Todays Women in Business

The New Rules Of career Management: 3 steps To Jump Start Your Career Search In The Next 30 Days

Are you one of the 54 percent?

Did you realise that more than half of the people in any organisation at any one time are either actively looking for another job or would seriously considering leaving if the right opportunity presented itself?

Perhaps you didn’t realise that your competition for finding that next great role would be so great?

If the time has come for you to explore new career opportunities, here are four actions you can take in the next thirty days to jump start your job search.

1. Research the current job market – If it has been some time since you were looking for a role either inside your business or in the external job market, it is important to get re-acquainted with the market as it currently stands.

If you are looking for a move within your business, you can do this by talking to key people in the department or function you are interested in moving to or with your line manger or business mentor. This has the added benefit that they will also get to know you are interested in a career move so making a great impression with them as you undertake research about your future career is imperative.

If you are looking for a move outside your business, you can research the market through reading specific trade publications, through on-line research, talking to people in your chosen field or through discussions with recruiters.

2. Create and implement your professional development plan – When was the last time that you invested in learning about your area of expertise that you want to build your career in other than through on-the-job learning? Do not get me wrong, learning skills in your current role and then applying them is not to be undervalued.

However if you really want to position yourself as an expert in your field, it is important to continuously build on your current knowledge and capabilities. This might be through reading current books, articles and attending seminars or conferences.

Capture your professional development plan onto a one page document where you can track the investment you make in your development and also how you put the new skills and knowledge into action.

3. Update your resume or CV – If you have not looked at your CV or resume in the last six months, I can guarantee that it is out of date. Make sure that you take the time to review and update it. This is not a job to be rushed but is worth every minute that you spend on it. Consider it your personal marketing brochure.

Most times in a job search, your CV or resume will be the only thing that is evaluated or considered before a decision is made by a corporate recruiter to meet you or not. You need to ensure that it stands out from the crowd and your personal brand statement demonstrates your unique point of difference.

As a rough estimate, drafting, reviewing and finalising a professional CV or resume will take on average 8 hours of your time. You might consider this excessive, but isn’t it worth investing the equivalent of just one day to ensure that your years of experience and expertise are represented in the most effective way possible?
YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

If you are looking for your next career move make sure that you implement these three steps before you commence an active job search.

Before you explore the external market, don’t forget to share your career aspirations with your current line manager. Remember if you do not tell them what you want to achieve in your career and how you can at the same time help them grow the business you are working on now, the chances are that they will never get to learn this. The grass is not always greener in another business, and the opportunity to expand your career could be just a conversation away.

If you do decide that the time has come to move on to a new role outside of your current organisation, taking the time to undertake the three steps mentioned in this article will ensure that you are in a strong position to jump start your job search through on-line job boards, recruitment agencies and executive recruiters.

If you have a question about how to build your personal brand for career success, do drop me an email and I will answer your questions in a future article.

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “The New Rules of Career Management”.

Seven signs that your career has stalled

Have you recently found your mind turning to that question we often ask ourselves – just where is my career taking me?

Is it time for you to get your career back on track?

Here are seven signs that you can identify your career has stalled and actions you can take to over come them:

1. You are undertaking similar accountabilities as you were 3 years ago

2. You have not invested in developing your skills in the last 12 months

3. You are unclear about your career goals and where you would like to be 3 years from now

4. Your CV or resume was last updated more than 18 months ago

5. You find it challenging to come into work on a Monday morning – in fact you almost dread it

6. You can not recall when a recruitment agency or executive recruiter contacted you

7. The most attractive assignments and projects at work always seem to go to someone else.

If you don’t see yourself in these statements – great – your career is on track.

If you say a resounding yes to between 1-3 of the statements then your career is in neutral but that is fine – you can take action using the tips below.

If you say a resounding yes to 5 or more of these statements then your career has stalled.

Take action today to get your career back on track perhaps by reading a career management book from your local library or working with a personal branding coach who can guide you to greater professional and personal success.

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “The New Rules of Career Management”.

The New Rules Of Career Management: 5 Actions To Shift Your Career Into Fifth Gear

Have you noticed that colleagues and friends seem to be enjoying greater career success than you recently?

Are you wondering how you can get your career back on track?

Don’t worry, help is at hand. Here are five actions you can take to get your career back into fifth gear:

1. Get focused

If you are not sure what you want to achieve in your career your first task is to focus on your vision of success. If you know what you want to achieve in the next 5 years in your career then it will be easier to plan the actions you need to take to achieve your career goals.

Do not create a goal that you think will be acceptable to your family and friends. This is your life, your career. Create a vision of success that will inspire you to stay the course of action.

2. Turn your vision into a plan

It is great to have a vision. But how do you ensure that you vision does not just remain a dream?

The key is to ensure that you translate your vision into a career goal that you document, review and refine over time. You plan should also include actions to take to further develop your strengths and develop core capabilities that you will be required to demonstrate in the roles you seek to undertake in the future.

If you do not have specific goals that you want to achieve to support your career success in the next 12 months, take time out to draft your career goals today.

3. Acknowledge your strengths

Are you clear about your core strengths – the areas that come so naturally to you that you do not have to work at them - and the things that you are passionate about, so that when you are engaged in these areas time just flies?

Review your career history and consider those times when you not only had just the best time in the work you were doing but you were also highly successful. Were these times when you were playing to your strengths? What were the other things that contributed to your success at that time?

As you complete this review, if your CV or resume is not up to date, now would be a great time to review and up date it.

Consider how you could change your role and responsibilities in your current job to inject more of your strengths and the factors that supported your previous success.

4. Express your personal brand

One of the reasons that your career may be in neutral or has stalled is that you have not taken the time to define and fully express your personal brand – in other words, how you are differentiated from your competition.

There may be many other people seeking the same career path as you, but by developing and nurturing your personal brand you will be sure to stand out from the crowd.

5. Get known now

So often it is easy for us to be busy in the day to day activities of our role that we spend little time connecting with others both inside and outside the organisation.

Now is the time to get visible and nurture your network – the biggest mistake you could make is not beginning to nurture your network until you are looking for your next role.

Create your career networking plan so that you build your personal profile and reputation inside your business, in the local community and in your industry.

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

Take just 90 minutes this in the next week to give your career a health check using the tips in this article.

If you are on track for the success you are looking for – fantastic!

If your career is in neutral or has stalled, what actions can you take so that you can look forward to a bright and successful career – one in which you are proud of and with accountabilities that enable you to play to your strengths and realise your full potential?

Many of us spend more time planning our vacation than our career success. The new rules of career management require that we take steps each day towards our career success.

What have you done today to ensure that you are going to enjoy greater career success in years to come?

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved.

Reprinted from 'Biz Growth Express', a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your corporate, employer and personal brand and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free branding and business development teleseminars with experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.

Your employees impact your personal leadership brand

At every meeting with my clients I talk about how they are taking steps to bring their corporate brand, their employer brand and their personal brand to life.

But have you ever considered that as a business leader, the actions your people take not only impact how your corporate brand is perceived in the eyes of clients, business partners and other key stakeholders?

How your people behave influences how others perceive your own personal brand.

You see, the behaviour of your team reflects what you as a leader sees is acceptable behaviour - in other words what you are condoning.

As an example, today I was in a meeting with a potential client.

On arriving at the office, I was shown into the Managing Partners office.

The meeting commenced. We were in full flow of a conversation but just then the office door opened. A member of the team came into the office. The Managing Partner continued to talk, the team member came in to shuffle papers behind us, said a few works and then left.

Suprisingly to me the Managing Partner said nothing about the incident. Nor had the team member knocked the door or said "excuse me" or "sorry for interrupting you".

Then ten minutes later the same thing happened agin.

Now perhaps I am being old fashioned, but I was left with a distinct view that this was not professional behaviour.

Have my team members ever interrupted me when I have been in a meeting? Yes from time to time. But they would say "excuse me". However as a way of working, if the office door is shut and I am with a client, then they know not to disturb me unless it is an emergency.

Was the team member wrong to come in unannounced? My belief is yes.

However the lasting impression is that the Managing Partner was in fact impacting his reputation and personal brand in a negative way as this was clearly behaviour he condoned and felt was acceptable.

I wonder if this also happens when they have prospective clients with them for a meeting? How would you feel if that happened to you as a prospective client?

Building a strong reputation and personal brand as a leader and executive, remember to look arounf you in terms of what you are prepared to accept as behaviours in your team and consider if it reflects your personal leadership brand as you would like it to be perceived.

Why not take the chance to review what people coming into your business or meeting your team would take away about how your people behave and therefore what you stand for as a leader?

Build your personal brand through your profile

Whether you are in an organisation and developing your career or you are the leader of your own professional services practice, one thing you can be sure about....

.... at some stage in the next 12 months you are likely to be asked to present yourself on paper.

That could be for a proposal you are submitting, a job you are applying for or a profile you have to present as a speaker at a conference.

But when was the last time you reviewed your personal profile or CV? And does it accurately reflect your expertise and experience?

I was recently working with a professional association to support them building their brand on-line. They had developed a new web site which gave the members of the association the opportunity to add their details to the data base, providing them with increased visibility.

However, the quality of the personal profiles was so poor, they certainly were not likely to attract interest from potential clients or strategic joint venture partners.

I was also recently working with an executive who was looking for their next career move and we were working on developing their personal brand. However when we looked at their personal marketing materials - their CV - it certainly did not enhance their reputation.

I am frequently asked for a copy of my personal profile and what I have some to learn is that we need to have a core profile available at a moments notice so that we can adapt it to the needs of the audience requesting our profile.

You see it is much easier keeping your profile up to date and relevant than having to create it the first time.

So if your personal profile or CV is out of date, here are this weeks personal branding action steps to ensure that your profile projects your personal brand.

THIS WEEK'S PERSONAL BRAND ACTION STEPS

1. Print out a copy of your current personal profile and identify which elements are no longer current.
2. Update your profile - whether it is a CV or professional profile make sure that it does not exceed 2 pages.
3. If you are not sure if your profile accurately reflects your personal brand and expertise, ask a colleague or friend to review it and provide feedback.
4. If you need additional assistance consider the support of a resume writer or personal branding coach to help you create

TERMS OF REPRINT: You are welcome to publish this article in your own online ezine or news letter, providing the article is printed in its entirety and is left unedited and you include the copyright notice and the following statement:

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved. Reprinted from 'Biz Growth Express', a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your brand, attract your ideal clients and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free weekly teleconferences where we interview experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.

No-Cost Training: Speak your way to success

Have you been asked to present to a group but have found yourself fearing the event?

Are you concerned about what it takes to be an inspiring and credible speaker?

Perhaps you know that you should be speaking to build your personal brand and expand the reach of business but you are not confident about your skills?

Well in our next content rich audio tutorial, I will be taking you through 5 biggest mistakes to avoid if you want to build your reputation as a compelling and magnetic speaker.

I'll also be sharing strategies you can employ so that you attract more clients and more business opportunities whether you speak for free or for a fee - guaranteed.

Over the last 24 months I have spoken live at conferences in Ireland and overseas on over 100 occasions (and many more hundreds of times leading virtual events including teleseminars and webinars) and each time I speak it results in more clients, new strategic partners and more profit.

So if you want to discover the strategies I have employed, be sure to join me on the 13 August at 1pm ET/6pm Ireland and the UK for a content rich 60 minute seminar on how to develop your skills as a professional speaker. Register today at Biz Growth Live.

If you have questions about how to 'Speak Your Way to Success' you can post your questions before the call here:

http://www.bizgrowthlive.com/asklive

A Brand You World Episode 1 – Express your personal brand through your writing

Personal Branding Quick Tips - Discover three actions you can take to express your expertise and personal brand through your writing.

Listen to this four minute personal branding tutorial from "A Brand You World" bringing you personal branding guidance.

"A Brand You World" is hosted by Krishna De, Ireland’s leading Personal Branding Strategist.

How To Leave Us Feedback

Do share your thoughts on this employer branding quick tip. Perhaps you have found some of the strategies and tips we share have worked for you or perhaps you have ideas and suggestions you would like to share with our listeners. You can choose one of 5 different ways to get in touch so why not:

1. post your feedback the comments section
2. leave comments at our media centre, you can call +1 214 615 6505ext 6842. As this is a US based number you make low cost calls from Ireland using AllFreeCalls.ie or from the UK using AllFreeCalls.co.uk
3. leave an audio comment on our site here at Todays Women in Business - just plug in your headset and micophone and you can leave a message
4. leave an audio comment on our Irish media centre at 086 8163096      
5. or send us an email at connect(at)todayswomeninbusiness.com

Do let me know about your success in bringing your personal brand to life.

And if you are looking for additional resources to build your corporate brand, employer brand and personal brand why not visit our brand building blog and podcast at Biz Growth News where you can also register for our no cost branding audio seminars and our weekly brand building ezine.

Networking Strategies Part 5: Women in Business, 27 June 2007: Evaluating Your Networking Plan

Networking strategies for success part 5 of 5 - get ready to take notes as we provide tips on how to evaluate your network.

In this show we cover how to evaluate the effectiveness of your network - be that online or offline - so you ensure that you achieve a return on networking investment (RONI).

Networking Strategies Part 5 Show Notes:                                       

00:58  How do we evaluate our networks and measure the benefits?
06:38  What you can do if you are not getting a perceived benefit from the networks you participate in?
12:19  How do you determine if you are "giving" too much to my network - how can you turn this around so that your network help you, or how should you disengage?
17:26  What if people are asking too much from you as a member of a network?
18:24  Conclusion

How To Leave Us Feedback

Do share your thoughts on this audio tutorial. Perhaps you have found some of the strategies and tips we share have worked for you or perhaps you have ideas and suggestions you would like to share with our listeners. You can choose one of 5 different ways to get in touch so why not:

1. post your feedback the comments section
2. leave comments at our media centre, you can call +1 214 615 6505ext 6842. As this is a US based number you make low cost calls from Ireland using AllFreeCalls.ie or from the UK using AllFreeCalls.co.uk
3. leave an audio comment on out site here at Todays Women in Business - just plug in your headset and micophone and you can leave a message
4. leave an audio comment on our Irish media centre at          086 8163096      
5. or send us an email at connect(at)todayswomeninbusiness.com

Building a strong personal brand by managing expectations

Very few people you meet have a short "to do" list in today's busy world of work.

Most often than not, we are under pressure to finish a client project, draft a proposal or spend time directing the next steps we need our team to take to grow our business.

The reality is that our personal brand is nurtured or under mined with every action we take.

One of the key learnings for us all is how we manage expectations - be those expectations of our clients or our colleagues - as this can impact our reputation and therefore our personal brand.

I recall many years ago when involved in a key project that the director of the division I was working in advised the project team that they realised we had a challenging deadline and wanted to keep the project on track with regular progress meetings.

The project was very expansive and far reaching into the organisation and many things could impact the ability to complete the project within the agreed timeframe.

We had to deliver the project on time, within budget and to the specific key performance indicators. But to do that successfully we also needed to clear and unambiguous where we were going to be off track so that action could be taken.

As an example, if one element of the project was running behind the project plan, we had the responsibility to communicate this as soon as we were aware so that we could manage the expectations of all the other members of the team who were interdependent to our project stream.

Managing the expectations of those around us will support us building a strong personal brand that is respected by our colleagues.

If you are not sure if you are managing expectations here are three actions you can put into place today:

YOUR PERSONAL BRANDING ACTION STEPS

1. Get clear - be unambiguous about your expectations and establish clear outcomes and deliverables
2. Check for understanding - ensure that the people who need to know about your expectations understand what is required of them.
3. Manage expectations - if you find yourself off track in terms of what you have promised to deliver to a client, colleague or business partner, let them know as soon as possible. Do not wait for the deadline to come and go as that is a sure way of damaging your reputation.

Managing expectations is a key strategy in bilding your reputation and building a personal brand with a positive reputation. It's also something often overlooked and not managed well. So with a little attention you will stand out from the crowd.

Build your personal brand for career distinction

I often get books to review from guests of my "Biz Growth Live" programme so it especially exciting to get a new book to read from a colleagues and friend as happened to me last weekend.

William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson, colleagues and friends who I have known and worked with for a couple of years are now officially authors with their launch this week of their book "Career Distinction".

"Career Distinction" is now on my list of recommended reading if you are an individual in an organisation looking to progress your career.

Personal branding is definitely the hot topic of the moment with everyone from coaches to image consultants, from web designers to bloggers talking about how to build your personal brand. In fact we have covered the subject in one of our recent podcasts here at "Todays Women in Business".

As I guide leaders in professional services firms about building their corporate brand, their employer brand and their personal leadership brand to expand their professional and personal success, I would be selective on the books I recommend people read on the subject of personal branding.

So why would I recommend reading "Career Distinction" and what makes "Career Distinction" stand out from the crowd of other personal branding books?

• Firstly it is written by William Arruda who has demonstrated expertise in the field of personal branding over the last 6 years. Not only does he understand marketing having worked as a brand manager he also understands what it takes to manage your career successfully in a corporation.
  
  Through his company, Arruda has trained hundreds of people in corporate America and across the globe about how to build your personal brand.
• Secondly this book is aimed at people who are looking to progress their career - if you are a leader of your own business or entrepreneur you will find the book lacking in substance around marketing and business development strategies.
• Thirdly, rather than just providing information about the what and the why of personal branding, Arruda, makes it possible for you to work on nurturing your own personal brand as you can access the "Career Distinction" free workbook with exercises to work through.

Having spent almost 20 years in executive positions across the globe, what I was particularly struck by was one very important message in the book.

I have appointed many business leaders over my time in my corporate career, but few recognised the key message in "Career Distinction". Progressing in your career is not a start and stop approach - many people update their resume/CV and start networking when they are looking for a new job.

Instead, Arruda talks about considering your career management plan as something you work on continuously.

Co-author Kirsten Dixson brings to the table her experience of helping people build their personal brand online and I was delighted to see the subject of business blogging versus static web profiles to build your personal brand online being covered. However if you do want to build your personal brand online with a business blog or personal blog I would recommend that you also read books such as "Go Blog Wild" by Andy Wibbels which will provide specific guidance on blogging.

In summary, "Career Distinction" is a distinctive book about personal branding if you are looking to progress your career. I would recommend it for people in early career or middle management - there are some other elements I would want to see covered before recommending it to executives.

It would also make a great college graduation gift to help young graduates discover how to nurture their career right from the start.