Second Shift member and LinkedIn Reboot expert Katie Fogarty has tips for landing jobs and a special offer only for our member community.
How to Land Any Job, Open Any Door and If You’re Really Lucky – Work in Italy
Still working on your 2018 career plans? Forget the tsunami of “new year, new you” job hunting tips. Focus on the only step that really matters – have an awesome answer to the question – why you?
As Second Shift members, you have the skills, the experience, the smarts to be a game changer for a who’s who of companies and organizations. But the key to bridging the chasm between your amazing self and an open job position is the ability to convey a killer personal brand.
I know. I know. “Personal brand.” Eye roll. But stick with me.
Everyone has a personal brand. It’s what you are known for – your reputation. But is your brand strong enough to get you noticed? Powerful personal brands share brand value — what you offer to others. Take Martha Stewart. Martha’s brand is clear – she’s a domestic goddess who can bake a cake, arrange flowers, decorate a home and throw a wedding better than anyone. But her brand value? She offers a better domestic life to the rest of us as well. “Be like Martha” – and you too can have a happier, cozier, more gracious home life.
People with strong brands are memorable, persuasive and compelling because they go beyond simply communicating what they do – they clearly share the value they offer to others. We know Martha, not because she inhabits her own perfect sphere, but because she can improve our own domestic life.
So how does this translate to work?
To walk into a job interview, create a strong LinkedIn profile, effectively woo clients, develop a larger network, and grow your professional influence – you must have a clear idea of what you do AND the value you offer to others, and you need to communicate that value clearly, cogently, powerfully.
Put your audience first, connect the dots between your value and their needs, and – boom! – you catapult success at work, job hunting, and answering that horrible cocktail party question, “So, what do you do?”
I learned how important it is to own your personal brand the hard way.
My 20-year career is in communications. I wrote the morning news in New York City. I ran campaigns for big brands at global and boutique PR firms. I even have a Masters in Journalism – hello credentials! – but it wasn’t until I bombed sharing my “elevator pitch” at a work dinner that I decided to get serious about nailing down my own professional story.
And here it is: “I help clients create powerful professional identities.”
Seven simple words that have opened more doors than I can walk through. Including a work trip to Italy (more on that in a minute.)
Begin to take ownership of your personal brand messaging today with these easy steps:
Power Your LinkedIn Headline: Go beyond your job title. Think of your headline as your “elevator pitch” – a chance to hook a viewer, share what you do, the value you offer, and entice the viewer to “click” open your profile.
Practice Your Pitch: Create a pitch that leaves your audience wanting more. Hone your professional story to no more than four simple sentences. Skip the jargon. And practice saying it out loud. A lot. Record yourself with your phone until you look and feel comfortable.
Poll Your People: Suss out your brand value by asking those who know you best. Poll former colleagues, industry peers, clients, friends and family for their perspective on your professional value. Then fold their feedback into your messaging.
Your professional story is your currency. And when yours shines a light on all you offer, it can take you amazing places. Like Italy.
A former client, and now friend, Michelle DiBenedetto Capobianco, recently approached me about collaborating on a travel experience for women wanting more than a vacation. Michelle is a former corporate lawyer turned private chef in New York, and she also leads small group tours of Italy through her company Majella Home Cooking & Abruzzo Tours. She is the epitome of The Second Shift mantra – “make work work for you.” I think I said yes before she could even finish her sentence. Hello gelato!
Together, we’ve created Reboot + Refresh in Italy: A Retreat for Creative & Professional Women – a week of inspired living and immersive personal development workshops for women looking to catalyze what’s next in their work and lives.
Interested in coming with us? We are offering Second Shift members a $300 discount off the program rate if you book by February 15th with the promo code SECOND SHIFT FRIENDS.
But whether or not you work on your professional story in Italy or New York, make 2018 the year you nail your personal brand – and see how far it takes you.
Katie Fogarty joined The Second Shift when it launched. She runs Reboot, a personal branding and career consultancy. Her client roster includes executives from: American Express, Condé Nast, FleishmanHillard, Fox News, Morgan Stanley, NBC Universal, Oath, Turner, and numerous private equity, law & fashion firms, and start-ups. Learn more at www.katiefogartyreboot.com.