Throw out the old job title and stand out from the crowd

The 2013 job market is a changing commodity. It is imperative that up-and-coming students and job seekers know how to truly play up their best assets — one of which nearly always is to highlight their understanding of current digital life. Job opportunities are out there, but they aren’t always as simple as applying with a Times New Roman resume from eras past. Connections, digital skills, and the willingness to engage others will tilt the odds in your favor.

Stand out from the swarms of similar candidates, here are some tips to help you:

1. An Interactive Resume: Your resumes should have two QR codes, the first taking hiring managers to an introductory video of you demonstrating your energy and industry knowledge, and the second taking them to a video of your best reference saying how great you are.

2. A Professional “Me” site: This site serves as your digital portfolio containing all of your best work and thus ensuring that hiring managers who search for you on the web find the “best” you.

3. A Professional Blog: You create a blog about a key topic in your industry that will showcase the skills your resume says you have, demonstrate your knowledge of your field, raise your profile in your industry (because you’ll be interviewing the top players), and build your professional network as more and more of the key people hear from and/or about you.

4. A Social Media Marketing Campaign: This campaign promotes you because you follow and interact professionally with the key players in the field.

5. An Informational Interview Campaign: In the final step, you ask the biggest players in your industry for an interview to pick their brains and get their advice on your next career steps. This cements your relationship with them and creates over time a powerful network of powerful people who know you by name, respect your work, and will plug you into the “hidden jobs” market.

 

via Jason Schmitt: Social Media Reels in Job Opportunities.

Category: Careers, Social Media | No Comments »

What are the 10 Secret Benefits of Blogging? via @Jeffbullas

What are the 10 Secret Benefits of Blogging? | Jeffbullas’s Blog.

This is a fantastic read. I am never let down when I take time out to read one of Jeff’s posts.

Get the best of these ten benefits by reading the post in full.

1) You will become a better writer – Getting there slowly

2) Your video skills will improve – I havent tried this one yet

3) You will learn – For me I learn something new everyday!

4) Visibility – People will hear about you – Long term plan eh!

5) Expert status – Sounds so pompus, much prefer to be know as an explorer

6) Become a champion researcher – ties in well with learning

7) Power Networker – I enjoy connecting and chatting with people

8) Your memory will improve – its like a sieve at the moment!

9) Your creativity will increase – ive taken up knitting! (joke)

10) Synergizes and Synthesizes focus

Category: Blogging | No Comments »

The Business Benefits Of Twitter [INFOGRAPHIC]

Did you know that a quarter of Twitter users currently connect with brands on Twitter, and over one-third do so to receive promotions and discounts?

The benefits of using Twitter for businesses are numerous. Marketers can use the platform to share content and links, sending traffic back to their e-commerce website or blog, track industry buzz, network and engage, provide customer support and, vitally, position their brand’s message directly in front of advocates and fans.

This infographic from Yell takes a closer look at the business benefits of Twitter. It’s a little basic for veterans, but a great starting point for brands who are still on the fence about how and why Twitter can work for them.

(Source: Yell. Twitter image via Shutterstock.)

Category: Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »

Why Eminence Matters for Sellers

In this digital age sellers now have to take on an additional job role and become a marketeer. Creating a personal brand that raises your profile above the rest, sharing your expertise and knowledge as well as leveraging the online world to ensure that you become identified as the eminent leader in that field are all important.

So why does eminence matter?

You have called, written, called again – you believe that the potential customer should be interested in talking to you, but they never return your call. Why?
Understanding buyer behaviour is key; they have limited time and will have recognised sources of influence. It may be their boss, their colleagues or their peers – whoever it is; they are listening to them – not you.
To become heard you have to start seeing their position from their world. This was summed up by a CEO who said:
“I don’t have any time to listen to a sales pitch … but I have all day to talk to a peer I can bounce ideas off and get real insight from. If more salespeople made the type of call where I’d be willing to write a cheque for their time, they’d have a better chance of winning contracts. The product they’re selling is less important than knowing you’re in expert hands.”
The challenge you have is that the CEO doesn’t want to buy a product or service and probably isn’t the slightest bit interested that you have ten percent off today. Unless your story resonates with their challenge – then in most cases you are wasting your time.

Then we get to the second part of the challenge – why should they listen to you?

Influence through association

Perhaps the direct approach is not always the best. If we want to influence the CEO but they are not listening to us, then we need to work out WHO they do listen to. In such circumstances understanding their ‘web of influence’ may well give us a clue as to who we should use as a conduit for our message. Understanding where buyers get their influences from changes the communication process and the target audience. In your industry who are the influential bodies and why?
Perhaps the CEO is interested in thought leadership and would be interested in your companies position in a particular area. Create a web of influence and work out who you should be targeting and with what message.

Now we get to the nub of the issue.

If you are not known in your industry or product area then why should someone listen to you? You may well have the thought leadership, expertise and the skills BUT unless you are prepared to share those thoughts and become known for them, then nobody will be listening.

Being known for your skills and opinions is eminence and that is why eminence matters.

What are your thoughts?

Category: Blogging, Careers, LinkedIn, Sales, Social Media | No Comments »