How To Brand Yourself For A Career Change

• 2-minute read •
Job-seekers worry about their branding, but the folks who worry about it the most are people who are trying to change careers.
They wonder whether hiring managers will consider them for open positions when their resumes don't seem to show any relevant experience in their pasts.
Here are some of the branding questions that keep career-changers up at night:
• "I'm accomplished and credible in my traditional field, but there are no jobs in that field anymore. That's why I'm changing careers -- but why would a hiring manager choose me over somebody who's already worked in their function and industry?"

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7 ways to make a name for yourself in your industry

• 2-minute read •
Your name is your brand—and you’re anything but generic.
Take a minute to think about your favorite brands, whether that means wristwatches or canned soup. (Trust us, we have a point we’re trying to make.) What words or phrases spring to mind? “Sturdy” and “high-tech?” “Very affordable” or “consistently awesome?” Those positive associations are what endear you, the consumer, to a particular brand.

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So, Why Don't You Tell Me About Yourself?

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" is the most frequently asked interview question.

It's a question that most interviewees expect and the one they have the most difficulty answering. Though one could answer this open- ended question in a myriad of ways, the key to answering this question or any other interview question is to offer a response that supports your career objective. This means that you shouldn't respond with comments about your hobbies, spouse, or extra curricular activities.

Trust me, interviewers aren't interested. Interviewers use the interview process as a vehicle to eliminate your candidacy. Every question they ask is used to differentiate your skills, experience, and personality with that of other candidates. They want to determine if what you have to offer will mesh with the organization's mission and goals.

If answered with care, your response to the question, "So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" could compliment the interviewers needs as well as support your agenda. This is a question you should be prepared to answer as opposed to attempting to "wing it".

Follow the four easy steps outlined below to ensure your response will grab the interviewers attention.

1. Provide a brief introduction. Introduce attributes that are key to the open position.

Sample introduction: During my 10 years' of experience as a sales manager, I have mastered the ability to coach, train, and motivate sales teams into reaching corporate goals.

2. Provide a career summary of your most recent work history. Your career summary is the "meat" of your response, so it must support your job objective and it must be compelling.

Keep your response limited to your current experience. Don't go back more than 10 years.

Sample career summary:

Most recently, at The Widget Corporation, I was challenged with turning around a stagnant territory that ranked last in sales in the North-eastern region.

Using strategies that have worked in the past, I developed an aggressive sales campaign that focused on cultivating new accounts and nurturing the existing client base. The results were tremendous. Within six months my sales team and I were able to revitalize the territory and boost sales by 65%.

3. Tie your response to the needs of the hiring organization. Don't assume that the interviewer will be able to connect all the dots. It is your job as the interviewee to make sure the interviewer understands how your experiences are transferable to the position they are seeking to fill.

Sample tie-in: Because of my proven experience in leading sales teams, Craig Brown suggested I contact you regarding your need for a sales manager. Craig filled me in on the challenges your sales department is facing.

4. Ask an insightful question. By asking a question you gain control of the interview. Don't ask a question for the sake of asking. Be sure that the question will engage theinterviewer in a conversation. Doing so will alleviate the stress you may feel to perform.

Sample question: What strategies are currently underway to increase sales and morale within the sales department? There you have it - a response that meets the needs of the interviewer AND supports your agenda.

When broken down into manageable pieces, the question, "So, tell me about yourself?" isn't overwhelming. In fact, answering the question effectively gives you the opportunity to talk about your strengths, achievements, and qualifications for the position. So take this golden opportunity and run with it!

How You Can Confidently Make a Career Shift 10 questions to ask yourself before making a change

So, you’ve been thinking about changing your line of work?

Don’t worry; you’re not alone. In fact, more and more people are following this previously unpopular career path. In fact, it’s becoming much more common for men and women, especially those in their 30s and 40s to do just that.

Tragic world events have also contributed to this new phenomenon—people are reconsidering work/life balance issues, their legacy, and how they want to be contributing to this world in the here and now. Doctors, interested in work/life balance and greater safety, are nurturing their artistic interests. Corporate employees, desiring greater independence, are swapping suits for bathrobes and starting up home-based businesses.

You can change your line of work AND be successful
If you do your research and plan well, you’ll be able to make a confident, well-informed decision about making a career change. Knowing the answers to the following 10 questions will provide you with the information, motivation and confidence to move forward and choose the right new line of work for you.

1. What are your skills and competencies?
Make a list of your general (e.g. management, organization) and technical skills (e.g. specific software skills, other industry-specific skills). Don’t stop until you’ve exhausted your list. Refer to online career development sites for help.

2. Which of your skills are transferable?
Note where you are strong, average, and/or weak. Also note your preferred skill set—which responsibilities do you enjoy.

3. What key competencies are required to be successful in your new field of interest?
Talk to others in the line of work you wish to pursue—ask them to list the key competencies that enable them to be successful. Match these against your list.

4. How many of these key competencies do you currently have?
Are they your strongest skills? Where are the gaps?

5. If there are skills you don’t have, ask how you might build them.

6. Would school or a certificate program support you in making the transition?
If so, can you/do you want to pursue this option?

7. What would making the change entail?
Would there be a temporary setback in pay? If so, can you live with the temporary adjustments?

8. What are the costs/benefits of staying right where you are now?
Have you carefully considered and weighed the positives/negatives of your current situation? Determine whether or not the negatives can be improved by a change in environment. Or, do the negatives revolve around the work and a conflict with your interests?

9. What are the cost/benefits of making a change?

10. Which is more appealing to you?
Once you’ve weighed the positives and negatives to both options, what have you found?

Once you know the answers to these questions, a clear choice should emerge, and you should be armed with key information to help you find work in your new field. Having a list of your strengths and transferable skills, and a clear understanding of how this new field better fits with your lifestyle, interests, etc. can also help you present yourself in a compelling way to a prospective employer or business partner.

Moving ahead
If the benefits clearly outweigh the costs, or, if you’re completely adamant about making the change, then carry a list of the benefits/reasons why you want to make the change in your back pocket. Anytime a “doubting Thomas” thought pops up, squash it by reading the list aloud.

Still sounds good? Then keep going—you will achieve your goal!

Recession Protection: Learn To Brand Yourself For Better

After the feverish storm of abundant jobs and wealth, corporate America has started seeing and feeling the negative sense of what almost always follows "boom times" - a recession. Companies of all sizes are laying people off. So how do you make yourself more appealing to recruiters when everyone is clamoring for a job?

The same way corporations make themselves appealing to customers.

They basically controlled the way their products and services were perceived. Once the perception was set, customers would align themselves with the product they thought would meet their needs or fulfill their wants. Does it work for individuals? Powerfully so!

Right now, how would your future employer perceive you? Ask a few good friends or former coworkers - friends you can trust to tell you the truth - how you are perceived in a working environment. Find out what they feel are your strengths, unique qualities and weaknesses. Then ask yourself this question, " Is this the type of person I want to be perceived as?" From here, you can create a brand that will better your chances at successfully landing a new job.

So what exactly is a brand? In basic terms, your personal brand tells potential employers who you are, what you stand for and why they need you. The beauty of the branding process is that once you are clear about YOU and what YOU really want- then you will innately know the jobs and companies that you will be an excellent match with.

The following questions will help you through the process of creating your own personal brand:

1. What are your natural gifts? What do people praise you for? Is it your ability to fix things or organize events? What comes completely naturally to you? How do you use this gift with your present (or last) job? How can you show a potential employer that this natural talent is to their benefit?

2. What is your current knowledge? List all the material that you've learned since college. Do you hold a specialized degree? What associations or boards have you chaired? What training courses (such as Dale Carnegie) have you successfully completed?

3. What are your personal values? What values are important to you? Which values do you live by? One of my values is freedom. Try to lock me in a cubicle and you see what happens! Without freedom, I lose my motivation, and therefore am unable to motivate my team. If you identify your own values you will target only companies that share and honor your values, thus creating a better combination of employer/employee. Do you value money, creativity, teamwork, freedom, kindness? Bring those things out so that the people who need you see those special qualities.

4. What are your attributes? Attributes in the professional world are the things that characterize you in your working environment. These can include being dependable, organized, a team player, a people person, etc. Attributes are very important and employers often look for these things before they review your experience. Why? Because your attributes give them clues as to who you really are and what you can do for them.

5. What are your passions? What do you love to do? As you do this exercise, it is possible that your values may overlap with your passions. This is a strong indication that you need to fulfill this type of activity in your job. Things that come naturally to us normally need to be pursued in order to prevent burnout. Smart employers understand that finding a person that is passionate about their work is rare. You will be valued for your natural abilities.

6. Are you a specialist? If you are not then aspire to become a specialist in what you do. Why? Your "worth" increases. A specialist can - if need be - perform routine duties. However, a routine employee cannot function as a specialist without extensive training.

7. Draft a compelling brand description. Create a paragraph or two that highlights your core values, passions, natural talents, attributes and knowledge; and that emphasizes your specialty.

8. Create a tagline. This could be called your "objective". Using the paragraphs above, write, in one or two sentences, what you want to project to future employers. Perhaps it could be something like this:

"Energetic, freedom-loving executive coach who specializes in transitional coaching and offers a passion for bringing out the best in others. Results-oriented attitude that persists until the goals are met."

It will most likely take several revisions before the "perfect" branding message comes across. Once you get the essence of you down to a few sentences, carry that message throughout the rest of your resume. Reinforce your experiences, education and other sections with the message that your branding tagline first mentioned.

By discovering who you truly are, and how you want to be perceived, you will be well on your way to creating an image on paper that will make you recession proof - and will result in a more effective job search.