A couple of weeks ago I found myself drawn away from using my usual www.ping.fm status broadcast tool. The reason? Simply because it was a fourth place I needed to go rather than inside of Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. These are the three tools where I use status updates the most.
There is now an Application in LinkedIn and also supported tags in Twitter. This allows me to broadcast status updates from either source. I can can tweet from Twitter and it will update my LinkedIn status, and vice versa as and when I need it to.
The integration within Twitter is simple. In your settings, you can link your LinkedIn account to your Twitter account.
Then you choose if you want to share all of your tweets on LinkedIn or just specific ones by using these hashtags: #li or #in.
On the LinkedIn side, there is an application that allows you to link your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts and choose if your Twitter account appears on your profile. When updating your status in LinkedIn there is now a box that you can tick to get LinkedIn to tweet specific status updates
You have the choice of updating one or both from either LinkedIn or Twitter. Personally, I tend to Tweet about all sorts of random things that are going on or interest me. On LinkedIn I tend to limit my status updates to work related matters. Both Twitter and LinkedIn have different audiences although the difference is becoming less “black and white” and more a shade of grey!
Let me know how you use these tools and are there any other tools of this nature I should look at?
A few weeks ago LinkedIn added the feature to add applications to your profile page. I wanted to explore some of these and start to experiment in creating some learning material.
Take a look at the small tutorial below and let me know what you think.
I have recently made a career move from the executive search industry to a management consultancy specialising in non-core expense reduction. One of the common questions I have been asked is how I can go from a business that creates roles and builds businesses to one that focuses on the reduction of costs and ultimately reduction of headcount.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Expense Reduction Analysts is about optimising non-core expenses (essentially finding extra profit in areas of the business that may not be top of the priority list). This extra profit can go a long way to preventing the need to cut headcount and can even provide funds for expansion. Expense Reduction is a creative business, you do not get an average of 20% savings on an overhead expense just by asking! Yet a 20% saving in a mid-sized company should not be dismissed, it can be a substantial amount that has a real impact on the bottom line.
To back this point up we recently had a quote from our Global CEO, Ken Hagerstrom who provided the opening quote in an article for Forbes.com. “Creative Cost-Cutting Tactics for Small Biz.” This article is especially good because it addresses one of the primary fears of our clients: that we will recommend a reduction in headcount to cut costs. This is not part of Expense Reduction Analysts proposition. View the article here: Forbes Article
My career is still focused on helping entrepreneurs build successful businesses and the sector I work in is still focused on helping mid-market companies achieve their goals and objectives. Whether it is hiring new people to deliver a business plan, or freeing up the funds to allow for expansion my focus is the same: helping people achieve their personal and professional goals is both challenging and rewarding.
Over the past month I have started a new job and had the chance to speak with many talented, successful and professional individuals. It has been an exhilarating journey across many geographical and cultural boundaries. This is the basis of my passion for the franchising business model, seeing people from all kinds of backgrounds doing remarkable things with their lives once they have decided to leave the percieved security of corporate life.
It was almost ten years ago that I spoke with a freelance IT specialist about why they decided to work for themselves. The answer they gave was;
“I do not like the insecurity of being a permanent employee!”
That was 10 years ago and in today’s climate it is as poignant as it was then. The principle of being in a franchise is that you are in business for yourself but you are not by yourself. There a message there even for those in full time employment. You should consider yourself in business and strive to deliver against your goals that benefit your company as a whole. there is a wonderful paradox that occurs when you help others achieve their goals, you tend to achieve your own!
As I spoke to the owners of my new network it became apparent that a lot of credence is given to previous accolades, qualifications and brands that people have worked for. More importantly, particularly in a franchise network, is the respect shown for those that are seen to truly care about them, their business and their families. A franchisee wants to be part of something bigger and to be connected to a group of people that care about their future success. The fate share involved in franchising is infectious and forms the life blood for a successful business model.
During one conversation I was reminded of an old quiz that can be found all over the internet and in some management text books. The quiz is often mistakenly attributed to Charles Schulz (not Schultz!) of the cartoon Peanuts fame. The owners of the Charles M. Schulz Museum are often asked about this quote and have confirmed it was not attributed to Charles Schulz. If anyone has the definative answer to the creator let me know and I’ll give appropriate recognition.
Try the quiz below, I have adjusted slightly for an international audience, do not dwell on each and see how you go:
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Olympic 100 meters gold medalists.
3. Name five people who have won the Nobel Peace prize.
4. Name five Academy Award winners for best actor or
actress.
5. Name the last decade’s worth of World cup winners.
How did you do?
The point is, few of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no
second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause
dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and
certificates are buried with their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three people who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of five people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones
with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the
ones that care.
Personally I find this a little unfair because I have not spent time with a Nobel prize winner or got to know personally the winners of a 100 meters final. If I had then they may have shared with me a little of what led to them making their achievements and therefore played a bigger part in my ability to succeed in my own life. The sentiment, however, remains strong by caring about others and helping them to achieve in their own lives you develop a strong personal brand that will last and last. You have to give to get, make caring part of of your personal brand it will go along way and benefit you time and again in the future.
Xing’s parent company, OPEN Business Club, has just announced that it has acquired a 100% interest Neurona, one of the largest business networks in Spain and Latin America, for an undisclosed amount.
Neurona is a professional network that has a large number of users that are active in Internet companies, expanding its niche groups as well. Xing has already acquired another Spanish network, eConozco, and has recently partnered with Zoominfo to power search tools for users.
I’d put XING as a priority site for you to build an online profile to optimise your personal brand and promote your skills online. Especially if you do business throughout Europe.
As far as B2B professional social networking site XING and LinkedIn are essentially to your online promotion strategy.
I have also heard Viadeo is strong in France in particular let me know your thoughts or any others you feel I am missing.
A recent survey by CareerBuilder highlighted a fact that we have been aware of for a while. Whether you realise it or not you are being researched on the Internet. It is not limited to candidates for jobs either. I have found that during business development activity on the phone, there is a direct correlation to web traffic to company and personal profiles and the number of conversations I have.
According to CareerBuilder;
Of those hiring managers who have screened job candidates via social networking profiles, one-third (34 percent) reported they found content that caused them to dismiss the candidate from consideration. Top areas for concern among these hiring managers included:
41% - candidate posted information about them drinking or using drugs
40% - candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information
29% - candidate had poor communication skills
28% - candidate bad-mouthed their previous company or fellow employee
27% - candidate lied about qualifications
22% - candidate used discriminatory remarks related to race, gender, religion, etc.
22% - candidate’s screen name was unprofessional
21% - candidate was linked to criminal behavior
19% - candidate shared confidential information from previous employers
It is not all downside though;
On the other hand, social networking profiles gave some job seekers an edge over the competition. Twenty-four percent of hiring managers who researched job candidates via social networking sites said they found content that helped to solidify their decision to hire the candidate. Top factors that influenced their hiring decision included:
48% - candidate’s background supported their qualifications for the job
43% - candidate had great communication skills
40% - candidate was a good fit for the company’s culture
36% - candidate’s site conveyed a professional image
31% - candidate had great references posted about them by others
30% - candidate showed a wide range of interests
29% - candidate received awards and accolades
24% - candidate’s profile was creative
CareerBuilder provides the following advice;
1) Clean up digital dirt. Make sure to remove pictures, content and links that can send the wrong message to a potential employer before you start your job search.
2) Update your profile regularly. Make sure to include specific accomplishments, inside and outside of work.
3) Monitor comments. Since you can’t control what other people say on your site, you may want to use the “block comments” feature.
4) Join groups selectively. While joining a group with a fun or silly name may seem harmless, “Party Monsters R Us” may not give the best impression to a hiring manager. Also be selective about who you accept as “friends.”
5) Go private. Consider setting your profile to “private,” so only designated friends can view it.
We back these up and encourage the building of an inbrand digital footprint that supports the promise of value that you can provide. Never publish anything that you would not want published on the front page of your local newspaper!
There has been a continued amount of coverage given to personal branding on the internet. Just last week I had an interesting exercise to complete that really got me thinking. The issue came during a planned career change. All of a sudden I had an entire new problem to solve. It was a little like moving house and having to inform everyone that my address details were going to change and also had to ensure the appropriate utilities were canceled and re-ordered for the right location. In this instance I had an entire digital footprint to update!
As I have kept a detailed log of the sites where I have a controllable presence the task was not to bad but still time consuming. My career has developed in a consistent manner and direction so the themes did not need to change just personal details. Imagine if you had to reinvent a new career, removing you previous footprint could cause considerable stress and hair pulling.
Developing your brand and footprint is a samll part of the battle, updating or changing it is a considerably more strenuous activity. Take the following example of a typical life plan and think of all the changes to your footprint it might bring throughout your life.
Teens: You are embarrassed by your parents and distance yourself as you seek your own personality, beliefs and direction.You adopt every new technology and cannot believe your parents are just not with it!
20’s: You are into all sorts, it is documented online and you will spend the next decade denying it all.
30’s: Now you have money, you can really party - but on consecutive days! Your metabolism has changed and you need to quell the rebel inside. Now your online presence is examined by colleagues, customers and potential new employers.
40’s: Your own kids now walk in front of you and cannot believe you just do not get it!
50’s: Kids have left home you have the ability to anything you want, and you decide you would rather do nothing.
60’s: You actually feel good most of the time, but not all the time!
70’s: Starting to take advantage - use the 10 items or less line even when you have more. Who is going to yell at you!
OK enough, you get the idea. The footprint we build today is going to have to change as we change. Technologies will continue to develop some of which we will embrace, others we will decide are against the very order of things. Either way what we create today will need to be managed in the future.
Sounds like an opportunity, anyone now of a personal brand revamp specialist?
Having created a Google Alert to notify me of new web pages referencing Personal Branding it is amazing the amount of buzz that surrounds the topic. The buzz has got me thinking that the hype about selling yourself, differentiating yourself and promoting yourself is nothing new.
I remember my Mother coaching me about it being a small world and you should never burn your bridges. Your bosses, colleagues, partners e.t.c. could show up anytime, any place. In fact we would joke and say look after the Martini people (”Any time, any where, any place”) as you moved on. Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with people I have known from a previous life!
My reputation or “brand” was not something that was created in words and web pages or on a CV. Your reputation is about saying what you do and doing what you say! It is who you are and what you stand for. No change there.
There is no question that the reach of a personal brand can now spread far and wide. There is also no question that we stay connected with more acquaintances (not necessarily true friends) than before through the use of the Internet and social network websites. The depth and breadth means we can project our profiles to the globe, where once it took you to send a CV to a specific person for them to learn about you. You released your information on a permission basis. Now it is important that your online brand not only tells the truth but does so attractively as anyone can Google you and form an opinion on your abilities, products or services. Based on what they find they may not even reach out and have a real conversation with you.
I wonder if Lee McQueen’s (the recent winner of the apprentice) Online CV had the same lies as his submitted CV, coupled with the bad spellings and grammatical errors? In fact I am going to take a look and check out how his brand is developing! As Lee was an ex-recruiter this was a sad state of affairs, he should have been ejected there and then.
So from my perspective personal branding is no different from what it used to be. It simply that good news travels faster than even and I’d say bad news even faster. What do you think?
Just came across this article written by By SELENA DEHNE, JIST PUBLISHING backing up one of the new facts of life. People are looking for you online. In fact it seems Execunet has updated it’s percentages. They are now saying over 83% of recruiters use the Internet to check on candidates.
The article is based on recruitment practices and essentially using the Internet to do social background checks on potential new hires. It should be something you take very seriously. It can be surprising what information can be found out about you online. Just try googling yourself and see what pops up!
This is not just the domain of individuals looking for a job.
As an employee / business owner / or entrepreneur I can guarantee that customers, partners, employees and potential investors will be using the Internet to find out information about you.
Let me know if you have had any experience of managing your online profile? What tools do you use? How much time do you invest in managing it? Do you check up on others? Have you had others check up on you?
For anyone using wordpress to build their own personal web page or blog there are two key plugins to help ensure your site gets indexed by the search engines.
Google (XML) Sitemap generator for Wordpress - Click Here
I have also added these to my Blog Roll for your reference.
Once installed you are able to add a site map to Google, Yahoo and MSN. The site map is used to help the search engines crawl your web site and index your pages.
Many other search engines use these to crawl and build their indexes, so my site will become more visible from this point forward. I’ll keep you posted.
