Career (44)
Everyone is an expert at something - whether you know how to marketthat knowledge or not is the key to creating an expert personal brand.
Wikipedia describes an expert as "a person with extensive knowledge or
ability based on research, experience, or occupation and in a particular
area of study". I have invested in a number of programs, courses,
books, and live presentations over the last several years. All of this
because I believed the facilitator to be an "expert" who could share
information with me that I did not already know.
How is it that some people become recognized as the expert and others,
who may have more information and knowledge about the same topic, do
not?
Three things in general distinguish people who get to wear the expert label:
They are clear on what they believe. Experts tend to rise to this title
because they have taken a stance or a position on something within an
area of study. For example, Dr. Wayne Dyer is a well-known expert in the
field of self development. Dyer has certain principles he believes. It
is clear that part of his message is that each of us is accountable to
our own success and growth. Carole Martin, the Interview Coach, is an
expert in her area. She has developed clear steps to preparing for an
interview.
They tell other people what they believe. People who are recognized as
experts do not keep their beliefs to themselves. Instead, they
communicate a message in some type of written, visual, or auditory form
so that others know their principles. It is one thing to have a thought -
it's another level when you share the thought with someone else. And
the wider your net, the higher and faster you rise to the top as an
expert brand. Dyer and Martin could simply have their beliefs about
steps to take and principles to apply, but until these were shared as
messages to others, no one would have recognized them as a possible
resource.
They are consistent in telling other people what they believe. Having
an expert brand means you are consistent with the beliefs you share with
others. If you say one thing today and have a completely opposite
message next week, it will take away from the credibility of your
personal brand. Consider this example - John Maxwell is seen as an
expert in applying leadership strategies based in Christian principles.
If next month, he came out with a book about loving life as an atheist,
Maxwell's credibility as an expert may drop considerably.
I would now like to invite you to enhance your expert brand and claim
FREE access to my upcoming Career Marketing Style teleclass. Learn 5
different ways you can successfully market your brand and get the
recognition you want YOUR way. Visit http://careermarketingstyle.com for more details & to grab your seat.
From Tanya Smith, The Expert Brand Coach and The CareerPreneur Success Circle.
Having a well thought out personal brand strategy is the fastest and best way to promote yourself in any career.
There are, however, 3 key mistakes many professionals make with their brand that keep them from advancing further in their career.
Personal Brand Mistake #1 - Failure to think like an entrepreneur at work. These days it's now more important than ever to recognize that things aren't like they used to be. Whether you work for someone else or not, do not make the mistake of having an employee mindset - you are self-employed.
What to do instead - To boost your perceived value at work so that you are top choice for the best job opportunities, it's time you start thinking like a business owner. Be an independent thinker, offer creative solutions, and always think a couple of steps ahead, strategically positioning yourself for the next action in case (B) happens instead of (A). Get noticed for your ability to be a results-driver who is adaptable to change, because change is happening faster and bigger these days.
Personal Brand Mistake #2 - Failure to track your own accomplishments and articulate them well. You can not rely on your manager to understand the work you do, or to know when recognition is warranted.
What to do instead - Keep track of accomplishments, praise reports, and great results you have achieved with and for your business partners. When the time comes to sit down for that next performance review, be ready to list out how well you have contributed to the company's overall goals. And if that performance review somehow does not get scheduled? Make an appointment yourself to meet with the manager and share your accomplishments, in a way that boosts their confidence in your work as an achiever. This record will also be great for your portfolio when it's time to move on.
Personal Brand Mistake #3 - Failure to connect with people who can be champions for your success. It's great to spend time with your colleagues at work - after all, we spend a large part of the week there. But many people mistake this group as their group of supporters.
What to do instead - Make sure you are connecting with people of influence outside of your normal circle. Tap into knowledge and experience that will help you broaden your thinking. Share solutions and creative ideas when you meet with mentors - formally or informally. They might just be your champion behind the scenes when you need it most.
I would like to invite you to claim FREE Instant Access to my Beginner's Guide to a Successful Career Brand when you visit http://bepromotable.com. You'll get a set of 3 great articles, along with a Promotability Quiz. Are you promotable?
From Tanya Smith, The Expert Brand Coach and The CareerPreneur Success Circle.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tanya_M._Smith
Hello Superwomen,
I'm sharing the free audio from my recent teleclass, Your Career Marketing style, at http://thepromotablebrand.com/. You can download the handout there too.
You are invited to listen in at no cost to get great tips on five ways to professionally market your brand & to find out more about the upcoming 6 week program for designing an attractive personal brand that will powerfully enhance & sustain your career and/or solo side business.
It's called The Promotable Brand: How to Get Clear, Get Known, and Get Paid in Your Career or Solo Side Business.
You will say, after participating, that the rewards of this 6 week program are to have:
- A greater sense of security knowing you have confidence in your ability to promote yourself and your services;
- Enhanced professional skills that carry over on-the-job and in your side business;
- Greater recognition from your clients as well as your work colleagues - where it counts;
- Higher level of trust in your purpose and faith in case the unexpected happens;
- A more attractive professional brand when you compete for positions you choose
- Success on your own personal terms and based on what's important to you
Early bird for the program - The Promotable Brand: How to Get Clear, Get Known, and Get Paid in Your Career or Solo Side Business ends tomorrow at midnight, so check it out soon and save big...seriously. I'm also throwing in my recent 12-CD telesummit as a gift for people who act quickly: http://thepromotablebrand.com.
As always - to your success,
Tanya Smith, Your Career Strategy Partner
BePromotable.com
“I don’t know how to navigate the professional world. It is like I am an outsider looking in. As an African American woman, I don’t have any willing connections in my family. I am actively networking, taking classes to gain new skills, writing blogs, and interning; this way I can groom myself into the professional I want to be…”
My answer went like this:
Thank you for your note & for expressing your challenges so honestly. I will share that I have been mentored and I have mentored. In most cases where I was on the receiving end, I actively pursued the
relationship. There have been both good AND bad experiences on either
side – I chose to learn from both.
One of the conversations that came out of the recent Women of Color Career Success telesummit I hosted focused on the topic of mentoring and where to find them. There were 3 strategies highlighted from the panel:
- Pursue mentoring relationships with people who already at a level for which you are aspiring – seeking a combination of mentors with similar backgrounds as you AND those who can share a completely
different perspective; - Peer-to-peer mentoring – reach out to positive, motivated colleagues and others within your field for idea/resource sharing; and
- “remote” mentoring – seek out books, presentations, and media that may have messages you can apply to your own situation for growth. If something really appeals to you, consider contacting the author, etc to
let them know how their ideas have helped you – social media really
opens possibilities here. You never know until you try.
“Mentoring” was very loosely defined in each case but the ultimate message was that you can learn from just about anyone’s experiences.
Lastly I will add these tips:
* Don’t be intimidated to ask anyone you have identified as a possible mentor for you. The worst they can do is say no. * You should not expect
someone else to invest in you what you don’t invest in yourself and
others. Definitely look at ways you can mentor and give back. * And if
you happen to run into that not-so-great experience, you can learn
lessons from that too. It just may be “what not to do”.
I hope others will chime in and offer their advice and perspectives on your questions.
Best success to you, Tanya
What are your thoughts around mentoring and what advice would you offer someone for finding a mentor?
About the Author: Tanya Smith of Be Promotable helps ambitious professional women of color develop a competitive personal brand strategy for the career of their dreams. To get instant access to
her free special report on Simple Steps High Performing Sistas Need to Know for Career Success stop by and visit http://www.bepromotable.com.
This article will cover 7 frequently asked questions about online brand presence for career professionals. Unlike most other articles and media that refer to social networking and online visibility, this message will address people who are still in a workplace setting and the relevance of getting engaged in the online wave of the future.
FAQs About Online Brand for Career Professionals:
- Why do I need an online brand presence when I work for someone else? Competing in today's workforce has been quite a different environment these days. Employers are looking more meticulously and for skilled workers, if they're looking at all. Instead of distributing unnecessary salary dollars to have a recruiter travel to job fairs and collect a pay check all day, thousands of dollars can be saved when recruiting is sourced right from the computer. An article on InternetNews.com by Stuart J. Johnson followed a survey that indicated more than 70% of HR professionals and recruiters rejected job candidates due to what they found online about them. And I suspect that if employers cannot find you at all, they can see your competitor who has a tremendous online profile, and therefore an automatic advantage over you for the position.
- How do I get started in creating an online brand presence, especially when I don't have these skills? There are lots and lots of social media experts and online tutorials. Once you have identified your personal brand strategy (perhaps with the help of a career coach specializing in this area), you can better determine what learning needs you have and find the resources to fill these needs.
- Everyone has a blog and they're telling me I need one too. What if I'm not really a great writer? Part of your branding strategy should be to determine your communication style. Perhaps, instead of written material, your blog may incorporate audio or something else that suits your preference.
- I don't know what to talk about. What if I don't have anything to say? We all know the old saying about opinions...everyone has one! What is a topic that you know very well, are passionate about, and would love to talk about with other people? Is it a topic that could open doors for someone, or make others feel like they have a strong emotional reaction to? Talk about your area of expertise - only you can share it the way you can.
- My time is already so stretched. How do I fit in the work to really be visible online? This is another key area of your personal branding strategy - mapping out your time and intended frequency online can be one of the best habits to create right at the start. You actually can devote just 15-20 minutes per day once you have established the ground work. You might also consider outsourcing to a virtual assistant specializing in social media communications.
- How do I get people to go see my online resources - e.g. CV/resume, website, blog? You can learn to use any of several different models. What works best for me is using tools like Twitter and Facebook to redirect viewers to links that have my content.
- I'm afraid about privacy online. If I put myself out there, I'll be making myself a target for identity theft, right? Great question. I recommend spending time learning how to protect your data online and offline. Just because you don't have an online presence you have deliberately created yet, does not mean someone can't already access your personal information. The federal government actually has a site with some great tools and tips to protect your identity online: onguardonline.gov/">http://www.onguardonline.gov/. This may be a good place to start.
About the Author: Tanya Smith of Be Promotable helps ambitious professional women share their brand brilliance through a powerful online brand presence. To get instant access to her free special report on how to surefire steps to be promotable stop by and visit http://www.bepromotable.com.
Personal brand marketing is a solid career management technique. When you are doing the work to clearly identify your personal brand - or theoverall collection of perceptions that you want others to have aboutyou - it may not be as simple as jotting down a few notes on a memo pad.
Developing a personal brand strategy that describes the irresistible, brilliantyou can take some work, but once you have it, you can apply the piecesto everything you communicate - e.g. resume, interview remarks, onlinemedia, etc.
Below, I will share with you some of the components I used in developing my own brand marketing statement.
Here are the first five concepts to focus on with a brief definition ofeach, and an example taken from my own personal brand library:
- Objective - what outcome are you trying to achieve for yourself or for your targetaudience (e.g. To develop highly successful, professional women of colorto be competitors for advanced leadership positions.)
- Core message - the primary mindset that you want anyone who comes in contact withyou to adopt (e.g. You can successfully advance your career when youincrease your brand visibility in a smart, authentic, and consistentway.)
- Target audience - who do you want to share the message with (e.g. Professional women of color, age 30-55,seeking career advancement, career change, or business start-up.)**Later, we can talk about who the ideal client is for you within thistarget - yes, there is a distinction.
- Brand Statement - what do you do and who do you work with (e.g., I work with professionalwomen of color seeking career advancement or transitioning into solobusiness. I show them how to develop a brand strategy for their careerthat connects them with their target audience & key influencers.)
- Unique position - what makes you different than anyone else who does this work (e.g.,My strategy is based on a 60/40 combination of proven career managementtechniques and online brand expertise. I also have a powerhouse networkof branding resources to help my clients implement the plan once the itis put on paper.)
About the Author: Tanya Smith of Be Promotable shows ambitious working professionals howto get the promotion of their dreams. To get instant access to her freespecial report on surefire steps to getting the ideal job promotion stopby and visit http://www.bepromotable.com.
This was my response to a reporter today who asked about the top 5 tips to get promoted in a tough economy. Thought I'd share them with youin this quick bulleted list.
- Tell yourself the truth about your performance and your talents - whatresults can you offer? What has been your track record over the pastyear or so? Take a good hard look at what makes you promotable andask yourself the tough questions before somebody else does.
- Get raw, honest-to-goodness feedback from others even if it hurts - onceyou have examined your personal results, find out what kind ofprofessional reputation you've created. Do key players respect yourwork? Will you get the support you need to advance to the next level?What kind of advice can you solicit on the steps required in yourcurrent professional environment?
- Be prepared for a "pat on the back" promotion - yes, you might have to recognize that a salaryincrease is just not possible right now in your company. Be open to apromotion with a "head nod" instead of an increase in pay.Ultimately, you can revisit salary once the economy begins to turnaround. Track your results over the coming year so that you canjustify and support an increase once this conversation is open againin your business.
- Figure out what your brand is, then market, market, market - this ties back to #1 and 2. What kind of core themesare you known for and what consistent message are you sending aboutyourself? If you have a dynamic brand as a reliable,solution-oriented leader continue to think of ways to enhance thisbrand. Contribute in meetings, be able to speak to how your work isimpacting the bottom line results.Become known for something positiveand relevant in your industry.
- Manage your online reputation - since so many employers these days are connected with their employees,prospective candidates, etc. online, it's important that you haveestablished a solid, congruent image. You will want to do thisresponsibly, and remember that it's almost better to have an invisibleonline brand (none at all) than to have a "two-faced' online brand -one where you're Dr. Jekyll at work and Mr. Hyde at play.
Now what do you think about this list & what else should be on it?
About the Author: Tanya Smith of Be Promotable helps ambitious workingprofessionals get the promotion of their dreams. To get instant accessto her free special report on how to surefire steps to get promoted stopby and visit http://www.bepromotable.com/.
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Motivational quotes to inspire you.
"There is an art to living well, a meaning for our lives. The careers we choose are our pathways to mastery. They are to amplify our capabilities and values, our character and courage. Answering three questions continually, no matter our age or station, will keep us on a course of productivity, integrity and fulfillment: Who am I? Where am I going? Why am I going there?"
"...God wants [you] to have [your] reward. Prepare to claim it. Have a vision for yourself and others far beyond the present reality. Declare it and work toward it."
- Susan L. Taylor
For more posts like this, check out my blog, Mocha Writes.
Are you a career professional who helps individuals withcareer planning?
Would you like to understand what the green economy reallymeans?
If you answered yes to any of the above, then you shouldjoin me on Wednesday, April 28th as I interview author and Green Career expert Carol McClelland, PhD, as she talks about the industries and sectors that make
up the green economy and what job opportunities exist for those willing to extend themselves beyond traditional career paths. Carol will also offer advice to coaches and other career professionals on how they can coach their clients to transition into green careers.
We would love to have you on the call, but if you can’t makeit, feel free to follow this link http://ow.ly/1BqXY to post your questions. You can also go directly to our CareerTips2Go show page on Blog Talk Radio -
http://ow.ly/1AnSn for call-in details.
Make sure to pencil in Wednesday, April 28, at 2 pm Easternto tune in to our discussion. We promise you an enlightening hour.
Please forward this to anyone who could benefit from this discussion.
Thanks.
Daisy
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