How to Job Search 2015 Style 3 Mindsets to Embrace

How to Job Search 2015 Style 3 Mindsets to Embrace Job seekers are afraid. They are afraid to take risks and afraid to stand out.  Most believe it is safer to play by the rules and hope the right fit finds them. Those odds arent very good. The job seeker of tomorrow needs to become a marketing marvel, savvy salesperson and take risks like a serial entrepreneur. In fact, all employees in the future would be served well by heeding this advice too! 1) Learn to market like the top advertising agencies: Marketing covers everything from marketing research through product launch. Thats a pretty huge spectrum of skills. Job seekers who have been successful understand how to position themselves in the market and highlight their differences so that employers view them as a Must-have versus a Nice-to-have. (When was the last time you invested your hard-earned money on a product that was just mediocre?) In case you havent heard, there is some competition out there for the good jobs. You start marketing by knowing your competition and identifying your targets. Learn how to research companies, network and understand the needs, wants and desires of employers in your field of expertise (or desire). Next youll have to create solid and compelling messaging about your success. Hone your writing skills! And finally, youve got to build a buzz around you. Not just during job search, but throughout your career. According to Topco, these are the top 11 skills required of marketers: Revenue-driven Know their customers and markets Create remarkable customer experiences Great storytellers Test everything and assume nothing Never stop acquiring new marketing tricks Use data to make decisions Enjoy working with technology Manage their work according to a schedule Write very, very well Deliver specific, identifiable results Create job search materials that are more like advertisements. Target them to your specific audience. Capture their attention with the right message and use visual content to give you message oomph! 2) Become the worlds best sales person: Sales people are driven by results. And as a job seeker, you are too! In order to achieve results, sales people develop proactive strategies to increase their odds of closing a deal. They dont wait by the phone or computer for a response. They know better. Sales people have learned  how to dismiss rejection as part of the process. Persistence is key to the sales persons success and so are these top 12 skills listed by  Salesforce.com: Qualification Talent Attitude Digital Savvy Research Habits Listening Skills Ability to Combat Rejection Presentation Style Trust Building Referral Maximization Storytelling Closing Talents Writing Strength These are a lot of skills to master, however, you are now and forever in the business of selling. Go read Daniel Pinks To Sell Is Human. The premise of Pinks book is that we all have to convince people, at some point, to embrace our ideas or move people to do things they may not want to do and these both involve selling! RELATED:  How to  Sell Yourself  Effectively in an Interview 3) Think like an entrepreneur: Serial entrepreneurs are hard-wired to take risks. Most of us are risk-averse. There are many skills and traits that make entrepreneurs successful and perhaps embracing some could help catapult your job search and career. It may also inspire you to embark on your own entrepreneurial venture.  Under30ceo found these were the top  six entrepreneurial skills: Sales Communication Desire to Learn Focus Time Management BONUS: Persistence Pour your heart and soul into the process! If you want someone to hire you, you MUST believe in your own abilities. Dont hold back. Dont overlook the overlap: Can you see the overlap among these occupations? Its no coincidence that time management, focus, and great storytelling appear on multiple lists. We live in turbulent, fast-moving times.  Capturing someones attention, especially someone screening applicants, demands you deliver more than ho-hum content. The bar is constantly being raised by employers who need to bring in new talent. They want new employees who are engaged from the get-go and will deliver results. Now that you know what they are looking for- go deliver it! Tell great stories, keep learning new skills, and always make sure you address the needs and concerns of your customer (potential employer)!

Top 3 Ways to Leave a Strong First Impression

Top 3 Ways to Leave a Strong First Impression Does your personal brand leave a strong first impression? Whether you are interviewing for a job, meeting potential clients and partners at a networking event, or even  commenting on someone’s blog, how  you use your brand to  say “hello” and engage others will provide the differentiation you need to stand out. The  first impression you make goes a long way towards defining how others perceive you, and remember,  we don’t get a second chance to make a first impression! Here are three ways to leave that strong first impression both online and offline. 1.  Maintain eye  contact In the real world we  need to  look people in the  eye at first meeting and maintain good  eye contact throughout the discussion. Especially at a networking event, once you are engaged in a chat  don’t let your eyes wander towards the person at the other end of the room you really want to be talking with. Keep your focus on the person in front of you until you find a polite way to move on. We maintain eye contact in the virtual world with our professional head shot â€" one that has  a full view of your face, eyes, and smile!  Use  Gravatar  to link your head shot to the  avatar that shows up when you comment on other’s blog. And don’t be an “egg head” on Twitter! Nobody wants to engage with an egg or a silhouette image. 2. Seek first to understand… …rather  than to be  understood! Too often we get caught up with proving our brand  to others by boasting  about  our credentials, experience, ability, and skills. Our personal brands speak for themselves,  so let your brand do  the talking!    When meeting people, be the first to  ask questions and find a common ground. Listen actively to what others have to say by acknowledging their input and responding sincerely. Even in  the virtual world we need to be listeners. Social media channels are a wealth of insight, ideas, and  thought leadership.  Use an  80/20 rule   maximize 80% of your time as a listener and 20% as a talker. By following this rule, the contribution you eventually make will give off an impression of value to your target audience. 3.  Use people’s names and personalize your connections What’s in a name? EVERYTHING!  People like to hear their own names so make an extra effort to use someone’s names in every interaction. After leaving a chat,  thank the other person for their time    â€œIt’s  been great talking with you Peter.”    When  commenting on a blog use the person’s name and recognize their contribution before giving your comment  â€œThank you Peter for this great post.  I really agree with what you said about…  I often feel that…,”. A great way to personalize your request is to avoid the standard canned request when connecting with others on LinkedIn. By making your request personal it will  demonstrate your sincere interest in connecting with that specific person rather than simply increasing the number of connections you have. Do you have any tips to make a first impression?  Please share in your comments.

Everyone Deserves an Entourage A Conversation with Author Leslie Grossman

Everyone Deserves an Entourage A Conversation with Author Leslie Grossman “Friends cherish one anothers hopes. They are kind to one anothers dreams.” Henry David Thoreau Leslie Grossman Author Leslie Grossman wrote her latest book Link Out: How to Turn Your Network Into a Chain of Lasting Connections because of what she saw in 2008, when the recession hit the country hard. “So many people found themselves alone, without friends who could help them,” she says. “Even those with big networks didn’t seem to have what they needed: a group of supporters who could connect them to people.   And although the recession had hit my business, too, I realized that I did have connections that could help me.” Thinking about how that had happened turned into her book, which came out this year. Her deep thought on networking made her realize that most people get it wrong. “They think that the bigger their network is, the more powerful it is.   That’s simply not the case.” In fact, she says, you don’t need hundreds of contacts, whether they’re in social media or your real life business network.   What you need is not contacts, but relationships. Yes, the old fashioned kind, where you know each other, care about each other, and speak in person on a regular basis. Grossman says that too many people are focused on the quantity of their network contacts and forget about quality. Relationships, she says, are collaborative; they go both ways. Each person is cheering the other on and providing advice, support, and connections. When you have a network of quality relationships like that, you have an entourage. The dictionary definition of entourage, and the one that comes to mind for most people, is “a group of attendants or retainers, especially such as surround an important person.” We tend to imagine a movie star or politician surrounded by fawning yes-men. They smooth the way, help her succeed, and make her look good.   But why should entourages be only for the rich and famous? We can all have â€" and be part of â€" an entourage. The difference is that ours will be true collaborations â€" not stars orbited by supplicants and lackeys. Here are the characteristics of an entourage. Grossman writes in Link Out: “The ideal entourage is composed of influencers and people who are connected to other influencers and achievers. You want to surround yourself with self-sufficient, self-confident, and self-fulfilled individuals. You do not want people who are interested in themselves and their own success exclusively.” Given that definition, your entourage may be small at first. That’s okay; better to have a small group of passionate supporters than a large group of indifferent acquaintances. Don’t forget that the purpose of your group is mutual support; you must also be interested in and helpful to each person in your group. Together, you make up what Napoleon Hill called a “Mastermind Group,” a group dedicated to each other’s enrichment and success. Entourages provide a diversity of thought and experience in addition to adding their own spheres of influence to yours. They can help you determine when your idea is good and worth pursuing, or bad and holding you back.   They provide constructive criticism in a way that makes you feel cared about and allows you to hear even the things that might be painful. They act as a sounding board and help you advance your goals. Entourages refer each other to leads or connections that can help advance their careers or their business. Many people say that networking is painful and awkward; they hate calling someone to ask for favors or information. It’s not surprising, considering the superficial and transactional nature of these calls and meetings.   It’s hard to call someone you haven’t seen in months to ask for a favor. Calling one of your entourage, however, feels safe and appropriate.   You know you’ll return the favor someday soon. How do you start to acquire an entourage? As with most things you want to acquire, you start by giving first. Entourages develop organically through your generosity to your current network and people you meet. Leslie Grossman says that your first obligation to a new contact is to listen carefully and figure out how you might be of help to her (the opposite, by the way, of bad networkers, who are sizing you up to see how you can be of use to them.) Being generous with your time, contacts and wisdom will make you attractive to the right kinds of people.   You’ll find that the contacts and wisdom seem to grow exponentially as your circle of quality contacts grows. Reward and encourage generous behavior by others with acknowledgement and gratitude â€" and by being generous in return, of course. That’s rare in today’s business environment, and you’ll look like a superstar for doing it. Then it will come as a surprise to no one to see you surrounded by an entourage. Leslie Grossman will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Women of Influence event hosted by the Jacksonville Business Journal and the Jacksonville Women’s Business Center. The luncheon will be held on Thursday, August 29 from 11:30 â€" 1:30 at the Hyatt Riverfront, Jacksonville.   Register here.