Do What You Are

A book I highly recommend as you begin your career and life pathway is the one featured in the below link. "Do What You Are".... is a classic that you should read through to get a better self- understanding .. Self-awareness is one of the key ingredients of life and career success. Good Luck. http://www.amazon.com/Do-What-You-Are-Personality/dp/0316167266/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Don't forget to blog

Blogging is a great way to get your name and portfolio out there professionally speaking, of course. You can try Tumblr, Weebly or Wordpress for developing and writing your blog and crafting your online portfolio. Just remember to think before you publish your blog by ensuring it represents you in the best light at all times. Good luck!

Maintaining a professional online presence

As we observe every day in the news,the power of social media can never be underestimated. Therefore, maintaining a professional online presence is a critical part of a successful career path. 1- You never know what is on the Internet these days with your name on it... One way to maintain some scrutiny in this is to set up Google alerts using your name.. You will then get notified anytime your name appears on Google. However, if you have a common name, your alerts will be including these people. 2- Set your privacy settings on Facebook so that no one can tag you without your permission. Review your privacy settings on a regular basis... Do this with other sites that you may be registered with as well. Remember to only post items that provide a good image of yourself. Think before you post! Once it is on the Net, it is there forever. 3- Set up blogs or websites with your name to establish and maintain a professional persona. Remember to keep them up –to-date.

Finding your niche....

Here is my version for a definition of NICHE.... N- a new growth trend I -Individually customized to a labour market need C-Continuous and steady growth predicted for this trend- both for the present and future H- a Heartfelt and committed interest on your part E- Excites you and others For those with their own business In your niche marketing, make sure your market and business plan incorporates social responsibility, and is ecologically and environmentally conscious—then you can plan for profit with these two important factors in mind.

Find your niche

For every successful career, you need to find your niche. Find your passion. Find what excites you. Do you labour market research to see if it is feasible and move forward. If it is not feasible, find a growing market similar to that field and pursue it. Good luck.

Showcase your talents online and with Social Media

You can showcase your unique talent online and with social media , especially if you are in the Arts or in the fashion industry using: Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Viddy ( video sharing application). Just do your research first about how to present it and get feedback from others in your field, before putting it online.. Good luck.

Pinterest

What is Pinterest—and how it is used?

It is a site for creating a digital collage as well as for social networking. It can be visually designed to provide a venue for goal development through a digital collage as well for social networking-- and eventually through coaching-- for career branding and profiling.

For more info:
http://personalweb.about.com/od/contentsharing/a/Pinterest-Definition.htm?nl=1

Start off the New Year with your memoirs

Writing your memoirs - no matter what your age may be- is one way to motivate & inspire yourself and others. You get to see how much you have accomplished & how much you have survived.

It will also help identify accomplishments that can be put in your profiles for LinkedIN, Twitter, VisualCV, and YouTube video.

What a wonderful way to start off a New Year.

'Social Media now drives recruitment strategies for companies

More and more companies are using social media to win the war for recruiting the best talent.


The big four are: LinkedIn, Facebook ( career page), Twitter, and YouTube.

Google + though will eventually eclipse LinkedIn for finding the best talent.

Remember when you post anything on these sites that it can be viewed by current and future employers so always practice due diligence.

Reality check about who you are.....

Kelly Culrone in her book Normal Gets You Nowhere comments that you are unique as your fingerprint as deemed by our Creator.

We need to capitalize on this fact.

She advocates that you figure out who you are- your unique selling points and features, and get down to it; but bring conciseness and awareness along for the ride.

She also recommends that you be realistic about yourself and others, and not play the fool.

In other words, take off those rose -coloured glasses and get to work on your self- assessment, and your career and life plan that outlines your goals.

Tips on maintaining your professional profile

To maintain your professional profile, remember to continually update your status on LinkedIn, your business profile on Facebook and Plaxo. Answer questions when you can and try to connect with those you can mentor or can mentor you.

Also, develop and maintain a professional blog at blogspot.com and wordpress.com

Good luck..

Joining the Digital Revolution

The 21st century is ushering in the Digital World—gradually shifting from the analog world.. Even Canada is getting onboard building its national Digital Media Action Plan across the spectrum. One example is the Canadian Digital Media Network.

Universities are also now exploring Digital Media opportunities by blending together liberal arts, computer science and business marketing.

Likewise we need to have a Digital Media Plan for our career. Most positions are now found through such social networking sites as LinkedIn and Facebook. As such, it is crucial that we map out a strategy for our Digital Media Action Plan and consciously implement it with all our actions and updates on these sites, along with the other business and career apps that these sites offer.

Furthermore, in our current knowledge economy, we need to focus on sensitivity,intuition and willingness to collaborate. These factors have to be an integral part of our digital media strategy and part of our personal brand.
.Workopolis is also leveraging the power of the net & digital social media to help companies find new talent . In fact, Workopolis has redesigned its site offering a new service called Employer Brand Optimizer .

Workopolis audience numbers is about 15 million potential employees with the help of Facebook and Twitter—once again showing the power of Digital Social Media in action.



Moreover, Facebook has recently developed a career app that is making strides in developing and promoting your professional portfolio. LinkedIn also has updated its professional follow of companies apps.

Those persons who fail to join the Digital Generation – Revolution will fall behind in the competitive workplace and professional world of the 21st century.

Brainding and photo collages

Branding is sticking with something you will have a monopoly on and standing out in a positive proactive way.


To help you in this endeavour, do a photo collage to inspire and motivate yourself. Place it where you will see it often and it will be imprinted on your mind.

Try it out and you will find it quite effective.