If you are looking for guidance about how to use social networking for your career, you’re sure to find lots of advice about branding yourself. For instance, Brand You, an article in jobpostings, a job search magazine for students and new graduates, is a good example.

While in the past I’ve referred to the pain of branding ourselves in our job searches (branding is for cows isn’t it? And honestly I hate to think of cows being branded! Ouch!),  I just saw a fantastic  new article called Brand You? (see pages 16-17) specifically about branding and social networking.

Interestingly, this recent article was published in the same magazine as the previous Brand You article, but note the new punctuation.

That question mark in the title is important. Brand You? isn’t more promotion for the branding approach, but instead it asks whether, regardless of all the hype about branding,  it is actually useful and healthy to be a brand.

The article points out many interesting concerns about branding – the whiff of manipulation, the trace of insincerity and lack of honesty, and the hint of self-interest over interest in others.

Consider this thought from a digital literacy consultant who is quoted in the article “I think employers are less interested in your personal ‘brand’ … than what kinds of contributions you are making to your field, to others, to the world. What do you bring to an organization besides your carefully constructed self?”

What indeed. It is not our constructed brands that connect us with people and opportunities, it is ourselves – our interests, our questions, our curiosity, our real characters. The “constructed self” can actually get in the way of making a connection with an employer. If they can’t get to the real you behind the brand and access who you really are, it will be difficult for the two of you to form a real connection.

With the constant chatter about personal branding, it can be hard to not jump on the bandwagon and get branded. But some caution may be useful here. Will branding yourself help you to connect with people, or will it get in the way?

I love to see more dialogue and criticism of these sales and branding approaches starting to happen and spread. Brand me? No thanks.

Branding, Criticisms/questions, Job search as sales & marketing, Networking, social networking Branding, job search, social networking

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog this year. While there is a lot of job search information on the web, most of it seems to fit squarely in the Sales Mindset camp – believers that if you want to find a new job you need to get out there and “sell yourself.”

This blog is different – I believe selling yourself is demoralizing and dehumanizing and I’ve been critiquing that Sales Mindset approach to job search, and exploring alternative ways of thinking. In addition to the publication of my first book, Not for Sale! Why we need a new job search mindset, some of the things that I looked at in 2009 in the blog were:

• The energy of authenticity – a conversation between two people can be so energizing when you are both bringing “you” to the discussion.
• It’s not about the packaging – the huge success of Susan Boyle (first during the Britain’s Got Talent competition and now her CD that’s flying off shelves) is a great story about getting past how someone is “packaged” and looking for the talent and life within.
• Sizzle vs steak – too much job search time is spent polishing the sizzle, too little time is spent discussing the steak. We live in a time when people are desperate for meaning and connection – and that’s what we can be emphasizing not just in our broader lives, but in our job searches as well.
•  Inauthentic networking – too often networking is uncomfortable and disingenuous. It needn’t be that way. We can look for alternatives to a “one-size-fits-all” approach and try connecting with people based on genuine interest. 

It has been a pleasure to explore these topics. Thank you to everyone who has responded with their own thoughts (over email, phone, or in person). Let’s keep this discussion going!

On that note, I just realized recently that my blog was set to only allow comments if you are logged in. I figured out how to turn off this – so you can now more easily post your own thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you and getting your reactions and ideas. 

Happy Holidays to everyone! I’ll be back in 2010 with more thoughts on job searching with integrity

Job search as sales & marketing, Networking, Packaging, Uncategorized job search as sales and marketing, Networking

My last posting looked at two kinds of inauthentic networking moves: insincere flattery and insincere questions. These are moves that most of us have been on the receiving end of, souring our networking experiences.

What about when it is not the inauthenticity of other networkers that is souring the experience for us, but our own feelings of inauthenticity?

A lot of people report feeling “fake” and “phony” when they try to network. If you are trying to create new relationships with interesting people, and trying to deepen existing friendships, feeling fake is certainly not going to help. For many people it evens stops them from going out and networking at all.

Where do these feelings of inauthenticity come from?

Trying to Be The “Perfect” Networker

I think a lot of networking advice (perhaps very well-meaning networking advice) has presented a particular picture of what a “perfect” networker is. If you read too much about networking, it is easy to start believing that there is one right way to be as a networker.

Who is this “perfect” networker?

They

·         work the room – effortlessly flitting from person to person

·         are gregarious and outgoing

·         mingle relentlessly and with no hesitation strike up conversations with people who they don’t know

·         promote themselves with their elevator pitches and proffer business cards with finesse

Sound familiar?

This image of an ideal networker is everywhere. So, in an effort to be good at networking, job seekers try to emulate this ideal. And this is where the inauthenticity insinuates itself.

Some people may feel like they have exactly what it takes to be this “perfect” networker. They head out and network in this way and feel good about it. Far more of us do not naturally operate this way. But, in a misguided belief that you HAVE to be this way in order to be successful at networking, you grit your teeth, take a deep breath, and do it.

You “work the room.” You give your elevator pitch. You force yourself to mingle. And you feel phony and inauthentic. You don’t want to give that pitch – you did it because you thought you were supposed to. You don’t want to end one conversation and “work the room” – you were perfectly happy talking with the person you were with but started to feel guilty you were spending too much time with them.

The bad news – legions of discouraged job seekers who’ve been trying to live up to this perceived ideal

The good news – this “ideal” networker may not be the ideal after all

Next: Shattering the image of the “ideal” networker

Authenticity, Networking Authenticity, inauthenticity, job search, Networking

What makes so much networking so inauthentic and phony? Networking has such a bad reputation as a schmooze fest where insincerity reigns.

Being on the receiving end of insincerity sucks. Here are two classic insincere networking moves:

Insincere Flattery: “Wow, did you do something new with your hair? It looks so good” and “I LOVE your blazer.” And of course there is the ever popular “have you lost weight?”

Of course sometimes people give sincere compliments. But insincere compliments are the ones that promptly dry up when they realize you can’t give them what they want. When it becomes clear that you don’t have what they are looking for, suddenly you become far less impressive and interesting, making you reflect back on those early compliments and realize they were not really compliments at all - just attempts at buttering you up.

Insincere Questions: These are the questions that are asked but whose answers are not listened to. “What do you do?” or “what’s new with you?” or any other opening question to get you talking.

Then, when you’re answering, the questioner’s attention is anywhere except on you. They are clearly looking for someone more interesting or powerful to move on to. The question is mere place holder, allowing them to look engaged in conversation while they scan the room finding their next target. Questions form the basis of many a great conversation, but insincere questions have nothing to do with an authentic interest in learning anything about you.

Experiencing this kind of insincerity in others is so demoralizing. This kind of inauthentic networking sours the whole experience of trying to meet and relate to people.

So there’s a quick look at a couple of the symptoms of inauthenticity in others when networking.  Coming next … when it is YOU who are feeling inauthentic.

Authenticity, Networking Authenticity, inauthenticity, Networking

How to network authentically and with integrity has been much on my mind lately as I prepare for 2 presentations this week on that topic. I think because networking has such a bad reputation, lots of people are looking for alternatives.

As a starting place for thinking about how to network authentically, I’d like to share a recent Q&A I did with Jennifer Nachshen. I first learned about Jennifer when she wrote a neat article in the Globe and Mail called Doctor By Day, Fashion Blogger by Night, which I mentioned in an earlier post. I decided to contact Jennifer to learn more about her story, and she kindly agreed to a conversation. I really liked what she had to say about how she has approached networking, so (with her permission) I’m going to share some of her thoughts here:

Cathy: How did you connect with the opportunity to be a fashion blogger?

Jennifer: A friend forwarded me information about a website that wanted a blogger. When I applied, my letter literally said “I have no experience, but I can turn a phrase, and I’ve written some blogs … I was asked to do some trial runs. In a lot of ways I was very lucky. But it wasn’t just luck as at some point I had to put myself into the mix. The point is that opportunities are out there, and if you look for them and put yourself out there, eventually you will make a connection. But you have to be prepared for some failures along the way and just be able to pick up and keep going. I did get lucky, but I put myself right in the path of luck.

Cathy: Sounds like you heard about this first opportunity from someone in your network. How has building a network continued to be important as you build your new career as a writer?

Jennifer: I think it’s critical to take advantage of everyone you know and everyone you meet. They all have knowledge and experience to share. Network building is important, but it’s also fun. I love meeting people who are writing and being successful at it. They are usually very interesting people. I’ve managed to turn a number of those relationships into mutually beneficial friendships. We help each other in work and, because we have so much in common, socialize with each other as well. I’ve become so rich, both personally and professionally, through networking.

Cathy: A lot of people who are job searching are nervous about talking to other people and about asking for help. What has your experience of meeting new people been like?

Jennifer: People love to be acknowledged for their knowledge and expertise. I find people who I’m interested in and say “I’d love to take you to lunch and ask you questions about what you do and how you got to be doing what you are doing.” And most people say yes. People really want to help other people. Even if they can’t help you immediately, they might put you in the back of their minds and remember you when something else comes up.

Cathy: Some people feel like networking is fake. What about you?

Jennifer:  For me it’s not fake because I’m actually genuinely curious. I’m actually enjoying it. I’m going to events and asking questions because I am truly interested in what other people have to say. I think that, if you feel it’s fake, you either need to check your own attitude or get out of the business. It’s only fake if you are faking. I never feign interest because everybody has something they can teach me, even if it’s about what NOT to do!

Sounds like Jennifer is on to something in her networking. She has been able to switch careers, into something that had been an interest, but not something that she had really been involved in, by talking with people. I particulary like how Jennifer finds networking is not fake for her, because she is always asking questions that she genuinely has.

Thanks again Jennifer!

Coming next … Inauthentic Networking - what makes networking so often feel so phony?

Authenticity, Networking Authenticity, Networking