Alex Becker: Play To Your Strengths

by BusinessBusiness and Job SeekerEditor's PickJob Seeker

Play To Your Strengths

One Of My Strengths

One of my strengths is that I know that there are people who are better than I am at certain things. And that doesn’t take away from what I’m good at in the slightest. In fact, recognizing that fact makes me better at what I’m good at because it means I can incorporate ideas from others without having some kind of ego about it preventing me from doing something because it was someone else’s idea.

To wit, here is a video from Alex Becker, a thought leader in business that I very much so admire, where he discusses how important it is to play to one’s strengths.

Playing To Your Strengths Is Important In Both Business And Job Hunting

When you’re job hunting or running your business, you’ll be the most successful when you maximize your strengths and doing what makes you great. Don’t take my word for it though; watch the video above for an excellent argument about why this is so.

I Know What I’m Talking About So You Should Hire Me To Build Your Brand

by BusinessBusiness and Job SeekerHow To Build A BrandJob Seeker

My Prediction Came True, Quickly. It Shows Why You Need A Personal Brand

In April 2020, I saw a video of an app developer called Kilo Loco I follow on YouTube saying he’d been laid off. And I wrote an article here saying that I was sure he’d get a job soon because his personal brand and large following means he has career security. 

It turns out I was right and I know what I’m talking about when I say building a personal brand results in career security (so, you should probably get started building a your personal or business brand with Stand Out Professional Branding today, eh?)

Here’s a timeline of those events:

March 27, 2020: Kilo Loco posts on YouTube about his firing.

April 10th, 2020: I post about how his personal brand would help him get another job.

May 11th, 2020: Kilo Loco posts on YouTube about getting another job.

Proof That I Know What I'm Talking About

I Know What I'm Talking About And Can Help You Build A Personal Brand

Stand Out Professional Branding exists to help people and businesses build their brands to develop career security.

Here’s how that looks in practice:

  1. Develop a personal brand by providing value consistently over social media and in real life, over a long period of time to make connections with large groups of people. I’ve got lots of free guidance for how to do this in the articles on this website.
  2. There is no step 2.

Developing A Brand On Your Own Is Difficult, But Career Security Is Worth It.

I started Stand Out Professional Branding because I know what it’s like to have career insecurity and don’t want anyone else to go through that nightmare. I graduated from college into the financial crisis of 2008, which was no picnic. Since then I’ve spent the last decade+ learning how business, digital marketing, and branding work and how to leverage them effectively.

When the job market started tanking again recently because of the Covid crisis, I knew I had to do something so that job seekers wouldn’t go through what I did in 2008. 

To get started building your personal brand and and gaining career security with Stand Out Professional Branding, email us at: [email protected] or fill out our contact form here and we will get back to you ASAP.

Business Relationships Are Similar To Romantic Relationships

by BusinessBusiness and Job SeekerJob Seeker

How Business Relationships Are Similar To Romantic Relationships

Business relationships are similar to romantic relationships. When either are established based on shared values, they are more durable, inspire greater loyalty, and last longer.

…express your values and provide the other party with value…

If you’re seeking to establish a relationship in either business or romance, you need to both express your values and provide the other party with value to initiate that process successfully.

Communicated Values

When I used to do online dating, I communicated my values in my profile through a funny re-imagining of the lyrics to “Baby Got Back.” The values I expressed with that were that I wanted intelligence in my partner.

Sharing My Value

The value I provided was humor; because I made up a funny remix of a song, I would probably be a fun person to go on a date with (another value I provided was in my profile picture above; I’ve got an adorable dog that you might get to see if you went on a date with me).

Because I expressed my values and communicated value, I was constantly getting reactions like the one you see below.

  • My bumble online dating profile
  • A nice message I got because of that profile.
Thanks, Sarah!

By putting my values out there, I was able to establish human connections IRL easily and frequently. I stood out from the crowd, and was able to create the relationships I wanted to create.

Business relationships are similar to romantic relationships. Both are stronger when established based on values. So, establishing your business relationships through the sharing of values and the providing of value like the above example in online dating should be the goal of your marketing. Each post you make from now on should be focused on both expressing your value, and communicating your values.

Communicating Your Values Is The Foundation Of Career Security

by BusinessBusiness and Job SeekerFeaturedJob Seeker

Values Are The Single Most Important Part Of Gaining Career Security.

Communicating your Values is the foundation of career security. And expressing your values consistently over time is one part of how you build your network and how you create secure business relationships. If someone is spending money with or on you because they feel it is an expression of their values, rather than a transaction, you will have created a relationship that is based on those shared values.

If someone is spending money with or on you because they feel it is an expression of their values, rather than a transaction, you will have created a relationship that is based on those shared values.

That will result in more business in the long term and loyalty within the relationship. Ultimately, when you base your business relationships on values, you’ll have better, more fitting outcomes for both the buyer and seller.

Communicating Your Values

Values Are More Important To Communicate Than Quality

If someone is just paying you for your labor, they can go across the street tomorrow and find someone just out of school who is going to work harder than you. If someone is paying you for your expertise in tax law, well, unless you’re the Michael Jordan of tax law, there’s always someone better (and even if you are the Michael Jordan, there’s always someone cheaper). So, if you’re looking to build career security, money can’t be why people are hiring you or retaining your services. However, when a customer or client views doing business with you as an expression of values, rather than a transaction, you’ve successfully built a relationship that is more secure than one solely based on end results.

Communicating Your Values

Communicating Your Values

Your professional values should impact every single piece of communication you put out. Focusing your communications on these values will result in business relationships and connections that will be sustainable through thick and thin. That will lead to security in the long term because you won’t be as reliant one any individual job or client and your relationships will last longer.

Communicating Your Values

Forget Transactions, Build Relationships

Every time a person spends money with your business or hires you as an employee, they need to think of that transaction as being an expression of values. Somewhat paradoxically, you don’t want them to feel like spending money with you is a a transaction involving money.

Communicating Your Values

What That Looks Like In Practice

When major brands communicate their values effectively, purchasing their products no longer feels like a transaction.

  • When I buy a Corona beer, I’m not purchasing a beer, I’m purchasing the feeling of being on a beach.
  • When I’m buying an Apple Computer, I feel like I’m purchasing cultural cachet.
  • And if I bought something from a religious organization, I’d feel like I was expressing my religious values through that purchase.

None of those transactions feel like they involve money to the purchaser. And it is in transactions like that that you build long lasting business relationships and career security.

Communicating Your Values

Conclusion: Communicating Your Values Should Be The Point Of Your Messaging

Messaging based on values creates more secure relationships. It leads to customers or clients feeling like they are expressing values when they are doing business with you, rather than engaging in a meaningless transaction. This meaning brings loyalty and long lasting relationships. Major brands practice this and you should be doing so too.

Don’t Chase “likes,” Make Connections

by Business and Job SeekerTrending

Your Number One Goal For Social Media

Your number one goal when posting online should be bifurcated evenly between providing value for those who see your post and connecting with those people. So, make sure you don’t chase “likes,” make connections.

Again, when posting online:

Your Number 1 Priority: Providing value for those who see your post.

Your Number 1 Priority: Connecting with those people.

A group of people viewed from behind all with their arms around each other sitting on a ledge

To Gain Career Security, You Need To Be Making Human Connections Through Meaningful Engagement, Not Chasing “likes.”

Here’s the kind of reaction we’re aiming for when we post:

  • Comments that represent a meaningful engagement with the topic.
  • Comments that are the basis for a continued business relationship IRL,
  • DM’s from people telling you that you helped them in some way or asking you to create a professional relationship to help them further.
  • People expressing interest in attending events you’re organizing.
  • Any indication that you’re helping people and providing genuine value to their lives (this kind of engagement can vary across platforms, so I wanted a catch-all here).

If someone drops a like on your post, who cares? Do you have any idea what that means? It might reach a wider audience because of that like and connect with someone else, but we should be aiming for connections with who is already seeing our posts. If we’re providing value, the expanded reach will come in time so just continue to focus on providing value consistently over time.

A group of people viewed from behind all with their arms around each other sitting on a ledge

Why Meaningful Engagement Is Better Than “Likes”

If you’ve provided value to someone through interactions, they’ll remember that. Now, instead of being someone who’s post they liked, you’re someone who helped them with a problem. You’re an expert in their eyes who they’ll either go to, or recommend to someone else. They’re also much more likely to go to an event you’re hosting, or to recommend that a friend goes with them.

By soliciting meaningful engagement by giving value consistently over time, you’re building genuine relationships with people that you can foster in real life. And you can build business relationships with those people to help you gain career security.

Likes mean nothing. Human connection means everything when building career security.

Why Work With A Professional Branding Company?

by Business and Job SeekerTrending

Part 1: Why work with a professional branding company? Because we help you gain career security.

If you want the career security that comes from building a network of people that you provide value to and who know you as a resource in your field, you’ll need someone who can help you navigate how to build that following. 

That’s where a professional brand consultant brings value. If they can use the tools at their disposal to help you create a worthwhile network of people that you have IRL human connections with, they’ve done their job.

That’s it.

You’re the expert in your field. You’re a lawyer, or a web developer, or a nurse, or a physical therapist, or a stock broker, or a financial planner, or whatever you are, you have value that you bring to the table. All a branding consultant does is help you get that message across so that you can connect with a larger network and gain career security out of those connections.

Why work with a professional branding company?

Part 2: I Don’t Know How To Do Your Job, So Why Would You Know How To Do Mine?

I know digital marketing on a grass roots level. I know it requires consistency, I know that chasing “likes” is a fools errand, and I know that human connection is the name of this game.

What I don’t know is how to do your job. I don’t know how to be a Nurse, Financial Planner, Physical Therapist, Human Resources Manager, Aspiring Novelist, Cello Player, Therapist, or Dog Walker. So, why would you know how to do mine? Where in nursing school do they teach you how to set up a web page for yourself, or what SEO is and why you need to worry about that? Nowhere.

But to get the career security that comes with a large network that you’ve given a lot of value to, you need someone to help you navigate those aspects of digital marketing successfully.

Part 3: Maybe You Know How Digital Marketing Works, So Why Work With A Professional Branding Company?

Short answer: you may not, and that’s okay. Go do it if you can!

Longer answer: I provide value in terms of giving you accountability and guidance in shaping your message. Odds are your post history is inconsistent, and so is the message you’ve spread across social media. And that’s okay for personal use.

But for professional use, be you a company or individual, you need consistency and accountability while you’re building a network to gain career security. And providing you with that is as major component of where Stand Out Professional Branding brings you value.