Creating & Maintaining Your Personal Brand -- and Rocking Your Network
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The presentation provided eight steps for students to develop their personal brand and networking skills, including determining their unique qualities, creating an online portfolio and professional blog, developing an elevator pitch, evaluating their online presence, using social networks, becoming a networking "rockstar," leveraging their network, and creating a branding plan. Following these steps can help students enhance their career opportunities and professional development.
Creating & Maintaining Your Personal Brand -- and Rocking Your Network
- 1. Today’s IABC Free Web Seminar Creating & Maintaining Your Personal Brand: and Rocking Your Network Presented by Heather Huhman 7 March 2012 With an 80% discounted IABC student membership: • Enhance your knowledge and skills with the highest quality research, articles and best practices. @IABCstudents • Access professional development resources used by top communicators. • Add value to your resume, connect with professionals and gain experience. • Discover the hidden job market. Learn more at students.iabc.com
- 2. Creating & Maintaining Your Personal Brand and Rocking Your Network Presented by: Heather R. Huhman
- 3. Step 1: Determine Your Differentiation What do you bring to the table they can’t? – Write down every skill, characteristic, and interest you have – this becomes your “unique you” What collateral material will you need to communicate your unique you? – Business cards – Online portfolio 3
- 4. Step 2: Create an Online Portfolio Find out if your personal domain name is for sale (firstnamelastname.com). If it is, purchase it! Don’t forget to purchase hosting I recommend building and designing your online portfolio using a free content management system, such as WordPress – BlueHost.com specializes in hosting WordPress Web sites 4
- 5. Online Portfolios, Cont. WordPress alternatives: – About.me – Flavors.me – Wix.com – Weebly.com – Webs.com – VisualCV – Carbonmade – DoYouBuzz (U.S. version) 5
- 6. Online Portfolios, Cont. On the homepage, include a welcome message to visitors – this can be a similar, more generic version of your cover letter Create a page/tab: – Where visitors can download your résumé in PDF format (iPaper is a good app for this) – For your actual portfolio – Linking to your professional blog – With your contact information 6
- 7. Online Portfolios, Cont. What to include in your online portfolio: – Case studies (problem, solution, results) – Class projects – Volunteer/internship work – Professional testimonials/recommendations 7
- 10. Step 3: Create a Professional Blog Select a topic or niche Decide on your posting frequency, and stay with it Admit upfront you are not an expert Write interesting content – and write it well Follow and comment on other blogs Promote your blog Don’t be afraid to be wrong 10
- 11. Step 4: Develop Your Core Message / Elevator Pitch Elevator pitch = a short sound bite where you explain who you are and what you’re seeking Typically 30-60 seconds or 150-200 words Keep it short & concise in order to hold your listener’s attention but still get enough information out to them 11
- 12. Step 4: Develop Your Core Message / Elevator Pitch In general, your elevator pitch should consist of: – Your name (if meeting for the first time) – Current status (student, etc.) – What you seek (internship, entry-level job) – Your unique selling points – Qualifications – Passions – Call to action 12
- 13. Step 4: Develop Your Core Message / Elevator Pitch Comes in handy at networking events or when meeting hiring managers and recruiters Helps you answer the interview question “Tell me about yourself” Share a story – Mention past accomplishments and goals you’ve reached (but be concise!) 13
- 14. Step 5: Evaluate Your Current Online Presence If you Google your name, what comes up? What can you edit? What should be public information, and what should not? Decide what you want those who search for you to know about you and how much specific information you want to share Knowing what’s already out there will help you create and maintain a consistent online brand 14
- 15. Step 6: Get on Social Networks According to recent Reppler/Lab42 research, 91% of hiring managers use social networking sites to screen job candidates – Facebook: 76% – Twitter: 53% – LinkedIn: 48% During which phase of the hiring process? – After receiving an application: 47% – After an initial conversation: 27% 15
- 16. Social Networking, Cont. Etiquette: – Listen – Be relevant – Mind your brand – Engage – Give more than get 16
- 17. Social Networking, Cont. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Niche networks 17
- 18. Step 7: Become a Networking Rockstar Networking is creating a two-way, mutually beneficial relationship between yourself and a connection 70-80% of jobs are filled through networking – Employee referrals – Unadvertised openings – Connections with hiring managers/CEOs 18
- 19. Networking, Cont. Attend lots of events – Make sure people know who you are • If an organization you are really interested in is holding an open event, make sure to go • Make face time, so they know who you are • While you cannot ask for a job, be sure to tell them about your future plans – Don’t just attend events within your industry • Attend events that interest you 19
- 20. Networking, Cont. Find ways to bring up parts of your online portfolio in face-to-face conversations – At networking events, think of ways to weave some of the work you have done into the conversation – Kick off the discussion by asking about their job and what their day to day is like – At appropriate moments, mention your interests and accomplishments 20
- 21. Networking, Cont. Ping with a purpose – Pinging refers to communicating in useful ways with new contacts so you stay fresh in their minds • Make sure to follow-up with the people you connected with in-person by e-mailing them interesting articles of a common interest, or simply notifying a hiring manager of any changes in your résumé or contact information – Staying top-of-mind is key 21
- 22. Networking, Cont. Stay organized – When you meet someone & get their business card, take a few notes on the back to remember important parts of your conversation – Create social networking lists or Excel/Google spreadsheets of important contacts to remember key information (such as title/position, company, things in common, etc.) – Resource: Gist.com 22
- 23. Networking, Cont. Become a follower – Seek out recruiters and hiring managers on Twitter and follow them • Make sure you contribute to the conversation and demonstrate your qualifications -- because any opportunity to converse is an opportunity to impress – If you constantly pop up on people’s Twitter feeds, you will continue to stay top-of-mind 23
- 24. Networking, Cont. No matter where you meet someone, the only real way to bring them into your network is by keeping in contact with them After your first meeting, follow-up with them by: – Asking him/her out to lunch or coffee – Sending an e-mail – Engaging with him/her on social networking sites 24
- 25. Networking, Cont. Leverage your network Master the “art of the ask” – Smart networkers know the strategies for determining what to ask for, who to ask, and how to ask for any goal they want to achieve – Help can come almost immediately if you’ve laid the groundwork correctly 25
- 26. Networking, Cont. Don’t just send an e-mail saying, “Hey, I’d like to meet to talk about job opportunities at your company. Are you free tomorrow?” Instead, say, “I’m really interested in taking my paralegal degree into the nonprofit world. Would you be open to a quick phone call or a brief meeting sometime to share insights on how you did it?” 26
- 27. Networking, Cont. Take cues from your contacts – If you ask for a meeting and they’re more comfortable with a short phone call, take it Come prepared with good questions 27
- 28. Step 8: Create a Plan Set goals Research your social community Select your brand ambassadors Manage your reputation Establish yourself as a thought leader 28
- 29. Questions? Heather R. Huhman Founder & President Come Recommended www.comerecommended.com heather@comerecommended.com Twitter: @heatherhuhman 29