  It helps them to know the challenges facing the targeted company in outpacing the competition and gives them material to show the prospective employer HOW they can do the job.  If an interviewee shows up to an interview knowing the top three problems facing the company and has actionable items that can move the company forward, then they have made a lasting impression on the interviewer.  Does it guarantee a job offer?  Maybe not - but it does set that person apart from all the other people who have come and just answered a series of questions. 

8)  They customize their cover letter for each company.

Let's face it--people can smell a form letter a mile away.  Are you sending the same cover letter to every position for which you apply?  Successful job hunters realize that to set themselves apart from the competition, they need to customize their cover letter for each position.  The letter should reflect research about the company.  The cover letter also needs to address the person by name instead of saying "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Human Resources Manager."  Do some research if it's a blind post and see if you can find out on the company's website (or even call the company and ask what the name of the hiring manager is) the name.  If you can't find out this information, you might say in the first line that you did try to find out their name, but were unable to find the information since it was a blind post.

9)  They don't have an "Objective Statement" on their Resume' - They have a Profile Statement.

Successful job seekers understand that objective statements only show what they want.  Employers are all tuned to the same radio station, "WIIFM" --What's in it for Me?  Addressing this in a profile statement and telling the employer what he / she can expect if they hire you goes a long way. 

10)  They write thank you notes within 24 hours after their interview.  

Surprisingly, only 5% of job hunters write a thank-you note after a job interview.  According to CareerBuilder.com's survey, "How to Get in the Front Door", nearly 15% of hiring managers say they would not hire someone who failed to send a thank-you letter after the interview. Interestingly, 32% say they would still consider the candidate, but would think less of him/her.

Writing a thank you after an interview will definitely differentiate you from the crowd. More importantly, though, is that it demonstrates the ability to follow-through and see a task to completion--this characteristic can demonstrate the kind of employee one will be to a company.

What are some other secrets in a successful job hunt?  Post them here to share with everyone or share them with me on Twitter:  @kristenjacoway 

Stay Positive During Your Job Search Part II

In part one of this article, I shared with you three ways to keep your mind energized and focused on positive thoughts:

- Relive past wins

- If you can’t get out of it, get into it

- Visualize what you want

This installment provides three more tips to remain optimistic during your job search.

1. Anticipate and Embrace Change. Don’t Be Hijacked by It.

Change is the only constant in the new world of work. Get used to it and get excited about it. If you view change as opportunity instead of threat, you alter your perspective and open yourself up to possibilities – perhaps to things you hadn’t even considered. Often, change brings with it serendipity – and delivers options you had not even considered.

I was speaking to a client who recently lost his job at a bank and he told me that once he got past the anger, sorrow and fear, he was excited about “the infinite possibilities that just opened up.” When he took the job, he had to leave LA, his favorite city, for the Pacific Northwest. He immersed himself in his work and never really made his new location home. Now, with a little severance package in hand, he realized that he is no longer tied to a city where he didn’t feel comfortable. He saw that he could change where he lived, the industry he worked in and even the job function he held.

How has your current job search opened up new avenues for you?

“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” Brian Tracy

2. Focus on Strengths, Not Weaknesses.

It’s always to your benefit to apply your greatest strengths to the task at hand; it’s absolutely essential when you are in the midst of a job search. When we lead from our strengths, we are more confident, attractive and successful. So as take each step towards your new job, ask yourself how you can use your greatest strength to make each step of the process more successful.

For example, if you’re writing your career marketing tools and your greatest strengths are your quick wit and incredible sense of humor, think about how you can inject more humor into your resume or cover letter. If your greatest strength is your vast and diverse connections, ask yourself how you can use your connections to find the perfect professional resume-writer who can paint your candidature such that it will attract the attention of hiring managers and recruiters. When you inject your strengths into everything you do, you raise yourself and your candidature to a new level.

What’s your superlative and how will you apply it to all aspects of your job search?

“Enter every activity without giving mental recognition to the possibility of defeat. Concentrate on your strengths, instead of your weaknesses... on your powers, instead of your problems.” Paul J. Meyer

3. Remember Nietzsche: That Which Does Not Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

Nietzsche’s poignant advice reminds us that we can endure a lot more than we believe we can. When I look back at the most difficult experiences of my life, I realize that they all led to incredible growth – in confidence, self-awareness, strength and focus. I am who I am today more as a result of the challenges I faced than the successes I enjoyed. As painful as they were to go through, I wouldn’t give up any of them.

Know that in the future you will look at the current job search battle with a more affirmative view. And understand that whatever challenges you encounter or struggles you endure, that they will all contribute to your confidence and your candidature for future opportunities.

How has adversity made you stronger?

“If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.” John Heywood

William Arruda is the coauthor of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand and the founder of Reach, the global leader in personal branding. You can learn more about him at www.williamarruda.com.

Career Bailout Program: Just Because

Giving someone a helping hand or extending a random act of kindness just because you can is more important than ever. With announcements of thousands of layoffs a regular feature on the nightly news, generous giving of time and advice to aid a job seeker may be an act of kindness that will come back to benefit you someday.

In the spirit of compassion and the Pay It Forward attitude, the Career Bailout Program was initiated by William Arruda of Reach Personal Branding early in January 2009. Initially created for laid off workers in the banking and financial industries who were hard hit, it has been expanded to include anyone who was laid off or downsized due to the recent economic downturn. The complimentary career services package includes a resume review, Online ID evaluation, and 360Reach personal branding assessment.

As one of the 14 Certified Personal Branding Strategists who has volunteered for the Career Bailout Program, my belief in the “just because” philosophy has been re-invigorated. Thom Singer in “Two Quick Starbucks Stories” relates how this attitude of “just because” recently impacted his life. Thom’s examples show that a simple gesture of kindness, no matter how small, can make a huge difference for someone who may be having a rough time or who needs a dose of spirit-lifting. The word-of-mouth endorsement his daughter enthusiastically conveys to everyone she sees is worth a lot of advertising dollars to Starbucks. Even more important, the episode serves as a positive role-model for her about the impact of giving from the heart to a stranger.

In many cases, we would all probably like to help others – if only we knew how and it was not too difficult. How to Pay It Forward can encompass little things like paying attention to others and really listening for how you might help. Being nice and demonstrating that niceness and likeability will not only win you soul satisfaction, it might just bring into your social / job search network someone who could help you someday. Small gestures can lead to big pay-offs! Or, you could do it….just because.

Cross-posted by Susan Guarneri at Career Goddess Blog

Stay Positive During Your Job Search Part I

Deep Recession. Financial Industry Collapse. Taxpayer-financed Bailout. Consumer Spending Down. Nine Months of Job Losses. Worst Financial Outlook since the Great Depression.

Even the most positive among us might feel deflated by the current newspaper headlines. With all the talk about the challenging economy, the failure of financial institutions like Bear Sterns and Lehman Bros and the multi-billion dollar financial services industry bailout, it would be easy – even for an optimist like me - to get caught up in the doom and gloom. But negativity is really a state of mind and it is counter-productive, especially if you are a job-seeker. It’s all a matter perspective. As Winston Churchill once said “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Here is the first installment of three articles focused on the positive. Through these words, I share with you essential mindset shifts that will help you put on the rose-colored glasses and see through the ubiquitous negativity so you can be successful in your job search.

1. Re-live Past Wins

One way to keep negative thoughts away is to fill your mind with memories of past successes. When you remind yourself of how you rose above a challenge to accomplish something impressive, you have no room in your mind for negative or counter-productive thoughts. Make a list of all your accomplishments – large and small - so when you catch your mind wandering into downer territory you will have visual reminders of what you have achieved.

One of my clients made a screen-saver with keywords relating to some of his greatest accomplishments. After ten minutes of computer inactivity, reminders of what makes him incredible scroll across the screen. He told me that every time he would glance at his computer and see one of those words or phrases, it would make him smile.

What’s your greatest success story?

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” Helen Keller

2. If You Can’t Get Out of It, Get into It

My Friend Todd Wetmore said this to me once and I have never forgotten it. Every time I hear myself saying “I have to …” I think of what Todd said and change “I have to …” to “I am looking forward to …” To me, this means finding a way to make every situation an opportunity for enjoyment or growth.

I recently “had to” travel to the middle of nowhere (really the middle of nowhere – no cell-phone service, the address of the hotel was not even in the GPS system of my rental car!) to deliver a personal branding presentation and workshop. Being the most urban person I know, I was less than thrilled about driving three hours to a place without people, traffic or noise! In fact, I was dreading it. And then I reminded myself that this was going to be a totally new experience for me. I focused my energy on the excitement of working with a new client for the first time – Johnson & Johnson. I changed “I have to go to the middle of nowhere” to “I am really looking forward to getting to know this new client.” It made the journey from Manhattan to nowhere much more pleasant.

What are you looking forward to this week?

“Optimist: A person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness.” Mark Twain quotes

3. Visualize What You Want

That which you focus on expands. Although it may be easy to lament the tribulations of getting no response to dozens of submitted resumes or the miserable interview experience you had, thinking about how hard it is to find the ideal job will prove you right. It will be difficult. Frustrating. Painful. You will feel the impact of every rejected resume, excruciating interview, or phone call saying they selected someone else. Instead, you must keep the future in your mind. Visualize yourself at your new job. Know what it looks like, feels like, smells like. Make it visceral; keeping the end in mind will help you navigate the job search process with ease and fortitude.

Give yourself some time each day to daydream. Get comfortable, take some deep breaths and concentrate on your future – your new job. What will you be doing? How will you spend your time each day? With whom will you be working? How will you contribute to your team? The clearer the picture becomes, the easier it will be for you to stay focused on future.

What does it look like at your new office?

”If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.” Peace Pilgrim

William Arruda is the coauthor of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand and the founder of Reach, the global leader in personal branding. You can learn more about him at www.williamarruda.com.