Marketing Me! Questions

A random sample of inbound questions..

I hate my current job, what should I do?

Quit. Better yet, find a new job and then quit.

I just gave notice where I work. My company requires an exit interview, should I tell them the real reason why I am leaving (co-worker) or should I give the standard answers?

Unless there is the possibility of legal action on your behalf (harassment, wrongful termination, etc) I would keep my thoughts to myself or at the very least, present them as positive as possible. Remember to thank your old employer for the opportunity and the meeting.

As I am job hunting, I am considering a resume service. Which one do you recommend?

None of them unless you are really struggling with your resume. A resume service charges several hundreds of dollars to do something you could do yourself with a good resume guide.

College degree or technical certification?


Degree. A college degree in English Literature awarded in 1973 is more valuable than a Microsoft Certified Professional certification from 1999 any day.

I am thinking about starting my own consulting firm but my wife thinks I should stay with my secure 9-5 job. What do you think?

Too many things to consider here, but my first gut reaction is do both for six months if possible. If going alone is bringing in the change, make the jump. Support your family first!

Which part of the country has the best job opportunities?


It depends upon what you do. There are people working out of Bozeman, Montana almost exclusively online who are making six figures a year. Geography is quickly becoming irrelevant.

Should lawmakers prevent jobs from going overseas?


Not much they can do about it. More and more jobs are nearly virtual anyway.. think telephone customer service, insurance, IT.. so many jobs can be done with Skype and the Internet they can be done from anywhere. Rather think about how this can benefit you. You might be able to do your current job from somewhere far more fun than where you live now.

I am thinking about learning a new language to increase my job skills. What do you think?

Depends upon what language and what you do. Twenty years ago, everyone wanted to learn Japanese. I guess that would be fun now, but Chinese might be far more valuable today. Concentrate on what you are saying and the value it brings than in how you say it.

My company is shutting down operations in our city. Should I take the severance package or relocate with the company? (The package is quite a bit of money).


First and only question: Do you like your job? If so, move with it. If you are considering the money I bet you hate your job enough to take money to leave it. Take the money and do something you love.

How important is networking?


Let's put it this way, if you are down and out, you can always turn to your family. Think of your network as your professional family. They will be there when you are in need.

Is your name really Jack?

Nope - and that is not my picture either!

Walmart vs Neimans

I ran into the problem over the weekend - "I am a Walmart employee in a Neiman Marcus world".

It's not there is something wrong with Walmart, it is that the rules have changed. Where there was once a preponderance of line jobs, (show up, punch a time clock, put widgets in widget holder, etc), there are now a wealth of specialty jobs.

Walmart is cheap. The goods are bought in huge amounts and priced with little margin. The win is in the bulk buy. If enough people buy products, Bentonville makes a tidy profit.

However, if a product marketed at Walmart does not move, it is dumped.

Compare that with Neimans. Neimans carefully selects products which meet the discriminating tastes of it's shoppers. Products are unique and priced accordingly.

The idea behind Neiman Marcus is a customer will pay more for products which are above and beyond what one can purchase elsewhere.

Jobs are the same.

Once upon a time, US Steel and General Motors packed them deep. Hundreds of thousands employees across dozens of cities. Company towns. Mass production. Assembly lines.

When the product moved (and the market was closed) there was plenty of work. When the product ceased moving or became too expensive to produce, the Walmart jobs disappeared.

Today's job market is all about the Neiman Marcus concept. Employers will pay a premium price for key people who are unique and talented. Companies are smaller and as likely to be global as they are lean and nimble. And the people products are priced accordingly.

The decision for today is whether or not you are a Neiman's employee waiting for the offer, or a Walmart employee waiting for the callback.

Either way, make sure you are not in the returns line.

Next.

Social Networks and Society

Read Mashable everyday (like you should) and find out about the dozen or so social networks open for subscription daily and you understand what is happening.

Social Networking is hot and big business. And although MySpace will get all the attention, the hot, hot, hot area will be in targeted niche social networks. Think social networks for seniors (hot!), veterans, doctors, and so on.

Work 2.0

My concentration on Marketing Me is using Web 2.0 applications, like social networks, to better market yourself for potential revenue generating opportunities - jobs, contract, consulting, speaking, writing and marketing.

So far, I am still looking for a Web 2.0 application which will help make "job" searches and trusted resume submissions, better. In my world it works for both the job seeker and job finder.
I truly believe we are about to see the end (in the next decade) of several "jobs" as described currently - Full time employment, employer funded benefits, deductions for government programs, etc. Rather, we are going to see a world of part-time, contracted projects with less supervision in exchange for non-traditional work environments.

Charity 2.0

Seth Godin is running a Squidoo Lens on NPO's using Web 2.0 effectively. I think in the very near future, (like tomorrow) this will have the same novelty affect an email address had on a business card in 1994 or seeing a URL on a movie billboard in 1995 - minimal and short lived.

I am not surprised by non-profits using blogs, podcasts or social networks to build "awareness". These people have used mailing lists and phone banks for years. Using scalable Internet applications for the same results is expected.

I will be surprised, however, when politicians actually come down from their ivory towers and join social networks, answer their email and allow their constituents to "digg" legislation. As if...

Society 2.0

Social networks have evolved from "chat rooms" and curiosities and become necessary applications like email and instant messaging. We have take the application from the desktop and brought it truly online.

Will it evolve further into banded, trusted communities which "follow me" through my day and activities? Most surely.

Will social networks suffer and stumble? Of course. But email suffered from spam yet continues as does instant messaging and open websites (remember the concept of websites as channels one would subscribe too?).

Does this cover the world? No, but all of these bolded keywords came up this week and shouted at me. More will come.