What is your philosophy on your online presence?

by Pete Kistler • December 28, 2008 • View Comments

In the spirit of the holidays, here’s a quick point to think about between mugs of spiked egg nog.

Every time you post something online, that item becomes permanently associated with you. Which is why doing simple things – like writing compelling book reviews of best-sellers in your field – add up quickly, leaving a breadcrumb trail that demonstrates intelligence, proactivity and passion.

Blog comments, forum posts, book reviews, wiki edits, submission of original media or articles and membership with professional organizations online all add up to an impressive web presence that inspires confidence in your ability to succeed on the job.

The web provides an opportunity to show yourself in the best light. Are you taking advantage of this? Or are you ignoring your web presence? Your career won’t manage itself, and those who do manage their career will get a leg up in the job market. I suggest that before hitting the slopes this weekend, you take action to sprinkle some digital breadcrumbs across the web that will make your job hunt easier down the road.

Happy holidays from me (Pete Kistler) and all of the Brand-Yourself team!

: Author: Pete Kistler

Support me by sharing this post:

When personal branding goes bad…

by Trace Cohen • December 23, 2008 • View Comments

As you’ve probably heard, Bernie Madoff was the leader of the $50 billion Ponzi Scheme – the largest investor fraud ever attributed to a single individual.

Madoff started his firm in 1960 with an initial investment of $5,000. He has been active in the National Association of Securities Dealers, a self-regulatory organization for the U.S. securities industry. His firm was one of the five most active firms in the development of the NASDAQ, and he served as its chairman of the board of directors, and on its board of governors.

Sounds like Madoff had a well-defined personal brand that guided his actions and influenced the external world’s view of him. So how did such a successful figure fall so low?

Simple. Because he was well branded, people believed he would follow through on his brand promise of being an ethical businessman. His brand allowed him to take advantage of everyone who was impressed by his previous achievements and long lasting success. He was known for creating value and always delivering on his word. He had the trust of everyone. While this was a tragedy to everyone affected by it, perhaps we can learn something from it.

So, what can we learn from Madoff?

1. Working with friends: You have friends who are there for you. But once you start doing business with them, be careful to define what’s business and what’s pleasure. Depending on the terms of the business you’re conducting, you may need to conduct yourself in a more professional manner. There is always a sense of trust when working with your friends, which is exactly what happened in the scandal. Everyone trusted Madoff with their money because of his charisma and history. Make sure that the business side of things is always clean cut, transparent, and understood by both sides.

2. Ask questions and trust your gut instinct. Many of the people involved in the scandal were well aware that the returns they were receiving were way beyond anything they should have been getting. If someone seems to good to be true, it sometimes is. Be skeptical but be smart!

3. Always hold yourself and your colleagues accountable. A strong personal brand holds everyone accountable for their actions. Catching unethical behavior early could stop a catastrophe from happening down the road. In this case, everyone could be held accountable for not doing the proper due diligence that would have uncovered and unravel this scheme years ago.

4. “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Call me corny but this Dark Knight quote has a lot of meaning behind it. Money can have a strange affect on some people, even when they have more then they could ever need. In this case, Madoff who is in his late seventies lived long enough to see himself become the villain, ripping off friends and people alike for upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars. Not only did a lot of families declare bankruptcy overnight, but numerous charitable organizations put their donations into the boiling pot as well. Life is all about the decisions we make, so please make the right one.

Now that we have learned a little from someone else’s mistake, I hope that something like this will never happen again. I’m curious though, now that most of the facts have come out, what will happen to Madoff and his conspirators? This obviously wasn’t a one-man show. Also, the billion dollar question remains: where did the $50 billion dollars go?

: Author: Trace Cohen

Support me by sharing this post:

Top 5 Articles About Getting Stellar References for Your Job Search

by Pete Kistler • December 19, 2008 • View Comments

“References available upon request.” Sound familiar?

Many companies are required to call your references before hiring you. And many more simply want the reassurance of talking to a living, breathing person who can tell them about your performance at your last job. (That’s why you always leave on a good note with your boss, even if you hated your last job!).

References provide social proof that you are indeed who you say you are, and that you can perform on the job.

You need to have at least one quality reference either on your resume, or available to briefly speak on the phone if your potential new employer requests a reference.

The following five articles will get you well on your way to a stellar list of references in your job hunt:

1. How to Get and Provide References for Employment By Alison Doyle from About.com

2. How to Obtain and Use References and Recommendation Letters by Maureen Crawford Hentz from Quintessential Careers

3. How to Get References After you Have Been Fired by crossroad, an editor at eHow

4. Remember Me? Tips on Asking For and Getting Knock Em Dead References by Hudson (a top recruitment agency)

5. Sample Reference Letters from About.com

Use these articles to learn the best way to decide on – and approach – potential references. Then add as many solid references as you can to your career arsenal.

Related posts: