Passion Missing From Your Job Search?
A brand that captures your mind gains behavior. A brand that captures your heart gains commitment. – Scott Talgo, Brand Strategist
Is it possible that what is missing from your job search is a fraction of passion? Don’t roll your eyes! I am not suggesting you drown your resume or online profiles with hyperbole. No. The advice is that you persuade, move, shake your future employer to their core (or to action) by spritzing some passion into your self-marketing copy. Now, here is why and how…
Why Passion?
As the job search market becomes inundated with overqualified unemployed pros, what is to distinguish your brand and qualifications from that of others? What, besides actually getting the message right, will make your personal brand memorable and recognizable?
In previous blog posts, we’ve discussed diffentiating yourself through a personal brand, resume formatting tips that attract attention, and a front-and-center value proposition. Yes, all of the above works. Yet, in the quest to continue to hoist and strengthen your distinction, passion is a personal characteristic you cannot dismiss. In the candidate vetting process, it can gain you that advantage. Read more 
Mining For Your Executive Brand & Promoting ROI
Executive Job Searching is Self-Marketing—Make No Mistake!
To quote from a LinkedIn message I received… “job searching is very much like marketing. You need to do a complete SWOT to know where you are.” Absolutely! You got it, partner!
What has cemented the doom of many job seekers, including executive-level leaders, is their inability (or self-destructive refusal) to wrap their minds around the idea of marketing themselves with a unique identity as if they were a product.
As a “product,” you must clearly articulate your executive brand, unique value proposition, and market an ROI.
Yet, instead, most executives mount a precarious job search campaign with the intention of simply providing their qualifications and hoping their corporate job titles plus Fortune 100 and 500 employers’ reputation would suffice to net that coveted job interview.
Know This: Especially at the executive level it is a given that you must be qualified for the six-figure jobs you are pursuing. Don’t you think? But, why are you the best choice out of all the executives vying for the same career opportunity? How have you saddled between executive roles in our changing world and what does that mean for your future employer? What makes you so irresistible that employers should be vying to lasso you into their office for a face to face?
Your Ace In The Hole: You must seduce your new employer through strategic brand positioning, rigorous (but tactful) self-marketing, ABOVE that of your toughest c-suite competitor.
Read more
Are You Properly Leveraging Job References?
All job seekers want to know how to properly list references, how many references should they provide, how much detail is needed. I came across this excellent post by Don Orlando and I thought it was extremely insightful and informative… Thanks to Don Orlando for his permission to share with you…
By Don Orlando, MBA, CPRW, JCTC, CCM, CCMC
Twitter @clevelcoach
Employers will want three to five professional references. A professional reference can speak about your performance on the job. Good professional references may be recent supervisors, co-workers (not subordinates), customers, vendors or suppliers, pro-bono clients, or volunteer committee members. Use friends or members of the clergy only as a last resort. They cannot give employers much of the information they need to decide if you should be interviewed or hired Read more
Job Seeker, Are You Crazy? American Idol Encourages It!
I have said it many times before and I will say it, here, again…you have to be willing to stand apart from the job search mob by daring to break the norm and differentiate yourself. Try the new, the fresh—take a chance. Will someone think a resume without an Objective is just crazy? Maybe. Will your friends advise you against a personal branding statement on your resume because that is just not done? Perhaps. If you call a company and ask if they are willing to review your resume will they think you are just insane for soliciting them? They might. But these tactics work! Call them crazy if you’d like but ‘crazy’ worked her for Paul McDonald of American Idol. And a little job search ‘craziness’ will work for you too. 
Read more
