Marketing Yourself Effectively - how to brand yourself and create career opportunities face to face and online

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Marketing Yourself Effectively- how to brand
yourself and create career opportunities face to
face and online

• Carolyn Parry
• Computer Science Link Careers Adviser, Acting
  Deputy DirectorCareers Service
• careers_at_aber.ac.uk
• 01970 622378
• www.aber.ac.uk/careers/

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Outcomes from this session

• Be able to identify potential personal brand
  values and consider the impact of these on
  employers
• Understand how to create work/career
  opportunities
• Recognise the need to be consistent in your aims
  and objectives so your personal brand has
  integrity

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Marketing (recap?)

• The management process responsible for
  identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer
  requirements profitably. (Chartered Institute of
  Marketing)
• The activity, set of institutions, and processes
  for creating, communicating, delivering, and
  exchanging offerings that have value for
  customers, clients, partners, and society at
  large. (American Marketing Association)

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Why market?

• Noise in the marketplace!
• 335,000 new graduates per annum (UK)
• High ratio of applicants to jobs
• Monster contains 44 million CVs (US)
• CareerBuilder has 17 million (US)
• Or because you are starting a business!
• So you need to stand out!
• Branding makes you memorable...and creates
  opportunities

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So what is personal branding?
What is Personal Branding?

• The process by which individuals and
  entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand
  out from a crowdby identifying and articulating
  theirunique value proposition,whether
  professional or personal,and then leverage it
  across a platform with aconsistent message and
  imageto achieve a specific goal. source
  Me 2.0 Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career
  Success by Dan Schwabel
• ie...how we market ourselves to others!

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Useful questions

• Whats your goal?(Target role/sector/company)
• Why? (Passions/motivations)
• How? (Skills/talent/behaviour)
• To Whom/through whom? (Contacts/networks)
• Key messages/themes (Focus/relevance)
• Routes (Paper, face to face, online)
• )

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How to brand

• Be clear about your intended outcome
• Develop a strategy based on knowing whatyou want
  to achieve
• Have a strap line (or personal brand statement)
• Identify and know your audience
• Find out where they are (events, online etc) and
  develop a presence there!

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What makes you want to buy me?
A game of features and benefits
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Brand magic

• If you were a brand, which one would you be and
  why?

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What employers look for in staff
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Shopping for staff- walking in the recruiters
shoes

• Values/motivation/passion is the candidate
  committed to this industry/role?
• Features does s/he have the right personal
  attributes, skills talents,
  experience/knowledge and previous successes?

• Benefits what difference/contributi
  on can s/he make here, where and how?

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Whats the target profile?

• Understand how the role and sectorboth work,
  look for language used, professional body, key
  events etc
• Find out where key players are located
• Use www.prospects.ac.uk website as a starting
  point to find industry groups

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Quality Check!

• What do your personal brand values say about you
  from an employers perspective?
• Now youve looked at your brand this way, what
  would you change, if anything?

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What makes you unique in their eyes? ie what
are your USPs/UVPs?

• Whats your top passion(s), values , personality?
• What are your top talents/skills/abilities?
• What are your key experiences?
• What is your most relevant knowledge?
• Unique Selling Proposition/Unique Value
  Proposition

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SWOT a 360 view
I am at my best when... (strengths)
I am at my worst when... (weaknesses)
I am most interested in... (opportunities)
I am least interested in (threats)
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Finding opportunities

• Physical - face to face/phone
• Every time you meet someone you have an
  opportunity to grow your network
• People buy from people
• Many jobs are simply not advertised
• Who you know can often be more important than
  what you know.

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Six degrees of separation

• A way to create unique opportunities to help your
  career grow
• We are all only six steps away from anyone
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_separa
  tion
• Try me!

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Who do you knowwho can help you?

• Make a list of all the people you know (of) who
  could help you get work experience in one of the
  following areas
• Retail Manufacturing
• Logistics/supply chain University
• Local council Hospital

What opportunities could they offer you?
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Opportunities Face to Face and Networking

• Through people you know
• Work experience inc work tasters/placementssee
  www.aber.ac.uk/careers/workexp
• Exhibitions and events
• - graduate fairs
• - industry exhibitions
• - networks

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Opportunities

• Trade/industry press and newspapers
• Related websites
• www.prospects.ac.uk
• Other prospecting opportunities-
  www.kellysearch.co.uk/ - http//directory.kompass
  .com/en/dir.php- www.yell.com

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Physical support materials

• Business card (use appropriate email address)
• (cheap or free and good quality from
  www.vistaprint.co.uk)
• Up to date CV
• Your best self!!

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Face to Face

• Right clothes/shoes, wear a badge
• Never get a second chance to make a first
  impression, so smile!
• Make eye contact
• Develop a good handshake (!!)
• Offer card immediately
• Find common ground

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Maximisingthe opportunity

• Find common ground
• Show you know whats happening in the industry
• Match body language (carefully)
• Use their business card to make notes of
  discussion
• Follow up within 1-2 days

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Tools a great CV www.aber.ac.uk/careers/cvs

• Use CV to showcase what makes you
  different(remember features and benefits
  exercise)
• Check for evidence, consistency and accuracy
• Review it from the recruiters perspective

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Opportunities online - the digital you

• "Today's tools make it easier to create, manage
  and manipulate a personal brand - and society has
  realised the value of strong, personal
  brands.Frank Gruber Sr, Product Manager AOL

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All the worlds an opportunity- so who do you
connect with and how?
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• Do it carefully and professionally
• Whatever you write/include is normally open to
  all, always!!!
• What would a recruiter see about you on line?
• Watch your FaceBook activity!

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Virtual tools

• Blogging (www.blogger.com)
• Twitter (www.twitter.com)
• LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
• MySpace (www.myspace.com)
• Google ? BeKnown?
• FaceBook (everybody got an account?!)
• www.bravenewtalent.com social media based site
  recruiters meet students
• The comments box on websites eg newspapers,blogs
  etc

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Blogging

• Twitter (micro blogging)
• Use (hashtag) to search for relevant
  opportunities
• Build the relationship by retweeting/having a
  conversation with others show personality
• Be appropriate (spelling/grammar/content)
• Use short URLs (http//www.shorturl.com/)
• Write good quality content not drivel!
• Comment on other blogs/news etc

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Twitter connections prospects

• http//twitter.com/!/CareerAlchemist

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Blogging continued

• Blogging - www.blogger.com or www.wordpress.com
• Example http//insiders.aber.ac.uk/blog/abigail/
  ?p239 http//ruraldebugging.blogspot.com/
• Guidance on blog writing - www.useit.com/alertbox
  /weblogs.html
• Q What could you blog about whichwould help
  your career plans?

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Other ways

• LinkedIn www.linkedin.com
• http//uk.linkedin.com/in/carolynparry
• Use it to network with recruiters
• Do this by joining groups and making sensible
  contributions to them
• Or even create a group of your own
• Connect via existing connections!

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Other ways

• Share good sources of information
• Create original content
• Podcasts - www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/
• Video podcasts - www.youtube.com( you could
  integrate these with your blog andTwitter using
  use aggregating system eg TweetDeck)
• Social bookmarking eg Delicious

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Social Bookmarking sites
For latest rankings seewww.ebizmba.com/articles/s
ocial-bookmarking-websites
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Social bookmarking
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eNetworking contacts via targeted marketing

• Newspapers and television blog sites
• Trade/sector press
• Have a purpose, be professional
• Seek out the best opportunity
• Comment on other blogs link to your own
• Be appropriate (spelling/grammar/content)
• Write good quality content not drivel!

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Whos reading what?

• Bank employee sacked as Facebook Halloween
  picture revealed family emergency was a fake.
• Virgin sacked 13 crew due to Facebook
• Bored sixteen year old sacked
• Just remember - your future boss could be
  reading!

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OnlineBrandingAims
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Keep current andpersistent!
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Walk your talk
Dont do a Tiger Woods!
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Inspiration at Aber

• Rhys Gregorywww.virtualent.co.uk/who.html
• Huldah Knox-Thomas
• www.youtube.com/watch?vdZyChJqJiDw
• Richard Piper Griffiths
• www.walesoffice.gov.uk/2011/02/16/welsh-secretary-
  supports-student-volunteering-week-in-wales/

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Me.com me.gov me.ac. Virtual
presence/digital conversations

• Blogs, personal web pages, social bookmarking,
  social networking, or online media commentator?
• How could you use this approach in yourown
  career search/development?
• What Could You Do Online?

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Personal branding themes

• Differentiate (offerings that have value to
  employer)
• Stand out by identifying and articulating how you
  match the need
• Be appropriate and professional!!
• Leverage your USPs/UVPs (ie the things that make
  you unique)
• Consistent message and image
• Specific goal

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How the Careers Service can help

• One to one guidance
• Career Development programme (CDP)
• Wide range of free leaflets and handouts
• www.aber.ac.uk/careers/caspubs
• Comprehensive library and website
• On-line lectures and interactive e-learning
• www.aber.ac.uk/careers/casmods
• Employability events programme and Employer
  visits www.aber.ac.uk/careers/eventscal
• Job Link for casual jobs and work tasters
• Go Wales grad. work placements and internships
• Vacancy database www.aber.ac.uk/careers/casjobs

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• The quality of the opportunities you get
  correlates directly to the work you've done
  building your personal brand.
• Strong brand builders get great mentors and solid
  networks, and those tools, in turn, build
  stronger brands.
• In a world where there are no more corporate
  ladders to land on, your brand is the platform
  your career will stand on"
• Penelope TrunkBoston Globe newspaper

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Your Careers Services sites
Where to find us!
Careers Service Job Link
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The Careers Service

• Floor E Llandinam Building, PenglaisAberystwythS
  Y23 3DB
• 01970 622378
• careers_at_aber.ac.ukwww.aber.ac.uk/careers
• www.facebook.com/abercareers