Career Hub

What To Do When You Are Absolutely, Totally and Completely Lost!

Six of us were headed to Bamonte's Italian Restaurant in Brooklyn for a celebratory dinner. Novices to navigating New York City's subway system, we took the wrong train and de-boarded in the middle of nowhere!

Within a short while, a taxi came along and the driver said he couldn't help us because there were too many people for his car. A while later, another cab came by and advised that he was from Manhattan and did not know of our destination. Finally (third time's a charm) out of nowhere came a wonderful cab driver (a Yankees' fan) who was more than happy to help out a very lost Cubs'- loving family from the Heartland.

Lost indeed! We knew our destination -- the end goal was clear -- we just didn't know how to get there! Sound familiar if you are looking for a job? If so, here are a few ideas that being lost on a train somewhere in the city of New York taught me about getting where you want to go...

1. Get really good directions from various sources and make sure that you've covered your bases. Clarify and verify information you have heard or read about job search. Just because somebody told you something doesn't make it so (or true!). Verify, verify, verify!

2. Do not panic if you are lost in unfamiliar surroundings. Do not 'freak out' if you are lost about what to do next in your job search. Stay calm and focused and look for help from those you know and those you need to get to know.

3. Do not get frustrated with people if they cannot or will not help you. There are many others who will help if you keep asking for help in a friendly, pleasant and polite manner.

4. Do not easily give up or get derailed in your quest to get to your goal. There are multiple routes to get to your destination...select the one that seems to make the most sense and will work the best for you.

5. Rely upon your team to help you, guide you and support you (emotionally) in getting where you want to go.

6. Be wary of turning your job search totally over to technology. While your Droid (and the Internet) are amazing tools, resources and devices -- they are not human. Do not overlook the 'human element' of your search. As we readily discovered, the best Droid in the world with all its many apps isn't worth a flip if it refuses to work in the middle of nowhere. (Sorry, Droid -- please know that you are loved most days!) When you are going to an interview, for example, be certain to confirm the exact location and directions on how to get there from a 'real' person. While I love "Betty" and her many GPS powers, she is of little value when she decides not to work when you desperately need her!

7. Do your best to get on the right train so you will be on the right track as you move forward with your job search. And, in the midst of your job search expedition, when and if you realize you are going the wrong way or stuck in the wrong place, stop, regroup, and redo that which needs to be redone.

8. Do not give up in reaching your target destination. While it might be easier to give up, quit, and stop trying, that choice doesn't change the fact that you still need a j - o - b. Do the most you can each and every day to put forth your best effort in achieving your desired goals.

9. Be okay with detours in your job search. Sometimes, the path is smooth and the ride is lovely...others times, the road is filled with reroutes, shutdowns and no-goes before you finally arrive at your intended destination.

10. Be grateful for the ride. Show your gratitude. Speak your gratitude. Have some fun! Say 'thank you' and 'please' along the way.

Here's to your job search success...and here's to The Big Apple!

"The Facebook Movie" - An Object Lesson in Personal Branding

"The Social Network" premiers Friday - and it promises to be a powerful dramatization of the origins of Facebook and the character of its founder Mark Zuckerberg. The only problem is, it plays fast and loose with the story, and Zuckerberg's reputation and online ID will probably suffer in the process. The movie may well have the power to become "truth" for the huge viewing audience, whether it's true or not.

Whatever Zuckerberg has done in the past to shape his brand for the public will probably not be able to supersede the impression millions will get of him from the movie. What does that mean for the rest of us, who aren't likely to have a movie dramatizing our lives?

That we'd better control our brand before it's controlled for us. With ~80% of recruiters and hiring authorities using Google and social media to scope out possible candidates, job seekers need to have an online, on-brand ID that projects them in the way that they want to be known.

If you Google your name and don't come up with anything, come up with very little or with content that is off-brand or of questionable taste, then don't waste any time in getting your personal/career brand out there. Three fast ways to do this are:

1. Go to ZoomInfo.com and fill out your profile: many recruiters go here first to see the profile for you there. If you haven't created your own on the site, ZoomInfo will go out on the Web and aggregate what it finds there.

2. Go to LinkedIn.com and fill out a complete profile. This site is a go-to source of candidates for employers and recruiters (often after they search your name on Zoominfo).

3. Create your Google profile to give you one more place on the Web that you can control what people read about you.   

Then, go to Facebook.com and, if you have a profile, do whatever you have to in order to eliminate material that may reflect poorly on you (even other people's writing) and keep you from being considered for a job. Even if it means deactivating your account or deleting your wall.

If you go on to invest in the more time-consuming activities to project your online ID - such as blogging, twittering, setting up a brand portal in the form of a blogsite or Web portfolio - all the better.

You still might not be able to prevent Aaron Sorkin from hijacking your reputation should he decide to write a screenplay about you, but you'll optimize the chances that an employer will decide to bring you in for an interview!

 

13 Ways To Take Ramp Up Your Job Search

“The harder I work, the luckier I get"

- Gary Player

1. Stop being so passive

If you're currently out of work and find yourself spending just an hour or two a day job searching then you’re not doing enough to create sufficient opportunities. 

Job searching is a marketing and sales activity. And like any marketing activity, the results you get are in proportion to the activity you put in (provided of course, you’re doing the right activities!). 

So as a guide, if you're not working right now, you should be spending at least 20 hours a week on searching. But I don’t mean 20 hours hiding behind your laptop…

2. Stop hiding behind your laptop

Your relationships with people, not computers, will dictate your success.

So unless you're applying for roles very similar to your past experience, applying via job sites or recruiters is the least effective way to job search. With 60 - 70% of roles being filled via contacts and referrals, your strategy should be heavily focused on networking.

So get out and meet real people and have real conversations. Set up phone calls and have phone meetings. In addition to making your search more effective, you will feel so much better; sitting in front of a computer trawling through job sites and waiting for calls is soul destroying.

3. Stop networking with cold contacts

If you want to find the right opportunities quickly, the simplest way to do it is via warm contacts - regardless of what they do and where they live.

Your 50 warmest contacts should know what you’re doing, what kinds of roles you’re targeting and what type of people would be your ideal contact if they just happen to bump into them.

So reconnect and engage with your warmest contacts. Once engaged, you’ll have 50 ‘unpaid recruiters’ (who like, trust and respect you) – out there looking for potential contacts on your behalf.

4. Stop being transactional in your networking

If I were a contact of yours and thought you were only engaging with me because you wanted leads, I wouldn't be too impressed. So be genuine, not transactional.

Reconnect and catch up with your warmest personal and professional contacts on a genuine level without wanting something from them. When you do that consistently, people will want to help you.

When you start being generous and focus on helping others, the help you want will start coming to you. But like a boomerang, it will often start coming from some elsewhere.

5. Stop dismissing people

I have numerous examples of people finding great job opportunities via warm contacts whom they thought wouldn't be able to help. Stay at home mums who hadn’t worked in 10 years, family friends who worked in other sectors, parents who didn’t know anyone in the corporate world – yet were all connected to people with job opportunities.

We often dismiss people because we assume “they won’t know anyone.” But we don’t know who else other people know – or who they might bump into at a party or reconnect with on LinkedIn/Facebook a few days after you speak.

So don’t dismiss someone because they don’t work in your target sector or because they don’t live in the same city, state or country. Simply focus on connecting with warm contacts who may in turn be able to connect you with someone you didn’t know they were connected to.

6. Stop being scared to ask

Whilst I’m advocating being genuine and not being transactional, your warm contacts who you’ve a relationship with cannot help you unless you ask. So once you’ve reconnected and engaged with them, don’t be scared to ask “who do you know who I may be able to speak to in xyz area”

Helping a warm contact is a gift – not a chore. So don’t deny people the chance to help you.

7. Stop asking closed questions

"I'm looking for roles in xyz area, do you know anyone in that area?" is a closed question which can only be answered 'yes' or 'no' - the usual answer being 'no'

"I'm looking for roles in xyz area, who do you know in that area who may be open to having a 10 minute phone chat or quick email exchange?” is a much better question.

This forces the person to really think (instead of simply saying 'no') - and even if they don't know, your question plants a seed in their subconscious mind which often results in an “a-ha” moment a few days later when they remember they do know someone who would be a useful contact for you..

7. Stop talking  in jargon

Many of your friends and contacts would love to help you – if only they understood what you wanted!  But far too many job seekers speak in a language which their close contacts don’t understand.

So like any marketing message – know your audience and tailor the language and message to suit them.

8. Stop being a perfectionist

Stop waiting until you’ve got the perfect CV / resume, the perfect pitch or the perfect answers before you engage with people.

The pitch, CV/resume and everything else about your marketing gets improved by getting out there and “having a go”, by stumbling and making a few mistakes - not by sitting in front of your laptop for hours tinkering and over-planning.   Focus on being successful, not perfect. So if you’re 70% sure - just go for it!

9. Stop being an idealist

I know you’ve got standards, goals and a vision of the type of work and lifestyle you want. But waiting around for the ideal job hurts your pocket and your resume/CV.

Based on personal experience of graduating in the recession of the early 1990s and taking a job I didn’t want, I know that being flexible and getting your foot in the door with an organisation is more important than waiting around for months for the ideal role.

Remember, your career success will be judged over 20 years, not over the next 2 years. This is a super time to go into organisations and learn about how to work in a tough environment. So by waiting months for the ideal role, you deny yourself the opportunity to learn about the practical aspects (not the theory) of managing change and uncertainty.

Even a contract or interim role gets you ‘out there’ meeting new contacts and learning – something you can’t get waiting at home for your ideal role.

10. Stop playing the blame game

It's very easy to find yourself blaming the economy, the government or other people for your job search woes. But being a victim gets you nowhere.

So I’d really encourage you to take 100% responsibility for your situation. As painful as that may seem, when you do that, you  realise that you’re the driver of your career and your destiny. You’re the one that is in control. And that’s a hugely liberating feeling because you then know that you’re the one that can influence what happens to you.

11. Stop ignoring the financials

In business, cashflow is like oxygen – without it the business chokes and fails to do all the great things an entrepreneur envisions. Similarly, with your career, a lack of cashflow and income stresses you out and stops you reaching your long term vision and goals.

So make sure you’ve completed a proper cashflow exercise so that you know exactly how long you can go without working. This reduces stress levels, puts you in control and helps you make rational decisions on whether you focus on plan A , B or C.

12. Stop focusing on just ‘Plan A’

Many of you are only focused on working a Plan A. Some of you have a Plan B – but it’s on the back burner. And very few of you have a Plan C.

But if you’re not working right now and have been looking for some weeks (or indeed months), I would suggest you have a plan A, B and C – and actually start working all 3 plans right NOW – not later. Like any commercial business, you need contingency plans ready ahead of time.

“Unlucky” 13

The majority of the current Fortune 500 firms began in recessionary times. In fact both Microsoft and Apple were set up during downturns because their visionary leaders saw opportunities where others didn’t and decided to make their own luck instead of worrying about the economy.

In a similar vain, don’t sit around labeling yourself as being “unlucky.” Make your own luck by taking actions each day, stepping outside your comfort zone and making things happen instead of being passive.

So if you’re serious about ramping up your job search, stop doing what the rest of your competitors are doing and start stepping up a gear and working harder than the competition. When you so that, you'll often find that you also start getting luckier....

By Sital Ruparelia

Personal Branding: Is That Why CIOs Tweet?

I was curious to find out how IT executives viewed Twitter. I wondered whether, as a group of technologists, they were early adopters of this business/social tool. I suspected that they were not. And I wanted to know what those who did use Twitter used it for.

In a survey conducted by Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, 200 IT chiefs were asked a range of questions about their use of Twitter. With 75 CIOs responding,78% used Twitter at least once a week, 50% tweeted more this year than last, and 70% established new working relationships as a result of using Twitter.

The picture that emerges, both from the survey as well as the Webinar discussion, is that there are some CIOs who are evangelists and build Twitter into their daily lives, some who dabble in it, and some who hardly use it at all.

Perhaps it's the hybrid nature of the tool - inviting personal and social info as well as business content - that holds some CIOs back. Perhaps it's because - for the 22% who hardly use it if at all - Twitter has been a renegade tool that started as one thing and evolved rapidly and in surprising and unpredictable ways, well beyond the vision of the founders and out of their control. Not a growth pattern apt to appeal to all C-level execs!

For those who do use it, how important is Twitter in promoting their personal brand? To find the answer, look at the top 5 reasons CIOs tweet:

1. To follow news that impacts my job 91.7%
2. To learn best practices from other CIOs 75.0%
3. To position myself as a thought leader 67.7%
4. To share news about my company with outsiders 55.6%
5. To socialize with friends 48.6

So personal branding ranks a strong 3rd and company branding ranks 4th. Also, the CIOs indicated that advancing their capabilities on the job (and presumably as an IT executive brand) was the most important reason (see top 2 spots).

Do you remember when Twitter was mostly about "What are you doing" and people would tweet about where they were having lunch etc.? This CIO survey indicates the distance Twitter use has come from those simple beginnings.

To be able to grow your personal brand for free and for 140 characters at a time is a pretty good deal! And managers and professionals in all functions and industries are advancing their personal brands inadvertently, just by learning more, sharing their own expertise, and demonstrating the kind of commitment they bring to their work

One of the CIOs said he views Twitter as great tool for cross-pollinating ideas up and down the organization - kind of like "servant leadership," he said. I think he means that the top executives can learn from the front-line technologists as well as vice versa. This is another testament to the democratization that the Web has enabled. This opinion is a very telling piece of that CIO's personal and career brand as well. Certainly not an attitude found everywhere among bosses.

The 3 top knowledge areas CIOs gained information in were technology, innovation, and strategy. The latter 2 at least are in no way lower-level learning and are, in fact, critical areas that an IT leader needs to be out in front of if s/he's going to continue to build a career!

It's hard to escape the implications of the survey that Twitter can be an important personal branding tool. And that avoiding using it can mean missing out on an opportunity to become known for what you do best, stay current with leading-edge thought in your field, and demonstrate your own unique style and "take" on your world. B thr or b sq.

Bed Bugs, Brands and Your Job Search

Recently I watched a story about bed bugs on one of my favorite television programs, CBS Sunday Morning. One of the things that caught my attention was how a business name had been changed from First Rate Exterminators to First Rate Solutions. If you have bed bugs, do you really care about the name of the business or do you simply want to rid your dwelling of the nasty critters? As long as the bed bugs are gone, the business name really doesn't matter, at least to me!

Last Sunday morning, I was once again reminded of what's in a name and how words can make such a difference in consumer buying behavior. Just think about it...would you buy services from a career management pro who called her business Crappy to Happy Counseling? Maybe you would; maybe you wouldn't. Maybe with a name like that, you might think you will get less than stellar results? Hence, the significance of renaming things to offer a more favorable brand response.

Take the words "job" and "search"....maybe now is the time to rename that whole process...drop the words "job" and "search" and rename it something that you, the job seeker, may like better. Take, for example, "Money Mission." After all, a job search is about 1. money and 2. a mission to find new work.

Do you think that renaming "Job Search" to "Money Mission" would help you, the job seeker, become more engaged, excited and energized in exploring possibilities to generate revenue? What do you think? If you could rename job search, what new (family-friendly) name would you invent?

cross-posted billiesucherblog

Starting Over

Starting over, starting over

oh, where do I turn?

Starting over, starting over

no bridges to burn.

Where do I go?

And what do I do?

Just lost my job,

They said I was through.

Packed up my possessions

Security walked me to the car

Sat there in a daze

with the door still ajar.

Is this real now

or is this only a dream?

My emotions are everywhere

Should I cry or just scream?

That is the memory

of another day yet gone by

which brings me to my present

now I've stopped asking why.

Yes, I found a new job

though it took me a while.

My job search was intense

though I gave it some style.

I reached out to people

asked her and him for a hand.

Knew that sooner or later

I'd find a place to land.

Some say 'the goin' ain't easy'

and the tough, they move on,

don't let too much deter them

about past things now gone.

My piece of wisdom

and my best advice to you

Never, never stop looking

until an offer comes through.

Look more forward than backward

and find more happiness than regret.

Thank somebody for something

and the best shall be yet.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. -- Mark Twain

The starting point of all achievement is desire. -- Napoleon Hill

posted by billiesucher

 

Work Less and Do More: Goals and Focus Are Keys

Time crunch rules for most of us. Now that summer vacations have ended and Labor Day is behind us, we are back into the regular swing of things. That often means feeling overwhelmed by too much to do in too little time. And that in turn can lead to stress, anxiety, physical ailments, and a quality of life that leaves a lot to be desired.

Yes, it can seem like this is the inevitable treadmill of life and time management is a pie-in-the-sky dream…but wait!

Stever Robbins’ new book, Get-It-Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More, promises to help us deal with the time crunch gremlin. The book’s content hinges on two keys: knowing what you want out (goals) and living on purpose so your actions are in sync with your goals (focus). Sounds simple, but it is so easy to get distracted and buried by details, most of which are inconsequential in terms of the big picture. Stever calls this getting “hijacked into nonsense-land”!

So, if you are serious about stopping the silly, time-gobbling nonsense and getting more of what you want out of your career, business, and life, Stever Robbins’ 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More could be just the place to start. His 9 steps, as discussed in the book and his numerous podcasts, include:

1. Live and work on purpose
2. Step procrastinating
3. Conquer your technology
4. Cultivate focus
5. Stay organized
6. Don’t waste time
7. Optimize!
8. Build stronger relationships
9. Leverage!

Here is a video of Stever Robbins in action, explaining the difference between outcome goals and process goals and why it matters to understand each type.

 Cross-posted at Career Goddess Blog

Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up & Hang On!

Nearly 14 years ago, on my son's twelfth birthday, I asked him what he wanted for his special day. He said he wanted one thing and I sighed with relief thinking, oh good, this birthday will be easy...just one thing. Clarifying what the one thing was, he said with great conviction "a Viper". A Viper, huh? This, he offered to the woman who drove him around ad nauseam in a used station wagon about as long as an 18-wheeler with a bumper sticker that read "Steal My Car".

Viper. No problem! After all, his mother, a career counselor, was never at a loss for another idea! (Hmmm.) I looked under V's for Viper in the Yellow Pages and struck out. Went on to A's for Auto Dealers and had better luck. Yes, the man at the dealership told me that were six Viper owners in the community that he was aware of, and while he "shouldn't" tell me, I sounded like a trustworthy person, so he would break the rules and give me some names. He gave me three, complete with phone numbers. One of the three Viper owners answered and when I explained my situation, he agreed to go along with the birthday idea and offer my son a ride in his new red Viper.

When we arrived at the Viper owner's house, it was raining. While the ride was out due to the rain, the owner invited my son to get behind the wheel. I sat in the passenger seat and still recall the sign on the dashboard: Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up & Hang On!

As my son's 26th birthday is approaching, we are once again talking about the one thing he would like for his birthday. While there has been no mention of Vipers, our conversation has turned to job interviews...telephone interviews in particular. I shared with him: Dress Up, Stand Up, Speak Up!

DRESS UP for your telephone interview. When carrying on an important professional business conversation about your future, dress up for the occasion. Put on your suit! Put on your best! While you may think this sounds silly, it simply means that you're serious. It means that with intention and purpose you move from casual to professional in both conversation and attire. And who knows, maybe it's that little extra that generates a face-to-face interview.

STAND UP for your telephone interview. If you are in the midst of preparation for a telephone interview scheduled for this week and find yourself comfortably seated while doing so, stand up now as you practice. How do you feel? More confident? More in control?

SPEAK UP during your telephone interview. Not only will you want to speak loudly enough to be easily heard, you will also want to speak with energy, passion and conviction. While the employer may not be able to 'see' you in a telephone interview, you are creating a visual first impression through your words. Make them count!  

Bottom line, whether you're hoping for a Viper or wishing for a face-to-face interview, you are in the driver's seat! Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up & Hang On!  

Job Searchers: 10 Tips For Staying Positive

We all know that being mentally strong and emotionally fit is crucial in any walk of life. Whether it’s in business, sport or your career. But how do you stay positive when going through a long, challenging job search? 

Here are 10 tips which may help: 

1. Give yourself permission to be “all over the place”: Being emotionally up and down is perfectly normal when going through a career transition or any major change process. So give yourself permission to have a “bad day” or even the occasional “bad week.” It’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with you! If it starts to become more than a few days, start using the tips below to avoid going into a downward spiral.

2. Do some exercise: Any form of physical exercise or relaxation technique gives you an immediate shot of endorphins (the so called “happy hormone”) which gives you more energy and confidence. It doesn’t matter what it is – a 20-minute walk, a quick run, a game of tennis, some yoga or simply 60 seconds of deep breathing will instantly make you feel better. So try and do something on a regular basis.

3. Control those ‘voices’: All of us talk to ourselves. There’s a constant chatterbox and dialogue underway in our heads - and very often the things you tell yourself are not usually very encouraging (“You idiot, you should have done xyz”, “Why didn’t you say abc”, “You need to be more confident, “Why are you so lazy?”)

You say these things to yourself all the time – yet if someone walked up to you and said them to your face, you’d be hugely offended. So start taking control of the voice – and start talking in a more encouraging way - you’ll instantly feel good and start taking all the actions you need to take.

4. Ask yourself better questions: “What went well today? What are the 3 things I did really well in that interview? What lessons can I learn from that last conversation? What are my top 5 achievements this week? What am I excited about right now? What’s great about this problem? What’s not quite perfect yet? What step can I take today to help me move forward?”

All these questions shift your mindset and your emotions - and so encourage you to take the right actions.  Whereas asking yourself “Why will no one interview me?” “When will my luck change?” “Why are they not calling me back?” actually makes you feel worse - and so makes you reluctant to take the very actions you need to create opportunities.

5. Don’t stress about stuff you can’t control: I can’t control the weather – so I don’t worry or complain about it. It’s a complete waste of mental energy. But I can influence how the weather impacts me by watching the weather forecasts or by carrying an umbrella if it’s going to rain. I can also take 100% control over choosing my reaction and mood if I do get soaked by a sudden downpour.

Similarly, you can’t control the economy or the job market – so quit worrying about them. Instead, focus 100% of your mental energy and time on choosing your reaction to the market and those  actions which you can control or influence. It’s far more productive and you’ll feel far better for it.

6.  Reduce your consumption to main stream press and media: The recession, ‘double-dips’ and redundancies are big stories and big business for media outlets. The more dramatic the story, the higher the circulation, viewing figures and online hits – all of which fuels advertising revenues which are already squeezed during a downturn. ‘Bad news sells’ as they say.

So whilst you need to be informed about the market place and the world, you don’t need to be inundated. You don’t need to listen to the same story about “the worst job market in 20 years” over and over again. Overloading yourself with bad news simply makes you more anxious and fearful - which stops you taking the very actions you need to take to make progress at such a time.

7. Minimize your exposure to BMWs. BMWs = Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners! These are the  people who constantly moan and complain about anything and everything. We all know people like this and it’s not always easy to avoid them when they are friends, family or colleagues. But when you’re a little fragile emotionally, such negativity will be poisonous to you and your job search.

So reduce your exposure to negative people, whilst increasing your exposure to positive people who energize you, who spend their time thinking about solutions and opportunities instead of just problems.

And if you’re a BMW yourself, spend less time with yourself and more time on the other 9 points in this article!

8. Celebrate the small successes: When you’re climbing uphill in the middle of a terrible storm (often with some baggage), you absolutely need to pat yourself on the back with every small success. Focusing on the small wins gives you the energy and confidence to tackle the bigger challenges that you know still lie ahead. So get into the habit of celebrating the small wins.

9. Count your blessings: There are 6.8 billion people living on this planet. And I’m pretty confident that most people reading this article are likely to be in the top 5% of that population in terms of material wealth, health, living conditions, opportunities and education. So whilst we’re experiencing tough times economically, we still have a lot to be grateful for.

In fact there are 20 million homeless people in Pakistan and a group of Chilean miners who would love to be in your shoes and have the ‘problems’ you’ve got. So keep a perspective on things.

10. Print off this article:  You may be inspired and encouraged by reading these tips, but in a few hours time you’ll forget. So print this page off and put it somewhere where you will see it frequently- on your desk, in your wallet or even saved as an icon on your computer or smart phone.

What have I missed? 

Feel free to share your own tips and ideas in the comments box below. 

By Sital Ruparelia, 

Your Personal Brand & the Dilemma of Having 2 Job Targets

What do you do about personal branding when you have a well-developed personal brand in terms of your attributes and style but a muddy one in terms of your career brand? Because "what you do," whether in a job, homemaking, volunteering, or self-employed, is a part of your personal brand, the problem often arises about how to handle your brand when you are in transition.

John Antonios makes important points in his post, “Personal Branding – A Full-time Lifetime Job!” about the need for authenticity in your personal brand (as opposed to being artificial or opportunistic). Also important is his statement that your personal brand can change and evolve as you do.

But, branding gets more complex when you are in job search mode and want to leave open the option of going in one of 2 different career directions.

Many managers and executives in technology - the folks I work with - have 2 career objectives. In terms of content for their resume and other marketing documents, their personal / career brand will change depending on the skills/experience/talents they want to be emphasizing for the particular job target. Your personal traits such as "inspirational," "passionate,""never gives up" can and do usually remain constant, but the career identity will be different.

Say in one case the individual wants to present herself as a PMO expert and crack large program manager and in another as a VP of IT. She will need 2 sets of documents.

The tricky part comes when she has to present herself to her various audiences: LinkedIn, blog, Twitter, networking contacts etc. The ideal solution of course would be to do more career and market exploration until you have just one target. But, when that isn't going to work, you need to frame the career part of the personal brand more broadly to encompass both areas: "IT executive with strong PMO and large program management credentials."

When your goals greatly diverge, such as in the case of a serial entrepreneur who has worked in 3 different sectors, I recommend holding off on writing the LinkedIn Profile until your goal is clearer. It doesn't make sense to represent yourself as someone who is a CEO, COO, Sales & Marketing VP, Business Development Executive, Director of IT, and Finance Manager, even though you have played all these roles. You get the picture.

Obviously, a brand is more powerful if there is a clear and logical progression in your career, but very often this is not the case. So your personal / career brand must be considered dynamically and handled in a context-dependent manner. Here's where the attribute "good judgment" comes into play!