What are your marketing choices?

I love asking this question to businesses and individuals.

My passion to sustain the Connecticut Re-Employment Group often leads me to think of how the job seeker can better "shop" themselves to find the right job that fits their personality.

Seekers first encounter what I will call structural choices. They are resume writers, career coaches, labor experts etc...who can help them with the tools needed to delve into the wild world of job hunting.

The next set of choices revolve around how to market yourself. What is your story? Who should you tell? Who can help you? Where should you go to tell your story? Should you stay at home and use social media? Is your strategy proactive or passive? Is your strategy yielding results?

CREG is a choice you can consider when you conduct your personal marketing. The CREG "philosophy" suggests being proactive, exploring the uniqueness of your personality through an enjoyable and introspective process, and assessing all of the choices available to promote the entity of YOU.

Make the choice to join us on July 19th. If interested, join us on LinkedIn.

Can we change the hiring paradigm?

Those who participate in the Connecticut Re-Employment Group on LinkedIn have seen this subject come up in the past few weeks.

It's important to think of the goal when contemplating change. Job seekers want access. Access to the right people, often hiring managers or recruiters. Access to the right people that will allow them to engage. Engagement means conversations...asking questions and sizing up each other's credibility. It's the basis for all relationships, whether you're at a Town Hall meeting, a Little League banquet...or a job interview. There's no guarantee that you will find work by just getting access. On the flip side, you will get nothing without it.

Businesses are simply a collection of people. IBM, GE, Apple, Chrysler. Call them what you want. They function effectively when they accumulate the best people with the right attitude.

A paradigm shift is needed to allow job seekers more access. In 2012 the resume is still the primary standard of measurement of one's skills and character. Fair or not, that's the way it is. The world is changing and with the evolution of social media we are entering a phase where the resume is going to present itself in other forms.

Now, and in the future there will be an emphasis on establishing an online brand. An online brand is a reflection of who you are today, not a summation of the past 25 years. Are you smarter today than you were 6 months ago? How about 15 years ago? Are you inspired today by the same things that inspired you in 2002? Have you changed careers at any point in your life? When you answer all of these questions ask yourself....am I getting a chance to make these points in my resume?

The basis of the Connecticut Re-Employment Group is to build relationships with people you can help (and vice versa), create a personal brand using tools available and finding ways through your expanding network to showcase your current skills and abilities. This is a first phase of chipping away at the hiring paradigm.

Here's the next piece in changing the paradigm that I hope will reinvigorate the CREG brand. Let's find ways to increase access to hiring managers and recruiters. Step one is connecting the CREG brand with local businesses. Specifically local businesses interested in playing a role in helping the unemployed by hosting meetings. This process is underway. Your thoughts and ideas are always welcome.

Here's where I see CREG in 6 months (or sooner). In addition to having businesses host meetings, participants can request to demonstrate their skills and abilities to the audience. The audience will consist of business owners, hiring managers and recruiters. Imagine that? Rome wasn't built in a day. Making changes to the hiring paradigm will take some time.

Are you on board? Am I nuts? It wouldn't be the first time. I hope that you will embrace this process!

The reason I love social media

I have given this a lot of thought and here's my conclusion for why I love social media:

I love conversations!

This may not sound like a revelation to you. I will make my case by constructing the elements of an effective conversation:

• Asking questions
• Listening
• Gathering information
• Re-stating others' observations
• Genuine interest in the person and subject 
• Mutual respect
• Discussing solutions or reasons to continue the conversation in the future

Conversations occur throughout the day. How many include all of these elements? Do people talk at you...or speak with you? 

The Connecticut Re-Employment Group on LinkedIn has grown to 500+ members. The number of posted discussions has not grown as the group has grown in size. I see this in other online groups as well. People struggle with initiating conversations. Social media has exposed this issue. 

Social media is a place to work on our conversations. We don't have the advantage of being face to face, but the opportunity to delve into conversations online is greater now than ever. Quality conversations lead to a higher level of engagement and ultimately quality relationships. We have our own reasons for building relationships. Let's take advantage of these powerful communication tools. 

If you like this post...let's have a conversation! 

And the survey says...

I posed the following question to the LinkedIn/Connecticut Re-Employment Group online community:

When you hear the term "personal branding" what is your reaction?

1. It's a central part of my career development plan. 
2. It makes sense and see how it may help...I don't have the interest to work on it. 
3. It's an abstract concept that is confusing. 
4. It's a marketing scam. 
5. None of the above. 

Most that have commented so far agree with the first answer and have provided the following commentary...

"Your brand is with you every minute of the day in every aspect of your life." 

"It needs to be projected through your actions in work, personal life and relationships to build trust and integrity." 

"We are always exuding something to those around us, we may as well proactively understand better, who we are and what we best have to put forth---to express our greatest impact." 


These comments are from individuals who see the true value of their brand. Others are in the lack of interest/confusing concept stage. My mission is to continue the dialogue and engage the believers...and skeptics. 


Please share a comment on your feelings about personal branding.