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

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?

Check out “I Make a Difference” Live

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.

From Wall Street to WalMart, Banker to Baker, Tech Worker to Teacher and Lawyer to Landscaper, the recession has forced millions of Americans to reinvent themselves as a means of survival. According to the Labor Department about 45% of the 6.5 million Americans who became unemployed in this downturn lost their jobs permanently.  Furthermore, online career site CareerBuilder.com reports that 71% of those who have been laid off are looking for jobs outside their fields.  This shift has created a revolution of personal brand reinvention like never seen before. But I am often asked the question how does reinvention lead to recovery?

If you have lost your job or are contemplating how to reinvent yourself in this recession there is some good news.  First, when you can bring your skills to impact another industry or sector you build your portfolio of transferable skills which enhances your career prospects. Secondly, studies show that job movers who have traded in status-only positions for purpose-driven positions achieve a greater sense of life fulfillment and satisfaction.

So if you can define your recovery as the ability to be satisfied, using skills that allow you to transfer your success, irrespective of the economic environment, then you will find a way to reinvent your brand as a means to recover from this recession.

So here are five tips on reinventing your brand.

1.  Match Your Skills With a Job Outside Your Field

You should always have a “Plan B” even if your job is secure.  Start by creating a profession-to-skills matrix that matches each of your skills with a job in another field you could do today if you were laid off.

2.  Take on a Volunteer Project in a Sector you Want to Explore

It is always easier to reinvent yourself after having some practice.  Volunteer your time with an association or not-for-profit organization that will allow you to explore a new sector. It will be a free internship and great way to get some exposure to how you would perform in a new environment.

3.  Create a Survival Based Budget

The most difficult part of recovering in the recession is often getting used to a new lifestyle and spending patterns.  Create a survival budget that details your expenses on the top 10 items you purchase per week.  Find an equivalent product, generic brand, or substitute frequency of use for each of those items. By doing this you will free up additional funds to adjust to your reinvented lifestyle.

4. Spend more time on the Internet Becoming an Expert

The greatest thing about the Internet is that it allows you to become an expert and to be known for something quickly without having to spend years studying a chosen discipline.  To reinvent yourself online, make a plan to respond to 10 online blogs a week in the new field where you are looking to enter. You will become a known authority in six months and be able to assemble a portfolio of knowledge, articles, and insight that will make you marketable in your new environment or help you in your quest for a new job.

5. Invite yourself to Networking Events Where You Have No Prior Affiliation

Reinventing yourself sometimes means becoming a “new fish” in a “new pond”.  Seek out networking opportunities that will allow you to meet new people, talk about new topics, and learn about new opportunities.  When you create these types of opportunities you will become much more comfortable reinventing yourself and discover that your skills are just as relevant, your brand is even more marketable and you are on your way to a full recovery.