Career Hub

Death of Three Personal Brands

This week marked the death of three personal brands, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon.

What do you remember about each? Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was one of the all-time chart-toppers and had a short resurgence from the movie, "13 Going on 30" with Jennifer Garner. Farrah ranked No. 1 in TV Guide's "TV's All-Time Sexiest Women" - based on her "Charlie's Angles" series and that 1976 swimsuit poster (12 million sold!). And Ed McMahon, the most famous "second banana" for his long-running role on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.

What will people remember about you? What would you like them to remember?

When watching the tributes this week, it was sad to see McMahon's final ending with financial troubles and Jackson's varied image issues.

Overall though, what do you remember most? All three were big personal brands.

Coaching Challenge: Now, think about what you'd like people to remember most about your legacy. How would you like to be remembered? Make a list of your Top 10.

What action can you take right now to move toward your Top 10? Go for it!

Posted by Wendy Terwelp

16 Recession-Proof Cities (Metropolitan Areas)

JobBait - February 3, 2009. A year ago, there were more than 70 metropolitan areas in the United States that were apparently recession-proof because total employment had not declined during the last three recessions. Now, as our current recession deepens, there are only 16, and some of these are close to falling off this list:  

1. Bakersfield, CA
2. Grand Junction, CO
3. Alexandria, LA
4. Baton Rouge, LA
5. Lake Charles, LA
6. Monroe, LA
7. Columbia, MO
8. Bismarck, ND
9. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
10. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX
11. Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, TX
12. Laredo, TX
13. Odessa, TX
14. Tyler, TX
15. Harrisonburg, VA
16. Olympia, WA

This list was compiled from Bureau of Labor Statistics Metropolitan Area Employment data through December 2008 that was released on February 3, 2009. For a complete list of the employment trends and the number of new jobs in 350+ metropolitan areas, go to http://jobbait.com/a/rpa.htm.

Overcoming Job Search Anxiety in An Unstable Economy

Many people are feeling fear, anxiety and immobility in the volatile economy we are facing today. As a career coach, I am seeing this fear translate into negative expectations and powerlessness as the unemployment statistics soar.

This week I attended a teleclass by Dr. Lynn Joseph on using a visualization technique that can help job seekers release fear and harness their own power and value to obtain what they are seeking. In studies conducted by Dr. Joseph, the majority of job seekers who used this technique became reemployed more quickly than those who did not. 

For anyone who is feeling stuck or hopeless in their job search -- or is just getting started and wants to keep negativity at bay -- Dr. Joseph's book, The Job-Loss Recovery Guide: A Proven Program for Getting Back to Work - Fast! and it's companion guided visualization recording, The Job-Loss Recovery Program, can help.

Posted by Louise Garver

Secrets of Successful Leaders

The July 21 issue of Time Magazine featured an article discussing leadership secrets as expressed by Nelson Mandela on turning 90. This very succinct list serves as a reminder for anyone in a position of leadership, and applies equally well to leaders in a corporate setting as it does to those in public office:

#1: Courage is not the absence of fear -- it is inspiring others to move
beyond it.

#2: Lead from the front -- but don't leave your base behind.

#3: Lead from the back -- and let others believe they are in front.

#4: Know your enemy and learn about his favorite sport.

#5: Keep your friends close and your rivals even closer.

#6: Appearances matter -- and remember to smile.

#7: Nothing is black or white.

#8: Quitting is leading too.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, the more you ponder this man's observations, the more you will find them to be powerfully insightful. They should make a valuable checklist for managers and executives to monitor as they move up the corporate ladder. As for me, I've printed them out and put them up in clear sight of my desk.

Posted by Laurie Smith

Please Help Us Improve!

Dear reader, I know how busy you are, and if you live in New Hampshire, Iowa or South Carolina, you're probably really tired of surveys, but we are planning for the new year and we would REALLY appreciate your help in making Career Hub a better and more helpful resource for job search help.

We've put together a short survey so you can tell us what information would be most helpful to you. We'll share the results with all our writers and also use them to plan new site features,

We are not asking for your name or email address, nor are we saving IP addresses, so your answers will be completely confidential.

I do hope you have a few minutes to help us improve Career Hub. Thanks in advance for your help!

Click Here to take survey

Career Hub is #1!

We try not to pat ourselves on the back too much at Career hub - after all, you read here because you care about your own career and job search, not our blog. But I am going to take a moment to thank HR World for selecting Career Hub as the #1 blog in their year-end summary of the top HR blogs.

We are honored to be listed along side so many great blogs and I recommend that you check out all the sites  on the list. One of the great changes in job search since the advent of the Internet, is the ability to see into the inner workings of companies and the minds of hiring authorities. Blogs also give you an opportunity to make personal connections with recruiters who would otherwise be unknown to you.

Thanks to all the writers who make Career Hub such a great site, and to all the readers, without whom there would be no point in being here.

Happy New Year everyone!

Spend 12 hours with 30+ personal brand experts and watch your career soar!

Where can you hear the leading experts on personal branding (including Guy Kawasaki, Phil Gerbyshak, T. Scott Gross, Dick Bolles, Anita Bruzzese, Catherine Kaputa, Martin Yate and many, many more) for a full day, in one place, for absolutely no cost?

On November 8, 2007, at the groundbreaking “A Brand You World” Global Telesummit on personal branding. And if you don’t have a free day (who does?) you can access their wisdom via podcasts after the event.

I’m so excited because this is not a typical collection of teleclasses – it’s an extraordinary “virtual conference” commemorating the tenth anniversary of personal branding (spawned by Tom Peter’s 1997 Fast Company article “The Brand Called You”).

This is an unprecedented opportunity for you to increase your knowledge of how branding can work to help you build your career or business. The content and expertise far exceeds even world-class professional development conferences, and you invest nothing but time. How cool is that?

The “Brand You World” Global Telesummit will be held around the world on November 8, 2007. You can choose programs from three concurrent streams of content (hour-long seminars and panels) focused on branded careering, talent management, and entrepreneurship. More than 100,000 professionals around the world are expected to attend.

Registration is simple at the website. You’ll be given a call in number and you can access the speaker roster, programs, and schedules for your time zone. After the event, podcasts of every program and panel will be available on the website, at no cost.

Are you getting this? NO cost!!!! For access to the best minds in the business. Amazing.

How does this happen? It’s because of people whose passion for branding goes beyond self interest – a planning team of Personal Brand Strategists around the world and the dedicated speakers and sponsors gifting their time and thought leadership to the event and to the event’s social cause partner, Kiva.

Are you ready to make YOUR career a “Brand You World?”

Posted by Deb Dib

Career Hub is Expanding - We Need You!

It's hard to believe but Career Hub has been in existence for more than a year and half! During the past 19 months, our team of career experts have really gone above and beyond to provide insights and information on both job search and career management.

Now we want to take things a step further and offer a broader range of advice. We're looking to add to our team of bloggers and we'd love to hear from anyone with an interesting perspective on either finding a job or managing a career.

Bloggers might be:

• Recruiters or HR Managers
• Coaches
• Job seekers
• Line managers or executives with hiring responsibility
• Employees

Hmmm, that pretty much covers everyone doesn't it?

This is a great opportunity to raise your profile while sharing knowledge with other job seekers. And if you already have a blog, you are free to cross-post here with links back to your blog. We're looking for interesting voices from the entire careers spectrum.

We also offer our bloggers regular opportunities to contribute to eBooks and other promotional projects. So if you love to write and have something to say, drop me a line. Send links to your blog or one or two articles you've written and we'll be in touch.