Is Your Brand the Ultimate Narcissism?

By Joshua Waldman

My grandmother, who is 86 this year, always told me, "Humility was for people who could afford to be humble," and when I was 10, "I couldn't afford it." She wanted me to be more confident, brag a little bit. I'm sure she was just a proud grandma, and I love her for it. 

Now, only after years of corporate experience did I finally understand what she meant.
Of the many cold hard facts of the work-world, one of them is, "You have to ring your own bell."

I can hear some of you chuckling already. I'm sure you had a kindly boss, like I did, who might have seen your potential and wanted to motivate you. Maybe she or he was just giving you career advice as a mentor, or adviser.

Whatever the case might be, my lesson was clear, don't be afraid to brag a little bit. After all, no one in this 60,000 person organization is going to look for me under the carpet or hiding in my cubicle.

Perhaps you feel that way when writing your resumes. I know I did. I thought, "Wow, that's one hell of a claim to make. It was our team who brought in the sale, not just me."

But my HR side said, "Yes, that's true, but you can't afford not to ring your own bell."

I watched Julie and Julia the other day and something occurred to me. The movie is about a sad government secretary who embarks on a mission to cook all of Julia Child's 540 recipes in 364 days, and blog about it, each day. After awhile, she becomes completely self-obsessed. Soon, her marriage is in jeopardy and she wallows even deeper into narcissism.

But soon, her idol Julia Child inspires her to take a second look at how she is treating those around her.

As the Dalai Lama said, the more you focus on yourself, the more miserable you will be.
So what is all this talk about "Brand-You?" Isn't that just the epitome of self-obsession and unhappiness?

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/119059/20110304/is-your-brand-the-ultimate-narcissism.htm#ixzz1FlIiWOry

 

The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success

By Ivana Taylor


What kind of genius creates a product and brand that is so strong and so powerful that people will wait outside the handful of retail outlets that distribute the product, even though …

• The product has some technical features which are less desirable than the alternative?
• It has basic functions that actually cause developers and design firms to design around them?
• Hackers break into the device so that desperate customers from certain wireless providers can use it?
• It has an audience that’s so loyal they will beg and plead with their cell phone carriers for access to the exclusive device?

Yeah – I want to be that brand.  If you hadn’t guessed what brand I’m talking about, then you must have been under a rock for the last decade or so.  It’s Apple.
And the brains and vision behind the brand belong to Steve Jobs.  Jobs’ unique way of looking at the world and presenting his ideas has earned him a reputation that’s nothing short of guru status.
Wanna Be Like Steve?  There’s a Book for That
When I received a review copy of The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success, I didn’t know what to expect.  It was written by Carmine Gallo (@carminegallo), author of The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs, so I thought it might have some useful insights about how to innovate or think innovatively.
It did.  The book is rooted in the Seven Principles inspired by Steve Jobs:

1. Do What You Love: Think differently about your career.
2. Put a Dent in the Universe: Think differently about your vision.
3. Kick Start Your Brain: Think differently about how you think.
4. Sell Dreams, Not Products: Think differently about your customers.
5. Say No to 1,000 Things: Think differently about design.
6. Create Insanely Great Experiences: Think differently about your brand experience.
7. Master the Message. Think differently about your story.

Overall, it’s business motherhood and apple pie, filtered through the uniquely creative mind of Steve Jobs.   It’s important to recognize, however, that each of us is our own unique person, and the only person who can think or be like Steve Jobs is …. Steve Jobs.
As I was reading the book, I really got a sense of Jobs’ unique life experiences and the way he has gone about the business of living and working.  When he dropped out of college, he didn’t create Apple – in fact, he didn’t know what to do, so he took a calligraphy class.  In fact, Jobs has lived his life following his passion in all things.
The book puts a lot of emphasis on how he followed his heart and that left me thinking that if I had “followed my heart” as much as he followed his, I’d be couch surfing and maybe working at a minimum wage job.
There is no doubt that Steve Jobs has something special.  He lives his life in a certain way; in fact, it seems that his focus was never to build an empire, but to be and do what his heart led him to be and do.  I don’t mean to sound metaphysical about this, but had he not met Steve Wozniak or had he gone to an accounting class instead of calligraphy, things could have turned out differently.  Apple wouldn’t be Apple.
Yet, I believe Jobs would still have the same philosophy of life. Maybe he would have opened a restaurant instead of launching Apple, but his core wouldn’t change.
Don’t Be Steve Jobs – Be YOU

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Job Hunting Secrets From A Top Recruiter

Jessica Stillman, BNET

As BNET’s sister site MoneyWatch pointed out recently, in a climate where it takes the average job hunter more than seven months to find their next position, big job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder are of only limited use.
The post’s author Eilene Zimmerman writes:

Forget CareerBuilder, HotJobs, and all the other mass job sites. While these boards seem like a good place to start, how many people do you know who actually found a job that way? Even hiring managers don’t want to sort through the hundreds and hundreds of resumes they get for each position they list on these sites, so they’re increasingly turning to industry-specific job portals, says Debra Yergen, author of Creating Job Security.

And Zimmerman isn’t the only person pointing out that job boards are often a waste of time. Everyone from the WSJ to Ask the Headhunter’s Nick Corcodolis has written posts advising that there are probably more productive ways to spend most of your job search hours. But if job boards are on the wane, how are companies and recruiters finding people to hire? And how can you best position yourself to be found?
Writing on recruiting blog Fistful of Talent recently, Kelly Dingee, a “professional stalker” with Staffing Advisors, lets the cat out of the bag and offers up seven things employers should tell job seekers about how to get considered. Dingee isn’t convinced job boards are totally over saying, “there will be people looking for you on there.
At least for a little while longer.” But overall Dingee agrees with consensus opinion that too much time on job boards isn’t productive and offers tips to help you get hired in a post-job board world, including old standbys like networking — “Find someone who works at your targeted company who can pass your resume along” — as well as less well known advice:

Make yourself findable first. Google yourself right now. Did your LinkedIn profile come up? No? Build one, make it public. If you have a preferred method of contact, note it. Use inmails. Use a separate email.
Make yourself even more findable. Post your resume, or your bio, or whatever you want to call it.  Use Posterous, use WordPress, use a .me site, use doctoc or slideshare… use something.

Read more tips and completer article: http://www.businessinsider.com/job-hunting-secrets-from-a-top-recruiter-2011-3#ixzz1Fdv3pad8

 

Marketing Overqualified to Your Advantage in the Job Search

Caroline Dowd-Higgins

Director of Career & Professional Development at Indiana University Maurer School of Law; Author, 'This Is Not the Career I Ordered'

If you are lucky enough to land a job interview in this difficult market, make sure you are in control of your message. This is especially important for seasoned candidates who often hear that they are overqualified for a position. With a generation of experienced individuals that were laid off in the recession, organizations are seeing a lot of senior candidates apply for roles below their typical pay grade.

It's up to the veteran candidates to prove their value-add more than ever since many companies are fearful of flight risk and resist taking on individuals whom they believe will only be around until they find a better opportunity.

Age discrimination in the employment arena is still rampant and often veiled with the overqualified term. If you find yourself fighting to prove your worth as an experienced professional, here are some selling points to consider when marketing yourself for a new opportunity.

Think like the hiring manager. Assuage the company fear factor right off the bat and address flight risk and high salary expectations. If you have done your research, you will know the expected salary range for the position and let your employer know you are realistic about what the position pays. If you have a history of longevity or loyalty to a company, share that so the employer understands you won't leave the first chance you get a better gig.

Enthusiasm works -- desperation doesn't. Explain why you are genuinely interested in the position and why you are a value-add to the organization. Be authentic and sell your skills, competencies, and experiences as a return on investment for the employer. Recruiters can smell desperation in all candidates so focus on opportunities that are really a good fit. It will be better for you and the employer in the long run.

Life experience is a good thing. In addition to your education and professional posts, wisdom and life experience are priceless. Develop a compelling story about how your time in the work saddle has empowered you with communication skills and team work abilities that taught you how to play well in the company sandbox and your ability to respond well to constructive criticism.

With age comes wisdom. While newbie hires may be shiny and bright with the ink barely dry on their diplomas, a more seasoned professional is more likely to choose an organization based on the company values that match their own. A recent Harvard Business Review discussed how overqualified employees tend to perform better and don't quit any sooner than other employees. For an experienced hire -- it's more about job satisfaction and fit than merely just finding work.

Ability to handle change. A practiced candidate often brings depth to a position and has experience handling challenge and change in the work environment. Showcase your resiliency and flexibility and your willingness to solve problems outside of the box. Show examples of the positive effect you can bring to the workplace.

Read Complete Huffington Post Article With More Advice and Tips

12 Little Known Tips For LinkedIn

Most business professionals are on LinkedIn at this point. LinkedIn tells us that:
- LinkedIn has over 65 million members in over 200 countries.
- A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of our members are outside the U.S.
- Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.
To me that states clearly that if you have almost ANY kind of business and are prospecting, LI will be a good resource for you. But just setting up a profile and dabbling once a week or so is not going to do much for your prospecting efforts. Below are a few tips that not many folks know about, but are powerful techniques for increasing your visibility and maximizing that “inbound marketing” that Social Media is known for.

1. Create 3 saved searches. If you are doing a search on a company, person, industry or whatever, save your searches. At the top where you see the number of records in your search you’ll see a “save this search” button – you get 3 if you are at the basic level. LI will send you a weekly email, if you want, to get updates to your search.
2. Recommendations are important, so ask for them. But make it easy. I first call or email my contact and ask if they will recommend me. If so, write the recommendation yourself – so you are sure that you are sending the right message. Be sure to talk about the problems you solved – that’s really the point, isn’t it?
3. Use the Question and Answer area to gain more visibility on the Internet. On the question that you answer you will see a “share this” with a drop down menu. You can email your network, Digg it, Bookmark the question on Delicious, or use the link provided in your answer and link to your one of your blog posts, or somewhere else on your site to pull in traffic.
4. Join groups that are in line with your business, your objectives or your hoped for job. Fish where the fish are. The more “on target” the group, the more valuable the content they provide, and the networking opportunities will be
5. Use groups to expand your network, but be selective. In the groups tabs, you will see on called “other” with a drop down menu. Select members and you will see a list of all of the member in that group. Offer to connect with the ones that make sense. You might evaluate based on the size of their network, the type of company or industry they are in or how much interaction they have had with the group.
6. Did you know you can export your connections? Go to “Contacts.” Then “Connections.” At the bottom of your Connections box is “Export Connections.” Export the connections and import them into your preferred address book. Do this frequently so you are consolidating all of your contacts in one spot (might be Outlook, Act, Salesforce)
7. Refer to both the LinkedIn Learning Center and their blog. The Learning Center is full of great tutorials and blog has info on updated and new features with full explanations.

Read Tips 8 - 12 and the complete article

How Does Wharton Computing Innovate?

By Deirdre Woods

  It starts with a great idea – either from some of our own Wharton Computing staff or from one of our constituents like students, faculty or our business partners such as External Affairs, MBA Career Management, and MBA Admissions. The implementation is always a partnership between Wharton Computing, our constituents and business partners. The original idea gets refined and improved through the process and we all work together as a team to make it happen.

To see a few examples of this, just look inside our classrooms. When Prof. Peter Fader wanted to encourage "heads-up learning" as opposed to intensive note-taking, we used multiple technology sources to video record all of his lectures and make them available on Web Café. Knowing they would have an opportunity to review the materials later, students were less distracted by note-taking during class. We also worked with Prof. Jerry Wind to enable students to immediately project from their own laptops to the screens in the classroom. As a result, students were able to interact on a new level with screen sharing.

In other courses, students might use Learning Lab simulations such as MacroSim, the Innovation Toolkit, or OTIS – to name just a few. These simulations are a result of our ongoing work with faculty members seeking new ways to engage students and improve the learning process. Learning Lab applications are also used externally by over 2,500 students in universities around the globe. Students also might have noticed an increase in the use of tablets by some of their peers in class. We're actually running a pilot program now in which we've loaned out iPads to students in several courses to better assess their content consumption, content creation, and collaboration as well as interesting apps that may be applicable to the courses.

And as increasingly fast mobile speeds combined with compact mobile devices allow for instant access to content, we're looking at how these devices can span miles to connect students with experts around the world. We're currently building a beta set of mobileready tools to provide another channel for interaction in class as well as thinking about increased uses of immersive videos for connected learning.

Outside of the classroom, our Alumni Community is another example of innovation. Stemming from a partnership with students, alumni and External Affairs, Wharton Computing recently revamped the site to improve everyone's ability to connect with each other both during school and after graduation. The new alumni directory, which includes social features, is easier than ever to use and we've even had interest in this product from other institutions.

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Your Résumé, for All to See

By PATRICIA R. OLSEN

YOU think you have a serviceable résumé. Maybe you have worked with a professional résumé writer, or at least have had someone read it over and give you feedback. But you still haven’t gotten a new job. Should you start a Web site, solely for job hunting, that features your résumé?

 Maybe — or maybe not. If you are currently employed, be very wary about setting up a Web site that announces you are job hunting. If your employer happens to find out about it, you could be dismissed, says Kim Isaacs, director of ResumePower, a résumé-writing service in Doylestown, Pa.


To some job seekers, a profile on LinkedIn, the business social networking site, is the only Web presence they need.


Jeff Neil, a career counselor and owner of Be Your Best Coaching in Manhattan, says LinkedIn is “the primary source for employers looking for candidates online, and a fabulous way for most job seekers to inform colleagues and potential employers that they’re job hunting.”


But LinkedIn has limitations for job seekers, Mr. Neil says, including limited space and a rigid format for listing past jobs.


“So setting up a Web site strictly for job hunting,” he says, “can be an especially good idea for consultants and people in creative fields like advertising who want to describe numerous projects they’ve worked on.”


Even if you’re not in a creative field, the résumé you post on your job-hunting site should be different from the one you might hand to a manager during an interview, says Ms. Isaacs, who is also the résumé expert for Monster.com. “You still want short bits of information, where you get to the key points quickly, but you can create a multipage, online portfolio on the Web and include case studies, a page of references, and testimonials,” she says.


It’s also a good idea to provide your résumé in several formats, including Microsoft Word, ASCII text and a PDF file, Ms. Isaacs says. “Companies have different applicant-tracking systems,” she says, “so you want to accommodate various requirements and give prospective employers the option to choose how they want to download your résumé.”


When posting your résumé, be more cautious about privacy than you would if you were submitting it to an interviewer. More job hunters are omitting their street address and city these days, Ms. Isaacs says. Some list a post office box for privacy and use a Google Voice phone number, in part to keep their actual phone number private.


“I’ve heard of an employer Googling a candidate’s address before deciding whether to interview the person,” she says. “You don’t know what a hiring manager might deduce from a street location, and it might just take two clicks to find that information.”


Richard Deosingh, a regional vice president of the staffing firm Robert Half International, suggests making your e-mail address or a phone number easily accessible.” Put it on every page of your Web site; don’t make a recruiter work to find it,” he says. He also advises including a brief biography and updating your site regularly.


When he wanted to change jobs last June, Jared Kreiner, a public relations account supervisor in New York, designed his own job-hunting site, www.jaredkreiner.com. Shortly afterward, a former colleague who was about to leave the public relations firm G. S. Schwartz & Company recommended Mr. Kreiner to her manager as a possibility to replace her — and mentioned his Web site.


“I think my site helped me get the job,” Mr. Kreiner says. He removed his résumé when he started work, but reposted it when he was laid off last December because of cost cuts. He is now actively promoting the site.


Read The Rest Of The NY Times Article