Job Search References

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

This week I have been thinking about job references and the fact that I have not worked in my field for a long time (more than 10 years).  Neither have I followed the golden rule of keeping in touch with my job contacts.  So, as you can imagine, I'm slightly nervous about who to use as references. 

As usual, I've done some research and come up with some guidelines about how to go about lining up and pre-screening references, because afterall, you don't want any surprises.  One of the articles I liked was called "Resumes Win Interviews, But References Win Job Offers", which about sums it up.  References are very important and you absolutley must have a few people in your pipeline to sing your praises, it's a critical part of the process and should not be taken lightly.  

Randall Hansen lays out  a plan for developing a reference list in his article References: The Keys to Choosing and Using the Best...  The steps are as follows: (modified list)

• Think Strategically about who to choose as your references
• Consider different categories of references (3-5 people who can speak of your accomplishments)
• Get Permission to use your references
• Collect up to date reference contact details
• Keep references informed (and possibly coached)
• Thank them for their help

This is the process I will use going forward. I have a few people in mind to use. Fortunately, in the age of social media, it is easier to track down old colleagues than it used to be. Approaching them and asking for their help seems intimidating, but the worst that could happen is that they will say no. And hopefully, in the end, I will come up with a list of people who I am sure will recommend me and help me secure the job I want.

See you next Friday......

Setting Career Goals

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

Now that we have thought about our personal brand attributes and how to present them (personal branding will be an ongoing topic), it's time to set some goals. What are we trying to achieve? What is our mission?  Let's create our personal business plan to focus our marketing efforts.

Business Plan for Allison Lieber Prout  Second Half 2010

Career Vision 5 years:  Senior Brand Manager (International) - consumer products company

• Responsible for product/brand marketing vision, strategy and bottom line
• Strong branding, management and creative skills
• Solid track record and base for understanding business

Career Vision 10 years: Group Manager (International) - same or new consumer company

• Greater breadth of responsibility across brands
• Building strong team of empowered brand managers

Career Vision 15 years: Director of Marketing (International) -same or new consumer company

• Setting, communicating and overseeing corporate brand marketing strategy
• Mentor

Mission:

• To create & implement exciting and effective customer-focused marketing campaigns using the latest social media and marketing metrics tools in conjunction with traditional techniques.
• Maintain a competitive edge by continually developing my skills and keeping up with technological advancements and their inevitable impact on marketing and brand strategy.
• Round out my background by gaining direct experience in product development, new product launches, advertising and public relations aspects of marketing.
• Maintain work/life balance.
• Strive for integrity in all I do.

Objectives:

1. Gear up to secure a position that meets my goals as stated in my mission, in 1Q 2011.  
2. Only accept position where pay is in line with responsibilities.
3. Work in a company which treats employees with respect and focuses on career development.
4. Join a company whose values and products I feel comfortable promoting. 
5. Enjoy my work.
6. Maintain work/life balance.

Strategies:

1. Strengthen my social and professional networks using social media.
2. Network in person as well as online.
3. Update my skills by taking classes at UC Berkeley Extension.
4. Put together portfolio of my work and/or marketing presentation highlighting my skills.
5. Use Internet to research companies.

Plans:

1. Develop list of local companies with strong product marketing/branding departments.
2. Update resume.
3. Set up informational interviews to get inside scoop on company internal environment.
4. Target companies to approach with marketing presentation.
5. Start putting together multimedia marketing presentation/portfolio of work.

Updated Elevator Pitch - Feedback Please

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

It has been a challenging week for me trying to update my elevator pitch. I got some great suggestions from Kathy McAffee whose website is motivatednetworker.com.  Specifically, these two pieces of advice guided my revision.

1. Position yourself in how you want to be going forward, not what you've been in the past. Focus on intention, not history.
2. You will need different versions of your elevator pitch. It is a dynamic piece of communication that changes depending on the situation and opportunity at hand.

With that in mind, I began revising my original "I am, I can, I want" statement:

I am an international marketing specialist with 5 years of consumer product experience setting up Avon's $50 million new market niche in China.

I can develop strategic marketing plans, and have extensive experience planning, implementing and analyzing research projects and sales promotion campaigns as well as forecasting sales. I have a Masters in International Management and speak fluent Chinese.

I want a product marketing position with a company that has the vision and resources to create exciting and effective marketing campaigns.

Updated Version:

I am a marketing professional with a global mind-set and 8 years of international experience. I also have 5 years of customer service experience and understand the importance of customer-centric strategy.

I can research, strategize, present, and implement customer-focused marketing campaigns using the newest social media and marketing metrics tools as well as more traditional techniques.

I want a product marketing/branding position with a company that has a winning product vision and the resources to create exciting and effective customer-focused marketing campaigns.

 Using Kathy Mcafee's guidelines, I also came up with condensed versions...

10 seconds:  My name is Allison Prout and I help companies create exciting and effective customer-focused marketing campaigns.

30 seconds:  My name is Allison Prout and I'm a marketing professional who understands the importance of customer-centric strategy.

I help companies with winning product visions create exciting and effective customer-focused marketing campaigns by using the newest social media and marketing metrics tools along with traditional marketing strategies.

I am interested in meeting someone who can discuss your companies marketing challenges with me, Allison Prout.

As you can see, I have been hard at work. Please let me know what you think of my updates, are they better than the original? I would appreciate some objective input.  Thanks.

See you next Friday...

Your Elevator Pitch

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

When job seeking, it is important to be able to describe who you are and what you can do confidently and succinctly.  This way, when an opportunity arises you are able to impress prospective employers. In entrepreneurial circles this is called your elevator pitch. The idea is to have a prepared 2 minute introduction (the amount of time it takes to ride up an elevator) which will create interest in you and what you have to offer. You must keep it short, sweet, and to the point. It does not have to be exactly 2 minutes, but the idea is to create just enough interest to take it to the next step. The next step might be an introduction or an interview.

I did an exercise at a career center in San Francisco in which I had to prepare a statement describing myself in less than 100 words.  It's called the "I am, I can, I want" statement.  Here is what I wrote 13 years ago.

I am an international marketing specialist with five years of consumer product experience setting up Avon's $50 million new market niche in China.

I can develop strategic marketing plans, and have extensive experience planning, implementing and analyzing research projects, sales promotion campaigns and forecasting sales. I have a Masters in International Management and speak fluent Mandarin Chinese.

I want a product marketing position with a firm that has the vision and resources to create exciting and effective marketing campaigns.

The question is, does this description still fit me now? How can I update and improve it?  This will be my challenge for next week. Will you join me? You can find tips on how to develop a good elevator pitch by checking out the following links - The Job Seeker Elevator Pitch  and http://motivatednetworker.com/your-elevator-pitch/

See you next Friday...

What Do You Want to Do?

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

Once we understand our strengths, weaknesses, skills and interests, the next step is to decide where we want to go. I saw a great quote from Alice in Wonderland in the Careerbright Blog .

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don't much care where.
Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go. 

Knowing where you want to go is an important first step in getting there. So, how do we know? Basically, I want to continue on the career path that I was previously on, so I don't have much decision making to do. But, if you are unclear, then you must come up with some choices. According to Norman J. Meshriy, M.S., N.C.C., a career counselor based in San Francisco, CA, a good starting place is brainstorming alternatives. Next, consider the wants and needs you came up with in the values exercise and rate your career alternatives against these. For a good match, you want a career or occupation that meets most of your criteria.  Following are some resources to give you some ideas if you are truly at a loss or at this for the first time.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook or other reference books that list careers in your area of interest
• www.sigi3.org - online career software
• www.eureka.org - online career service

My example: I want a product marketing or branding position with a firm that has similar values to mine, and the vision and resources to create exciting and effective marketing campaigns.

See you next Friday...

Skills and Interests

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

Last week I talked about values, strengths and weakness in the career self-assessment process. This week I will cover skills and interests. On my MBTI post I mentioned CISS - Campbell Interest and Skills Survey and Skillscan as tools I have used that you can find online to help you target your interests and skills.

 According to CISS individual profile results report, your vocational interests and skills are important components of your personal characteristics. What you like to do, and what you are confident that you can do, can play an important role in your future careeer satisfaction and success.  The CISS profile analyzes your self-reported interests and your self-reported skills and shows how you compare with people in general and with happily employed people in a variety of occupations.

Your CISS profile is organized into seven Orientation Scales covering important areas of the world of work.

• Influencing
• Organizing
• Helping
• Creating
• Analyzing
• Producing
• Adventuring

I scored highest in Creating  and Influencing Orientations which is in sync with my values.  Recommended occupations to pursue include Advertising/Marketing and International Activities.

Influencers like to make things happen. They are often visible because they tend to take charge of activities that interest them. They typically work in organizations where they are responsible for directing activities, setting policies and motivating people.

From the Skillscan exercise I came up with the following summary of action verbs which describe my skills.

• Communication - motivate, promote, facilitate, consult
• Mental Creative - conceptualize, brainstorm, intuit
• Leadership - initiate, plan, decide, influence

Now that we have a good list of wants, needs, interests and skills under our belt, the next step will be using them to begin defining and setting some goals for ourselves.

See you next Friday...

Refocus on Career Self-Assessment

Reposition yourself to re-enter the workforce; join me on my personal branding journey.

The first step in deciding what kind of career or job you want is figuring out what your values, strengths, skills and interests are. We have already looked at the Myers Briggs Type Indicator which offers some valuable insights.   

My Type:  INFP    

• Is driven by values
• Is a good leader
• Is a team player
• Is a visionary
• Is idealistic and a perfectionist (possible negatives)

 These are some of my strengths and weaknesses. For my type, it is especially important to know what my values are.  Following is a list of my top values based on an exercise I did to define them:
   
My Values:

1. Mental Creativity -Need to do work that is creative like marketing.
2. Intellectual Stimulation - Need to be developing mentally, if not, I feel bored. 
3. Humor - Want to have fun at work, being happy is important, want to like the people I work with.
4. Location - Want to stay in one place, do not want to travel more than 25%.
5. Leadership - Want to motivate others to achieve excellence through team work.
6. Work with Others - Want to be part of a team working together towards a common goal.
7. Decison Making - Want the power to make decisions and have them carried out. 
8. Excellence - Want what I do to be good, quality and integrity are important to me.

 No clue what your values are?  If I seem organized, it's because I spent six to nine months working with a career counselor to come up with all this "understanding".  If you can afford it, a career counselor can help get you organized. If not, try this exercise to help you define your values.

Write down ten or more things that are important to you. Rank them from 1 to 10. For each of your top 8 values, answer the following questions. (1)

1. What does the value mean to you? 
2. Describe a situation in which you experienced the value.
3. What does this value tell you that you want or need? 

Sit down and do this exercise and you will have a solid list of what you want and need to be happy at work.

See you next Friday....

1. Weisblatt, Sheila E., M.S. 1994   Defining your Values.