CEO National Conference and After Party

For those who don’t know, we are speaking at the CEO National Conference in Chicago this weekend. We could not be more excited. The last six months have been surreal for brand-yourself and, quite frankly, ground breaking. We launched our services, expanded our community,  developed a working product, and were named one of the top 5 Entrepreneurs of the year.  Many things have changed, but our mission has remained steady. We want to help young proffesionals manage and create credible online presences that help advance their career. We can not think of a better way to celebrate than share our success, our story and our advice with the brightest, career minded college students in the country.

If you will be at the conference, some things you want to check out:

• Our presentation Leveraging social media for career advancement Saturday, 11:30-101-106 South building
• Our friends at UNDER30CEO are giving a few presentations. These guys know their stuff, you do NOT want to miss them
• Our friend Bradley Will is giving a presentation you’ll want to catch.

CEO After Party

We are also happy to announce we will be throwing a CEO after party with Under30CEO at Mcfadden’s Chicago. Everyone (of age) is welcome to attend, network, and most importantly, unwind. If you are not attending the conference, we are more than happy to have you anyways. $20 dollar open bar from 8-10, cash bar after that.

Jump Start Your Career: The most effective social media tactics

Here at brand-yourself we do our best to arm our young readers with the tools they need to succeed in today’s climate. Times are tough, the job market is awful and young graduates often fall victim to lack of experience and limited networks. We tout social media and personal branding as a solution, as a way to differentiate yourself and lend credibility to your name. When competition is so tight, your visibility and credibility mean everything.

This is why we are proud to sponsor and promote the Under30Ceo Rockstar Business Series, a 4 week web course aimed at helping young people leverage the Internet to build a busienss or advnace their career. As a young professional, you probably have an intuitive understanding of social media. However, I’m willing to bet you  no idea how to leverage those technologies and networks and transform them into effective business tools. The series will teach how to do exactly that. Whether you want to start your own business, sell your own work or simply get noticed and hired, these webinars will help get your name out there.

The webinars are a collaboration from our good friends Matt Wilson & Jared O’toole, co founders of Under30Ceo, and Greg Rollet of Rock Star Lifestyle Design. I am confident the webinars will be extremely valuable–so valuable, in fact, I will be among the students. The three of them have managed to find enormous success, start businesses and build personal brands, all at a very young age. I could go on an on listing their credentials, but you can check them out here for yourself .

It is more important to explain what you will learn from the webinars. In four weeks you will learn how to:

• Create a voice with your blog and personal website
• Build authority through social media
• Drive traffic with SEO and Internet marketing tactics
• Build powerful, meaningful relationships with industry leaders

The package comes with a ton of extras, including unlimited Q&A sessions with the teachers. I know these guys well, have seen their work and have no doubt they will be offering top-of-the-line instruction. The price tag is $97 dollars, which works out to be a little less than $25 dollars per session. If you are interested, sign up here. I would hurry, registration ends THIS Sunday.

Full Disclosure: We are acting as affiliates of this series. We work closely with Under30Ceo. We would never promote something we did not  feel would significantlybenefit our readers. Your trust and readership are very valuable to us and something we take very seriously.

Personal Branding Interview: Al Biedrzycki

With the job market so tough, we constantly encourage our readers to distinguish and promote themselves in unique, innovative ways. We tout personal branding and social media as ideal methods to get your message and qualifications out to the right audience. Does it work? Do people listen? We like to think  so, but it is always reaffirming to see concrete examples.

Like many recent grads, Al biedrzycki was having trouble finding opportunities. When he exhausted all traditional techniques, he decided to create a viral cover letter. Since then, he has been interviewed on CNN and employers are now reaching out to him. I recently spoke with Al. Our interview should be encouraging and helpful to young job seekers everywhere.

Like many graduates, you were having trouble finding any opportunities. What methods were you initially employing?

At first, I was trying the basic networks– eRecruiting, Monster.com, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, etc. I would look for entry-level marketing positions with qualifications that matched my own, write a cover letter and send in my resume.

How often were you getting responses?

The only responses were basically from the auto-mated “do-not-reply” email bots. It was really depressing writing so many cover letters (some were creative!) that most likely got tossed away or not even noticed.

Were you tapping into any of your networks (parents friends, alumni, etc)?

Yes, before I made “Hire Me” I asked some of my professors to see if they knew of any open positions. Also, I asked my employed friends if they knew of any open positions at their current jobs. But, with the economy so tough they couldn’t guarantee anything, especially since most of them just started working at their respective positions.

What was the breaking point. What finally made you say I NEED to try something and make “hire me”?

I just wasn’t getting any responses. I really wanted to convey to employers that I can be very creative–something that’s hard to display in the typical resume. If all the applicants for a specific job say they’re creative, then how do you make yourself stand out? I thought a musical rendition of my qualifications might break the ice a little more easily.

Describe what happened after you posted the personal branding video?

My initial goal was to just show my friends and send it off to prospective employers, but it spread relatively quickly. The media got a hold of it which was good for my exposure, but the viral aspect of it really reduced contact from employers. Sure, people viewed it, but since I didn’t anticipate it spreading so fast and so far, I never really made it accessible for employers to contact me. I still had to take the initiative in sending it to companies I was interested in. But this wasn’t an issue once I sent it in– people liked it so much that they forwarded it to co-workers and people higher up. As a result, I’ve gotten lots of referrals and contacts who are volunteering to assist me in finding a job. It’s really great.

So when do you anticipate any offers in the near future?

Hopefully in the next 2-3 weeks. I have several more interviews lined up and I’m positive more are on the way. I’ve just got to keep up sending out the video and reaching out to employers.

Personal Branding Interview: Rebecca Thorman

I recently spoke with Rebecca Thorman, who does marketing, pr and social media for successful start-up alice.com. In this interview we discuss the current job market, the myth that there are no jobs and the advantages and disadvantages of working with a start-up.

What are some of the steps Gen Y should be taking right now to find a job in this economy? How can they make themselves more “hireable?”

I think it’s a myth that jobs aren’t available right now.

So job seekers should be thinking about jobs that they can take even if they are out of their typical field. A lot of people I know, for instance, want jobs in marketing. But there are a lot of jobs (like even waitressing, for instance) that allow you to practice your marketing skills. Then it’s just a matter of selling yourself, your skills and your experience (not the past job titles) in your interview.

Check out this post:

http://modite.com/blog/2009/05/05/who-hires-in-a-recession/

How important a role has social networking—particularly your blog–played in your own career and success?

My blog has been critical for my career and helped me get both my previous job and my current position. Blogging is good to help show that you are a continual learner, willing to test your ideas and receive feedback

Social networking helps you connect with people across the country or increase the value of relationships with those in your back yard

For me, the combination of blogging and networking proved invaluable and continues to show dividends for the time I invest.

What is the most important thing a new blogger should remember or consider when starting a blog?

A lot of advice tells you to not worry about your focus right away, things will change, etc. A lot of other advice tells you to have a blog schedule, post every day, have laser sharp focus, etc.

I don’t fall into either camp.

When I started my blog, I had a definite plan and goal, and I recommend doing so especially if you’re starting a blog to help with your career

But I think you also have to allow yourself some breathing room to make sure you don’t get bored and you’re enjoying yourself.

Also, you have to be a good writer. Or be willing to improve. Considering written and verbal communication skills are the most important job skills to have, this should appeal to most people, but not a lot of people are good writers and their blogs fail.

You gave up one job to work with a start-up which is now seeing success. What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking a job w/ a start up rather than a large, established company?

1) Start-ups move quickly and are very adaptable and flexible. The pace is much quicker.

2) Start-ups are nimble enough to try and respond to new ideas, and it’s easier to bounce-back from failure

3) Start-up work is more goal-oriented. You’re working towards a specific event happening (a launch, specific number of customers, the sale of the company), which makes it extremely satisfying work.vs. a large company where the work is more monotonous and repetitive

4) Start-up culture is more open and accepting of different personalities and work styles

5) Start-ups have a certain passion and energy I haven’t experienced anywhere else.

For me, there aren’t many disadvantages, but I think depending on your personality you could view the increased hours, the lifestyle, etc. as a disadvantage. For me, that only adds to the allure.

If you’re not a risk taker for instance, you wouldn’t like working a start-up. That’s not bad either. We need people on all ends of the continuum, and people should embrace their own styles and unique skill sets.

As you say in your blog, you basically left a job to “sell toilet paper” How did you encounter the position? How do you determine its worth the risk?

First, I heard about the position through a friend who is a top blogger. She had been letting me know of a lot of opportunities and when I heard about Alice.com, I was in the middle of negotiating another job. I ended up declining their offer and patiently waiting at my old position until Alice contacted me even though I knew nothing about the company. But I just felt it was “the one” – ha.

I actually don’t have a huge tolerance for risk. I have been approached to work for a number of start-ups before and declined offers because the idea made me nervous.

But with Alice, the co-founder Mark and Brian have successfully sold three companies previous to Alice, the last one being Jellyfish which sold to Microsoft for $50mil.

Rebecca Thorman works at the start-up Alice.com  in marketing, PR and social media. On her blog, modite.com, she hosts career and life conversations for a new generation of workers about twice a week.

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