online visibility

The Buzz is Audible

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I've noticed some increasing buzz in the corporate finance space. Opportunities that seemed to be flat-lining over the past year have a pulse again. CFOs who spent the last 12-15 months hunkered down in positions they hated are now cracking the door to see what other options might be available. How do I know? My phone is ringing constantly.

While hiring is definitely lagging … and recent stats indicate that pre-recession staffing levels probably won’t return for another couple of years … it’s a great time to be a senior finance leader. 

A high-value, socially well-connected Chief Financial Officer, who may now or in the future want to move, should pay attention to the buzz. 

–Network. The best time to network is when you don’t need to network. You don’t need anything and are in a position to give and help others. Ramp it up. With the ease of online networking, devoting 15 minutes a day to the effort can make a huge difference.

–Get Visible. If you’re brilliant but no one knows about it, does it matter? If you aren’t marketing yourself, it’s unlikely anyone else will be doing so. 

–Be Prepared. The best opportunities come when you’re not looking. Unfortunately, not looking also means you can be caught unprepared. Putting a resume together in a day is a very different process than drilling down to find your branded value proposition and creating a marketing document and online presence that positions you to play from your strengths, passions, and values. 

The Age Old Question .. To Brand or Not to Brand

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Ryan Rancatore interviewed the Wine Guy, Gary Vaynerchuk on personal branding … specifically, what personal branding has meant to his career. He has some thought provoking responses and the post is certainly read-worthy. 

Take this comment, for example …

People just don’t stay in jobs as long as they used to, it just makes sense to let people know who you are beyond your job title.

Authenticity. Visibility. Credibility. Building your personal brand fosters distinction among  the targeted audience of people who need to know about you. And it takes time. Rarely does anyone become an overnight success. Rather, they spend time consistently playing in a niched space, leveraging what they do well, building an authentic reputation, and growing their network. That means, the best time to build your personal brand is when you are ensconced in a position with a move 12-18 months in the future.

As Vaynerchuk also says, 

I’d ask one of the millions of unemployed workers if they didn’t wish they had spent time building a personal brand. 

There are only so many CFO and senior-level finance positions available. Winning one of those roles means you do what the competition isn’t doing … before you need to do it. 

Win Visibility and Positioning in 2010

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One of my readers asked for some tips on winning visibility and positioning in anticipation of a recovering 2010. Josie, this post was written with you in mind.

If you read my post from last week, The Competition is Heating Up, you know that competition for every job is going to be even more fierce in 2010. The competition for opportunities though, can be far less. Amazingly, companies are still complaining about finding top talent. That means, it’s time to move out of the war zone (posted position game) and into a smaller battle field (online and offline networking) in order to out-maneuver the competition!

—Visibility … With today’s Web 2.0 technology, there is just no excuse for any CFO to not have a strong digital footprint. Create an integrated strategy with all of your social networking sites, using hash tags to push a post or tweet to your other sites. For example, use a Twitter account to gain visibility among recruiters AND build credibility around your digital footprint. Push selected tweets to your Facebook account and Linked In status update bar merely by using hash tags. 

You are who Google says you are … particularly to people you want to know about you. Set up Google alerts on your name so you can see what’s being said about you and by whom. Google your name, in quotes (i.e., “cindy kraft”), at least weekly to monitor your digital footprint. It’s not enough to have “stuff” in Google, a credible online reputation delivers clarity and consistency around your value proposition.  

—Positioning … Boring, dull, commodity — being like everyone else — is out. Well, lost in the masses for sure. In high school we all wanted to be “like” the cool kids. As senior-level finance executives, the goal is to stand alone so you can be noticed. Identify what you have that a company is willing to pay (big bucks) to get, and then shout it to your target market … clearly, consistently, and constantly.

I was asked in Monday’s Netshare Ask-a-Coach call about the marketability of a subject matter expert vs. a generalist. My belief is that knowing a lot about a little trumps knowing a little about a lot … and, that everyone is an expert about something, they just might not realize it or know how to unearth it. 

Win solid positioning by understanding what it is that you do well and love doing and who needs it, and then build your communication strategy around that message. 

CFOs … Learn from Social Media Thought Leaders

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Todd Raphael offers insights following the recent Social Recruiting Conference at Google headquarters and a conversation with Linked In founder, Reid Hoffman. It’s an insightful article, and CFOs can certainly learn a thing or two about how recruiters are using social media to recruit. 


One of the industries that Hoffman mentions as needing to be an early adopter of social media in order to avoid being at a competitive disadvantage is venture capital. He goes on to say,


“If your business is based on talking to people you don’t know, you have to be very competent with these tools….”


I agree, and, taken to the next level, managing your career is all about talking to people … many of whom you don’t know, yet … who can help you achieve your career goals. Social media is a tool for doing just that.


One of my colleagues recently mentioned a reticence on the part of her clients to build a strong online identity (digital footprint). She asked me about my finance executive clients and whether they were questioning this social media phenomenon. When clients work with me, they come in knowing that building a visible online presence is a key piece of an overall career management / job search strategy. If they don’t want to or are unwilling to do so, then I’m not the right person to work with them. 


I want my clients to be successful. Getting there requires them to embrace social media as a key strategy to achieving their goals. Read the article, and then get on board!

Social Media and Career Management

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Kendra Reddy wrote an article on “Career Management Netiquette,” and it is a good read. The bottom line … it’s not enough to “be” [visible] you must “do” [networking]. 


Now, we are human BEings. But networking is a verb and, whether online or offline, it demands action. It requires you to be actively DOing.  And to do networking well requires you to be proactive … networking before you need to network. 


My finance exec clients are busier than a one-armed fiddler most weeks, and the first thing that falls by the wayside is often managing their career. However, more important than quantity is consistency. Networking regularly in shorter blocks of time will ensure that the energy and synergy around networking will not ebb and flow, or even run dry.


I’m seeing a pattern evolving during this tight economy for those at the senior level to hunker down and stay where they are. That’s a fine strategy … as long as you have Plan B working in the background. Getting caught unprepared and then trying to ramp up puts every candidate at a serious disadvantage, despite how talented they are.

The 150 Most Influential Headhunters

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BusinessWeek.com just posted an interactive table containing the names of the 150 Most Influential Headhunters. 

If you don’t already have a relationship with these folks, contacting them with a plea for their help and a copy of your resume probably won't be very beneficial. However, understanding who needs to know about you, and getting on their radar screen, can position you well for the future.

No Blogging Allowed

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Another great question from the AFP conference …

How can I build visibility if my company has a policy against personal and/or corporate blogs?

Unfortunately this is a roadblock many people face. Obviously, attempting to get the policy changed is one approach. Since corporate visibility and credibility also boost your individual visibility and credibility, corporate blogging is really a win/win. A legitimate argument for corporate blogging might include what the competition is doing, or not doing, as a way for your organization to get onboard the Web 2.0 phenomenon.

If there isn’t a corporate policy against writing and publishing articles, especially for industry–related websites, trade journals, and magazines, that can be a great back–up plan for increasing online visibility by including a link back to your Linked In profile.

Failing those two strategies, think about visible leadership roles you might assume and then create press around the benefits of what you’re doing. These leadership roles might include presenting at conferences, chairing the local chapter of an organization, or even holding an officer position in a national organization.

The inability to raise visibility through publishing or pontificating increases the importance of a professional, branded presence on Linked In, Facebook, Zoom Info, and Ziggs.

 

Reputation Management

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Some great questions came out of my presentation at the AFP conference in LA last week. I’ll cover a few of them here over the next few days.

How do I handle the situation where someone shares my name, has a high Google Quotient, and a less then desirable reputation?

This question points to the importance of knowing and understanding what Google is saying about you. While it is impossible to control other people and their reputation, you can raise your Google Quotient through posting, publishing, pontificating, and partnering … thereby pushing others behind you.

It also illustrates the importance of having complete profiles on some of the key sites (Linked In, Facebook, Ziggs, ZoomInfo) so there is NO question about who you are.

5 Headhunter Secrets

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Are you aware that …

–85% of recruiters use online resources to uncover “information” about candidates

–35% of recruiters eliminate candidates based on what they find (Business Week June 2006)

— Blogs are becoming an executive accessory (Debbie Weil)

–6 degrees of separation is now 5 degrees (Columbia University)

–70% of recruiters said their opinion of candidates improves when the find evidence of community service, leadership, awards, and published articles. Opinions decrease when the find candidates own their own business, misstatements and inconsistencies, ethics issues, or are invisible

–76% of executives expect to be Googled; 8% said they found information they wished wasn’t available, 4% posted controversial (up 150% in last year)

–20% of executives have a web presence

If you would like to learn where recruiters are looking for top talent and how to be found by those recruiters, please join Recruiter Bill Vick in the CFO–Career–Forum on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at 4:00 p.m.

To get the inside scoop, sign up TODAY!

If you are a member of the CFO–Career–Forum, log in and register today for our conversation on October 23 at 4:00 Eastern. If you are not a member of the CFO–Career–Forum but want to join the call … register here!

What’s Your Score?

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If you read my column regularly, you know I talk frequently about Google and your online identity. In today’s PhillyBurbs.com, Lou Sessinger discusses … guess what … the importance of a web presence in relation to a job search.

Google your name and then jump to the Career Distinction blog to use the GQ calculator to obtain your Google rating. And then evaluate your digital footprint. Are you digitally distinct? Digitally dabbling? Or, are you a digital dinosaur on the verge of extinction?

What is the relevance quotient? What message are you sending about yourself, and is it the message you want people to receive?