It’s that time of the year again when we pay tribute to the patriots and radical thinkers that allowed us to break free all those years ago. So while you’re having fun, wherever you may be, keep in mind that just because it’s a holiday doesn’t mean there can’t be lasting repercussions on your personal brand. So with that in mind, here are 2 tips on what TO DO and 2 on what NOT TO DO.

TO DO #1 - Expand your network:
People at parties and holiday events are usually more friendly and open to talking to strangers, use this to your advantage! This doesn’t mean you need to astonish them intellectually, but anyone that you can add to your rolodex or reference in the future is always beneficial. In networking remember to always give value before asking for value - so bring a big blanket for your friends to share with you without telling them beforehand. This is a  great way to meet new people.

NOT TO DO #1- Be careful of the flash:
Not every picture of you online needs to be a professional image.  Just be careful of what’s in the picture with you. A picture is worth a thousand words, not just to you but to the professional world as well, and sometimes your memories are just as vivid.

TO DO #2 - Dust off that elevator speech:
Everyone is at the point now that when you go to a social gathering, you ultimately end up talking about work. To build on the point above, if you want to expand your network you will need an elevator pitch or personal branding statement. Not only will this impress anyone you meet but it will also give you a firm understanding of what you do.

NOT TO DO #2 – Don’t be a “Negative Nancy”
You may have heard this term before, but it more or less describes someone who is always skeptical and never supports other people. You don’t want your personal brand to be known as negative!  When a person starts describing their job  BE INTERESTED and engage them with thoughtful questions. As I mentioned in my last post, being humble and supporting others is a huge part of personal branding.

Author: Trace Cohen

Trace has always been fascinated with technology and how stuff works. Once he gets his hands on a new gadget, rest assured it will be taken apart and put back together in a matter of minutes. Trace is a hands-on kind of guy whose first love was video games, which he loves to this day.

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I recently spoke with Ola Ryange, CEO of The Rynge Group and author of The Rynge Blog. Ola was recognized as one of the top 30 personal branding experts to follow on Twitter by  personalbrandingblog.com In this interview we cover how to develop your own personal brand and the importance of personal branding for small companies.

When did you realize the importance of personal branding? What inspired you to become an expert?

Actually my background in Personal Branding has its roots in my own personal development. When I was in college (around 1996-97), a number of events took place that boosted my personal development. I became much more secure with myself and started to understand my core values. I used the definition of personal branding as a framework for working with the evolution of a person.

Your background is in entrepreneurship and startups. Where does personal branding fit in for smaller companies?

I strongly believe in interpersonal relations for building personal brands. And a great part of business creation and growth is networking with clients, collaboration partners, investors etc. By creating a strong brand that communicates trust and confidence, these relations will be stronger. Without trust you will not obtain either customers, partners or an investor. Your brand is therefore one of the greatest assets of your venture and creating a stable business.

How successful has personal branding been in advancing your own career?

It has been very important for my career, as well for my personal life. A concrete example is that I started my first company when I was 17, working with marketing (online and offline) - a company that I have been running on the side until 2006, when I went to focus 100% on developing my business full time. In my day to day work now, my reputation and networking skills are the single most important factor for attracting new clients.

I would like to emphasize that for me, Personal Branding is not about social media or making yourself famous in your area of expertise. Of course these are parts of the Personal Branding process. But the essential part that I think is left out of the discussion today is the importance of returning every now and then to look at who you really are and your core values, rather than a quick-n-dirty “let’s get a twitter account” or “vanity urls” - these are not the most important part of your personal brand.

What are the 3 most important personal branding steps our readers should take?

1. Forget about quick fixes. This process takes time, and should not be skipped. Identify your core attributes, values and skills as well as how to deal with attributes instilled in you by society and other elements in your surroundings.
2. Personal Branding is interpersonal. Social media is a great tool for a lot of things, but the core of your personal branding strategy should be networking, meeting with people in real life and learning how to communicate in a way that your counterpart gets the feeling and message you want to give him or her. Of course, twitter, LinkedIn etc. are great sources to find people to meet.
3. Sharpen the saw. Regularly go through your personal branding strategy, both the part of getting to know yourself as well as your brand marketing strategy to identify changes in yourself and how to continuously improve yourself (known as kaizen in TQM).

Find out more about what Ola does at The Rynge Group and be sure to follow @rynge on Twitter.

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College is the perfect opportunity to try a bunch of new career paths while not having to worry as much about the long term commitment.

Many times students don’t know what type of internships they should get while in college so I developed this 5 point guide to help.

Here is a quick guide to evaluating internships in college:

1. Time Commitment: It is important to make sure that it is something that you can handle along with your work load and your social life.  Internships are a great way to build connections and can help you get a foot in the door but if you cannot perform the tasks that are asked of you through the internship then taking it on may actually hurt you more than help.  Do your best to put yourself in a position where you can excel.
2. Relevance to your area of expertise: There are two theories about how much your internship should relate to your area of expertise.  Some believe that you should only take on opportunities that are in your field while others think branching out is a good way to lean about other areas.  I am a proponent of the latter because broadening your understanding of how everything functions is a good career move.  It makes an employee more versatile.  You also never know how things are connected so while a job may not seem to fit with your career plans it may, in fact, be closely related.  I would not dismiss an opportunity simply because it is not in your specific field.
3. Organization type: Startups are where you learn the most.  In no other type of organization are you able to try a variety of different tasks and actually make a difference to a company.  In a startup you are part of a vibrant and growing team.  You have the ability to do what you love to do and you will never have a dull moment.  Big businesses are great for upward mobility and job stability (for the most part) but you can quickly get lost in the shuffle and turn into just another number.
4. Type of work: Getting someone coffee 5 days a week does you no good.  You want a position in which you can learn new material every day.  Working under someone with more experience can be very helpful, but also make sure you are always looking for ways to improve.  This aspect of evaluating internships in college is similar to the time commitment.  You want to be challenged but you don’t want to sign up for something you know you cannot do.
5. Compensation: I hesitated when including this item on to this list.  Compensation should be the least of your worries when making a decision about internships in college.  There is a difference between an internship and job.  Internships are designed to help you grow; they are there to allow you the ability to gain experience and get a significant advantage over your peers.  While compensation is nice, giving up a great opportunity in an area that you are passionate about because of the amount they will or will not pay you is not a smart career move.

Remember that the type of internship that you decide to take on is a reflection of your personal brand.  In the corporate world everyone wants to see some experience.  If you have a way to stand out against the sea of college graduates with a 4 year degree and limited work experience you are a significant step ahead.

Internships in college are the best way to jumpstart your career.

Author: RJ Sherman

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You co-founded Naymz in 2006, after years of working in online search marketing. What problem or mission does Naymz  address?

Naymz launched when Blogging and MySpace were all the rage. Individuals were publishing an unprecedented amount of information about themselves and others online, without fully understanding what consequences that publicly available content might have. As more personal information was becoming available online, others began to see search engines and social networks as a means to conduct background checks.

We began to build out Naymz as a platform to help individuals monitor and build a good online reputation.

We shifted our focus to professionals and added a “social networking” layer to Naymz in the summer of 2007.  Since then we have added many features and enhancements similar to other leading social networking sites while continuing to make personal branding a core focus.

Your E-book discusses this idea of monitoring your image. What are the basic personal branding  steps someone should take to manage their online identity?

1. Assess what information is already out there about you by using search engines and checking social networks.
2. If there are web pages out there that don’t position you in a favorable light that you control, remove or update those pages.
3. If there are web pages out there that don’t position you in a favorable light that you can’t control, ask the owner/administrator to remove it.
4. Next, become your own Personal Branding agent. Get a professional photo taken of you. Write a well crafted biography and post it to all of your profiles. Update your resume. Write blog posts, white papers, or articles which provide thought leadership on whatever industry you are in. Get endorsements and recommendations on sites like LinkedIn and Naymz. Post a video interview of you on YouTube. Comment on others blog posts using thoughtful and insightful responses.
5. Finally, you should always monitor your name online. Create a Google Alert for your name. If you want a more comprehensive tracking check out Trackur.com, SocialMention.com or ReputationDefender.com.

Your eBook includes a few horror stories of personal branding gone wrong. Any favorites?

We had a client in the San Francisco area who was dating three women at the same time, and none of the women knew. One of them had an inclination he was cheating on her and started a blog. It quickly rose to the first position in Google for his name. Within a few weeks, the two other girls found this blog and posted their stories and ruining this guy’s reputation. There were several other woman who dated this guy in the past who joined in on the fun.

In your opinion, what are the MOST important personal branding  steps a recent college graduate should take to make his or her online presence stand out?

1. Absolutely make sure his/her Facebook, MySpace, or other recreational social network they use is cleaned up before starting the interview process. According to a CareerBuilder study from last year, 1 in 4 hiring managers used search engines to screen candidates. One in 10 also checked candidates’ profiles on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook. College was a lot of fun, but one photo or dumb status update can ruin the chance for a new graduate to land that perfect job. Remove those questionable pictures or status updates, or make them private.
2. College grads should also build a presence on social networks like Naymz, LinkedIn, Xing, and other professionally focused networks. These profiles typically rank well in Search Engines and will give the appearance that a college grad takes his/her professional brand seriously.

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Billy Mays could teach us all something about Personal Branding

I thought it would be appropriate to give Billy Mays some well-deserved respect. He was  a master salesman and a great example of the power of Personal Branding.

Mays burst onto the scene and into the public eye as the over-the-top, bearded salesman for OxiClean. He quickly became better known than the products he sold. His larger-than-life sales style and trade-mark beard made him one of the most recognizable personalities in television. Through personal branding he built a successful company.

Say what you will about infomercials. Billy Mays moved merchandise and any product was happy for his stamp-of-approval. Billy Mays was truly a master of his craft, which is something we all might aspire to be.

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This is our second post in a series that will forever continue about students that brand themselves online and truly create a presence worthy of remark!

Meet Jason Kirby who created his own personal professional website. Why you might ask? “The reason behind creating a website about me is simple, I wanted you to find me online. People use Google to search anything and everything, especially companies looking to hire new potential workers.” That is GREAT!

He found me by commenting on my previous post with an intelligent and intriguing response that provoked me to search for him in Google and was so impressed with what I found that I had to share it with everyone. So lets break his online presence down and find out what we can learn from Jason.

This is directly from his “Who Am I?” tab.

“My name is Jason Ryan Kirby I reside in the beautiful city of San Diego, Ca. I am currently majoring in Entrepreneurial Management at San Diego State University. I am young, motivated, dedicated, self-disciplined and optimistic individual. I love life and everything it has to offer and wish I had more than 24 hours in a day to take advantage of my time here on Earth. I am a family man at heart and put family before everything because without family I am nothing.”

We now know where he is from and currently what he is studying from this short professional bio. The next few sentences describe his traits, personality and his strong beliefs which would impress any employer who stumbled upon it.

If an employer was to stumble upon it they would be able to view is resume as well without asking for it. He has taken the liberty to post his resume online so that anyone can view his past experiences. Web resumes are much more appealing than a paper resume as you have the ability to expand on your experiences rather then being confined to a single piece of paper. You can also see from his tabs on the right that he has a blog and even started his own company. Creating your own blog is a great way to gain visibility and credibility at the same time if you write meaningful and thought provoking content, which he has.

And the last thing that I would like to point out is the reach of his online presence. He has links to all the major social networking sites right on his website so that anyone can connect with him on multiple levels. While I am not friends with him on Facebook (yet!), I would assume that he has nothing incriminating on his site as he is a young professional who values his online presence and professional career. I did however immediately connect with him on LinkedIn WITH a personalized message telling him why I wanted to connect with him. Also I followed him on Twitter because he has a lot of relevant and informative tweets and he RT’s ours!

I feel a big part of personal branding is not only trying to advances ones own career but being humble enough to advocate others as well. So with that being said, I wish Mr. Kirby the best of luck with his endeavors and encourage everyone to do as he has. Please check out Jason’s personal professional website.

Please check out our other post on student branding:

• What you can learn from a well branded student Meaghan Burns

Author: Trace Cohen

Trace has always been fascinated with technology and how stuff works. Once he gets his hands on a new gadget, rest assured it will be taken apart and put back together in a matter of minutes. Trace is a hands-on kind of guy whose first love was video games, which he loves to this day.

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According to a recent survey, 75% of job recruiters now use Linkedin to research prospects.

Translation: if you don’t have a LinkedIn account, you’ve already got one strike against you compared to applicants that do. If you aren’t already on LinkedIn or feel you aren’t fully taking advantage of it, here are a few tips to get started.

1. Create a compelling, differentiated profile

Your profile is NOT just your resume re-posted online. It should be an extension of your resume, a chance to say more than you otherwise could on a single sheet of paper.

On your LinkedIn profile:

• Upload a professional head shot. Social networking is all about connecting with real people. Your photo adds a welcome touch of personality. And it goes without saying: keep the picture professional and G-rated.
• Be personable, not just a robotic list of bullet points. Don’t merely rehash the qualifications and experience already on your resume. Include them, but use the summary section to add some color to your profile using your own voice. Note: do not try to be funny if there’s any chance a particular hiring manager doesn’t share your sense of humor - and that’s pretty much guaranteed.
• Post a few powerful recommendations. Linkedin allows you to post endorsements from other people. A nod from a former boss, professor or colleague may be just the edge you need. Social proof makes it easier to trust you.

• Incorporate free plug-ins to showcase your talent and personality. Applications like Slideshare and Google Presentation allow you to post projects and presentations that demonstrate your skills.
• Link to your personal website or blog. This gives a more well-rounded view of you, and helps your other pages come up higher in search results.

2. Build your online network

Creating a profile is just the first step. Now you need to connect with people. Just like in real life, social networking is all about building meaningful, mutually-beneficial relationships with people in your industry. In the end, it’s not what you know OR who you know. It’s about who knows you.

• Search people and groups for your school alumni, former bosses, peers, coworkers, etc. You know more people than you think. Use the search tool to find alumni and former colleagues and bosses. This is the easiest way to connect with a ton of people (if you do it right).
• Ask for help and advice. Once you connect you can send them direct messages. DO NOT send out blanket messages asking for a job. Show them respect and do your homework. If you ask individuals specific, thoughtful questions they will be happy to help. Remember, they were once in your shoes too.

3. Add value to your community

Insightfully ask and answer questions on LinkedIn to stand out among other applicants. LinkedIn is not a one-way marketing tool. You need to add to the conversation:

• Join relevant groups and discussions. This is the best way to meet people in your industry and establish yourself as a player. Use the search tool to search for groups by industry. Join the groups relevant to you and start networking.
• Answer questions. Post interesting articles. Start discussions. Become an active, valuable member in the community. Remember, the group is not just about you. You can’t just log in and ask for a job. It’s all about career karma: give yourself to others, then reap the benefits when they get your foot in the door.

4. Find a job

After you create a strong profile and solid network, you may be surprised how many opportunities await you. Now you need to:

• Let your network know you are looking. Once you establish yourself as contributing, thoughtful member of your community, people will be more apt to lend a hand in your job search. Be specific about what type of work you are looking for, the skills you bring to the table, and the location you are looking to work in.
• Use the Job Search function and sort results by “degrees away from you”. Chances are you will be connected to the job poster through someone in your network. Trace your connection and ask for a introduction.

Follow these guidelines and you will be on the right path. Remember, social networks do not replace traditional networking or job search techniques. They do, however, greatly extend them. As always, patience is key.

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Last week I tweeted a Wired Magazine article called the Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Networks Plan to Dominate the Internet.  It outlines Facebook’s plan to steal Google’s thunder based on the vast amount of detailed personal information they acquire from their users.

“Phase 4″ of Facebook’s plan involves the “Everyone Button,” which went live yesterday.

How does the Everyone Button effect your online reputation and personal brand?

You now have the ability to choose who sees what updates, as opposed to anyone who has a Facebook account. While not  groundbreaking, it may encourage Facebook users to share more personal information by updating only specific groups of people - providing Facebook with more data about you. Can you imagine how much information Facebook has on its 200 million+ users? It’s daunting!

But regardless of Facebook’s motives, this is great news for your online reputation: you can now control who sees your updates.

The Everyone Button won’t be available to everyone right away. But keep a look out for it and use it to your advantage to select who gets wind of particular updates. Use it to strengthen personal branding efforts. And remember: almost everything on the Internet is permanent, so be careful.

Author: Trace Cohen

Trace has always been fascinated with technology and how stuff works. Once he gets his hands on a new gadget, rest assured it will be taken apart and put back together in a matter of minutes. Trace is a hands-on kind of guy whose first love was video games, which he loves to this day.

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Everybody tells you that you have to have an effective 30-second “elevator pitch.”

They’re wrong – you don’t have anything like 30 seconds to make your first impression on a hiring manager, prospective client, or somebody you meet at a networking event. You have just a few seconds to introduce yourself and recite your personal branding statement.

THEN, if the other person is interested, you can go into your 30-second spiel, but only if they invite you to! If they’re not interested, don’t bother.

That’s why your personal branding statement is so important. When you meet somebody for the first time, they give you permission to politely introduce yourself, probably in a single sentence. You’ll know right away if the other person swallowed the bait by watching their body language and by judging their oral response. If they give you permission to say more, you can and should elaborate – but once again, you have to do that without boring your networking partner.

You can validate this for yourself. Try introducing yourself to somebody with your 30-second speech, and then try the same thing with your 6-second personal branding statement. See which one works better, and if you find that what I’ve said here is wrong, comment on this post and let everyone else know what your experience was.

Your personal branding statement is not your job title! It’s the essence of who you are, distilled to just a few words. Mine is: “I help you get found on the Internet.” That’s simple, succinct, and it’s enough of a teaser to get a response like: “Wow, tell me how you do that.” That’s your invitation to elaborate with your 30-second elevator pitch.

Think about this – if you’ve been in groups where people were developing and practicing their elevator pitches, how often were they sufficiently interesting so that you listened to the whole pitch attentively? How often were they boring, and how often did you finish listening without having the faintest idea what the person really meant?

Brevity begets precision. Stephen Hawking really has to work to communicate, yet he’s one of the most influential scientists in history. He has become a master at crafting his communications with the absolute minimum number of words simply because it takes him so long to create a simple sentence. While you won’t have that challenge, you should be inspired by his precision. You can blabber on for hours once the other person has given you sufficient permission, but until then think about Hawking when you craft your personal branding statement and your elevator pitch.

Your personal branding statement should be short enough to fit on one line on your business card. And you should use it there, in your email signature, in your blog postings or comments, as your LinkedIn Professional Headline, and anywhere else where it’s appropriate to promote yourself.

Author: Walt Feigenson

Mostly, I write about personal branding – especially how it impacts job seekers. But I also write about things I’ve seen during my career, which started with the birth of microcomputers.

For the original article please check out Wally’s Follies

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Author: Trace Cohen

Trace has always been fascinated with technology and how stuff works. Once he gets his hands on a new gadget, rest assured it will be taken apart and put back together in a matter of minutes. Trace is a hands-on kind of guy whose first love was video games, which he loves to this day.

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