Use Them, They’re FreeDuring my LinkedIn profile audits, one of the first questions I answer is if the job seeker uses a LinkedIn Application or not.The applications on Linkedin are probably one of the best personal branding tools you have. Without the colors of your most recent book, or the wisdom of your most recent blog post, your profile looks awfully similar to the 50 million others.What’s even better is that you don’...

I was teaching a class of career advisers over the last few weeks on how to instruct their clients on the proper use of social media in their job hunt.Several of their clients lost their jobs because of inappropriate comments on Facebook.Other clients lost potential opportunities because of not having a photo on LinkedIn.Shortly after the 2nd class on Facebook Privacy, Facebook changed the privacy settings making about 2 ho...

Ever buy a car? Wanted it to be unique? How come as soon as you put your money down you start to notice the very car you just bought, down to color and rims, is all over town?RAS! The Reticular Activating System is located in your brain stem in the back of your head. Among its many functions, it helps filter information that is coming toward you at a rapid clip.So, the RAS dampens stimulus and it filters what we want to see...

You and I have both heard the typical line from career counselors, “Use power verbs in your resume.” Right? They’ve even given us lists of verbs to begin sentences like:- Managed team of 10 engineers in highly competitive RFP process.- Resolved difficult customer service issue for high stakes sale.- Safeguarded company position through advanced marketing strategy.The problem with all of these verbs is online, verbs are not...

Sometimes, there is nothing wrong with defining who you are based on NOT being someone else.Let me explain.When I was in high school, I didn’t really stand out. Despite how hard I tried. Grew my hair long, dyed it green. Whatever it was I tried, it didn’t really work. I was still the quiet, unremarkable white kid in the back of the class.Then, one day the loud speaker announced, “Will Joshua Waldron please come to the princ...

Career Enlightenment readers may have noticed a disruption in service recently. All of my websites were down, this one, the video eLearning and the webinar registration. And I’ve spent the last 2 days getting up and running again, and learned a TON. If you are thinking about setting up a blog or website, I would like to share with you 3 things your next hosting company MUST have. By the way, I’m not one to bad mout...

Your Personal Brand is not a static thing. It’s not a thing at all.Perhaps, a brand is best described as a process. Think of a candle. At first, the candle produces no flame. Then you strike a match, and light the wick. Then, the candle will burn just as long as there is something to burn, oxygen, wick and wax.Remove any of these conditions and the light goes out.Keep the Fire of Your Brand BurningIf you’ve invested in buil...

Recently, I’ve been engaged with a local company doing some marketing consulting. They asked me to help them screen candidates for an open rec in the marketing department. This experience was both shocking and revealing. Now, I’m not new to interviews. In fact, I volunteer for my alumni association every year to screen high-school students interested in attending. It’s great practice and I’ve always been extremely impres...

I used to tell my clients to update their profiles and status on LinkedIn no more than two times a week. All of that has changed since LinkedIn’s integration with Twitter. Now, there is almost no limit to the number of times you should update your LinkedIn status, but there are still some things you will need to be careful about. Update Frequently, but LinkedIn is NOT Twitter In an earlier post, I wrote about t...

There are those talking about Personal Branding who are nothing more than ego-maniacs used to leading their high-school click. Personal Branding is NOT the same as being the center of attention or creating a cult of your own personality.In fact, a good brand is quite the opposite. Let me explain what I mean.Your Personal Brand, their EmotionsThink about Steve Jobs. What emotions come to your head...I think: “innovative”, “p...