Are You Digitally Distinct?

After reading Career Distinction by Kirsten Dixsen and William Arruda, I became interested in digital distinction and online branding. Then, on Kirsten's Facebook page earlier this week, she posted a link to an Online Identity Calculator.

The results of the calculator matched the results of my assessment when reading Career Distinction: I'm digitally distinct!

Digital distinction is a measure of your online profile at any given point in time. As Kirsten and William define it, "The online identity calculator measures the effectiveness of your online identity and places you on our digital scale. Knowing where you stand today will help you determine exactly how much work you have to do and your next steps."

They go on to say that, "Where you fall on the digital scale is based on a combination of volume and relevance. How many results do you get? How many of those webpages actually pertain to you? Do the references to you on the Web communicate a positive, negative or neutral image of you? How consistently do those results communicate what you want to be known for?"

Here are my results:

The majority of results that come up for me are aligned with my personal brand -- primarily my work with Resume Writers' Digest. This is the area of my business that I want to continue to focus on growing, so it's encouraging to me to see how my online brand profile appears.

Marketing Your Resume Writing Business

A steady stream of new clients ensures the success of your resume writing business. But how do you get new clients? How do you get your phone to ring?

There is no secret formula or magic bullet in marketing your business. The key to success is to select a few, simple, effective tactics and do them consistently.

One common mistake is to think that advertising and marketing are the same thing. They are not. Advertising will get you results, but it is not as effective as marketing your services.

In order to build your career services practice, you need to cultivate relationships -- with prospective clients, new clients, and referral sources (other resume writers, members of the media, career and life coaches, real estate agents, human resources professionals, etc.).

Tell people what you do -- over and over again. And get your message to the same people over and over again -- because consistency creates familiarity.

People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

And don't wait until things slow down before you market! It is better to be overbooked. You want to consistently cultivate a pipeline of prospective clients.

For more of this article, purchase the Spring 2009 issue of Resume Writers' Digest ($3).

Helping Clients Use Their Network

A few weeks ago, I wrote about The Power of Who, a book about networking. (It's unique take: You already know everyone you need to know).

It reminded me of a story that I told in the Summer 2009 issue of Resume Writers' Digest, in my "From the Editor" column. I wrote about a friend of mine who was seeking a transportation job. One of the first discussions I had with him was about his network -- and, in particular, their importance in helping lead him to a new job. He had already started networking with some folks in his church, but I reminded him to contact his past co-workers (some of whom had been let go in a previous round of layoffs).

After a few weeks of searching, he was stuck. So I put out a message to some of my connections about what he was looking for. Within a day, I received a call from a mutual friend of ours who worked in a shipping department of a large manufacturer in a town about an hour away. He had a lead for a transportation company that was possibly going to be hiring a new manager, in my client's town. So I called my client and put him in contact with our mutual friend.

This was were it got interesting: My client mentioned that he had a former co-worker that worked at the target company, but that he hadn't talked to him in a few years. I was stunned. Obviously, our discussion about contacting past co-workers had fallen on deaf ears ... because this was the kind of opportunity he should have found out about from his former co-worker.

This should be a reminder to us as resume writers: You can lead a client to his or her network, but you can't make him or her use it!

Pharmaceutical Sales Careers

Came across this great post by Kathy Hansen's husband, Randall, and it reminded me of a book that I used to recommend to my clients looking for a pharmaceutical sales job. Unfortunately, the book is now out of print. (The last edition of it was published in 2008.)

Then, I learned about Teena Rose's book, "Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales."

Teena's book picks up where the Insider's Guide to the World of Pharmaceutical Sales left off, offering resume and job search tips for breaking into the industry, including a list of pharmaceutical companies, job banks, and forums. It also offers STAR interview tips, geared specifically towards the pharmaceutical industry.

Cracking the Code to Pharmaceutical Sales: The perfect book to help your clients and a job in pharmaceutical sales. The book author knows what she's talking about because she possesses a long history of getting jobseekers into the field! (And because she's a resume writer, you'll find the advice she gives on resume and cover letter development is consistent with industry standards. This is a great resource for your clients -- and it's just $29.95.


If, as Randall says, it's even harder than ever to break into the competitive world of pharmaceutical sales, you need to help your clients by giving them every advantage.