Are You a Part of Someone’s Upturn Plan?
By Kaplan Mobray

It’s true, in case you have not heard that the “Great Recession” is about to become the “Great Awakening” — as economic conditions continue to show signs of recovery, companies and businesses all around the world are bracing for what is now called “The Resume Tsunami.” Companies that were once quick to cut workers loose are instead loosening their purse strings to ensure their organization is opportunity-ready. Skilled candidates who were once sidelined by the loss of job prospects are now lining up to be a part of someone’s upturn plan. Is this YOU? Have you secured your place in line? And have you made yourself just as marketable during the recession as you hope to be during the recovery?

If you have not focused on your brand, now is the time to create your online sound-bite so that you will be sought after. The very best companies are already looking for people who can fill immediate demand and deliver immediate results to help them catch up during the upcoming growth spurt. Here are five things you can do to make yourself upturn-ready.

Your Upturn Readiness Plan – Five Things You Can Do To Make Yourself Upturn Ready

1. Re-Key Your Online Career Profile with Upturn Keywords
During an economic recovery top candidates will be found through keyword searches. Make sure your profile is posted on professional networking sites like linkedin.com, amightyriver.com, and facebook that can be easily found in a three word search. For example, Computer-Technical-Analyst, Marketing-Sales-Professional, or Healthcare-Administration-Specialist. Your keywords will put you at the front of the line when they come searching for you.

2. Build an Inventory of Professional References for Jobs you have not yet Applied to Fill
References will become more important during the recovery because jobs will be filled more quickly, through referral sources. So don’t wait until the interview to ask for a reference. Build your reference yellow pages now. When you ask for a reference you automatically put yourself in someone’s mental rolodex which makes you more memorable when an opportunity becomes available.

3. Research Your Sector to Understand How You Fit into the Recovery Plan
The upturn in hiring across sectors will be driven by immediate needs that prompt an opening. This means that companies will take fewer risks and select candidates who already have a track record in a particular area. So position yourself and your elevator pitch as a solution to a specific issue, crisis, or current opportunity that a company is dealing with, that can be met with your capabilities.

4. Let Your Contacts know You are Available
It seems obvious but the reality is many candidates do not make it known that they are available. Instead, they wait for the opportunities to trickle their way into their email inbox. In an upturn, waiting puts you at the back of the line. Make yourself a commodity by asking others in your network for the opportunity to make a contribution. Devote at least one hour a day toe-mailing your professional contacts. Let them know you are taking your career to the next level and that you want to make a difference, perhaps with their company. Your attitude in the recovery should be driven by the confidence you have in your skill.

5. Ask an Influential Executive to Represent you for Future Opportunities
Business relationships are often predicated on the mutual exchange of value. Did you know that you can help someone just by letting them represent you to other influential contacts in their network? When you are referred for an opportunity that helps improve the relationship someone has with one of their contacts because of your capabilities, you become a gift from one business partner to another. So ask someone to represent you and use the upturn to turn yourself into a “gift” not just a “find.”

5 Ways to Improve Your Personal Brand in 2010

The start of 2010 will mark the beginning of the next phase of your life.   What you do with this gift of time and opportunity will shape your brand and define your outcomes this year. So my advice is to not focus on resolutions but rather to develop specific actions that you take daily to improve the experience of your life.  When you focus on “Actions” as opposed to “Resolutions” you  reshape the way you view yourself in the midst of your circumstances so that “I am going to do” becomes “I did”.

Here are 5 ways to improve your personal brand in 2010

1.  Take pictures

A picture is the creation of a captured memory.  When you capture a memory you create a moment.  When you create a moment it means you have lived a unit of time.  Taking pictures of your experiences will help you take stock of your accomplishments.  In 2010 make sure to celebrate what you have done and where you have been.

2.  Create your own holidays

We often wait for prescribed months and days to remind ourselves of our value and celebrate our worth. And, if you are out of work or dealing with a life challenge the holidays can become stressful  and something to avoid.  In 2010 create a new set of holidays for yourself  like “Me day” or ” Show em what you got day”.  New holidays give you more to celebrate  and allow you to take more control of your outlook. It also will help others to see you as an individual with purpose and originality giving you a fresh polish on your brand.

3. Build a new skill

How often do you write down and record all the things you know how to do?  In a tough and difficult economic environment the more skills you have in your inventory the more marketable you become.  In 2010 take an inventory of your skills, the true abilities you have to offer that can help someone else or something else grow.  And add onto your list.  Sounds simple but many of us add qualities each year without adding skills.  Learn a new language, obtain a new certification, or simply complete a new task.  When  you build skill you build brand value.

4. Throw a criticism party

A great way to improve your brand is to accept criticism on the things that need improvement.  Select a group of trusted  advisors and friends and throw a live or virtual criticism party.  Ask your contacts to give you constructive feedback on three areas you can improve and three actions they would recommend. For example:

• ” Write shorter emails to get your points across clearer”
• ” Don’t be as sloppy with your attire as it conveys a lack of professionalism”
• Be more punctual to events as it will show you are truly interested in participating and making a contribution”

5.     Say “Thank You” and Volunteer your service

When you are put in a position to say or receive a “thank you” it means that you are receiving something positive as a result of something you delivered or asked for.  When you volunteer you are giving of yourself with no expectation of return.  In 2010 you will become the master of your fate and the pilot of your brand when you focus on giving of yourself.  Each day make a list of five things you will do to put someone in a position to say “thank you” and record the thank you’s you receive as a result.  What you give you will receive.

Best wishes for a successful and inspired 2010

What Does Your Face Say About Your Life?
By Kaplan Mobray

Have you ever thought about what your face says about your life? We all walk around with faces of the experience of our day, the journey of our years, and the struggles and battles that we have overcome or fallen victim to. What we may not always think about is how our face can shape our fate.

Your face is the window to the opportunity gained or lost from an encounter with you. In the first three seconds of meeting you people are either drawn in or pushed back. And the result of their response to your face will shape the outcome for you being picked or discarded. So as fate would have it your personal brand is shaped by the face you wear every day. Does your face reflect your brand?

In the 10Ks of Personal Branding I discuss the importance of your packaging. People buy into a product first from an impression of its package. If you are looking to be picked for something or to be considered a valued asset to a team pay close attention to how your face positions you for opportunity.

• A smile puts people at ease and says it is ok to do business with you or to consider you as someone to know

• A frown poses the question as to your mental state, your state of personal comfort, and may cause a delay in ones willingness to want to know just how good you are

• A worrisome face may convey that you are too concerned with being concerned about something to convey you are capable of producing something positive

• A worn down face may indicate that you are too tired to be someone who is going to work hard for someone else and thus your brand becomes less desirable to one that shows an eagerness to learn and grow

• A curious face shows that you are eager and open to create and explore new possibilities and that you will use thought and logic to arrive at an innovative conclusion

• A doubtful face closes the door on options and may connote that you have all the answers and are less interested in being a team player but more interested in getting your way

These are some of the faces of life that shape the fate of opportunity for your brand. Have you thought about the face you are wearing? And what does your face say about your life?

I recently thought about people who make a difference and how others are creating impact today so I set out to ask several others to describe the difference they make in the world and how it defines who they are. In most cases the conversation quickly reverted to talking about the accomplishments of someone else. This got me thinking about the power of branding yourself as a “Difference Maker”, and the importance of understanding that the value you create for others starts with the value you place on “You”. If You can make the difference then your brand will contribute much more impact for the well being of others and it will shape your life success. When you manage your own excellence you will define the value that can be expected from the experience others have with you. To inspire others to realize this vision I created the anthem I am now calling “I Make A Difference”.

Check out “I Make a Difference” Live

Times Have Changed: It’s Not What You Know, nor Who You Know, It’s What They Know about You That Counts by Kaplan Mobray

It is true. Times have changed and to succeed in this fast-paced digital world of friending, linking, accepting, and commenting you must be known for something.

It used to be that who you know got you the job or made you a better candidate than your opponent but today who you know is not enough. It takes an inventory of reputation built online where others can openly and candidly validate your value to make it to the next level. So what can you do to stand out, and what are some effective ways to be known for something when it counts?

10 Tips to Brand Yourself as Someone to Know

If you are looking for a job in this tough economy, looking to protect your brand, or looking to establish a presence where you can be known for something here are 10 things you should do now!

1. Change Your Last Name to “Dot Com” – To build instant credibility create a website that includes your name.com. This will not only give others a way to get to know you. It will give them something to say about you to others making your brand viral.

2. Comment on Three Blogs a Week – Find a blog, any blog of interest and begin having a dialogue in the blogosphere. You will be surprised to see how people like to comment on what others have said. When they comment on you they will also now know you for your insight.

3. Post Photos of Yourself at Important Events – People associate your value with the places you go, the events you attend and with whom you are seen. To stand out as someone worth meeting let others know that you are at the center of where the action happens.

4. Respond in Writing to Current Events and News Stories – Have you ever written a note to the President, or a congressman, or an anchor on your local news station with a response to a breaking story. You may not think these actions matter but they can make you a standout overnight. More importantly they let others know that you have an opinion and are not afraid to take initiative.

5. You Tube Your Way To Fame – The power of internet video is that you can create millions of impressions, receive thousands of accolades, and make a strong statement of why you should be picked for something. Also people remember video twice as much as they remember written content.

6. Get a Reference Quote from A Credible Source – It used to be that you made your references available upon request. Today others need to know what others are saying about you. Collect quotes like “An incredible talent”, A financial genius”, “An uplifting speaker” that will help others put you in the context of the desirable.

7. Choose Charity Always – When you are “giving back”, others you will find you more appealing to talk about and your brand will be a favorable one to remember.

8. Make New Friends – The best way to become known is to make new friends who can know you in different scenarios. The more circles you travel in, the more mileage you will gain in making yourself memorable.

9. Don’t Wear a Nametag – Wear a smile instead. It’s easy for someone to dismiss you when they think you are not approachable. A smile is the best way to give others access to find out just how good you are.

10. Become an Advisor…on Anything – When you give advice you increase the perception that you actually know what you are talking about. If your advice helps even one person you can say you have a proven track record. Your track record is the lifeline of your reputation. Make it work for your personal brand.

Author Kaplan Mobray and Korn Ferry International Partner Fran Pomerantz with tips on finding and landing a new job.

Finding a Job: How to Present Your Skills when Skills Matter Most
by Kaplan Mobray

The increasing challenge of the job market has created a new txt messaging sequence “LOAL”, Laid-Off-And-Looking.   As a result, the ever popular “LOL” is quickly being replaced with “LOAL” as the economy has become no laughing matter.  Today more than ever it is critical to understand how to present your skills so that you can best position yourself for employment.

Unfortunately as I speak to many job seekers I realize that skills are being mistaken for qualities.  In a crowded field where opportunities are scarce, skills get you the job while qualities help you beat out your competition.  Those that understand how to champion their skills will have an advantage in a market that rewards people who fill needs not wants.  So if you are one of the millions of “LOAL” here are some tips on how to present your skills so that you can get back to “LOL”.

Separate Your Skills from Your Qualities
List three problems that you can help a company solve based on your expertise and training.  Make a separate list of three reasons why someone would pick you over the next candidate.  These two lists will help you to differentiate what you are “good at” from why people like you.

Create Your Own Statement of Capabilities
A resume is a chronological log of your career lifecycle.  A statement of capabilities is a separate document that lists specific problems you helped someone solve and the impact that was created as a result of your applied skill.  It is an effective tool to help a prospective employer get to the point as to why they “need you”.  It is also an effective way to brand your capabilities as coveted skills to the highest bidder.  Here’s an example of a good statement of capabilities entry:

(Problem): Company suffered huge 2nd quarter loss due to decrease in product sales
(Solution): Developed new marketing strategy to attract an untapped customer segment resulting in 500,000 new customers in 3 months and $4 million of new product sales for the company leading to a 4th quarter net profit.

Dissect a Job Description and Match Your Keywords
The average job description is approximately 300 words in length.  It is often the first thing you look at when seeking employment but often the last we pay attention to when preparing for an interview.  To best position your skill match keywords that appear in a job description with keywords that appear on your resume, on your Facebook and Twitter profile, in your cover letter, your cell phone voicemail greeting, in your email thank you, in your introduction, and most importantly in your professional presence.

Words like quality, strong, prioritize, multiple tasks, motivate, growth, experience, manage, and develop are common keywords.  The more your keywords match the keywords listed in a job description the more you will present yourself as able to do the job.

Featured on Ad Age May 2009

If They’ve Got Strong Personal Brands, Use Them to Call Attention to Your Company

by Kaplan Mobray
Published: May 28, 2009

Kaplan Mobray

To stand out in an environment where it seems that everyone is talking but no one is listening, forward-thinking Fortune 500 companies are trying a new tack: They’re tapping into the personal brands of their most inspiring, effusive and public executives. In fact, rather than being viewed as renegade moonlighters, motivational speakers at companies such as Deloitte, Nike and Pitney Bowes have become their company’s most coveted brand ambassadors.

Personal brands can bring to life an organization’s culture as no print or digital image can, especially for a professional-services firm. Deloitte, an organization known for having several authors and renowned speakers, touts employees Brian Dzingai, a 2008 Beijing Olympics 200-meter finalist, and Tiffaney Florentine, a former participant on the hit TV show “American Gladiators.”

Author and speaker Kevin Carroll, founder of Kevin Carroll Katalyst and also known as Nike’s “Katalyst,” travels the world promoting the culture and spirit of Nike. His personal brand has nurtured the company, provoked new ways of thinking and doing, and inspired the entire organization. Kevin has created value for his personal brand as an author and speaker and as a result has driven exponential value for Nike’s brand.

Keith Wyche, president of operations at Pitney Bowes U.S. and author of “Good Is Not Enough,” travels the country inspiring minority professionals. Through his work outside of Pitney, he is able to make meaningful connections with potential customers, businesses and retail consumers that translate into bottom-line value for Pitney Bowes.

Consumers increasingly base their feelings about a company on what they know about its people, rather than what an ad agency’s creative team can portray. As companies begin to understand the interdependent relationship between employees and profits, a new model for hiring and sourcing talent emerges. Social media will pave the way for applicants to build strong relationships with recruiters well before a face-to-face interview. Now, instead of taking traditional applications, jobs will find recruits after they have built powerful personal brands online or through other forms of recognition.

Hiring employees who have established personal brands will help companies immediately inherit value and relevance in a crowded market and may lead to quicker results in meeting growth objectives. Similar to following a popular icon on Twitter as a way to access a wider network of buyers, companies today will look for prospective employees who bring skill as well as recognition.

Bottom line: There’s a new and largely untapped resource within corporate walls that can help companies build brand equity, and it’s your employees — specifically those employees with individual personal brands. It’s those employees and their speaking engagements and other ways of reaching out that can help make corporate brands real, trusted and relevant in the minds of prospective recruits and customers.

Want to tap into the personal brands on your staff? Here are five tips.

Leverage the PR department. PR departments can play a critical role in helping companies establish directories where their personal brands can be put on display.

Promote from the inside out. The company e-mail newsletter or intranet is an effective way to find interesting facts about the people who sit right next to you. Use these vehicles to promote employees’ outside interests and accolades, creating tons of internal buzz that will have your company’s brand soaring and your people proud to wear your logo.

Tweet your people right. Social-networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are powerful tools through which companies can discover and promote their personal brands. As the lines between professional and personal continue to blur, companies that create more access for employees to tweet and add friends will bolster the bottom line.

Advertise online. Use the internet and search-optimization strategies to enhance the brands of your employees, not just your service or corporate brand.

Measure the impact. No personal-branding effort should go without measurement. Successful companies promote personal brands to help achieve a specific set of results. Have a measurement plan that includes a focus on awareness, recruitment, retention, innovation and culture. Measurement will reinforce the value of the people you promote.

Does Your Personal Brand Need a Bailout?

Today, you don’t have to look too far to know that people across all walks of life are looking for some form of assistance. For some it is government assistance to get back on their feet, for others it is mortgage assistance to stay in their homes, and for others it is unemployment assistance to get through hard times.  Whether or not you fit this category, you know that hard times make us forget about the times in our life when no assistance was required.  Those were the times when our brand, our accounts, and our roof were in order.

If you have lost your job you know the identity crisis that comes when you are forced to define yourself without a paycheck.   If you are in a job and trying to keep it, you also understand the importance of delivering value.  Today, your sense of self is valuable currency and how you manage your brand during a downturn will impact your career and define your life outcomes.   The most overlooked bailout program today is the one that you need most.  It is the bailout of your personal brand. Your personal brand is defined as who you are, what you are known for and your true sense of purpose.

So whether you are a “job seeker” or “job keeper” here are 10Ks to bailout your brand and give you back your sense of purpose.

1. Know thyself
Always remember that what you tell yourself becomes who you are.  Pick three things you are good at and let them become your unique strengths. Use them as conversation starters when others ask what do you do?

2. Know what you want to be known for
What do you want people to say about you when you are not in the room? Including the interview room? Your answer to this question reveals the behaviors and actions that must now become a part of every encounter you have with others.

3. Know how to be consistent
You will be known for the things you do consistently.  Your ability to consistently deliver value, help someone overcome a challenge, or improve the bottom line will add a line of sight making it easy for you to be the one kept when others are told to leave the building.

4. Know how to accept failure as part of building your personal brand
Don’t check your failures at the door rather let them open new doors for you to shine. One of the most powerful stories you can tell about yourself in an interview is how you learned from failure, how you picked yourself up when you were knocked down or how you took a “setback” and made it a “setup” for success.

5. Know how to communicate your personal brand attributes
When someone meets you an impression of your capability is made in six seconds or less.  Have a statement of your value, “your elevator speech“, that tells others who you are, how you can make a difference, and why they should buy into what you deliver.

6. Know how to create your own opportunities
There are people who wait for things to happen and there are people who make it happen. What type of person are you?  What are you waiting for to go after your goals?

7. Know and master the art of connection
Relationships are far more effective than resumes when you are looking for your next opportunity or looking to keep your current position.  Use the internet and professional networking websites to build your reputation so your network is as strong online as it is offline.

8. Know that silence is not an option
If others do not know you exist they can’t help but help the next person. Don’t just look for a job, let others know that you are available. Don’t just show up to the meeting.  Have something to say. You will only be as good as how memorable you make yourself.

9. Know your expectations, not your limitations
Manage your personal brand so what others expect from you is what you also know you can deliver. If you others don’t know what to expect from you, you may not get the call when opportunities become available.

10. Know why you are doing what you are doing today and how it will shape where you are headed tomorrow.
If you have a roadmap for where you are going it will be harder to get lost along the way to your treasure.

Your Personal Brand Bailout is now available.
Get your copy of the 10Ks of Personal Branding Today!

Are You Prepared For Your “Now What?”

If you have lost your job, seen your friends lose their job, or are frantically holding on to your seat the two words “now what” may be staring you right in the face.  Furthermore with each day of economic data you may be asking yourself who am I without a paycheck?  What will I become without a paycheck?  Or how do I protect the paycheck I have been accustomed to seeing monthly.

The real question you should ask yourself as you endure through today’s economy is simply, are you prepared to face your own version of the uncertainty of tomorrow?  In other words what’s your “now what?”

Life may throw many curveballs at you but it also offers the opportunity to answer this very important question.   Reflect for a moment on the following statements:

• • If you can see the opportunity that can come from loss you can be the gain that comes from uncertainty.
• • If you can prepare for life with less you can live your life with more
• • If you think about your “now what” you will plan for your “what now” and your “what now” will become “what next”

It all starts with preparing your life, managing your personal brand and having an approach to your career to always have an answer to this important question.  So here are 10 tips to prepare for your “now what”.

10 Tips to Prepare for Your “Now What”

1. Create a pre-established automatic renewal agreement with five people who will give you a positive reference without you having to ask their permission.
2. Always have two business cards with you one from your current employer and a generic one that lists your transferable skills
3. Turn your resume into a website about you that allows others to learn about you and spend more time assessing your skills outside of the interview room
4. Make a plan to get together live with one person a week who can give you advice on how to further your career, or plan your next move
5. Write out your five most appealing qualities and five specific jobs that would make the best fit. Find five people who work in those occupations and invite them to lunch over the next five weeks
6. Save $50 a week for the next 10 weeks to build a reserve fund just for your job search activities.  Your fund should help you buy a domain name, build a website and enable you to participate in key networking opportunities to meet contacts who can help you in your search
7. Spend an hour each day building your reputation online by joining a social media website like facebook or professional networking websites like amightyriver.com and ihispano.com
8. Carry an About Me card in your wallet that reminds you of:
   a.    what you aspire to be
   b.    what you need to do to get there
   c.    what training have you had so far to prepare
   d.    what contacts you need to make to get you closer to your goal

9. Spend an hour a week volunteering at a charity or cause related organization then email the board members of that charity to connect and share your capabilities
10. Write the highest ranking person whom you have a connection to within your organization a note stating how you have created value for your organization and what more you can do to help your organization grow