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Get Noticed And Appreciated By Your Boss With These 7 Personal Brand Exercises

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It is critical to your success that others know about your personal brand and what it stands for, here are 7 ways to help you do that.

Jane was a Senior VP at one of the banks. She had been there for 15 years with regular career moves and promotions.  Now she was frustrated because  her last performance review made her realize that her desired promotion to the C-suite was blocked.

She came to me for coaching and we soon determined the reason why she was not being considered for this key move. She was invisible. Not to her colleagues or boss in the local office but to the people making the C-level decisions in New York.  The solution was clear. We had to raise her profile in New York even though she was not based there.

We put in place an action plan to raise her credibility and visibility with the decision makers.  Within 9 months she was promoted to the CFO role.

This was a classic case of the right people not knowing about Jane and her personal brand. This may be the very reason that you too are not progressing in your career or getting invited to join the latest project or team. More of the ‘right’ people need to know about your personal brand.

Here are 7 key things about your personal brand that you need to ensure everyone (who matters) knows about you;

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7 Best Practices For Being a Conference Guerrilla

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The following story is an example of how the actions recommended in this series of articles can work for you. Whilst they are intended mostly for longer conferences they can apply and work equally well to one off events.

How to be a Conference Guerrilla – Part 1 – Pre-Conference can be read here. 

In our time-crunched lives and with the option of virtual events, physically attending conferences can be a hard decision to make.  Approach events with more than just looking at the speaker line up, the complimentary networking sessions or in some cases to get the professional development credits checked off.  Instead actually measure the ‘return on investment’ of attending a conference. Start using this mindset and you will see the value to your organization and your personal brand in getting out there.

I once went to hear Keith Ferrazzi, author of “Never Eat Alone” speak at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business. I learnt about the event from the organizer who had booked me to speak there a few months earlier.

I followed Keith’s advice in his book about ‘bumping‘ the speaker before they go on stage and engaging them quickly to gain a follow-up.  I had brought my copy of the book and asked him to ‘sign it before he became famous’ – a quote from the book. He commented that I had obviously read the book and I said it was (and still is) my most referred and recommended book on networking. I have even given several people copies as gifts.  I then told him that I would like the opportunity to follow up with him to discuss how to make his book the #1 business book in Canada. “Absolutely” he said and handed me his card.

As I walked away,  someone behind him had taken my lead and asked for their book to be signed.  I heard Keith ask the person….Read More »7 Best Practices For Being a Conference Guerrilla

Lead, Be Free, Find Success at Work

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If you feel like a square peg in a round hole at the office, like the person who believes collaboration will lead to more success than competition, like people and passion come before transactions, and that your experience at the office can be different, then keep reading.

I’ve been invited to join an amazing lineup of experts who have come together to share their knowledge and strategies for how work can be done differently – both for you as an individual and for your company.

The Corporate Rebel Series is free interview training series for professionals who want to lead, be free, and find success at work – all at the same time.

It all kicks off tomorrow (June 15th) And guess what? (This is the awesome part!)

It’s free to join. Grab your spot here. 

This training series is for you if…..

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10 Personal Brand Tactics to Ensure That Next Promotion

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30 years ago you were told to expect to work for one employer for life,
20 years ago you were told to plan for extra leisure time because of automation, 10 years ago one quarter of the new jobs being created had never existed previously.

Now graduates are told to expect to be back at school every decade to retrain.

NEWSFLASH: The world of work is changing. Forever. Always.

We have been hearing human resource, organizational development and career guru’s telling us that for years. Gone are the days when ‘Personnel’ came and tapped you on the shoulder and told you about your next career move.

“You can no longer rely on anyone for your career, except YOU” 
Paul Copcutt

Once you make it to the next promotion, there are on-boarding programs, online courses and books, like “The First 90 Days” to help.

But what about before all that happens?

Read More »10 Personal Brand Tactics to Ensure That Next Promotion

The 3 Problems Everyone Has With Personal Branding And How We Solved Them

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Growing up, we lived about 30 miles west of Central London and could easily access one of the City’s expansive subway lines (the oldest in the world). They whisked us in to the ‘big smoke’ in under an hour. Day trips to London were events eagerly looked forward to and  I have long lasting memories of standing on an underground platform, hair and face being pushed with warm air as the train whistled in to the station and hearing a clear and authoritative voice say;

“Mind the gap”

Last week, Phil Sayer, whose warning to travellers to “mind the gap” is one of the most used on the London Underground, died at the age of 62. Along with his wife, also a voiceover professional, their voices are heard on trains and at railway stations around Britain. They are often apologizing for cancellations and delays. He was quoted as saying……Read More »The 3 Problems Everyone Has With Personal Branding And How We Solved Them

Have You Made These Changes to Your LinkedIn Profile?

The chances are that 4 out of 5 of you reading this right now have not made my recommended five changes to your profile that improves your personal brand. If you are on my weekly LinkedIn tips newsletter then the chances are you have, because they are the actions I outlined in my5 Steps to Boosting Your Presence on LinkedIn  If you do not have that report, you can get it by clicking… Read More »Have You Made These Changes to Your LinkedIn Profile?

What Do You Think of Stephen Harper’s LinkedIn Profile?

Even with our recent election here in Canada and the continuing barrage of media coverage for the Presidential race down in the US (still a year away!!) I still do not tire of reading about politics. It may be my British upbringing, but I have always been interested in the subject, at local, regional and national level as well as internationally. My career personal branding coaching and former recruitment mind always… Read More »What Do You Think of Stephen Harper’s LinkedIn Profile?

5 Things You Can Do This Morning to Boost Your Personal Brand & Career

The popular military call in the morning “Rise and Shine” is most commonly thought to refer to the ‘rise’ – rousing your self from your sleep and ‘shine’ referring to the need to clean your boots until they are shiny. Over the years the term has been adapted more to refer to getting up and excelling at your day. It can apply equally to your personal brand. The goal with… Read More »5 Things You Can Do This Morning to Boost Your Personal Brand & Career

6 Surefire Strategies to Survive in Your Career – and MAKE IT!

Today, October 21st 2015, is the actual date that Marty McFly arrived in ‘Back to the Future II’. A number of predictions in the films have come to fruition – such as wearable technology, video calls, hands free gaming, tablets and fingerprint recognition. Of course a few have not. We can never guess it all. Although we know little about Marty McFly’s career aspirations 30 years in the future, we do… Read More »6 Surefire Strategies to Survive in Your Career – and MAKE IT!

5 Steps to Staying Relevant at Work after 50

With the different approaches to work, baby boomers could be forgiven for believing that their relevance in the workplace is disappearing faster than the seemingly daily advances in technology. It is why I find many clients questioning their work and the bigger picture of their overall life. Often we end up exploring a deeper meaning to it all and land in the areas of mindfulness and purpose. But a report… Read More »5 Steps to Staying Relevant at Work after 50