I found this slide presentation on LinkedIn SlideShare Presentations. Tom Carbonaro does of pretty good job of defining the various online network media currently available. He outlines the importance of branding yourself to rise above the numbers and carrying that brand through all media. Then he explains the importance of tying it all together. I hope you find it as enlightening as I did. Have a little fun marketing yourself through the various media available to you. They're all just a few keyboard strokes away.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Market Yourself in a Tri-Fold ~The Latest Attention Getter
It's the one of the latest items that is being used to set yourself apart from your competition. The use of a tri-fold as a personal marketing piece is spreading like wildfire in the career search market.
Getting in front of the right person(s) at that company you'd love to work for, can be a seemingly impossible task. In as much as you attempt to network, whether it be face to face or through LinkedIn, to reach the key personnel at the firm, you still have a difficult time gaining the attention of your intended audience.
There is still no guarantee that you will reach beyond the HR department, but certainly an attention getter if you do. Your tri-fold puts a face to the targeted position. The tri-fold can include your strengths and skills, a narrative of your work history, your recent career high points and list your name and contact information in several places. I also included three of my LinkedIn recommendations, copied word for word, in quotations and with the individual and their title of the individual that provided the recommendation.
This tri-fold slide presentation provides a good idea of what I'm talking about. You can conduct a Google search for tri-fold templates that will provide you with a head start.
Don't forget to put your business card in the first flap of the tri-fold before mailing. When the flap is opened, your business card will fall out on the desk. You now have two pieces of contact information that must be handled. You increase your chance of being noticed and having your name hang around for awhile.
Research the companies that you want to work for, looking up key names of at least Vice Presidents of your targeted department or department heads and managers (hiring managers if they can be determined). Mail the tri-fold to these people at the company and the published company address. Also, mark on the front of the envelope; "personal" and/or "confidential". This should increase the chance of the intended individual to receive the tri-fold.
Give it a week or so, but don't wait too long. Call the individual(s) that you sent the tri-fold to. Ask if they've received the tri-fold. This will open the dialog for you both. You might not want to come out and ask for a job, but perhaps show an interest in the company, ask about their needs, or problem areas that they are willing to share with you. Ask for their opinion, people love to provide free advice. Ask if you could meet with them, preferably off site, perhaps over coffee early one morning before they go to work.
I wish you well in your search. Please come back and let us know how this worked for you and perhaps what you've done differently with the tri-fold.
Getting in front of the right person(s) at that company you'd love to work for, can be a seemingly impossible task. In as much as you attempt to network, whether it be face to face or through LinkedIn, to reach the key personnel at the firm, you still have a difficult time gaining the attention of your intended audience.
There is still no guarantee that you will reach beyond the HR department, but certainly an attention getter if you do. Your tri-fold puts a face to the targeted position. The tri-fold can include your strengths and skills, a narrative of your work history, your recent career high points and list your name and contact information in several places. I also included three of my LinkedIn recommendations, copied word for word, in quotations and with the individual and their title of the individual that provided the recommendation.
This tri-fold slide presentation provides a good idea of what I'm talking about. You can conduct a Google search for tri-fold templates that will provide you with a head start.
Don't forget to put your business card in the first flap of the tri-fold before mailing. When the flap is opened, your business card will fall out on the desk. You now have two pieces of contact information that must be handled. You increase your chance of being noticed and having your name hang around for awhile.
Research the companies that you want to work for, looking up key names of at least Vice Presidents of your targeted department or department heads and managers (hiring managers if they can be determined). Mail the tri-fold to these people at the company and the published company address. Also, mark on the front of the envelope; "personal" and/or "confidential". This should increase the chance of the intended individual to receive the tri-fold.
Give it a week or so, but don't wait too long. Call the individual(s) that you sent the tri-fold to. Ask if they've received the tri-fold. This will open the dialog for you both. You might not want to come out and ask for a job, but perhaps show an interest in the company, ask about their needs, or problem areas that they are willing to share with you. Ask for their opinion, people love to provide free advice. Ask if you could meet with them, preferably off site, perhaps over coffee early one morning before they go to work.
I wish you well in your search. Please come back and let us know how this worked for you and perhaps what you've done differently with the tri-fold.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Are You Using LinkedIn?
I've found LinkedIn to be a very resourceful tool. It's arguably the best professional networking tool in today's cyber world. It is extremely useful for networking and locating key individuals in your career search.
Once you land that job, it can be a very useful tool for researching and making contact with key folks within a company that could possible help make that sale.
Linked In, if used to it's fullest extent, can provide a place for you to input your past job experiences, like to groups and sub-groups of interest and keep up to date with what folks are doing in your network.
Several limiting switches within the site will provide you with the level of information that you share to both network and out of network people.
My personal recommendation is to link only to people that can be useful, or that you may be able to provide information and support to, that you know and trust.
There are folks that will link to anyone and everyone. They are referred to as LION people, which is an acronym for Linked In Open Networker. These folks generally will have the word LION in their name title in bold capital letters.
If you are not linked in professionally, I suggest that you do so with out further delay. It can be a powerful resource for you. If you are currently in job search, please understand that rather than spend the big bucks on the job boards, human resource people are turning to LinkedIn for applicants.
You can simply go to www.linkedin.com (but come back and visit or follow my blog)
Once you land that job, it can be a very useful tool for researching and making contact with key folks within a company that could possible help make that sale.
Linked In, if used to it's fullest extent, can provide a place for you to input your past job experiences, like to groups and sub-groups of interest and keep up to date with what folks are doing in your network.
Several limiting switches within the site will provide you with the level of information that you share to both network and out of network people.
My personal recommendation is to link only to people that can be useful, or that you may be able to provide information and support to, that you know and trust.
There are folks that will link to anyone and everyone. They are referred to as LION people, which is an acronym for Linked In Open Networker. These folks generally will have the word LION in their name title in bold capital letters.
If you are not linked in professionally, I suggest that you do so with out further delay. It can be a powerful resource for you. If you are currently in job search, please understand that rather than spend the big bucks on the job boards, human resource people are turning to LinkedIn for applicants.
You can simply go to www.linkedin.com (but come back and visit or follow my blog)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)