Hello Summer

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

My daughter finished Kindergarten today.  Tomorrow is officially the beginning of summer vacation and I've made an executive decision. I'm going to stop blogging for the summer.  I've made quite a bit of progress on my job search process since I began the blog in April.  When I pick up again in the fall I will finally be ready to start looking for a job. Thank you to all of you who have been following me. I hope you will tune in again next season when things get serious. Until then, have a great summer.

See you in September...
Allison Lieber Prout, Marketer Mom

List of Prospective Employers Part 2

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

I've been following up on my research this week and I've confirmed that the following companies are my primary targets. With a few exceptions, I've kept it narrowed down to food - consumer packaged good (CPG) companies. This will make it easier to keep my job search and resume focused.

1. Leapfrog Enterprises (consumer electronics-child education)-Emeryville
2. Del Monte Foods- San Francisco
3. Ghiradelli Chocolates - San Leandro
4. Dreyers' Ice Cream/Haagen Daz - Nestle USA - Oakland
5. Clif Bar - Berkeley
6. Shaklee - direct sales/nutritional products - Pleasanton
7. Clorox Company -  Oakland
8. Jamba Juice - Emeryville
9. Safeway- Pleasanton 

 All of these companies have the types of jobs I am looking for, specifically, consumer product brand and product marketing jobs.  I know that the field is very competitive, but before I look into other types of jobs, I'd at least like to give these companies a shot. All I want to do, essentially, is to get in on the ground floor of the organization and work my way up.  The trick is to figure out how I can portray myself as attractive to them.

To that end, I will turn again to research. My first step will be to print some of the job descriptions available and fine-tune my resume according to what they are looking for. I will also begin to set-up informational interviews with people who work within these companies to find out both what it is like to work there, and what issues they are facing or problems they need solving.

I also need to pluck up my guts and find out about getting those references I talked about in an earlier blog.  So, there's lots of work to do. I'll keep you posted.

See you next Friday.... 

List of Prospective Companies to Work For

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

Well, it's back to work now that I finished my marketing metrics class and have a bit more time to dedicate to my job search. One of the first matters of business on my planning guide is to put together a list of prospective companies to work for.  This is not as easy as it seems. To make the list meaningful you have to sort through quite a bit of information. My approach is to spread a wide net and narrow in on specifics.

My objective is to target local companies (within a radius of 30 miles of where I live) that are large enough to have branding departments and are within my range of interest, ideally, consumer products. Since I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of the companies headquartered here are technology and/or internet focused.  Although it would be foolish to ignore this category of employers altogether, they will have second tier status in my targeting efforts. The kinds of companies that interest me most, aside from Leapfrog, are food related.

With that in mind, I googled 'Bay Area Companies', and came up with a few good lists. Wikipedia's List of companies headquartered in San Francisco was a good place to start.  From that I chose various categories.  Next, I will look at each company I'm interested in more closely to see if they have the kinds of jobs that I am looking for. Another good resource is SF Gates' Chron200 which lists the largest and most financially healthy companies in the Bay Area. 

 From my initial research, I've come up with the following companies to check out more closely:

• Ghiradelli Chocolates
• Del Monte Foods
• Dreyer's Ice Cream
• Haagen Daaz
• Jamba Juice
• Williams Sonoma
• Safeway
• Shaklee

 Next week after I've checked out these picks more closely, I'll be able to present a more concise list to target.

See you next Friday...

Celebrating Moms

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

This week I'd like to put on my mom's hat for a change and consider what it means to be a mother.  My friend sent me a great video entitled Momisms which was circulating for mother's day and I just loved it. Watching it made me think of my mother and myself with my daughter and how all mothers can relate to the experience which is a common bond between us.

A mom is a director, she directs the lives of her children so that her household runs efficiently. She is a teacher, adviser and counselor, encouraging her offspring to learn social competency and lead happy, healthy, independent lives. She is a role model, remember actions speak louder than words. She is a protector, a cheerleader, a friend. She is always on your side. She wants the best for you. She is your most powerful ally.

I am proud to be a mom and I don't want to downplay that in my job search. In fact, I'd like to incorporate it into my job search, if I can. Leapfrog is a company that I would really like to work for. It's a company that makes educational toys for children. Don't you think that's a great fit for a Mom? I am totally in tune with their target market. Interestingly, the company is mostly run by men (it's a software company). Anyway, my plan is to put together some sort of presentation for them that introduces me and what I can do for their company. I did a similar marketing project for Avon before I started with them and it landed me the job.  Putting forth extra effort makes you stand out as a candidate. It's a great way to differentiate yourself. Oops, my marketing hat is back on!!

Moms are hard workers and great organizers. They know how to prioritize and have social skills.  Be proud of what you are and what you have to give. Don't hide it, acknowledge it and integrate it into your work life.

See you next Friday...

Updating Your Skills - two sides of the coin

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

Since I've been out of work for quite awhile, especially in my chosen profession, I find I can gain a bit of confidence by taking professionally related classes. Most communities have local universities or colleges which offer continuing education courses. These days, of course, you can also do classes online.

Things are changing so fast in the world around us, sometimes it's challenging to keep up with the technological advances.  Between when I went to college and graduate school, computers became common use in the work place. When I worked at Avon China we used computers and Microsoft Office programs regularly, but there was no internet or even email at that time.

Now Social Media is all the rage. I recently took an online class through UC Berkeley Extension about using social media in marketing strategy. It was a great class, and I learned a great deal. Not all classes are created equal, however. I've taken 4 classes altogether. Two were really useful but two were not what I expected.  

When I take a great class, I feel challenged when I'm taking it and accomplished when I complete it. When I take a not so great class, I feel frustrated when I'm taking it and humbled when I complete it only to realize how much I don't know!  One day I feel like I can take on the world; the next I'm afraid I won't be able to compete. 

Such is the nature of the job search and just about every other challenge in life. We have our ups, we have our downs.  The important thing is to keep going. "Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it."  Fear has been a challenge I have faced my whole life. I am proud to say, it hasn't held me back.  You just have to learn to plow right through it with your blinders on. 

The class I am currently taking will be over in a little over a week. I just need to focus on what needs to be done and get through it. Then I will be able to sigh a breath of relief and get on with my life. Wish me luck.

See you next Friday...

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.