I’ve been in staffing for over 9 years, four of which I spent working with mid and senior level marketers within Fortune 500 companies. The job seeking world has shifted dramatically since I began, particularly after the Tech Bubble burst and post 9/11. As a result of these events, thousands of people were laid off, causing an ensuing flood of candidates in the marketplace looking for a job, any job!

Sure, email and the internet have helped the job searchers, but not in the way it can today. In fact in 2009 – a mere eight years later – technology is available to the “Average Joe” (not necessarily a plumber) consumer at very low or no cost to job search. As a result, the public at large has the ability (through online discourse) to discover at the click of a mouse which jobs, products, and services will fit their needs and lifestyle. It has always been the case that consumers rely on friends, family members and colleagues to influence their purchasing decisions. Now that people have hundreds of Facebook “Friends”, LinkedIn contacts, and Twitter “followers”, this has never been truer; especially when we’re talking about seeking employment.

On the other side of the coin, the same can be said for companies looking for employees – searching for the perfect fit – only nowadays, the employers’ “networks” have become their staff. I speak regularly with organizations that are looking for quality referrals from their own employees. Think about it: an employee who’s job is to, say, count widgets, or assist an advertising executive (in other words, someone removed from the HR function entirely) is now armed with the ability to influence their employer’s hiring decisions merely by virtue of their participation in social media – the employee’s membership in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for example.

It’s a win-win. Employers can save money and ARE saving money by relying on employees who have countless social media, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook friends, in addition to friends they find at networking events or association meetings such as the AMA, BMA, etc. Employees gain connections and insight into their own industries or other industries.

Not only do employers rely on who their employees know personally, they rely on what and who their employees recommend – such as reputable staffing and search firms. Enter: Brand You. The blind, resume-sending of the past is slowly creeping to a halt. That practice has not only saturated the job market with C.V. SPAM, it provides little in the way of real information for decision makers.

The Social Media revolution happening now is enabling people to engage with thousands of strangers who ultimately influence purchase decisions. Creating a personal brand is going to be a key factor in how companies engage their customers. Dave Armano of Critical Mass has recently coined the phrase “Brandividualism” – take a look.  The same methodology of Brandividualism can be said for marketers who are networking to find their next great career move.

As I was researching for this blog I came across this fantastic article called “Brand You“, regarding personal branding. It was written by Tom Peters who is a well-known journalist and Social Media guru. It’s a thoughtful piece that addresses the power of email and the internet.

I agree with Tom when he says, “The key to any personal branding campaign is ‘word-of-mouth marketing.’  Your network of friends, colleagues, clients, and customers is the most important marketing vehicle you’ve got; what they say about you and your contributions is what the market will ultimately gauge as the value of your brand. So the big trick to building your brand is to find ways to nurture your network of colleagues – consciously.”

This quote speaks to me personally as I worked for a Word of Mouth Marketing agency The Zocalo Group. It makes sense that, via emerging technology, Word of Mouth (WOM) would be a very useful way to help develop your personal brand in the marketplace.

Peters makes it clear that technology has changed the way people search for jobs and emphasizes the need of quality presentation and tech savvy:

“Partly it’s a matter of substance: what you have to say and how well you get it said. But it’s also a matter of style. On the Net, do your communications demonstrate a command of the technology? In meetings, do you keep your contributions short and to the point? It even gets down to the level of your brand, your business card: Have you designed a cool-looking logo for your own card? Are you demonstrating an appreciation for design that shows you understand that packaging counts – a lot – in a crowded world?”

After reading this blog I realized this was not written last year or even this year. It was written in 1997! I thought it was incredibly interesting that the content is still completely relevant today.  We are living in a new world filled with new technology and applications that are being created every day. It’s important to remember that we can utilize these new tools but it is mission critical that you need to add value and leadership 1-on-1 with your audience regardless if it is your customer or a prospective employer.

Recently on Tom’s blog he had a guest writer, Raj Setty, who wrote an article about personal brand and what it’s NOT supposed to be. Very insightful information, which can help you understand how to use social media to create a personal brand; by NOT thinking of it in these terms.

Despite 9/11, an ongoing economic downturn, and several other major world and industry events, things haven’t changed much since 2001 or 1997, for that matter. Yes, there are a lot of new ways to help craft your personal marketing message through new technology advances. Ultimately, it comes down to adding content, expertise, and experience to gain organic market share – timeless concepts, really.

Word of Mouth Marketing is ages old. The 2.0 version has only enabled us to talk on an individual basis to many more people via dedicated streams of communication. It’s sort of like being at a cocktail party where you’re trading dentist recommendations, only now, you have the entire worldwide web at your fingertips (in addition to that martini).

Have you ever heard the phrase that math is the universal language?  How about music?

Historians and sociologists would agree that it is our desire to be social that truly brings us together.  Could Facebook be our universal social network?

140 million users can’t be wrong.  That is the most recent statistic provided by “Inside Facebook” - an organization that tracks and watches the trends of the social networking monster.  Facebook is certainly not a US-bound tool, but rather an international language of status updates, photos, and shared interest groups.  95 million users are based outside of the US, which accounts for nearly 70% of the Facebook audience.  The tool is translated in over 100 different languages.

So are you on Facebook?  Or MySpace?  Well, it appears as though Facebook is now twice the size of MySpace, so it may be time to move your profile over.

Why should you care?

It’s who you know of course!  Have you ever asked a friend to pass a resume on to their boss before?  Ever thought that knowing someone at a company would give you an edge during the interview process.  Facebook makes that idea an explosive reality.

It is so easy to connect to folks through a social networking site such as Facebook, that it takes all the pressure off networking.  Those that disregard or do not take advantage of the opportunities provided by online social networking are just missing out in the long run.

Plenty of people believe that it “never hurts to ask”.  That could not be more true given the spider web of online connections made available to you through a site such as Facebook.  Being a part of the phenomenon gives you the chance to find work, find employees, and stay connected to top members of your industry.

Even more important - the global economy.  One would be remiss to consider the US the only shopping ground for new employees or new positions.  Expand your horizons!  How about finding a job with BMW in Germany or Giorgio Armani in Italy.  Perhaps Asia is more your style, what about Nintendo in Japan?  It is possible!  Reaching out to friends, colleagues, and acquaintances could get you a connection you never imagined.

What have your experiences been with making connections online?  Has Facebook made a difference to your career or networking abilities?  It’s a tricky new environment, so please share your successes and well as your failures - so that all of us can better navigate the online networking environment.

Like many of you, in the past few days I have taken the opportunity to look back on the last year and reflect.

In 2008, I made a big transition.

After working as an Account Manager at Paladin for a little over a year, I took the plunge and started graduate school, completely changing my career path - I am now a first-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology. At Paladin, we see many candidates who are in the process of a career change, and regardless of whether you are making a minor shift (say, from working in an agency to pursuing a career client-side) or a more drastic career overhaul, there are some common principles that apply. After finishing my first semester successfully, I wanted to share some of the insights that helped me along the way, in the hopes that they might also help others to smooth this scary transition. Here’s some of what I learned:

Demonstrate Your Interest and Commitment

One of the biggest hurdles we career-changers face is that we don’t always have much direct experience in our field of interest. It can feel at times that we can never catch up to those who have been doing our desired work longer than we have, and it can be difficult to get a foot in the door. Experience may be important, but so is passion, interest, and commitment. As you prepare to make a career transition, it helps to reflect thoughtfully on your own motivations: what has led you to the decision you’ve made? The first step to making a successful transition is being able to clearly articulate your motivation and passion to others (especially those with the ability to help you move toward your goal). If you have done volunteer work or had unique experiences that contributed to your interest in your new career, highlight these things consistently in your communications with others (admissions counselors, recruiters, hiring managers, etc.). Volunteering or getting involved with professional organizations in your desired field is a great way to gain some valuable experience, begin networking, and most importantly, demonstrate your commitment to the change you are making.

Know What Your Transferable Skills Are (and Aren’t)

Once you understand your motivation for making a career change and can clearly articulate it to others, the next challenge is to make the case for how you are qualified to do the kind of work you are seeking. A critical evaluation of your skills, strengths, and weaknesses is called for here. This might require a little thinking outside the box, as you analyze what you do and what you are good at, and try to creatively imagine those things in a different context. Be sure you do solid research on the field or industry you wish to enter, so you know the skills they need and can best match your abilities to those needs.

Understanding your transferable skills is important, but it is arguably more important to know what they are not. One of the biggest mistakes made by individuals trying to change careers is to overstate or ignore the limitations of their experience and skills. At the time I was applying to clinical psychology graduate programs, I had no work experience whatsoever in a clinical or health care setting, compared to many applicants who had interned at hospitals, volunteered for crisis lines, or worked as techs in psychometrics labs. However, I had evaluated my own experience, and realized that the many interviews I had conducted in my career as a recruiter demonstrated an important transferable skill: the ability to talk to people one-on-one, listen to their concerns, and synthesize information to help them find a solution (i.e. a great job opportunity or the perfect candidate).

When I interviewed for graduate school, I talked about the ways in which my experience could be seen as applicable, but I never said anything that implied that interviewing in employment is just like clinical interviewing or therapy. To do so would only have demonstrated that I lacked a clear understanding of the role I was trying to transition into, and would have backfired against me. This is equally true in a job interview. Articulating your transferable skills should be your opportunity to demonstrate to a hiring manager that even though you may lack direct experience in your new field, you have a firm understanding of what it entails and what you can bring to the table. Overstating the case for transferability, however, will have the opposite effect. It’s a fine line to walk, but it can be done successfully if you take the time to do your research about the types of positions and companies you are trying to transition into.

Work Your Network and Utilize Your Support System

The most successful transitions are a well-supported team effort. Once you have come to a decision about where you would like your career to go, and are able to confidently articulate your motivation, your commitment, and your transferable skills, it is time to start reaching out! While recruitment firms like Paladin can be a great resource during your transition, perhaps the best way to get your foot in the door is by talking to the people who already know you well: trusted colleagues, friends, and family. If you are confident and passionate about where you’d like to go next, your enthusiasm will transfer to those around you, and they will be more inclined to reach out in turn to their own networks, helping you find the opportunities that will put you on your path. In applying to grad school, I reached out to friends who had studied psychology and were familiar with programs in the area, which significantly helped me make decisions about where to apply and where to attend. Paladin also played a role in my transition - I was (and am) lucky to have strong relationships with my managers, who offered me the opportunity to keep working with Paladin on a part-time basis while I attend school. I get the best of both worlds - to extend and deepen my relationship with a company I love working for, while being supported in pursuing my next career.

Finally, I want to mention something that might seem obvious, but isn’t always acknowledged: Transitions are stressful! Even when you feel very confident that you are headed in the right direction, making a big change is scary. Many people are hesitant to admit that they feel fear of change. However, being willing to do so, and being able to rely on a support system of people who love you, can make the transition a whole lot easier. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it!

To all of you out there contemplating big changes in 2009, I wish you the best of luck, and Happy New Year!

Our economy has created a stir of anxiety and fear lately. We are asking ourselves questions: Is my company going to have major layoffs?  Why are there so many closed door meetings lately?  What am I going to do if I lose my job?

Even top performers and producers are worried and anxious about their job security.

What can you do to stay calm and enhance your chances of staying employed until things shift their way around? Here are a few tips and food for thought:

Go beyond the call of duty: Exceed expectations and volunteer to complete extra projects outside of your day to day responsibilities.

Make yourself visible: If you’ve been hiding behind your cubicle the last 6 months, chances are, you haven’t been noticed. Make the effort to say hello to people every day. Have a positive, upbeat attitude that will make the executives remember you.

Be punctual: Always arrive to work early or on time. If you have been strolling in 10-15 minutes late each day. Stop. Co-workers, including your boss, notice and so should you.

Don’t gossip and remain positive: Maintaining an upbeat attitude at work is essential during times like these. Office gossip tends to explode during an economic downturn. Always be professional and find helpful and creative ways to be the example.

Be prepared: There are some things you have no control over, no matter how proactive and professional you are. Update your resume and professional references, beef up your skills. Sign yourself up to social networking sites.