tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35032280451832147062010-04-28T06:04:56.586-07:00Personal Branding & Jazz w/ Bryan CromlishPersonal Branding & Jazzbcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-34733483843140301112010-02-09T18:27:00.000-08:002010-02-09T18:32:33.762-08:00Does Sex still Sell?<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/radian6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/radian6.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Of course it does, but I want to move away from the personal branding for a bit to discuss something that I find very interesting. On Sunday, much of North America watched the Super Bowl for either the game or the commercials. Okay—maybe both or maybe to see The Who subtly advertise for CSI on CBS.</span></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, this post is based on the Super Bowl’s commercials—</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Does sex create the same level of Buzz? Or have we become desensitized?</span></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you did not know, the agency <a href="http://www.mullen.com/">Mullen </a>teamed up with social media monitoring firm <a href="http://www.radian6.com/">Radian6</a> to create a live event called the <a href="http://brandbowl2010.com/">BrandBowl</a>. The basic idea behind the event is that brands aren’t what the ad makers say anymore—thanks to social media, brands are the sum of the conversations by consumers. Mullen and Radian6 decided to monitor Twitter and create a scoreboard to let everyone know which brands are winning in the hearts and minds of consumers.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you want a little more information on how the companies calculated the winners and level of sentiment towards the brands, check out <a href="http://brandbowl2010.com/methodology.html">this webpage</a>.I am using the results of this event to support my theory that <i>sex doesn’t create the conversation like it did a decade ago</i>.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The results showed that the brands that created the most conversation were:</span></div><ul style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Doritos Spots:(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Jli-2pcgM&feature=player_embedded">Underdog</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0EVSP_6XZA&feature=channel">House Rules</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nxz-qiA8UQ&feature=channel">Casket</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFSEto4FKEs&feature=channel">Snack Attack Samurai</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Google Spot: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsSUqgkDwU&feature=player_embedded#">Parisian Love</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Focus On Family Spot: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDwHywPk4kI">Tebow Ad</a> [poor quality – taped from Television])</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/lady.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">The House Rules advertisement may have had a bit of a sexual tone to it, but in my opinion it was more focused on family. Still, it was not the “slow motion girls in bikinis” ads I am talking about. All of the other Doritos ads either used humour based on mild violence or death. Both the Google and Focus on Family Spots were different in their own ways. Google, an organization not known for TV spots, showed a short clip that told a story using the power of search. The Focus on Family ad brought up a lot of controversy about political topic of abortion vs. anti-abortion.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If we move past the brands that created the most conversation to the ones given the top levels of sentiment among all the Tweets, we still do not see the “Go-Daddy” sexuality:</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><ul style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">McDonalds (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmrTDZy3f2M">Remake: The Showdown</a>)</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Coca-Cola Spot (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnUKurl7Fog&feature=player_embedded">Hard Times</a>) </span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Universal (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9d1nXpalNs">The Wizarding World of Harry Potter</a>)</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In fact, reading a number of blog posts, people seem to be tired of the Go Daddy commercials.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What are your thoughts? </span></b><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by Amy Fox</b></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-3473348384314030111?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-53926089162084717232010-02-02T13:04:00.000-08:002010-02-02T13:11:03.755-08:00kRM: CRM for Individuals<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whether it is <a href="http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan">Chris Brogan</a> telling you how <a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/kRM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/kRM.jpg" /></a>to <a href="http://www.chrisbrogan.com/framing-your-social-media-efforts/">Frame your Social Media Efforts </a>or any other equally credible source, I am sure you have learned the importance of connecting with individuals when it comes to succeeding in social media. Building relationships is a theme that reoccurs daily and has us constantly in search for new like-minded individuals to whom we listen and with whom we create and collaborate.</span></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This post was inspired in a roundabout way by one of <a href="http://twitter.com/AmberCadabra">Amber Naslund</a>’s blog posts, which was written back in mid-January. She was describing <a href="http://altitudebranding.com/2010/01/7-social-media-roles-you-havent-considered/">7 Social Media Roles You Haven’t Considered</a>, one of the roles being Social Customer Service & CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and it got me thinking. What type of tools would a person in this role be using? One of the tools an organization committed to customer satisfaction would use is a social media monitoring program like Radian6. It would enable them to find and keep track of individuals who are brand evangelists or completely unsatisfied.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Keeping track of individuals…</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I want you to think to yourself: how often do great relationships get created and then seem to taper off and get forgotten about?</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The idea of CRM got me thinking about relationship management in general, and more specifically on an individual or personal level. We all put so much effort into connecting with people and creating relationships, but <b>what type of effort do you put into maintaining your relationships over a significant period of time?</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is where I want to bring in the notion of <i>k</i>RM or constant relationship management. I would like to define constant relationship management (<i>k</i>RM) as the process of ensuring frequent and repetitive communication with contacts that one deems valuable.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When it comes to maintaining an online relationship, there seems to be two types of people, those who are proactive and those who are reactive. A proactive person is someone who actively initiates conversation, while a reactive person usually waits for someone to comment on their blog, @reply them on <leo_highlight id="leoHighlights_Underline_0" leohighlights_keywords="twitter" leohighlights_underline="true" leohighlights_url_bottom="http%3A//shortcuts.thebrowserhighlighter.com/leonardo/plugin/highlights/3_1/tbh_highlightsBottom.jsp?keywords%3Dtwitter%26domain%3Dwww.blogger.com" leohighlights_url_top="http%3A//shortcuts.thebrowserhighlighter.com/leonardo/plugin/highlights/3_1/tbh_highlightsTop.jsp?keywords%3Dtwitter%26domain%3Dwww.blogger.com" onclick="leoHighlightsHandleClick('leoHighlights_Underline_0')" onmouseout="leoHighlightsHandleMouseOut('leoHighlights_Underline_0')" onmouseover="leoHighlightsHandleMouseOver('leoHighlights_Underline_0')" style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-size: auto auto; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 150); cursor: pointer; display: inline;">twitter</leo_highlight> etc. The problem of relationships tapering off can be solved if more people become proactive!</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are proactive tools individuals can use to keep track of the people you care about online. I use RSS Readers, <leo_highlight id="leoHighlights_Underline_1" leohighlights_keywords="twitter" leohighlights_underline="true" leohighlights_url_bottom="http%3A//shortcuts.thebrowserhighlighter.com/leonardo/plugin/highlights/3_1/tbh_highlightsBottom.jsp?keywords%3Dtwitter%26domain%3Dwww.blogger.com" leohighlights_url_top="http%3A//shortcuts.thebrowserhighlighter.com/leonardo/plugin/highlights/3_1/tbh_highlightsTop.jsp?keywords%3Dtwitter%26domain%3Dwww.blogger.com" onclick="leoHighlightsHandleClick('leoHighlights_Underline_1')" onmouseout="leoHighlightsHandleMouseOut('leoHighlights_Underline_1')" onmouseover="leoHighlightsHandleMouseOver('leoHighlights_Underline_1')" style="-moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-size: auto auto; background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: none; background-position: 0% 50%; background-repeat: repeat; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 150); cursor: pointer; display: inline;">Twitter</leo_highlight> Lists, Folders in my Browser’s Tabs and Outlook Reminders. I keep people in a number of places in case they stop blogging or rarely tweet anymore. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">What are your thoughts? What do you do to maintain relationships you create? Do you think this practice is for the insincere or the individuals who really care?</span></b><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by Amy Fox</b></span></span></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><span id="leoHighlights_iframe_modal_span_container"></span><br /><div id="leoHighlights_iframe_modal_div_container" onmouseout="leoHighlightsHandleIFrameMouseOut();" onmouseover="leoHighlightsHandleIFrameMouseOver();" style="display: none; height: 391px; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 520px; z-index: 2147483647;"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="294" hspace="0" id="leoHighlights_top_iframe" 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id="leoHighlights_iframe_modal_span_container"> </span><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-5392608916208471723?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-86270890917041096972010-01-26T07:47:00.000-08:002010-01-26T07:53:43.040-08:00Worst Case: It’s a Deblogle<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/StarsBlog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/StarsBlog.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Last week I wrote about how <a href="http://bcromlish.blogspot.com/2010/01/social-media-is-learning-curve-just.html">social media is a learning curve</a>, and at the end of the post I promised to eventually write a blog a post about “how blogging can help you succeed”. Since last Tuesday, the weirdest thing began to happen. It seems like a whole bunch of bloggers decided to write about the very same thing. I usually try not to write about the same topic as other bloggers on any given week, but the stars seem to be aligning with this one: I am supposed to tell you to start a blog!</span><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Over this week, <a href="http://twitter.com/mattChevy">Matt Cheuvront</a> from <a href="http://www.lifewithoutpants.com/">Life Without Pants</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/saradavidson">Sara Davidson</a></span> from <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://walktalkchewgum.com/">Walk Talk Chew Gum</a> wrote particularly interesting articles:</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Matt wrote (and I completely agree with him) about <a href="http://www.lifewithoutpants.com/blogging/one-thing-that-will-completely-change-your-life/">one thing that will completely change your life</a> – starting a blog. Ignore the friends that think blogging and twitter are ridiculous because, as he says, it can actually get you anywhere. A blog can lead to jobs, other opportunities and friendships by giving you a creative platform that helps you connect with the right people. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/blogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/blogs.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Sara’s post happened to be her first blog post ever and perfectly described the feeling of <a href="http://walktalkchewgum.com/blogging/putting-yourself-out-there/">putting yourself out there</a>. It is a surreal experience – both scary and exciting! – when you hit the publish button. She describes how it is a significant turning point in many people’s lives, both personally and professionally:</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />“You don’t know whether or not it’s going to be one of the most exhilarating, life-changing experiences of your life or you’re going to completely crash and burn.”</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />She pointed out the questions that go through every new blogger’s mind:<br /></span><br /></div><ul style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">What if other people judge me? </span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">What if no one finds what I have to say interesting?</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">What if the community thinks my opinions are stupid?</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Relax, you’d be surprised at how warm and inviting the blogging community is – everyone wants to help each other succeed. People may have conflicting opinions, but it is not too often that you will be judged or singled out. Just do it, and if worse comes to worst – it’s a deblogle [debacle] and you delete it.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/deblogle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/deblogle.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Personally, I don’t think the warm fuzzy feelings and the understanding of personal growth can be appreciated until you actually start a blog, but you may be able to see the benefits of a blog based on what it can demonstrate to a potential employer. It shows a variety of transferable skills that would be valuable to any organization:</span><br /></div><ul style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Passion</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Self-Motivation</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Communication Skills</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Project Management Skills</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Time Management Skills</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Networking Skills</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Marketing Skills</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>What do you think? Do you agree that potential employers would look at a blog favorably? How else do you think a blog can benefit a person?</b><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /><br /><br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish<br /></span> <br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by Amy Fox</b></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-8627089091704109697?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-11250608154813782502010-01-19T17:10:00.000-08:002010-01-19T17:18:56.690-08:00Social media is a learning curve just like anything else<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Spinks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Spinks.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Every Thursday, a growing number of Under 30 Professionals get together on Twitter to discuss everything and anything. <a href="http://twitter.com/davidspinks">David Spinks</a> is a great GenY blogger who Co-mods the #u30pro chat with <a href="http://twitter.com/CubanaLAF">Lauren Fernandez</a>. After the conversation about how “social media might fail for young professionals”, he wrote a <a href="http://davidspinks.com/2010/01/15/twitter-losers/">short blog post</a> that came to the following conclusions:</span><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Almost ALL participants of the #u30pro chat have been mocked by their friends for using twitter, while other social networks are completely acceptable. Facebook is okay because everyone uses it and if you are on Linkedin, obviously you are just trying to network. It is both Twitter and Blogging that seems to draw the most amount of mockery, it is still seen as “lame” by those who aren’t involved. There seems to be the following relationship: the most open forms of social interaction online draw the most mockery, while those platforms which essentially allow you to do the same, but within a “closed” or private network, are acceptable.</span></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />It should probably be mentioned that I have not been on the receiving end of many jokes about blogging or tweeting. My family, friends and peers have been nothing but supportive about my current journey into social media. For that, I would like to thank them.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Nonetheless, I find this topic interesting and clearly so do many of David’s readers. The post created quite the discussion as to why so many people make fun of another person about using Twitter or Blogging. A plethora of hypotheses were brought forward, but there seemed to be a unanimous consensus that it is due to <b>a lack of understanding about the networks</b>.<br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Here’s an analogy to help non-social media enthusiasts understand and relate:</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Getting involved with something like Twitter is a lot like working out for the first time. In the case of going to the gym, it all starts because you hear from some trusted source that doing cardio and lifting weights is great for your health and can greatly improve your life. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />You decide, “What the heck… I’ll give it a shot!” You walk into the gym for the first time and see all the cardio machines taken, the weights are being used by the most in-shape people you have ever seen and, to top it all off, you have no idea what you are doing. What happens next? You become completely discouraged and quit.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Cardio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Cardio.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Like anything with a learning curve, social media has similar bumps in the road. You give the gym another shot, and it is not until you learn the tricks of the trade like knowing that there are sign-up sheets for the cardio machines, and become more familiar with the muscle groups that you start feeling a little comfortable. It feels amazing when people from the gym begin to recognize your face and say hello. You are now feeling like part of the community.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Over the next little while, all you want to do is gather information on how to achieve your goals. You search the web for tips, talk to other gym enthusiasts and test out different routines to see what works. After you begin to see progress, you just want to share your knowledge with others so that they can see the same sort of results.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Like working out, a successful experience with social media requires a bit of a lifestyle change. When the results show from all the hard work, it seems well worth it.</span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Learning-Curve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Learning-Curve.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br />You need to overcome the fear of putting yourself out there. Like anything, social media success is impossible if you are scared of embarrassment or get that feeling like the whole world is dissecting your every word. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />I have already discussed the <a href="http://bcromlish.blogspot.com/2009/11/ten-reasons-why-you-should-sign-up-to.html">benefits of getting on Twitter</a>, and next I plan on writing about how blogging can help you succeed in the near future.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /><br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish<br /></span> <br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by Amy Fox</b></span></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-1125060815481378250?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-70800798552543246922010-01-12T12:02:00.000-08:002010-01-12T12:29:21.934-08:00How to chose your perfect avatar<a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Sarah.jpg" /></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week, I want to provide you with tips for selecting the perfect avatar / display picture to be used on your social media networks. If you want your avatar to be more than a random picture that you change every week, the most important thing to do is to consider how you think about the image itself. If you think of your display picture as your brand’s logo, then the image becomes a tool to aid and promote recognition among the people with whom you interact. I’ve noticed that I usually end up looking at a person’s display picture within seconds of connecting to their Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn profiles – often it is the very first thing my eyes drift towards. In order for you to choose the best possible display picture, I have created the five C’s for an effective avatar in social media.</span><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Communicate </b>– What is your goal across all social networks? <a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_mashable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_mashable.jpg" /></a>Are you trying to find a job, sell products or share your insight with peers? In any case, it is extremely important in social media to convey a human voice. A headshot of your face goes a long way in associating 140 character messages to a human being. The only time I would suggest otherwise is if your business already has a widely recognized logo, and in that case I would stick with this image. Even <a href="http://www.mashable.com/">Mashable</a>, arguably the best location for social media news, decided to keep Pete Cashmore’s face as their avatar.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /><b>Credible</b> – I am assuming that you would like your readers to associate some truth to what you are saying across your networks. This means that it may be wise to have a relative level of professionalism with your shot. Now, if you are working towards being a recognized comedian, you may want a slightly goofy display picture. Every goal determines what is credible.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />For myself – and this is probably applicable for many others – <a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Bryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Bryan.jpg" /></a>I wanted an image that would be considered professional across all generations (Boomers, GenX & GenY) while maintaining a bit of a modern element and feel. The photographer, Anita Ayling, and I spent hours taking photographs in different locations. After the shoot, we sat down and decided on the most appropriate photo to reflect my career goals.</span><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Kavish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Kavish.jpg" /></a>If you can give viewers a glimpse about your field or what you are all about, that is a bonus. A perfect example is my friend Kavish’s display picture, which people like to call “sexy science”. Within a second of seeing the picture, you can tell he is interested in science, and you can even tell that it is more on the health sciences side (chemistry, biology, pharmacy, etc), rather than the pure and applied (such as physics).</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Ben.jpg" /></a><b>Colour </b>– I have mixed emotions about whether to go with a colour or a black and white image for an avatar. On one hand, colour provides quicker recognition for viewers. For example, the distinct red in my tie or the green liquid in Kavish’s picture acts like the branded colour of the golden arches in McDonald’s logo. On the other hand, a black and white shot conveys a high level of professionalism. My friend Ben has a perfect example of a black and white headshot done correctly. The photographer, <a href="http://www.timothyrichard.com/contact.html">Timothy Richard</a>, created an image with a great contrast between the shades. I would probably recommend a professional if you are thinking of going black and white, as the lighting is key. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Conversion</b> – It is important to find a picture that is recognizable and appealing at a variety of sizes. Different social media sites use a variety of thumbnail sizes, so make sure you understand this before you make the big decision.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Anita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Avatar_Anita.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Consistency </b>–Once you have your perfect avatar, make sure you use the same image for every network. It should be easy for someone to recognize that it is in fact the same person on LinkedIn as they met on Twitter.<br /><br />Remember, I would be as cautious to how often I change my display picture as I would an actual logo for a small business.<br /><br />Regards,<br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish<br /></span> <br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by Amy Fox</b></span></span><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-7080079855254324692?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-28482748622118609202010-01-05T07:49:00.000-08:002010-01-05T08:34:03.726-08:00Useful advice you should hear from industry<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Gianni2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Gianni2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Happy New Year! This is a little different than my standard blog post. I had the chance to have a chat with Gianni Rino, Senior Manager at Accenture, on the phone and was able to ask him some questions that could benefit my readers. After the interview I was more than thrilled with the responses he gave me. I think it may be an eye opener to some, but that is good. Enjoy.</b></span><br /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>1. What are some common mistakes in job search tactics amongst recent graduates?</b></span><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are a couple that come to mind. You come out of school thinking that you have no skills and no experience. In fact, many graduates have had opportunities to work in teams or groups while in school. In interviews, they tend to downplay these experiences because they do not showcase their individual achievements, but employers are looking for evidence of this collaborative spirit in potential employees. Use your team experiences to your advantage!</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another mistake is that graduates don’t use the tools out there! The first people I spoke to were my teachers and attended on-campus recruiting events. These are people who are coming from the industry, so use the knowledge they are more than willing to provide as leverage for your own understanding of the job market. These people can give real career advice and guide you in the right direction.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>2. When recruiting for new talent, what are hiring managers looking for?</b></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is important to have some knowledge of the company to which you are applying. People do not do enough research before they submit their resumes. The internet allows individuals to easily look up information on CNN, Yahoo and especially the company’s website. This will go a long way because there are certain “buzz” words for each company. Repeat those words in your resume when you are applying! I see way too many generalized documents. Generalizing simply does not answer the question, “Will you fit in my company?”</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Other Notable Elements:</b></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/teamwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/teamwork.jpg" /></a><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Avoid using “I” too much in a resume. Use collaborative terms such as “we” and “my team.”</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Be compelling. If the personal summary in the first paragraph is not appealing, I will usually toss the resume out. <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Avoid typos! It is actually funny how many I see on a regular basis. It shows that your attention to detail is lacking. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Graduates coming right out of school tend to focus on highlighting their past job duties, saying, “I accomplished this...,” with no understanding of how that experience might add value to the company. It is important to understand how your skills might fit in with a specific company’s goals and work philosophy, and it is crucial to convey a sense of this value to the potential employer.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Considering today’s economy, the primary qualities I look for in a potential employee – whether it is for Accenture or any other organization – are flexibility, adaptability and the ability to learn a variety of skills quickly. For example, we do not always hire marketing students for marketing positions. A person with a philosophy degree might have the ability to consider a problem in the context of the ‘big picture’ and to find the most logical solution. Generally, I look for people who are:</span><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Excellent communicators</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Logical thinkers</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Problem solvers</span></li></ul><div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3. What skills would you suggest new grads work on in the early stages of their careers?</b></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Thinking outside the box” is not just a buzz phrase. If you are an analytical person, I suggest you work on your creative skills. If you are creative, push to be more analytical. When I work with people, I test them as much as possible. If an employee is a logical thinker and used to working in marketing, I will challenge him or her with IT projects. It is important to develop other skills that will enhance the areas in which you already excel and make you a flexible, valuable member of a company. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can always work on your communication. It is important to have a keen understanding of the people you are talking to and what they want to hear as a response. Think at that person’s level. If someone comes to you with a problem, saying, “I need an answer because my people are being affected,” you should tailor a response that addresses potential solutions for not only the spokesman or -woman, but also for the people he or she represents.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Returning to the issue of attention to detail, it is important that any project I receive from you is as close to perfect as possible. People coming right out of school don’t pay attention to this; they like to do things quickly. They are more focused on the time constraints than on the quality of the material they are producing.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/promise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/promise.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">Do not over-promise and under-deliver. If you say you can submit something today, make sure you can deliver it today. Many people coming out of university constantly over-promise and under-deliver, and this is not a good way to start out.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4. From your experience, why is establishing a personal brand important?</b></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is one of the most important things students need to do when first coming out of school. You are not the only person with that degree, but you are the only person with your unique brand, and this is the professional ‘you’ that employers want to see. You need to form it right from the beginning.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">To be honest, mine didn’t start well. In the early stages of my career, I was working for a tobacco company. I found myself in turmoil about the moral issues involved in working for this type of company. It was not a good start for me and not what I wanted to do at all.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I changed jobs and started working as an IT person for the Montreal Gazette. On the average day I did not find myself talking to many people, I was pretty isolated. I was spending long hours and was missing out on time with my friends and family. Again, this was not really what I wanted to do. I took a step forward to change my brand.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is where I decided to shift to consulting. I wanted to work with people to improve their daily lives. I wanted to help others who think their day sucks because they are missing dinner with the kids. I constantly consider the question, “How am I going to make your life / job easier?”</span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A consultant is someone who can solve problems. We look to improve business. There is the monetary issue, the goal of making more of a profit, but at the end of the day I think of the people. For example, “Bryan has to spend 12 hours a day at work. His life suffers as a result, his family suffers. How can I improve the company’s day-to-day operations so that Bryan can go home and see his family and friends?”</span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once you eventually find something you like to do, it is important that you enjoy doing it day-to-day. Many who have just finished school are rushing to climb the corporate ladder. Pursuing the next promotion or title for the sake of getting to a higher rung ends up being futile. If you brand yourself early, those benefits will fall into place. At the end of the day, everyone can find something they like to do and be very, very good at it.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>5. Do you have any networking tips or tricks you would like to share?</b></span><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">Networking and socializing sites on the internet: get on them and use them strategically. LinkedIn and Facebook are very powerful tools for getting out there and finding a job</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Professionals at university events, professors and professors’ invitees are all people from industry. These people understand what is going on and know what’s out there. Keeping in touch with teachers is important. My teachers at Concordia were in industry for a long time. I sought their advice each time I shifted careers, and they helped me rebrand myself. I still keep in touch with two or three of them today.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Alumni get-togethers, homecoming and job fairs are events that often present plentiful opportunities for networking.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Thank you Gianni, I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. I definitely learned a lot and I am sure some of my readers will definitely find this helpful. Take Care.</b></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Edited by Amy Fox</b></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Gianni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Gianni.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Profile: </span><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Name: </b>Gianni Rino, friends and family call me John<b><br />Company: </b>I work for Accenture<b><br />Title: </b>Senior Manager. Well, my actual title is: Senior Manager, Consulting Workforce, Management Consulting for Integrated Markets, Retail Practice in North America<br />Bio: I hate writing these things. As a consultant, I really do not have a real job title (see title above). </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />Let me start by saying I have been at Accenture for 12 years. It’s rare to have someone in consulting focus on 1 industry for their entire career. I have been in retail since joining Accenture in 1997. I have worked in many great places for many great North American retailers; In Florida; Office Depot and Sports Authority, in San Francisco for The Good Guys, in Atlanta for The Home Depot, in Toronto for Sears Canada, The Home Depot & Canadian Tire, and finally in New York, Chicago and Milwaukee for Saks 5th Avenue. </b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />My work at Accenture has always been in the Marketing/Merchandising areas; specifically in Advertising, Assortment, Pricing, Supply Chain and Creative Execution. For the past 18 months I have been working and commuting (weekly) between Montreal and Vancouver…. Yes, I have a lot of airline and hotel points. My current client is Vancouver, for a large electronics retailer. I am responsible for managing and implementing complex processes and systems in the Supply Chain space. </b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />These days, I am a homebody and I enjoy spending time with my wife: Christine, dog: Wylie and birds: Gizmo and Bella.<br /> </b></span><br /></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-2848274862211860920?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-34231236745727369782009-12-22T16:04:00.001-08:002009-12-22T16:04:38.699-08:00Out for the holidays<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">My only advice right now would be to spend the holidays with friends and family. Many suggest “keep at the job hunt” or “don’t drop the work ethic in December”. We are human, recharge the battery and have a good time.<br /><br />I’m going to keep this post short, listening to my own advice! It has been a great 2009, I have met a lot of interesting people and was really able to grow my network. Look forward to meeting many more great individuals in 2010.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Networking-Email.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/Networking-Email.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-3423123674572736978?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-1121092932822705092009-12-15T20:33:00.000-08:002009-12-15T20:46:28.887-08:00What do you do until you get your dream job? [PART 2]<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post9_parents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post9_parents.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://bcromlish.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-do-you-do-until-you-get-your-dream.html">Last week </a>I discussed the reason why GenY was not willing to settle for just any kind of employment. It is about motivation rather than entitlement. I provided the parents’ perspective about how they are basically trying to help prepare their children for life. They want you to be able to answer the question, “What have you been doing since graduation?”</span><br /></div><a name='more'></a><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">The key is to always keep yourself busy. Recruiters are looking for people who are driven and have the ability to multitask. Doing something – anything – is better than doing nothing. I would now like to give my opinion on the three main avenues you can take at this stage, which are find a full-time job, find an internship, or volunteer.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Find a Full-Time Job (or part-time) </span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apply for a job you know you will get (i.e. you are over-qualified) or go back to an old employer who would be more than willing to help you out. The key in this scenario is to have some cash inflow to support yourself while on the job hunt. This can be a full forty hour work week, but some prefer something like twenty hours to have more time for the actual hunt. Personally, I have a hard time with this option. I still get a feeling of wasting both my and the company’s time.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Find an Internship</span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe you are having trouble landing your dream job, but have you even looked for internships in your field? The internship may not be exactly what you are looking for but you can use the finite end date to your advantage. You can have a 3-4 month period where you gain experience, earn some money and build relationships. Knowing that the internship will end puts some positive pressure on you continuing the search during your internship.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post9_jobsonica.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post9_jobsonica.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Who knows, you may end up loving your internship! This is the avenue I chose and it worked out really well for me. While doing my 9-5 job-search routine, I was applying for just about anything remotely interesting with my generic resume. Then I came across an internship on Craig’s List, of all places! The internship was to be the Social Media / PR Intern for <a href="http://jobsonica.com/">Jobsonica.com</a>, an employment focused web2.0 start-up company. The job would require me to use skills in social media, creative writing, graphic design and get to help others find work. It was perfect! In order to officially get this position, I found myself volunteering hours of my time, providing suggestions for possible growth, helping to build the community, and winning a contest for bringing users to the site. It all seemed worth it – it was about wanting it more than anyone else did. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am a huge fan of the social good, so I was drawn to a project that helps individuals with the job search, career resources, personal connections and other value-added tools related to employment. This internship has the bonus of potential for growth afterwards, which was another reason for being so excited about this opportunity. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Find a Volunteer Project</span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This concept of social good is a beautiful thing. Even if you cannot find any work or an internship, there is someone who could use your skills for their benefit. There is a ton of non-profits, entrepreneurs or your community that could use your talent while you look for employment. Lend a hand, help them achieve their goals. By volunteering, you keep yourself busy, network, and build potential job opportunities. It is a win-win situation for everyone.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You are probably thinking, “Those are valid points, Bryan, but I would still rather treat the job search like a job on its own and devote most of my time to that.” Well, I have three main reasons why being busy will actually help with your job search:</span><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Gain experience for the resume: </span></b>Which ever avenue you choose, there is some way to work it into your resume and highlight your overall sense of motivation.</span></li> </ul><ul><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post_urgency.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post_urgency.jpg" width="200" /></a><li><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Relieve some pressure on the nerves:</span></b> This applies to creating resumes and going to interviews. If you have a source of income or feel like you are accomplishing something meaningful, you will more likely pick and choose where to apply. Applying only to positions you really want allows you to customize your resumes for specific opportunities. You really want to avoid the generic resume that I mentioned earlier, and look for company buzz words. Basically, if you are well-prepared for every job opportunity that you go for, you lose that sense of urgency that causes you to think irrationally and fumble in interviews.</span></li> </ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Build confidence: </b></span>You will no longer have that awkward feeling when friends and family ask, so what are you up to these days? “Well… Im currently…”. You build confidence when it comes to talking about yourself, as well as wanting to hear what others are doing. I know I dreaded that question – I felt so weird saying that I was looking for work. This confidence gets transferred into your interviews and conveyed in your resumes.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Good luck on your quest for your dream job! Until then, try to enjoy the ride while keeping busy.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /><br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J<br /><br /></span> <br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by: Amy Fox</b></span></span><br /><div id="refHTML" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-112109293282270509?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-28465073460551835962009-12-08T20:01:00.000-08:002009-12-08T20:14:21.653-08:00What do you do until you get your dream job? [Part 1]<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post8_Dreamjob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post8_Dreamjob.jpg" width="143" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I recently came across a fellow GenY blogger who wrote a short post that instantly captured my attention. I felt like she was living my life, going through the same post-university struggle that I was experiencing. <a href="http://twitter.com/MOgulnick"> Megan Ogulnick</a> wrote a post in September called “<a href="http://meganogulnick.wordpress.com/2009/09/18/parents-meet-geny/">Parents Meet GenY</a>” in which she describes an uncomfortable situation: she is being pushed by friends and family to accept any job offer that comes her way. Even with a lack of funds, something just is not letting her take that random job that is not aligned with her career goals. Sound familiar? I know I have been there.</span><br /><br /></div><a name='more'></a><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She continues by saying:</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">“You see, I’ve never seen GenY as entitled. We don’t expect things to be handed to us. We don’t think we deserve more than others. On the contrary, it’s that we have high expectations of ourselves.</span></i><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The thing I’ve learned about GenY is that we refuse to settle. We’ve been taught to set goals, to reach those goals, and to follow our dreams. Its engraved in us to be the absolute best we can be. So the idea of settling leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.”</span></i><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A horrible taste indeed. It is not that we think we are too good for an entry-level position, afraid of the ‘dirty work’, or unwilling to work our way up. The fact is that we are career-minded. We want to be taking steps forward rather than sideways.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my case, I would love a coordinator type position at a marketing agency. I look forward to the fast paced and challenging 50-hour workweek. That is a position that typically does not pay relatively well either. Does that bother me? No. I am looking to learn in the early stages of my career and to gain skills and techniques that will help the organization I am a part of to succeed.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What do you do until you get this dream job? I thought this would be an interesting 2-part post to fellow GenY readers. It is often more enlightening to hear advice from a peer than a parent.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Parents’ Perspective</span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post8_parents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post8_parents.jpg" width="240" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">In order to create a job search strategy, it is important to understand the parents’ perspective. Your parents are looking out for your best interests. Much of Generation X has a “Work to live” mentality, while the driven portion of GenY tends to lean towards a “Live to Work” mindset. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On one hand, your parents want their children to be self-sufficient and be able to succeed on their own. On the other, they want you to be able to answer the classic “work ethic interview question” when that dream opportunity does surface. You don’t know that question? Unless you snag your dream job right out of university or college, the question will be, “What have you been doing since graduation?”</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hate to break it to you, but saying, “applying for jobs, spending time with family, playing Xbox, and partying”, is not going to fly. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Game Plan</b></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The key is to always keep yourself busy. Recruiters are looking for people who are driven and have the ability to multitask. Doing something – anything – is better than doing nothing. There are three main avenues you can take at this stage: find a full-time job, find an internship, or volunteer.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In my next post I will go into more detail about each of these three avenues and share more of my personal experiences.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /><br /></span> <br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J<br /></span> <br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Edited by: Amy Fox </b></span></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-2846507346055183596?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-2662180563400349732009-12-01T10:55:00.000-08:002009-12-01T11:01:30.725-08:00How to Use Social Media to Achieve True Happiness<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post7_QuoteFlow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post7_QuoteFlow2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Over the past weeks I have been helping you create your brand online from square one. I have provided tips and tricks for using social media to get noticed in a positive way. Last week I provided you with a Quote Flow that can not only be applied to using social media, but to life in general. I want to take some time now to elaborate on my last post.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The main point I was trying to illustrate by carefully selecting and grouping these quotations was the idea of ‘Focus’. By now, many of my readers </div><a name='more'></a><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">probably have some idea of the direction they plan to take for their careers, hobbies, volunteering, passions, etc. My advice to you is to do everything in your power to go forward and minimize the frequency of going backwards.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />All of you have decided to use social media as a channel of communication. For instance, you have used some form of SM to find this blog entry. Now, how do you use social media to help you towards true happiness? Use it to help you grow as a person. This means having goals and staying focused on these goals.<br /> </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I find myself coming across tons of articles on how to make money on Twitter, increase your follower count (or lists is the new follower count), donate to my Movember cause, and so forth. The big picture is that all these people have a goal of personal growth that they are achieving through social media. How about we simplify this idea with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs">Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs</a> as a model.</span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wIRLlHWogp4/SxVlz6LKlvI/AAAAAAAAADk/1j0DSVQFPSA/s1600/450px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wIRLlHWogp4/SxVlz6LKlvI/AAAAAAAAADk/1j0DSVQFPSA/s320/450px-Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg.png" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />People are using social media to achieve anything from safety to self-actualization, and you can too! For example, the individuals using Twitter to make money are looking for financial security in their lives. Increasing your follower counts can be classified under esteem. You may have a passion for curing prostate cancer, just feel like growing a mustache, or Movember can be your way of trying to move towards self-actualization. There is nothing wrong with just using Facebook to connect with friends/family – without realizing it, you have achieved the goal of providing and receiving love/belonging from others.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />What is your goal? If your goal is to connect with friends, maybe try messaging everyone that is important to you bi-weekly. It does not matter what the goal is, you can use social media to help you get there. This can include finding employment, getting into shape (health), becoming an industry leader (gaining the respect of others), executing a marketing plan (creativity and resources), etc. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/websites/twitter-fail-whale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.logodesignlove.com/images/websites/twitter-fail-whale.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The first few quotations illustrate the way to reach your goal and other things to remember. You will never achieve your goal without the help of other people. It is thus important to build relationships and add value to the conversation in order for these people to listen to what you are all about. Everything should be done with the understanding of the power of words/images – once something is said, it is extremely difficult to correct or take back.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />In a roundabout way, I have just answered the reason why so many people stop using Twitter or another form of social media. They have not come up with a goal or do not know how to follow through while on the channel. This has turned out to be quite a thought-provoking post, and I would love to hear your thoughts on whichever channel you feel like chatting!</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J</span><br /></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Edited by: Amy Fox </b></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><br /><div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-266218056340034973?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-14616206872419386072009-11-24T19:49:00.000-08:002009-11-24T19:50:28.616-08:00Personal Branding Quote Flow<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Every week thus far, I have been laying out exact tips and tricks on personal branding. This week, I wanted to try something a little different. I have created a thought flow with known quotes and adages. I want you to read each of them once and then try and combine them in a sequence for an overall message.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Consider This:</span><br /></div><ul><li><a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=+%E2%80%9CNo+man+means+all+he+says%2C+and+yet+very+few+say+all+they+mean%2C+for+words+are+slippery+and+thought+is+viscous.%E2%80%9D&btnG=Google+Search&meta="><span style="font-size: x-small;">“No man means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery and thought is viscous.”</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%E2%80%9CA+word+and+a+stone+let+go+cannot+be+recalled%E2%80%9D&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq="><span style="font-size: x-small;">“A word and a stone let go cannot be recalled”</span></a></li><li><a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=+%E2%80%9CA+picture+is+worth+a+thousand+words.%E2%80%9D&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq="><span style="font-size: x-small;">“A picture is worth a thousand words.”</span></a></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%A6+the+Internet+is+a+huge+new+market.+It%27s+up+to+you+to+figure+out+what+to+do+with+it.+Use+it+as+a+prospecting+tool%2C+make+connections+with+people%2C+add+value+for+your+existing+customers%E2%80%9D&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq="><span style="font-size: x-small;">“… the Internet is a huge new market. It's up to you to figure out what to do with it. Use it as a prospecting tool, make connections with people, add value for your existing customers”</span></a></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><a href="http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=%E2%80%9CDo+you+want+my+one-word+secret+of+happiness%3F+It%27s+growth+-+mental%2C+financial%2C+you+name+it.%E2%80%9D&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq="><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Do you want my one-word secret of happiness? It's growth - mental, financial, you name it.”</span></a></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next week I will discuss my take on the thought flow, but I’d love to hear what you think.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Edited by: Amy Fox & Anita Ayling<br /></b></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-1461620687241938607?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-85806973276289430592009-11-17T17:02:00.000-08:002009-11-17T17:15:01.803-08:00Ten Reasons Why You Should Sign Up To Twitter<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post5_Twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post5_Twitter.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I would ask—why are a lot of my GenY peers not on Twitter?—but I already know the answer. You just do not see the point of joining. You are thinking, “Why would I want to join a site where millions of people are writing what they are doing at that moment?” Contrary to what you might think, Twitter is more than just a large Facebook status party. This post will illustrate the power of this social media website and how it can help you stand out from the crowd.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />I could chat forever on ways to use Twitter, but I decided to create a ten point list of reasons to sign up.</span><br /></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /><b>Track News & Trends -</b> You are able to access up-to-the-second updates on current events and trends worldwide. In taking a moment to read people’s messages (a.k.a. Tweets), you can be one of the first among your peers to know about not only <a href="http://twitter.com/cnnbrk">CNN’s breaking news</a>, but also a plethora of informative updates from your industry. It does not matter whether you are in <a href="http://twitter.com/chem_tweet">chemistry</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/ENGINEERINGcom">engineering</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/WomensRights">women’s studies</a>, or <a href="http://twitter.com/educationweek">education</a> – there always seems to be a group or an individual tweeting about the topic. There is also a section on your homepage known as “Trending Topics”, where you can find out what words are mentioned most on Twitter. The current topics being mentioned include: </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">New Moon (Twilight movie), My World (Music release by Justin Bieber), #140conf (Conference about Twitter), #theresway2many (insert what you think there is too many of), Pirate Bay Tracker (The site associated with BitTorrent is shutting down), Media Week (Lord Heseltine's Haymarket Publishing is to close Media Week after almost 25 years), Lady Gaga (video phone music video and more), Pacific (Twitter maintenance shutdown on Nov. 17th at 11p Pacific). </span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post5_Twitter3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post5_Twitter3.jpg" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /><b>Search Twitter -</b> I often accompany a Google search with a Twitter Search. You usually get some random information that does not matter to you, but you also get the most current information on people’s minds. You instantly have a general sense of what people are feeling about a specific topic that you want to know more about. Much like Facebook’s Live Feed, it lets you know how many more people have mentioned the topic since you have performed the search. It’s a great tool for key word searches about people, places, things, etc.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Connect with Friends -</b> Quick, simple and effective. Twitter is a great way to message your friends / contacts about places to meet, events you’ve experienced, and more. This is probably the use most people associate with Twitter, and it is great for keeping in contact with relationships you have already created. </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Find People (Network) -</b> Twitter is also helpful for meeting new people who share your interests. You can choose to follow people who share the same career, hobby (like <a href="http://twitter.com/knittingnetwork">knitting</a>) or <a href="http://twitter.com/DogsInVancouver">passion for dogs</a>. Once on Twitter, you will quickly begin to create a network of likeminded people!</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Learn From Others -</b> You come across people who become your go-to resources about a topic. You start learning from a collection of information that you know you would not be able to find elsewhere. For example, I always go to these people when I want to know more about <a href="http://twitter.com/jobsonica">Job Searching</a>, Market Research ( <a href="http://twitter.com/theibein">1</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/berniemalinoff">2</a>), and <a href="http://twitter.com/BennettKlein">Infograms</a>.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Keep Future Information Organized - </b>After joining Twitter, you may find that you are following hundreds or thousands of people. Wouldn’t it be great to divide these contacts into categories so that you can easily see what all the people tweeting about one of your interests are saying? Now Twitter offers the function of creating lists. You can group people you follow into any kind of list you want, such as friends, world news, job search, interesting, comedians, etc.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Share Your Knowledge -</b> In an earlier post, I told you to start thinking about blogging. Well, Twitter is actually a microblogging site, so you can present what is on your mind in 140 characters. You can make yourself look intelligent by chatting with industry leaders, posting interesting links and sharing your viewpoints on topics. Be strategic with this: I would not suggest having all your tweets be about what you are doing at a particular moment, but you also do not want to look like a robot!</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>Express Who You Are - </b>Unlike Facebook, Twitter offers features for profile customization. You can change the colours of your text, links and sidebar, and add your own avatar and/or background image. Play around with it; see what others have done with their profiles. Here are some examples: <a href="http://twitter.com/bcromlish">me</a>, others ( <a href="http://twitter.com/elysa">1</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/andrewhyde">2</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/charlottehrb">3</a>). <br /> <br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post5_Twitter2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post5_Twitter2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Improve</b> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Google Results - </b>Just to pull through past posts, this will eventually jump to the top of your name’s Google results. It is material that you can control about yourself, so you have the opportunity to make yourself look as credible as you please. Not only will your profile come up in a Google search, but past tweets will often surface in the results. Taking a look at your Twitter page can give a potential employer a quick glimpse of who you are. You choose what they see.<br /> </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fun/Entertaining -</b> Got 10 minutes between classes, taking a quick study break or eating alone at the food court? Where can you read a few short messages, send a couple yourself, and take a look at what <a href="http://twitter.com/APlusK">Ashton Kutcher</a> and other celebrities/people of influence are saying all in one place? Twitter! <br /> </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope this list of reasons to join Twitter has motivated you to sign up. There is a bit of a learning curve, but just play around with it for a bit and you will catch on quickly!</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,<br /></span> <br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J<br /></span> <br /></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edited by: Amy Fox </b></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-8580697327628943059?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-87473859808094937252009-11-10T13:19:00.000-08:002009-11-10T13:31:30.537-08:00You Have Already Started Changing How You Use Facebook<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post4_Facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post4_Facebook.jpg" width="80" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Do you remember way back when you first signed up for Facebook? Everything was new and exciting! You found yourself adding every single person you have ever met, even if it was only from a single night of partying, all in an effort to raise your friend count. It was common to change your display picture several times a day, make sure every new picture of you was tagged in friends’ albums, and stress out about how long it was since the last person wrote on your wall. Do you still use Facebook like this? Probably not.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;">You may be thinking, well, people just are not using their Facebook accounts as much anymore. This is not the case: there are currently over 300 million active users , and 50% log on to Facebook in any given day [<a href="http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics">1</a>]. You may not realize it, but you, like many others, may already be shifting the way you use Facebook.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Your Facebook usage may be changing if you have 5 or more of the following symptoms:</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Use the site primarily as a tool to stay connected with contacts/individuals who are important to you. The other features are an extra bonus.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Decreasing Frequency Category:</span></b><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Find yourself changing your profile picture about every month (or less).</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Have stopped joining every group that you receive an invitation for.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Do not take pictures at social events for the sole purpose of putting them on Facebook.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Do not invite every single person you meet to be your friend on Facebook.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Are no longer insulted if someone does not write ‘Happy Birthday’ on your wall for that special day.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">No longer write on people’s walls for the purpose of killing time.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Swear less or not at all anymore online.</span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></b><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Increasing Frequency Category:</span></b><br /></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Use the status update tool to sometimes tell others about something in which you are interested (i.e., passions or hobbies) rather than what you are actually doing at that moment.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Write on a person’s wall with the purpose of taking interest in that individual.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Before travelling to a major city in your country, you use the ‘Browse Friends’ tool to see who else may be in that location.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Have done one (or more) ‘removal sweeps’ through your pictures for images that you deem inappropriate. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">Comment on individuals’ statuses in the interest of conversation.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: x-small;">The groups and fan pages you do decide to join provide you with useful knowledge or your participation supports a friend. </span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is just a simple, thought-provoking list I have generated but I have noticed that among my peers more and more individuals are now using Facebook as a tool or medium to communicate/connect rather than using the site as a virtual social ‘hang-out’. As a group, the early majority is learning the power of social networking, and we are beginning to use our time online more efficiently.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With this shift in using social networking sites, the line between work and social life is becoming increasingly blurry. You now need to choose between two options. The first is to keep Facebook as a tool to interact with close friends and to view the site as 100% social. This means trying not to add professors, coworkers, bosses or anyone else who may judge the content you post online. Have the (apparent) freedom to post whatever you want and hide it behind your privacy settings. Good luck.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The second option is to evolve your conception of what Facebook is and how you use it. This will be different to every individual but it may involve connecting with your boss, coworkers and other contacts that you believe are valuable. Use it as a tool to let clients, community members and other industry members into who you are as a person. Let Facebook help you stand out in a positive way. Keep in mind, this would definitely involve cleaning up the content currently on your space to a level where you would probably be okay with a grandparent or parent looking through your contributions to the site. </span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Right now, it may seem like option two is a lot more work than the first one, but if you start now, you will find it less challenging than trying to hide content from people that you would like to connect with in the future.</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J</span><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edited by: Amy Fox </span></b><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-8747385980809493725?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-82138073898775617722009-11-03T16:31:00.000-08:002009-11-03T16:44:01.943-08:00I Just Googled You, Let’s Talk About What Showed Up (P.2)<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post3_Google.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post3_Google.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">What did you find in your Google search? Last week I left you with the notion that potential employers are using Google, especially during the hiring process, but did not provide you with any solutions to improve your personal results. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to look through a couple pages of results before finding something relevant about yourself, like an award you won in grade seven. This post will provide you with a little direction for creating a better web presence.</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p></span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In order to understand how to improve your search results, you need to understand the basics of how Google and other search engines work. Google uses ‘web crawlers’ to find pages for their algorithmic search results. The search engine takes all of the pages it finds to a certain result (i.e., your name) and orders them in a way that it deems relevant. You don’t need to understand all the web developer jargon, but it looks for things like the key term in the URL, title tag, meta tags, body, alt tags for images and links, etc. Other factors, such as the number of links within the website and links from other sites, also make a difference. The process of manipulating these factors to improve your website’s page traffic from ‘natural’ search engines results is known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization">Search Engine Optimization (SEO)</a>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The first step I would suggest for improving your search results is to get involved with several forms of social media. The large number of cross linked pages and inbound links brings these popular sites to the top of the search results. These community-based sites have taken many steps to create an optimized space, so take advantage of what they are offering you for free! I suggest you sign up to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to start. Here is a description of these common social networking sites in a nutshell:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a> –is a free social networking website where users can add friends, send messages, and update profiles to notify friends about their lives.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn</a> – is a free business-oriented social networking site mainly used for professional networking. The purpose of the site is to allow registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/">Twitter</a> –Twitter is a free micro-blogging social networking service. It enables users to read and send 140-character messages known as tweets by posting them on the author’s profile. </span></span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I will have posts with a lot more detail about, tips and reasons for using each of these sites in the future. For now, try registering for each of these sites with the same professional-looking username/alias (i.e., ‘bcromlish’ rather than ‘sodaboy2009’). The goal, especially for Twitter, is to keep the username short, unique, and containing your name. It may take a couple tries to find a name that works for all three. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I do realize that if you have a common name like John Smith, achieving high page results may be difficult because there are just a so many people with the same name. In this case, your goal may be to show up in a Google search when your name is paired with a location (i.e., Jane Doe Halifax Nova Scotia).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once you’ve established your professional presence on these three networks, you should start thinking outside the box a little bit. Why not start a blog? Think of a topic that you have gained a lot of knowledge about and would love to share with others. It can be anything from Victorian Literature to Deep Freeze Refrigeration. All I am saying for now is to start thinking about it. Having a blog demonstrates your passion for your particular interests, even if it’s not directly related to the jobs you’re applying for. I’ll discuss this, along with the professional benefits of joining popular social networks, in a later post.</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edited by: Amy Fox </span></b><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-8213807389877561772?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-73356371705713760972009-10-27T06:41:00.000-07:002009-10-27T07:24:15.974-07:00I Just Googled You, Let’s Talk About What Showed Up (P.1)<a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post2_Google2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post2_Google2.jpg" width="75" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well, that is kind of a lie. I haven’t Googled you, but I am also not considering investing time, training resources and money into you so that you can become a member of my team. With that type of investment, who would not do their “due diligence” and take a couple minutes for a quick search? Many employers today can and do use Google as a tool to evaluate potential employees when it comes time to processing a shortlist of the candidates for a position. This information is not new, but this post should act as a reminder of the implications of posting information online: it will stay there for a long time, if not forever. </span><br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">People tend to get a little uneasy when they know that employers are doing some research on who they are. There seems to be a natural tendency to jump to negative conclusions about an employer’s intentions. I do not speak for all, but I think most employers do not use Google as a tool to make illegal judgments based on sex, age, religion, race, or disability to narrow the field. The tool is used more as a search for consistency on two platforms. The first aims to see if there is consistency between what you claim on your resume and in reality, and the second, more importantly, considers whether your views are consistent with the organization’s culture.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post2_Google.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post2_Google.jpg" width="200" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">As long as you have nothing to hide, there should not be much to worry about. Just as a Google search can turn up explicit content that might result in not hiring a candidate, it can just as easily be used to confirm a hiring decision. Nothing is more reassuring to an employer than finding unlimited examples of a candidate showing how smart and passionate he or she is about some aspect of the industry. </span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is your chance to make an impression with the search results. Depending on your profession, it may be perceived as a negative if nothing shows up about you on Google. What kind of impression does that give? The good news is that it is possible to create and bring material you want to be seen to the top of the search results; the bad news is that it could take up to eight weeks for these changes to take effect in Google.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What comes up when you Google your own name?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish - PB & J</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edited by: Amy Fox</span></b><br /></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-7335637170571376097?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3503228045183214706.post-66058129067249843552009-10-20T13:27:00.000-07:002009-10-20T14:31:57.334-07:00The One Brand You Should Care About<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://alexin.ca/Blog/post1_party-pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://alexin.ca/Blog/post1_party-pic.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">Still using Facebook the way you were when you first signed up? I think your wild display pictures from last night are funny, but your next employer might not. Even if you do not care about marketing and branding, there <i>is</i> one brand you should care about: your own!</span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I decided to start this blog to inform my peers who are making the transition from the educational sector to the work world in the near future. However, this blog can be interesting to anyone who is new to the notion of personal branding, will be searching for work, or does not want to be considered a liability by his or her organization. Why wait until it comes time for the job search? Personal Branding is a process; it cannot be done overnight.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My enthusiasm towards this topic comes from two main sources. The first source is from a blog entry by <a href="http://www.steverubel.com/">Steve Rubel</a> and the second is from <a href="http://twitter.com/mitchjoel">Mitch Joel</a>’s book <a href="http://www.twistimage.com/blog/">Six Pixels of Separation</a> (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Six-Pixels-Separation-Connected-Everyone/dp/0446548235/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256069665&sr=8-1">Amazon</a>), which features this excerpt from Rubel’s blog post. Rubel writes about The Golden Age of Individualism, where he says:</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">“Individualism is as old as American ideals, though it’s certainly not a global phenomenon. However with the Net Gen taking over the workforce, the value of personal brands will continue to rise and perhaps be a prickly force to be reckoned with. This means big changes in the workplace and a critical importance for everyone to be team players even as their stars rise online.”</span></i><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today we live in a world where we are connected by what Mitch Joel describes as a simple <a href="http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=hp&q=Bryan+Cromlish&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=Bryan+Cromlish&fp=c106722b7fae5837">Google search</a> away. Potential employers are now making judgments <b>before</b> those first few seconds of ever meeting! It seems more important than ever to have strong sense of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence">emotional</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_intelligence">social intelligence</a>. People need to manage their personal brands, or at least understand that what they publish online can be seen by more than just their friends.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post1_GuessWho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://www.alexin.ca/Blog/post1_GuessWho.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;">Welcome to Personal Branding & Jazz. The goal of this blog is to help you portray the image you see of yourself to others, rather than having them make their own faulty judgments, or worse, stereotype you. I want to help you look like the capable leader you are whether you want to be an accountant, a writer, an engineer, or even an activist. Weekly posts will help you systematically create a uniform message online.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If after this post, you are looking for more than a bit of weekly insight on personal branding, I’d really suggest you read what <a href="http://twitter.com/danschawbel">Dan Schawbel</a> is saying at <a href="http://personalbrandingblog.com/">PersonalBrandingBlog.com</a>. He has great tips that are positive and somewhat enlightening, and I use them on a regular basis.</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regards,</span><br /><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bryan Cromlish – PB & J</span><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Edited by: Amy Fox</span></b><br /><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/3503228045183214706-6605812906724984355?l=bcromlish.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>bcromlishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09247808346051112936bcromlish@gmail.com4
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