Maybe it’s because I grew up in a family-owned business. Maybe it’s because I grew up a bit “socially awkward.” Maybe it’s because I spent 20+ years in corporate communications. Whatever it is, I grew up with a very strong sense of inclusiveness when it comes to interacting with people. The concept that you “can’t judge a book by its cover” has always been meaningful to me; I’ve always enjoyed interacting with and learning from a broad range of people–trying hard not to pre-judge those I come into contact with. That has served me well. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Career Advice’ Category
Brilliance is not enough – you need to build relationships!
Wednesday, November 14th, 2018
3 Steps for Gaining Traction as a Thought Leader
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018
So you want to be an expert? Seems like just about everybody does these days and social media makes it relatively easy, and very inexpensive, to take steps to gain expert status, or thought leadership. We work with a wide range of clients, primarily in business-to-business (B2B) related industries, many who are business consultants wishing to establish themselves as thought leaders in various industries. Here are “3 Steps for Gaining Traction as a Thought Leader”: (more…)
Are You Wasting Your Time at Networking Events?
Tuesday, December 26th, 2017
In a recent Entrepreneur article, John Rampton explains to readers “Why You Should Stop Wasting Your Time on Networking Events.” In the piece, Rampton writes, “If people will be there that have great ideas and energy to share, I’m game. But attending an event just to hand out business cards and get a stack in return with the hopes of landing a new client or important connection is not for me.” (more…)
Avoiding the Top 3 Networking Blunders
Thursday, December 7th, 2017
Networking is an important activity in any industry. The term has many definitions depending on who you talk to, but in a broad sense you can think of it as just getting to know people in your industry. It’s surprising how many employment, mentorship, sales and partnership opportunities come about just by tapping into who you know and who you’ve met through networking activities.
Unfortunately, we don’t always leverage those relationships to best advantage. (more…)
2017 Graduates: Have You Perfected Your Elevator Pitch?
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2017
It’s graduation time, and many are thinking about landing their first job. Even those entrenched in a career may be prompted by graduation season to think about their career paths and whether it’s time to consider a job switch.
We responded recently to a reporter’s query about creating “elevator pitches.” It’s an important concept for graduates, for those 30 years into their careers, and for any company or organization that has a key message to convey to a target audience. (more…)
Holiday Small Talk: Explaining What You Do For a Living
Friday, December 9th, 2016The holidays are a great time to see family and friends you may not have seen or spoken to in some time. And when conversations with people you don’t see regular
ly gets stale, the quest for common ground may lead you to a variation of this common fallback: “How’s work?” or “what do you do for work again?”
For entrepreneurs, who have often been greeted with blank stares in response to that question, the answer can be tricky. (more…)
Making Friends With Finance
Thursday, November 10th, 2016
It’s not uncommon for the finance and marketing functions to be at loggerheads in the office. Whether it’s about the wisdom of embarking on an expensive new marketing effort or finance professionals refusing to share the praise for positive financials with their peers in marketing, conflicts can abound. While Lincoln Martin amusingly compares the two functions to the Starks (marketing) and Lannisters (finance), a la HBO’s Game of Thrones, it generally isn’t the case that finance people don’t like or trust marketing people. It’s often an issue of poor communication. Marketers are in a good position to leverage their communications skillset to help bridge that gap. (more…)
Two Must-Haves for a Strong Employer Brand
Tuesday, November 8th, 2016
When we talk about branding, we focus a lot on an organization’s corporate image, the impression the market has about its service, the quality of its leaders and key or, if a service organization, the personal touch its employees provide. These are certainly important areas of focus for branding; however, in a service-driven marketplace, employers are becoming more and more aware of the importance of human capital. From senior leaders to front line employees, organizations need to attract the best and brightest to remain competitive for the long run. There are plenty of strategies and tips for effective employer branding, but here we focus on two: (more…)
5 Steps to a Strong Employer Brand
Thursday, November 3rd, 2016
We’ve written previously about the importance of employer branding and why consistency and coordination between the marketing arm and the HR arm are crucial to ensure alignment. In this post, we’re going to look at a practical, step-by-step approach to building that brand by applying some fundamental branding tips in the context of employer branding.
Generally, in working with organizations on these types of projects, the steps are: (more…)
Building Your Digital Marketing Team
Tuesday, October 25th, 2016Digital marketing is a key aspect of any organization’s marketing mix. As digital marketing grows to represent a greater proportion of your marketing mix, at some point you’ll need to start thinking about splitting up the digital marketing responsibilities among multiple employees. Below we look at some tips and strategies for putting together an effective digital marketing team for your organization. (more…)
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