A family catastrophy

It’s Christmas right now and I’m Jewish, so I figured I would have time to record a short two minute video for all of you.  I would like to wish you all a merry Christmas, happy Channukah and a pre – happy new year!  This week has been extremely difficult for me, as you might have seen on Facebook and Twitter.  Aside from my 90 year old grandfather being in rough shape, undergoing surgery and being moved to a nursing home, my grandmother and uncle got hit by a car.  They were both crossing this street and this middle-aged woman hit them.  She blamed the sunlight!  Can you believe that?  My grandmother (88 years old) ended up with a broken pelvis and is in extraordinary pain and my uncle was fine because he jumped onto of the car upon impact.  The really sad thing is that my grandparents are in two different places and don’t get to see each other.

Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern.  I appreciate it!

3 mandatory tasks for your brand

1.  Set achievable goals

Between now and January 1st, please sit down for an hour or two and write down some short and long-term goals for 2009.  You should do this every year.  The short-term goals could be monthly or quarterly and your long-term goal should cover the entire year.  This time next year, you should have check marks next to all of your goals as a sign of completion.  Depending on your current status or place in you career, some goals will be attainable and others will not be.  I recommend that you work with the ones you know you can pull off an work like hell to reach them.

2.  Remain focused

A lot of people are getting laid off around you.  You might have had a close friend or family member that is looking for a new job now.  Do not lose focus, even if you have setbacks, uncertainty and depression around you.  In 2009, you must concentrate on building as much personal brand equity as possible, in order to position yourself when our economic climate changes.  Also, if you lose focus, you might end up without a job.  Be confident!

3.  Network constantly

I’ve always said that any new opportunity can change your life.  Well, people lead to opportunities, meaning that any new person you meet can change your life for the better.  I don’t go to sleep until I’ve met five new people.  In 2009, this will double.  If you aren’t on social networks or aren’t going to network events, you need to start ASAP.  Also, start thinking about whose already in your current network.  Your family, friends, teachers, classmates and coworkers can help as well.  They all have networks already accounted for and, with permission, you can tap them.

I like to think of myself as a giving person. I consistently promote other people and their work and enjoy doing so, but at some point, you will need help. Actually, I know you’ll REQUIRE help because we all need support in order to progress in our careers. This support could come in the form of a mentor, who has “been there, done that,” and can help you learn from their mistakes and successes. You may need support from your teachers, parents, friends, coworkers, the media, bloggers or whomever else one day. Asking for favors is a necessary evil and part of life.

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You won’t be comfortable asking for favors if you’ve never helped anyone else in the past. See, if you take care of your community, asking for help is a breeze. If you’ve give enough value to people in the past, the second you start asking for a favor, they will finish your sentence! Ignoring peoples requests will work directly against you in the future, when you need their support.

I know a lot of graduates who are very concerned with their chances as nabbing a job when they graduate. I decided to write a post to help guide you to the promise land, give you a load of confidence and hope, as well as point you in the right direction. Getting a job after college can be a terrible and annoying process, but I’ve been there, so I know how it feels and I want to help you. This post is for you college students!

This post also appears as a guest post on Gradspot.com.

1. Go through your Network Strength Pyramid

Networking is paramount for getting in-demand and desirable jobs throughout your career. It will also save you from months of labor intensive work submitting your resume to job boards and corporate websites. I developed the “Network Strength Pyramid” to show people that they need to start thinking of everyone they meet as a possible connection to a new opportunity.

Your family is your strongest connection, followed by friends and then acquaintances sit at the bottom.

When you have built rapport and a relationship, the chances someone would drop what they are doing to help you increases significantly. Most people won’t be compelled to go out of their way for you when you meet them for the first time.

Make your life one big networking event!

2. Change your mindset

Recent grads must understand that working conditions are rough right now. There have been 1.9 million layoffs since January and the job growth rate for entry-level graduating seniors is only at 1.3%. This means you need to do things differently. If you follow the same advice you’ve ever gotten in the past, then you will only have results equal to that, and in this economy, that means failure.

You need a “brand you” mindset to succeed, not just in acquiring a job, but keeping it and progressing in it. Think of yourself as the CEO of your own brand, much like Coca Cola and Nike. You get to name your colors, logo, and overall experience. How would you describe “brand you” to others?

Forget about getting a job title; make your own job title.

In a world where things are constantly changing, you need to be the commander of career, which means that at the end of the day, success lies in your hands!

3. Collect everything you’ve already done and put it to work

One of the sad parts of life is that people are obsessed with what you’ve done in the past. When I wanted to get a job, I leveraged every single project I did in the past as case studies for the future. For instance, I led a team to establish a business plan in college, created websites for companies and did cool projects in my internships at LoJack and Reebok. I was then able to use the results of the projects in a marketing pitch to get a job when I graduated.

I know you might want to forget about the past, but trust me, it’s worthwhile to catalog everything you do, just in case something you’ve done applies to a future job.

4. Are you an entrepreneur or a corporate employee?

This is a very important question to ask yourself because it depicts what you’ll be doing upon graduation. If you’re an entrepreneur, you may be looking to start a business immediately, continue a business you started in college or work for a company, until what you’re doing outside of work takes off. If you want to be a corporate employee, then you will want to get a job when you graduate, and possibly go to graduate school, so you can move up into management as soon as possible.

5. Use social media to build personal equity

Having trouble networking, getting your ideas out there and claiming a piece of the digital world? Look no further than social media to provide a channel by which you can accomplish all three. I would recommend starting a blog that relates to both your passion and expertise.

Next, I would ensure that you register your name on the top social networks and link from one to the next. Links build equity in your sites, leaving your sites ranking higher in Google, so people can find you. The reach of the internet using these tools is extraordinary and can help you connect with the right people at the right time.

The question everyone is asking right now, after hearing about the 1.9 million layoffs in the past year figure, is “how do I get a job”? This is the wrong question to ask yourself because it forces you to apply to positions that aren’t the best-fit for your personality, passions and possibly, expertise. You have to think more broadly!

The real question: How to get a job, keep a job, advance in a job and then get another job.

You might be at different stages, but the movement and cycle is all so familiar. The old way of thinking, which is staying a job for a decade or more, is a total failure these days because that’s not how the economy works. The real way to succeed, I promise you, is to do everything you would now, and leverage everything you’ve already done in the past, in order to be successful in the future, while setting “flexible goals” because things change.

This means that you need to have a “career commander” mindset. It doesn’t mean that you should let people know you’re looking, unless you have no choice.

Two career situations and two sets of results

Situation 1: One woman has felt job security after 5 years as an employee of a company. While working at this company, she decided that networking events were a waste of time and that meeting people inside their company was the path to career advancement. She had very little experience with the internet and got her current job through an old friend she doesn’t speak with anymore. She had a great relationship with her group members and executive management and was feeling really good about her current position, despite hearing about the economy. She woke up one day and  walked into her managers office, only to find out she had been laid off.

Results: She struggles really hard to recover, forcing her resume into the inbox’s of her old friends, yielding no positive outcome. She emails her coworkers at work, that can’t do anything about the situation, as they are struggling to keep their job. She realizes that she might not be getting a job she’d be interested in for a long time, so she takes up a job as a waitress to feed her children.

Situation 2: Another woman (let’s keep the gender the same ) is doing great at work. She’s only been there for a year, but she’s worked really hard to not only build relationships throughout the company, not just her own domain, but also outside of work. In the past year, she started a blog, went to professional networking events, signed up for social networks and kept in close contact with many of her friends of the past. She also was smart enough to gain new skills in her field, which led to her becoming the go-to-person in her company. She worked for an additional hour or two each day, making a strong case for why she should be working there. The woman wakes up one day and poof, her company decides that they are going to layoff her business unit.

Results: She remains confident (career commander) and sends out a Tweet that says “Just got laid off, looking for an internet marketing job in Sanfrancisco.” She also sends an email to her email list of 400 that she had built up and starts sending nice notes to her Facebook network. She also blogs about her experience getting laid off and ends by talking about the jobs she’s be looking for, with a link to her LinkedIn resume. She also sends a note to her LinkedIn database of contacts and asks the people she worked with for references for the great job she had done. She ended up finding a job within 2 months.

Dan, quit the storytelling and tell us how to get a job!!!

Before reading my strategies, please be open-minded and remain calm. The new way to get a job requires that you invest time in creating content, building relationships and learning skills that you can apply elsewhere. You need to be a commander and not wait around for someone else to tell you what to do next. This involves having confidence in yourself and taking things seriously. OK, now please read this…..

1. Conduct a people search

If you were ever a Facebook stalker, then you should be good at this one. The first thing you need to know is that you get jobs through people and not random submissions or “hail marry’s.” The second thing you need to know is that most companies have people who can be contacted online. The third thing you need to know is how to talk to people you don’t know and ones that don’t know you. I want you to name a company you want to work for. Let’s say you that you choose DELL (this one is easy to explain because Dell is rather “naked” on the web).

If you want to work for DELL, you need to find people who work there, especially the one’s in HR and managers in your field. For the record, let’s say you want a social media job there. I would start finding out names of people who are in those positions by searching for “social media interview Dell” or “Dell blog” or “digital media dell” or something like that. Let’s say you come across the name Richard Binhammer, who is part of the digital media team. You notice he has a blog and a Twitter account. You should subscribe to his blog, actively comment and do the same with his Twitter feed. Next, you find out that Dell is on Facebook in many locations. You become part of that community, by asking questions and talking to people on there. Next, after figuring out the names of more people that work there (possibly finding a Dell press release and a PR contact), you search for their name(s) on Facebook.

Once you find them on there, you should send them an “informational” message. Something like “Name, I just discovered that you work for Dell. I’m really interested in your social media job there and enjoy participating in your Facebook group. I was wondering what your day-to-day job requirements are and anything else you could tell me about it. Thank you.” Wait a bit to hear back and then send a follow-up. If that fails, then do the same routine with your second company choice. This strategy works better if you have an online presence to point people to.

2. Put up your billboard advertisements

Aside from being proactive, you will want to be reactive in your job search. Companies like passive candidates, just like girls and guys like challenges in dating. I would recommend stationing your personal brand on the leading social networks (LinkedIn, Facebook), joining social networks that are related to your field, establishing a blog, website and possibly advertising yourself using Facebook social ads or Google AdWords as mentioned before. The idea here is to have your brand exist where people are searching for qualified candidates. Every minute your brand isn’t there, another person is getting interviewed instead of you. I think VisualCV offers a great product for capturing most of your professional brand in a clean cut and precise website that is searchable in their database. I’d also recommend that you ensure your resume is on Monster.com, eRecruiting.com and Careerbuilder.com, in addition to JobFox.com and Jobster.com.

3. Sleeping is not an option

I’ve talked about how sleep is an opportunity cost in a web 2.0 world. Sleep is unnecessary if you’re in a job search because every hour you don’t have a job, that’s money you can’t use to support your life. Instead of sleeping for 8 hours every night, why not try 5 or 6. The more time you invest in your job search, the better chances you’ll have. Work on posts for your blog, become part of communities on social networks and blogs and do some crazy research to find people who are in companies that you want to work for (see #1). Conduct job searches on corporate career pages and vertical search engines, such as SimplyHired.com and Indeed.com.

4. Find “head hunters” the web 2.0 way

There are a lot of headhunters around and they are easier to find than ever. I think the easiest way to find people who can be your “job search agents” is to join Recruitingblogs.com, which has over 14,000 recruiters and is situated in a Ning network. Many of these recruiters have blogs, as well as corporate HR people. If you want to find the top bloggers in this area, go to Alltop.com. Head hunters are great aids in a job search because they’ve placed candidates before, have connections, industry knowledge and can help position you for a good job. They also get paid based for helping you, so the incentive gives you a better chance.

Conclusion

I pretty much just handed over many secrets that I’ve had for a while and haven’t gotten on “paper.” Please note that if you aren’t an extraordinary candidate, with a strong brand, even these tactics might not help you in the short-term. If you’re smart, you’ll work as hard as you humanly possibly in these times.  Realize that we have to work twice as hard for the same salary now. I would like to reiterate that you need to treat your entire life as a networking event (including your friends, family, teachers, etc). One person you meet can change everything for you!

Leave comments if you have any other secret strategies that can help people.

Today, I spoke with Liz Lynch, who is a networking-a-holic and the author of a book about networking.  I always say “make your life one big networking event,” and Liz helps us figure out how to network online and offline, even if we’re lazy and hate the word “networking.”  Liz will give you a sense of how networking has changed, how online networking success leads to offline and how they are different and how all of this relates to personal branding!

Liz, there are a lot of books on networking/relationship building.  Why do people keep writing about this subject?  Is it because it has to keep getting pushed in peoples faces before they “get it”?

I think it’s the same reason there are so many diet books out there. We all know the best way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more, no mystery there, but we’re all looking for a new twist that will make diet and exercise more fun, more tolerable, and more effective for our specific tastes.

Hence you have the Zone Diet, the South Beach Diet, and the Frenchwoman’s Diet to name a few. I wrote Smart Networking for those who don’t want to put a lot of time into networking—they’re too busy, don’t like it, don’t want to do it all the time, etc.—but still want to be highly effective. They can learn to network smart so they don’t have to network hard.

Can you explain how networking success online leads to offline success and visa versa?

I don’t really see offline and online networking as that different. At the end of the day, the fundamentals of building relationships are the same. If you understand the fundamentals—that you need to be someone that people know, like and trust, and be interested in learning about others and adding value to their lives, instead of just pushing your own agenda—then you can do well in both, and make the transition from one to the other fairly easily. If you don’t get the fundamentals, then networking will be a struggle either way.

How has the internet evolved and facilitated the way we network now?  What is the major difference in networking in a web 1.0 world versus a 2.0 one?

Before the Internet made social networking sites possible, we were limited to networking with the people closest to us geographically, those we met face-to-face. Through web 2.0 tools, we can connect with people all over the world and get a good sense of who they are based on what they post and what others post about them, even if we never meet them in person.

“So while there is potentially more competition, those who have value to add have a greater opportunity to build a strong, global following.”

How is networking connected to personal branding?

Smart networking is built around the belief that networking is easier when people come to you, and having a clear and compelling personal brand definitely helps in that regard. When your contacts know exactly what you do and what you stand for, it’s easier for them to spread your message to their networks. Those who relate to your brand will find their way to you, and arrive already primed to do business with you without much intervention on your part.

What are your top 3 online and top 3 offline networking tips?

Online:

• 1) Start building your online network with people you already know so you have a strong base of support.
• 2) Get deeply involved in a few social networking sites than spread yourself too thin.
• 3) Don’t spam your friends’ profiles with overly promotional messages.

Offline:

• 1) Get to events early when it’s easier to speak to a few other early birds than try to break into a big group.
• 2) Have an agenda in mind for every meeting you attend.
• 3) Master the art of the “ask” because what’s the point of building a network if you can’t get help when you need it?

——
Liz Lynch is author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online. Her printed and audio products have sold on six continents, she’s been invited to speak at conferences and organizations around the world, and her writings have been translated into multiple languages.

Liz is also founder of the Center for Networking Excellence. Her bottom-line approach grew from her experience in corporate America working at some of the top firms in their industries—Goldman Sachs, Disney, Booz Allen & Hamilton, and Time Warner—to hone her strategic, analytical and financial expertise.

Today, I spoke with Anne Fisher, who is a senior writer at Fortune and the face behind the “Ask Annie” column at Fortune.com.  We discuss a lot of important workplace themes, such as office politics, how the workplace has changed in the past decade, the real way to get a job and what to do if you get laid off right now.  She provides sound advice for anyone who is encountering issues at work or issues trying to get a job.

Anne, how have you seen the workplace change in the past decade?  Is it for better or worse?

The biggest change I’ve seen in the workplace in the past decade is that employees have become much more cynical, and with good reason: When CEOs make hundreds of millions of dollars for, in some cases, running companies into the ground — all the while cutting jobs, slashing benefits for the survivors, and preaching “pay for performance” — it’s not surprising that employee morale has deteriorated.

A decade ago, at the peak of the dot-com boom, there was a widespread sense that individual contributions and merit really mattered, that is, that people would be treated fairly and rewarded for excellence. I see far less of that optimism now, and not just because of the current economic crisis and stock-market craziness, but because so many people who are lucky enough to have jobs just do not feel valued by their employers.

A lot of people have difficulty navigating around office politics, while trying to get promoted and advance their careers.  Do you have any advice you can share on this matter?

Office politics varies so much from one corporate culture to another, there are very few rules that apply everywhere. In some companies the way to get ahead is by being as kind and helpful to everyone as you possibly can, whereas in other workplaces just the opposite is (alas) true. In general, though, three tips:

• 1) Study the people above you in the organization who have succeeded and are well respected, and try to emulate their style;
• 2) Do the best you can to further the aims of your immediate boss. (If you don’t know what those are, ask.)
• 3) What goes around comes around. Even in a really vicious backstabbing environment, take the high road and treat other people the way you would want them to treat you.

“As former managing editor of Fortune Marshall Loeb used to say, “It’s a long career and a small community.”

What is the best way to search for a job when you already have one (maybe you think our job is in jeopardy)?

Most jobs worth having are not advertised anywhere, so don’t waste a lot of time poring over online job boards or other help-wanted ads. Instead, call on your network of friends, acquaintances, relatives, former colleagues and bosses (and former subordinates who may now be peers or may have risen higher). Ask if you can do anything for them. Mention that you are thinking about changing jobs.

Cast your net as wide as you can, including alumni associations and career centers at your alma mater(s) and people you may know through volunteer work or trade associations. If you don’t have such a network, the time to start building it is before you need it, i.e., right now. Also, don’t neglect the trade press in the industry you work in: Stay on top of what’s happening in your field and, when you see that a particular company or business unit is growing (which usually means hiring), get in touch with someone there and see whether there might be a place for you.

How should a college student select a good mentor?  How should a professional select one?  What is your grading criteria?

Many people make the mistake of choosing a mentor based on that person’s rank or accomplishments, without any sense of whether that would-be mentor is willing or able to spend the time it takes to do the “job”.

“The most illustrious mentor in the world won’t do you any good if he or she can’t spare you more than 5 minutes a month.”

So, whether you are a college student or a professional, do some shopping around. Make appointments with a variety of people whom you think could give you good advice or act as sounding boards for your ideas, and see how the chemistry develops. Ideally, a mentor and mentee should choose each other; your mentor should be as interested in what you have to say as you are in their insights. Try to avoid having your immediate boss as a mentor, or at least as your only mentor — too much potential for competition there.

If you got laid off today, what are the top 5 things you would do to recover?

• First, I would accept the fact that getting laid off is a gut-wrenching experience, and I would give myself a little time to grieve. (As some wise person once said, “All change is loss. All loss must be mourned.”)
• Second, I would start thinking about what I really want to do next. Maybe, on reflection, I’d realize I don’t really want another job like the one I just lost — maybe I’d rather do something else.  If that were the case, I’d brainstorm a bit and figure out some other possible ways I could use my skills and experience.
• Third, I would start reaching out to people who are already doing the kind of job I think I might like; I’d schedule informational interviews with them, just to learn more about what their average day is like, how they got into this line of work, whether I have what it takes to succeed in it, etc.
  
• Fourth, I would start networking like mad to see what opportunities might be out there that would fit with my goals.
• Fifth, I’d try to be patient: This is a lousy job market (although most people don’t realize that, for those with college degrees, the unemployment rate is about 3.1%, a lot lower than the 6.3% overall rate), and finding a new job is probably going to take a while.

——
Anne Fisher is a senior writer at Fortune.  She covers workplace and management topics for Fortune and writes the popular weekly career-advice column Ask Annie at CNNmoney.com.

Fisher began her career as a FORTUNE reporter in 1980 and became a writer in 1983. She has also written for Savvy, The New York Times, and Inc. Her latest book, “If My Career’s on the Fast Track, Where Do I Get a Road Map?,” was published by William A. Morrow in April 2001. An earlier book, “Wall Street Women,” was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1990 and has been translated into German and Japanese.

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It’s very challenging to network with people who are more successful than you are. I’ve been able to do this over the course of the past few years pretty successfully. I’ve spoke with over 70 successful people, just on this blog alone. The magazine I publish, Personal Branding Magazine, has highlighted even more. How am I able to do this?

Well today, I want to reveal the best way to network with people that you may be intimidated by or scared of. These individuals are the ones that can help you out significantly. People who are influential have large spheres of influence, so they can help promote your brand to a larger audience. The problem is that most of these people don’t need your help, or do they? Today, I’m going to tell you how to network with celebrities like a champ!

1. Offer them something they don’t have

The number one reason to start a blog or to be a journalist isn’t to position yourself as an expert or get your thoughts out there. The truth behind all the BS you hear every day is that blogging and journalism is about networking. 99% of bloggers and journalists make almost nothing (relatively nothing), but the network that they gain from giving value to successful people, is priceless. See, the one thing that all successful people have in common when it comes to needs is that they need visibility and promotion for their brands. With a blog, you can provide that to them. When you first start your blog, you can’t because you won’t have enough readership to prove the benefit to them.

2. Give it to them for free

Unless you have something of extraordinary “one of a kind” value to give to successful people, you are better off giving them something for free in exchange for an endorsement or referral later. A lot of consultants choose to do this or have to do this when they are first starting out, so they can build credibility and a track record. Obviously, people are more inclined to accept that type of generous offer than pay a complete stranger or someone who isn’t as wealthy or successful. If you receive an endorsement from them, you can use it on your website or on LinkedIn to attract new business or opportunities. Also, if they talk about you or promote you back, you gain visibility with other influencer’s, which can further your career.

3. Take genuine interest in their brand

If someone emails you and is sincere, you are more inclined to answer their email. If someone is reaching out to you asking you for favors, especially when you are more successful than they are, you are going to disregard the email. Genuine interest goes a long way in this world, especially because people are so used to being “used and abused,” as well as spammed daily. There is a great opportunity right now to locate people who are closely aligned to your brand and reach out to them. Even if you’re less successful than they are, they will at least answer you based on flattery.

4. Get noticed by them

Successful people take notice of other successful people. There are like secret code words and there is an ancient language they all speak . A great way to connect with them is to be where their eyes already are. For instance, if you speak at an event they are speaking at, it’s easy to start a conversation around that and for them to already know who you are. Also, if you write an article for a blog or traditional news site that they read, you might earn some respect from them.

5. Find people who know them

The shortcut to meeting successful people is by meeting them through your personal contacts. Your friends’ endorsement can save you from a random outreach and make it more personal. LinkedIn is so important because you can see who knows you and then strategize. Networking gets easier once your network gets larger. When you’re first starting out, it will be hard to implement this strategy, but as you grow older, it will become much easier to meet successful people this way.

I love hearing your personal branding success stories, so if you have one, please email me (dan.schawbel@gmail.com) and I’ll post it on this blog. I’ve blogged about seven success stories on this blog and look forward to hearing each one. I like inspiring others with personal branding success stories.

Here are a few from the past

• Using Facebook to get a job
• Using Twitter to get a job

I had the pleasure of speaking to another ambitious millennial recently, by the name of Lewis Howes. I would personally say that I dedicate most of my time to Twitter and this blog. I haven’t been using Facebook or other social media sites as much as I have in the past. Lewis and I spoke on the phone and he’s a good friend of Connie Bensen, who is the coeditor of Personal Branding Magazine and one of my close contacts. Lewis told me that he’s had crazy success with LinkedIn and I thought that was unheard of. Today, he tells his story!

In the beginning…

Over the last year I would say that 90% of my business opportunities have come from building my network on LinkedIn. At first, I was a little confused with the networking platform because it was different than Facebook and Myspace, but I shortly began to realize the potential it had.

What I did to make me successful

Initially, I completed my profile as it suggests you to do, then I started to reach out to other professional athletes and individuals who worked in the professional sports industry. Since I had played one year of Arena Football already, my initial goal was to build relationships with other football players, agents, and scouts, and network my way onto another team.

I wanted to separate athletes from everyone else in the industry so I created groups like the Professional Athlete Network and the Sports Industry Network to build my database and differentiate the two. I then asked my network compelling questions, provided useful feedback, made key introductions, started a newsletter including unique industry information, and built a site with additional resources to help people in my database achieve their professional goals.

My achievements

Since I was willing to make those important introductions, offer unconditional advice, and help others land jobs or build their business, people started seeing me as a valuable connector.

Because I worked on building my personal brand on LinkedIn, I now:

• give speeches to various associations and businesses
• write for a sports industry magazine
• receive sports sponsorship and marketing opportunities
• host live networking events to LinkedIn members

I also get free products to test and review, and receive free trips around the country to attend events. Various inventors bring me their products and ideas for my day job where I work as an inventor and intellectual property broker. I have close to 1,500 direct connections, and 20,000 other connections from the various niche groups I created.

Without the LinkedIn platform I would have to say most of this would not be possible. Take into consideration that this did not happen over night, but these results are possible for anyone who is willing to put in the effort.

What I recommend that you do

For those who do not have the time to build their network, I suggest focusing on three things:

• Complete Your Profile — What you write on your profile is the most important thing because your LinkedIn page shows up towards the top of the Google search results. Think of it as a resume on steroids; add all of your important key words and achievements and leave out the roids J
• Answer Questions — I know a guy with 12 connections and a half-completed profile, and he answers a question a day. In the last 30 days he landed three new freelance jobs because of his helpful answers. This takes 30 seconds a day, but if done right, it could identify you as a leader in your industry and land you more business.
• Recommend Others — “But, Lewis, isn’t the goal to get recommendations on my profile?” This is true because the more others vouch for you, the more potential clients are willing to hire you because they trust in your experience and services. However, I say make recommendations first because this does two things: your name and a thoughtful recommendation show up on another person’s profile, and eight out of ten people you recommend will return the favor. It takes a few minutes, but leaves twice the impact.

——
Lewis Howes is the founder of SportsNetworker.com, a business-networking portal for the sports industry. He is an inventor at trident-design.com, and has worked with numerous products from the initial ideas to manufacturing and licensing. Howes speaks to groups and associations on the power of using LinkedIn, and provides LinkedIn consulting sessions for individuals and companies. His book entitled LinkedWorking teaches how to achieve your professional goals while on LinkedIn and will be released in January, 2009. Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn or contact him at lewis@sportsnetworker.com with any questions.

Guest post by David G. Heiser, college senior and intern.

It’s strange to think about it because it’s only October, but for seniors like me, entry into the real world is quickly approaching. We may not want to accept that our final summer break just ended, but we have to start ramping up our preparations for life after graduation.

Note from Dan Schawbel: Employers plan to hire just 1.3% more graduates in 2009 than they hired this year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That’s the weakest outlook in six years and reflects a sharp recent downturn.

After changing majors a few times, I settled on public relations at the start of my junior year. Once I made that choice, I realized that I needed to establish an area of expertise, something that would set my personal brand apart from the thousands of other freshly minted public relations grads. For me, this was pretty easy; I wanted to focus on food and restaurants. The focus of your personal brand must be something you are going to enthusiastically look forward to learning and talking about every day.

Since I set my target, I’ve begun taking steps to make my goal a reality. I still have a long way to go, but the following are some of the things that have at least improved my chances:

Offline branding

I drastically increased my consumption of media related to my brand.

E-mail companies that you’re interested in working for after you graduate and ask them what qualities they look for in a junior hire. A common theme in the responses I received was being very familiar with the major industry publications. I immediately subscribed to three magazines, made sure I’m reading everything about restaurants in my local newspapers, and started a crusade to expand my culinary vocabulary by reading books by popular food writers.

I researched and aggressively pursued the most relevant internships in my area.

Look for the companies in your town that are most similar to those at which you’d eventually like to work. I ended up securing internships with my city’s food and wine festival and a local PR agency that has several restaurants as clients.

I sought out opportunities to get advice from successful PR professionals through my school.

It’s easy. Arrange lunch with a professor who worked in your chosen industry. Ask and respond to questions when guest speakers come to your campus. Get involved with any campus program that may afford you networking opportunities.

I got my byline in a printed publication.

Whether it’s a campus newspaper, community magazine, or company newsletter, employers love to see that someone else thought your work was worth publishing. My reviews in our campus newspaper reach 3,000 readers weekly. As a bonus, the general manager of one of the restaurants I reviewed enjoyed my writing style so much he recruited me to help write its newsletter.

Online branding

I claimed my brand and started networking

Claiming your brand on social networking sites insures that you have control over your reputation, but also provides motivation to, you know, actually network, which may lead to otherwise unavailable opportunities. I have profiles on a variety of social networks and have used them to make contacts which I will call on during my job search.

I started producing relevant content.

Showcase your unique voice with consistently updated content that will help position you as an thought/opinion leader in your field. My reviews frequently appear in the first few Google results for popular Charleston restaurants. I also recently purchased www.DavidGHeiser.com and am making efforts to move up in the results for my name.

I take advantage of every opportunity to increase the visibility of my personal brand.

Jump on any chance to get your name in front of an audience that it normally wouldn’t be exposed to. In addition to writing this post, I also worked to get my restaurant reviews syndicated on a local community news website.

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David G. Heiser is an intern at Leapfrog PR, a public relations agency specializing in restaurant and other “lifestyle” clients. He’s also a senior at the College of Charleston and a double major in sociology and communication studies. He is the resident food and film critic for the College of Charleston’s student newspaper, the George Street Observer, which has a circulation of 3,000 weekly. After he graduates, he plans on pursuing a career in public relations with a focus on the culinary industry.

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Web 2.0 and the need to be hyperconnected

Right now, we live in a world, where we can almost “touch” anyone we want. Instead of six degrees of separation, we are at three degrees. It has never been easier to meet someone, especially when we see whose friends with whom on Facebook. People are revealing their information on their social networks and websites. Basically, people want you to email them, or call them on Skype or comment on their blog. The web has taken networking to a whole new level.

We used to be limited with who we could connect with, but now, web 2.0 has eliminated communication barriers and put everyone on common ground. Since this happened, you are free to interface with professors, reporters, celebrities and executives ON THEIR TURF (which is sometimes your turf too). Before web 2.0, you had to meet someone in person to either befriend them or get a new client, but now, you can reach thousands of people in a very short period of time. All this hyperconnectively has given rise to what I believe will be a new job qualification, your network.

You have to have a large network now – no excuses

If anyone ever told me they only knew 20 people, my jaw would drop. I’ve learned over the past few years how easy it is to reach out to people (don’t be afraid) or have people contact you directly.

“A blog is like a mousetrap, catching people who are passionate about your topic.”

There is starting to be an expectation that you have a large network because of this accessibility. There are no excuses! It doesn’t even make sense to me that people don’t consider using social tools to network.

Human resources demand “a large network”

So you thought having work experience and a relevant skill set was enough? Nope. Businesses realize that a strong network means better and faster business results.

• When you have a large network inside a company, you have more resources and can get work done faster.
• When you have a large network outside of a company, you have expertise available to help you do your job better, plus some “job security” and credibility or “relationship equity.”

Think about PR firms for a second. Many people are hiring based on experience with writing press releases or pitching media, when those factors aren’t as important as the person’s network. Who would you rather hire for your PR firm, someone with 5 years of work experience or someone who is friends with all the journalists in your clients industry? The PR expertise can be learned on the job.

It’s obvious and goes to prove that, especially in external communication functions, you need to weigh the person’s network. Years ago, it was impossible to really understand this, but today it’s as simple as a Google search. By using LinkedIn and Facebook, you can verify if someone has a strong network or not and let’s face it, a large network can put you ahead of the curve.

You’ll be seeing this more and more as we move forward. It’s been my prediction for a while. Your network, is not just your net worth, but a job qualifier!