Branding Yourself in New Mexico

I'll be delivering my Branding Yourself for a Dream Job presentation in New Mexico at SQL Saturday #183 on Feburary 9, 2013.

Register and come if you're in the area.

LinkedIn and Connections

I don’t use LinkedIn a lot,  but I do try to go over there once every week or two and update my status, add a link, and accept connections.

I have a simple philosophy on connections: I accept them all. I don’t worry if I know the person or not, if they’re a recruiter or fellow technical pro, I just accept them.

My thoughts are that the more people I can touch if I need help, the better off I am. It doesn’t matter where they are, or how I know them. A broadcast for network help is a broadcast that I want to reach everywhere.

If the person is someone I know well, I do take a moment and move them into my A or B networks.

I feel differently on Facebook, which is for real friends and family and I rarely accept friends there.

Get a second opinion on your blog

In addition to blogging regularly, learning about new things, and learning to edit your work, it’s important that you also present your knowledge, skills, and efforts in a positive light. All too often I find people that write technical articles understand what they are writing about, and are very knowledgeable, but are unable to communicate well.

Editing is important, you can certainly learn to spell correctly, catch typos (their v there) and fix grammar issues, but are you actually, logically, explaining what you have learned or accomplished?

It’s hard for most of us to play the part of the teacher and student when we blog. It’s too easy for us to assume the student will understand what we mean, without realizing we are assuming too much knowledge. It’s also too easy for us to skip logical steps because we think everyone would automatically realize they were implied.

Do yourself a favor when you are blogging and get second opinions from friends or family on what you writing. Ask if your posts read well, and if they make sense. Even if you have someone that doesn’t understand the topic read the article, it should flow and be easy to read. If it’s not, fix it before you publish it.

This is your brand and it’s just as important that you present it positively as it is you keep adding to the knowledge in your field.

Editing Your Work

I write about how important it is that you work on your career and showcase your skills. However if you don’t know how to communicate effectively and show off your talent well, it doesn’t matter how much you work on your career.

With that in mind, here’s a nice piece on editing your own work that will help many of you write better. It’s an important skill and whether you like it or not, you should learn to do it well.

http://lifehacker.com/5968996/how-to-edit-your-own-writing

Branding Yourself for a Dream Job

The modern job search is one that many people struggle to be successful with. These days companies often receive dozens, if not hundreds of resumes and applications for every open position. Standing out from the pack of candidates can be hard, but if you build a strategy over time, you can increase your chances of getting an interview and finding your dream job.

This session examines practical ways that you can build a brand as well as some of the dangers you may face. I will cover different reasons why you should use these techniques as well as how you can take advantage of them to build a better brand. You can choose to do any or all of these.

• Networking
• Volunteering
• Blogging
• Authoring
• Speaking
• Leading

This session is 60 minutes long.

Note: This presentation was originally called "The Modern Resume", but I've changed it to focus more on the outcome I want people to focus on.