We have control

What I find interesting is that within any one given group I have come across, there are individuals that seem entirely subject to their surroundings. They have surrendered their personal brand to the organization for which they work, they are lost within their surroundings, and they no longer know who or what they stand for in life. I have breaking news for those folks, we have control!

In every decision, every minute of the day, you have a choice in the matter at hand. Do you want a tall non-fat cappuccino or a simple drip coffee? You decide. Do you want to work in corporate America or start your own personal business? You decide. No one is forcing you to be anywhere at any given time. This is America, we have control. That is the beauty.

Own your brand

If you find yourself in surroundings that eat away at you, own it. YOU are the only one who can change it. Is that a way to say “Quit your job!”, goodness no. It’s a way to say, own it. When someone interacts with you, it’s a reflection of your personal brand. If you’re unhappy in your professional life – be it your own business or a corporate role – it’s how your personal brand is perceived. That unhappiness seeps through to interviews, meetings and your personal life. Own your brand and take control of changing it.

Taking control: 3 easy ways

I’m going to give you the 3 easy ways to take control that only took me 10 years (and nearly $20K in therapy) to learn.

1. Thoughts become things – think Pinterest – it’s a powerful vision board that essentially creates a Pin board of your personal brand – what does it look like to own your success? Then think of yourself already there and it will happen. Caution: this works well so be careful what you ask for
2. Power of love – this is a biggie – have you ever met a successful person who lacked passion? Steve Jobs, Blake Mycoskie of Toms, Mark Zuckerberg all led with passion and a love for what they do each day which had delivered success professionally and personally for them.
3. Accountability – ask yourself regularly “am I owning this or am I being a victim to this situation?” this one question will keep you present in the situation

For over a decade I pursued my dream and led a business that was built out of pure passion, in essence I did what I loved. While it’s true that the days meld into one another, and before you know it know it time has passed like sands through an hourglass, Confucius has one on me. In my experience, it still felt like work (particularly in the early years).

Keeping your bank accounts full

In recent years, the economic conditions have given rise to many individuals reconsidering the W2 lifestyle. Filling your back account comes in many different ways and being mindful of this is essential, particularly if you choose to fill them by pursuing your passion outside the stability of a W2 paycheck.

Stability. Finances. Health (and health insurance). Emotional stability. Physical Health. There are many areas we deposit and debit from all day long that add up to “work/life balance.” Will doing what you love deposit or debit from your mental bank account (remember to consider the stress)? How will it affect your physical account? Does it deposit or debit from your relationship bank account? All your accounts need to be balanced in order for an opportunity to be the right one.

Choosing your passion

The irony in all of this is that the majority of people (including you) possess such talents in life that when it comes to deciding about a career or business, it is less about what you love, and more about what you can do with what you love. What am I talking about? Take me for example. I love shoes (Ok, I adore them) yet without the necessary skills (e.g. designing, manufacturing, distributing) necessary to effectively run a shoe business, my chances of being successful are rather limited even with my passion. The wise choice is to choose a passion where my skills also align so I have the best choice for success.

Go for it

The first step to anything in life is making the decision to go for it. Are you ready to fill up your bank accounts by pursuing your passion full-time? If you answer YES then GO FOR IT. Choose your passion wisely, align your skill set and make the decision to start doing what you love. As Confucius said “…you will never work a day in your life.” Here’s to never working a day in our lives.

You have the upper hand

Networking internally is the fastest and easiest way for you to get a new job. As a hiring manager at a company with over 200,000 employees, I’m partial to internal candidates for many reasons. First and foremost, as an internal candidate, you’re already familiar with the company’s culture, environment and systems. The reality is that you already have the upper hand in the hiring process.

LinkedIn is your friend

Socialize your way to your next career step using the best social network for professionals, LinkedIn. With over 100 million professional members across the globe, it’s likely your company and the hiring manager of your ideal position, is on LinkedIn. Go ahead and send a request to connect, there’s a 50/50 chance they will accept it. The chances go up if you put in a few lines with your request such as:

“Hello X, I’ve been with XYZ company for ___ years and I’m interested in learning more about your department. Do you have time to connect for 15 mins. next week?”

Work your internal connections

At least once each week, someone I meet will recommend an internal candidate for my team. I keep a list of these people so when I have a new opening I can send their names to my team’s recruiter. Are they highly qualified social media professionals? Possibly. Are they top talent? More than likely. When someone is willing to put their name behind another individual that says something about the candidate’s character, work ethic and professional capabilities. For me, it says it’s worth me time to at least interview that candidate. If you want to change careers internally, start working your internal network to ensure your personal brand extends far and wide within your entire organization.

Why It Matters To You
It’s proof positive that my career coaching methodologies work. I used the exact resume format and layout, interview kit and techniques (including questions to ask the hiring managers), 30/60/90 day plan and follow-up strategy that I coach my clients to use during their career transitions. I ran to FedExOffice and printed off resume packets with clear vinyl covers and vinyl backs, I included reference sheets, I hand wrote thank you notes and mailed them promptly – only after sending email thank you notes within 24 hours. Most importantly, I networked my toukas off throughout the entire process and was (and still am) ever grateful for the internal champion that supported my candidacy.

How To Find Me

I’m not exactly disappearing, in fact, I’m not even moving. The best way to stay connected with me is on LinkedIn.  I’ll also continue to be an active blogger on the Personal Branding Blog where you can find my posts every Monday morning or via my Twitter account on Tuesday mornings.  If you still can’t find me, head to Starbucks in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood on a weekend morning and any barista can point me out!

What I’ll Be Doing

Social media marketing – Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest and Social Media games for a retailer I believe in greatly. Who is it? I’ll disclose more after I start on the 30th. Most importantly, I’ll be engaging with consumers via social media and getting you (aka – American consumers) excited through fun, engaging and viral campaigns. Seriously, how exciting is this? As you can tell, I’m excited!

THANK YOU

It’s because of you and your support that I have the opportunity to grow my professional journey in this direction. Thank you. I appreciate you.

What inspired you to write Shake The World?

I left a job and (like many people) didn’t know what I wanted to do next but I knew I wanted it to be something different, something productive and meaningful in more than just a financial way. That got me thinking about the amazing people that were doing things to change the world (e.g. building schools, reducing malnutrition, leading multi-million dollar companies). This book was a way to showcase the stories of the ones we often don’t hear about.

You interviewed inspired leaders and entrepreneurs, is there a common thread they all share?

Let me share that Reilly interviewed humanitarians to corporate leaders including Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, Inc. and Blake Mycoskie of TOMS.

There were several common threads, which is ultimately the underlying argument of the book. The core set of commonalities and the biggest, most important is to “act as a disruptive force” whether that’s within an industry or your own life. This action will lead to the greatest result. Tony Hsieh disrupted the shoe industry with Zappos and the industry, consumers and his company are all in a better place. Shawn Fanning created disruption in the music industry and while he got in trouble, 10 years later, we’re able to consume music better and easier and record labels are paid for it.

What does success look like?
Each person defines success different, for one it may be donating 65MM shoes and for another it may be personal happiness. For most of these leaders success is when daily life+work intersect in a way that Sunday and Wednesday are interchangeable.

Take Ellen Gustafson who was working at the UN shortly after being inspired, in a nearly obsessive way, by food and healthy eating, during a ski trip. While partnering on a project with Lauren Bush they developed the original FEED bag to address global hunger and malnutrition. After the UN declined the project and several other groups and companies passed on them, they opened their own company. By 2010 the GAP was selling their FEED handbags and products. Half a million bag sales later, fifty-five million children have been fed and their little company has generated millions in sales too.

This is just a sample of the type of story you’ll find in Shake The World, and how anyone can turn their passion into a business.

How relevant is personal branding, for anyone, including job seekers today?

Personal branding is incredibly important whether you’re Tony Hsieh or Joe the Job Seeker. We all have a personal brand. Take any of these rising companies (e.g. TOMS Shoes, Zappos) and there are strong leaders in front of the brand. We all know the CEO and feel like we know the CEO personally; look at the impact when Steve Jobs was lost. We all felt as if we know him. When we like the company or brand’s leader, their businesses do well.

The same goes for a job seeker or employee. If I’m an intern at a company and I post a bunch of pictures on my Facebook account, that’s my personal brand. If I tweet a bunch of socially relevant things, that’s also my personal brand. The most important part of anyone’s brand is authenticity. People respond to authenticity.

What one piece of advice do you want to convey about Shake The World?

Avoid settling. Don’t be afraid to fail. Take small risks when you feel it’s worth taking them and know that it may not be that you’re going to start a business but that half-baked idea you have today may turn into something big in 3 years.

Keep an open mind and pursue your own interests.

Shake The World was released with Penguin Books in late December, 2011 and can be found at Amazon.com, your local bookstore or on your Kindle. After reading it myself I’d say it’s definitely worth $20. If you’re not inspired to start your own business, these are stories of great leaders you want to know of, about and get connected to. Who knows, maybe they’re building companies you’ll be part of someday soon.

Foray Into Fortune 500
Kiss’ personal brand evolved from advertising and consulting to the corporate side when a former boss from Leo Burnett called him with the opportunity to join Sears. He agreed and has been delivering results ever since. How can you do the same? “Demonstrate your ability to make things happen. For example, in this ever-evolving digital world, everyone can say I’ve created something on Facebook or I’ve done something with Twitter, but If you can say I did X with results attached, whether that’s engage, sell or serve customers, then you’ve got a good chance.” says Kiss. To get in the door at Sears, Kiss recommends using their job board and then leverage your other resources (e.g. LinkedIn) to connect directly to the hiring manager “Use two sentences on why I can help your team or perhaps share an idea” Kiss notes and “those will be the ones that move through the noise.”

Personal and Digital Branding
When asked how essential personal branding is in today’s job search environment, Kiss responded simply, “It’s critical to the extent I make it a standard practice in all the interviews I conduct.” He elaborated that you need to know “what I stand for and what you get” and be able to convey that clearly. You can’t rely on your paper anymore either, when it comes to personal branding, digital media is heavily involved and folks need to proactively manage their digital brand. Kiss Googles over 80% of the candidates he interviews and says he’s surprised by the results, or lack thereof, at least 50% of the time. Today’s candidates, and executives, are missing the mark when it comes to managing their digital brand.

Big Book of Kiss’isms
Whew. Thank goodness I Googled him! Kiss sees this as a lighthearted extension of his personal brand and a tool that speaks to his style. Furnished as a gift originally, it has been added to over the years and he’s found ways to incorporate it into his leadership to inspire, coach and give people focus. He shared this Kiss’ism “Be Open Kimono” with your people and partners – establish clear understanding with people and with goals. What’s his brand stand for? The Bill Kiss brand stands for making good things happen, for the company and their brands. Results move from the bottom to the top success tier and he can extend companies into new categories. Said another way, Bill Kiss “brings good things to life”.

3 Actionable Steps for Your Personal Brand
Kiss offered this insight to build your personal brand, focus on R&D, be relevant and differentiated. If you don’t have that to say about yourself, how are you going to help a given business to the same. He gives three steps to ignite a personal branding plan: 1. Plot a course and stick to it 2. Rigorously plan and paint the end picture of what you want to have people see about you 3. Make it happen (read: make time) Given the time of year, I’ll toss one closing thought on Kiss’ great tips, avoid making this a New Year’s resolution. Studies show the majority of them are abandoned by the end of February and this goal is worth too much to abandon. Commit to yourself that you will deliver on it in 2012.

Charlie Bit My Finger
Charlie’s brother became a YouTube star when nearly 28MM visitors watched Charlie bite his finger via YouTube and 397MM more watched him do it again. Did someone at Google forget they own the social network powerhouse that is ranked #3 in the world and has nearly 3MM sites referring traffic to it? YouTube, which Google bought in ’06 for $1.65B, has 33% of the global internet traffic market share, daily. Did they really need to reinvent the entire wheel rather than simply leverage this asset and integrate new features?

Facebook’s unstoppable force
The dominant source of referral traffic, 1000 times more referrals than Google+ (wow, talk about competition). The #1 site in the world. New applications installed 20MM times each day. 800MM users each month and from every country imaginable. Besides kicking every other social media platforms toukas, Facebook’s simply the best and the most fun. Why?

It’s where your friends, family and old schoolmates are at and it’s where the new fun, creative games and applications can be found. It’s easy to use and fun to check in with whether you’re on your phone, iPad or computer. Can Facebook’s dominance be stopped? We have yet to see a true competitor that can match it but until they arrive, this is one place that you want your brand to dominate in your industry.

Social brand power
Personal brand or business brand, these networks and their users have tremendous influence and power. Where do you spend your time? On the network with the most influence of course and that’s Facebook. The other networks lag far behind yet coming in second is StumbleUpon, YouTube and LinkedIn. Professionals, go to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Business owners and leaders, hit up Facebook, YouTube and Twitter along with integrating blogs. Both groups can think of YouTube as your Google integration since Google+ is more of a minus for now.

• Allison, a PA-based personal chef, $55,000
• Angela, Social Media Manager, $42,000
• AnneMarie, Newspaper Reporter, $26,000
• Cindy, Elementary School Secretary, $17,500
• Chad, Beverly Hills Celebrity Realtor, $1 Million+
• Bill, Corrections Officer, $44,000
• Bryan, FedEx Pilot, $148,000
• Frank, Plastic Surgeon, $1 Million
• Helen, Registered Dietician, $72,000
• Jeanine, Library Director, $38,000
• Julie, Food Truck Owner, $43,000
• Sandi, Emergency Room Registered Nurse, $50,000

A look ahead
With the U.S. economy teetering daily like the teeter-totter on a children’s playground, it’s smart to focus your career on skills that you know well. If you’re considered an expert, employers will pay. If you’re thinking “now’s the time to go out on my own”, check your savings account for 12 months of living expenses and ensure it’s and industry the economy is backing.

Salaries will stay at their current rates for 2012 and those receiving job offers will have room to negotiate for their fair market value. Engage salary tools (e.g. payscale.com, salary.com and glassdoor.com) to determine your fair market value when engaging in salary negotiations.

285,000 jobs a month for 5 years
While the Economic Policy Institute predicts it would take 285,000 new jobs per month for the next 5 years for our economy to return to pre-recession unemployment levels, all it takes for you to return to that state is one new job. Focus on that one and it’s a far more attainable goal.

3 Hot Industries in 2012
The hot industries remain consistent in 2012: Healthcare, Digital/Social Media and Green Energy. If you’re already in these industries, great for you. If you’re looking to break into one of these, focus on skills that transfer easily (e.g. project management, client relations, team management, accounting). Most importantly, connect the dots for the hiring manager in your personal brand, on your resume, LinkedIn profile and during the interview.

I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner with two heavy-hitting senior executives, the CMO of Sear’s Tools & Hardware and CMO of Sear’s Online & eCommerce. These two guys run the famous Craftsman brand and a Fortune 100 retail website for an iconic brand. Sears may be a bit stale, sorry guys, but it’s a brand many American’s love. In fact, we still own Craftsman tools that my grandfather, rest his soul, bought when my mom was growing up.

As we chatted over salad and salmon, they dished out their recipe for a successful career in today’s digital world inside Corporate America.

• Engage Socially – social media is the future. get engaged online, chirping and chatting to connect with brands that are moving forward (and hiring).
• Eyes Open - when working inside Fortune 500 organizations, if you look for walls, you’ll find them. If you look for opportunity and open doors, you’ll find that also. Do the latter.
• Opportunity – it exists and is best accessed via networking. Executives at this level are working double time right now and to capture their attention, you need to be personally networked in to see them, and it’s best if it’s around a key initiative.
• Flexibility – make it easy to meet with them near/at their location when they can meet you rather than near you and around your schedule.
• Backbone – if you’re an expert in your area, then they expect you’ll have a backbone and not back down at the first sign of pressure.
• Results - what can you do for me lately is common inside Corporate America’s walls today. if you deliver, you’ll do well.

Bill Kiss, is the Chief Marketing Officer of  Tools & Hardware, which includes over 400 brands and 30,000 products, and the Blue Tool Crew. He has agreed to do an in-depth interview on personal branding, social media, networking and how they’ve played a role in his 2011 hiring and 2012 hiring plans. Our in-depth interview on his executive hiring practices will be released on January 2, 2012. Like adrianallames career services on facebook to get access to this exclusive content!

Meet Andrew Gagen, CEO of MVP Recruiters, an executive search firm that specializes in what they call “hyper-niche” recruiting with one of the most sought after skill sets in the market – Chief Information Officers and enterprise architects. Andrew and I sat down at the famous Palmer House Hilton where he shared what you can do to get to the top of his resume stack (and it’s quite a stack) and what today’s job seekers need to avoid doing.

CEO of Me, Inc.
A common theme throughout our entire conversation was that you need to be the CEO of Me, Inc. and clearly communicate what you want, how you add value and what your expertise is in today’s market. If you’re out networking or, as Gagen stated in his direct yet tactful style, “If you were just at Thanksgiving dinner at your cousin doesn’t know what you do, there’s a problem.”

Expertise pays
“Today’s candidate’s are a mile wide and an inch deep when they need to be a mile deep and an inch wide. Employers pay for expertise, strategic thinking and thought leadership,” said Gagen, whose clients include of Visa and major financial institutions.

Standing out
Gagen put it well saying candidates need to “think like twitter, in 140 characters” to solve client’s (a/k/a employer) problems in today’s market. Focus on a high quality resume that you know will be viewed for 30-60 seconds maximum. “LinkedIn is a must have in any industry and a complete, keyword-optimized profile is critical.”

Social media, video resumes and job boards
I wasn’t about to let a guy like this get away without asking his opinion about the hot topics job seekers really want to know. Here it is.
Social Media – Essential to have the same (professional) image across all social networks. | LinkedIn is a must have. | Facebook is an up-and-coming social recruiting tool. | Twitter is great for job searching and expanding your network.
Video Resumes – “Give someone a reason to talk to you; these are a fixed message. I don’t like them. Next question.”
Job Boards – good place to find companies and recruiters that are hiring, then leverage your network to connect with them.

#1 way to get hired and get access to guys like Gagen
The number one way to get hired is to engage and make the employer fall in love with you in the interview – without being crazy. The #1 way to land an interview is still to be referred by an employee. Many companies have a rule that they interview any employee referral. To get access to guys like Gagen, he says that to honestly most recruiters aren’t very good because, like many candidates, they’re a mile wide and an inch deep; they know little about the position/job. Recruiters will use LinkedIn and their network to find candidates.
If you want to find a recruiter, use your network and look at the job boards (e.g. Monster, CareerBuilder) and use your relationships to find the moneymaker that places talent with your skill set within that recruiting company. If you’re CIO, CTO or enterprise architecture professional in the U.S., go to MVP Recruiters www.mvprecruiters.com, and mention you read about his interview with Adriana. Viola! Recruiter connection done.