Presentation to contractors at SAIC

1. Power Up Your Communications Career
CMA Public Affairs Roundtable
Sept. 1-2, 2009 • Baltimore, Maryland
Presented by:
Tracy Imm, APR
Marketing & Communications Director
Vision Multimedia Technologies, LLC
timm@vmtllc.com

2. Who am I?
Hiring Manager
Project Team Leader
Downsized executive
Entrepreneur
Commercial Banker & Financial Analyst
Strategist
Writer
Community Volunteer
Accredited in Public Relations (APR)
Social Media expert
Sister, daughter, aunt, wife
Management trainee
Junior team member
Proposal Writer & Sales Leader
Middle management
Agency account executive
General Contractor
Chief of staff
MBA graduate
People lover
Experience in nuclear power and aerospace & defense
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3. Agenda
• Today’s Competitive Landscape
• The Brand Called You
• Navigating the Landscape
– Implementing an Effective Game Plan
• Resources
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4. The Brutal Facts:
A Down Economy
A little doom and gloom for you:
• ―The economy will be in
shambles throughout 2009– and Decide right now that
for that matter, probably well
beyond.‖ (Warren Buffett) you will not be a
VICTIM but rather in
• U.S. unemployment reaches an
all time new high of 9% (Wall charge of your destiny
Street Journal)
and career.
• Mass layoffs occur across all
sectors and in all functional
areas (Business Week)
• The impact is not confined to
blue collar workers, Wall Street,
the Rust Belt or junior positions.
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5. Finding a new job
• Before… you could send • Now you need to work on
out lots of resumes to differentiating yourself
lots of places, do a little from the pack and this
networking and find an may mean that you may
comparable or better job need to take a lower
level job to stay
employed or get training
to jump start your next
move
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6. A new paradigm
We used to talk about progression on the career ladder where the only
acceptable path was up.
Think of it more like a personal jungle gym where you traverse as you need
throughout your working life:
•Relocation is now an acceptable way of life.
•Lateral moves are now acceptable.
•Shifting to different functional areas is now acceptable.
•Going backwards to then go forward on another rung (where you want to be) might be a
good strategy and is now acceptable.
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7. A Proven Approach
• As professional communicators, we
are trained in this methodology:
– Analysis
– Planning
– Implementation
– Evaluation
• This process works for your work life
as well
– Where are you now? What do you
like to do? What are your
passions?
– Where do you want to go? be? do?
– Execute your plan—use social
networks like LinkedIn, create a
Visual CV or Web site/blog
– Evaluate how it went
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8. From the hiring manager‟s perspective
PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES:
• Have you done your research
on the organization before
your interview?
• If you do not have experience
in that sector, have you read
up on industry trends, issues
and what the competition is
up to?
• Many times, you are being
tested to see if you will fit
into their culture more than
anything else.
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9. From the hiring manager‟s perspective
• Carefully read the job description
to see what the organization is
looking for.
– Develop several talking
points around these key
items and how you either
have first hand experience or
demonstrated results in that
area.
• This is what you are
bringing to the table as
the candidate.
• You are basically
structuring your
responses to increase the
likelihood that you will
be a top candidate and
potential hire.
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10. From the hiring manager perspective
According to Fast Company’s Technomix Blog in August 2009:
• 45% of employers check social networks before hiring
• A study conducted by CareerBuilder found 35% of companies had rejected
a candidate based on information from a social-network profile.
Indications of drinking, drug use, inappropriate behavior and maligning
past employers were top reasons for rejection
Managing your online reputation should be a top priority for you
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11. Importance of Branding
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12. The Brand called
“YOU”
1. Talents:
How well do you What are my unique strengths or talents? What is
know yourself? the highest and best use of my talents? How can I
better maximize the talents that I have? What
talents might I have that have not yet been
This is the analysis developed?
phase.
2. Skills:
What skills do I currently have? What skills will I
need in the future that I do not currently have?
To what degree am I constantly upgrading my
skills?
3. Knowledge:
What is my current level of knowledge in my
specific field? What am I doing to stay current?
What other areas of knowledge am I pursuing?
(SOURCE: THE SPEED OF TRUST, S. COVEY) 12

13. The Brand Called You
4. Attitudes:
What are my attitudes about work?
About life? About learning? About • ASSIGNMENT:
myself, my capabilities, and my
opportunities to contribute? Are there Briefly answer these questions
more productive attitudes and and evaluate yourself in each
paradigms I could embrace that would category.
help me create better results?
5. Style:
How effective is my current style in
approaching problems and
opportunities and interacting with
others? Does my approach facilitate
or get in the way of accomplishing
what needs to be done? What can I do
to improve the way in which I go
about doing things?
(Source: The Speed of Trust, Covey)
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14. The Brand Called “You”
What 3 words would you use to
describe your brand?
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15. The Brand Called „YOU”
Be both credible and competent
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR CAPABILITIES:
• Run with your strengths and with your purpose
• Keep yourself relevant
• Know where you’re going
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR RESULTS:
• Take responsibility for results
• Expect to win
• Finish strong
» Steven Covey’s The Speed of Trust
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16. How can you become the “best” possible candidate?
Differentiate yourself in multiple ways:
– Skills (possess something rare or
unique)
• What experience do you have with digital
communications platforms and social
media marketing?
• Are you a generalist or specialist?
• Are you exceptionally good at media
relations? Crisis communications?
Employee communications? Community
relations programming?
– Experience (B2B, B2G, B2C)
• What results have you achieved in your
assignment with U.S. Army Chemical
Materials Agency and SAIC?
• You can do pro-bono work for
organizations to get more leadership,
project management and
marketing/communications experience
that your employer may not offer.
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17. How can you become the “best” possible candidate?
– Outlook
• A positive attitude is
important and it shows
to employers
• Can you put yourself in
someone else’s shoes
and provide counsel that
is value add?
– Preferences
• Know yourself: Are you
an extrovert or
introvert? Do you like to
lead? What are your
greatest strengths?
Be interesting
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18. Traditional Communications Skills
Evaluate your skills and experience in the areas of:
• Integrated Marketing & Communications Strategy
development
• Public Relations & Corporate Communications
• Employee Communications
• Community Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility
• Public Affairs support
• Communications Consulting and Coaching
• Project Management/Leadership
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19. Social Media &
Digital Communications Skills
How much do you know about social media and how good are
your digital communications skills?
Employers want communications professionals that know a
variety of technologies, can create online marketing strategies
and know how to execute the tactics.
The Dummies Book series includes: Search Engine
Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, others.
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20. Developing Your Game Plan
• Where do you want to work
(location, industry, etc.)?
• Can you describe your next
ideal job?
• How much longer do you need
to work?
• What other skills and
experience do you need to
get? If you can not get it on
the job, can you get it
another way like through a
volunteer role?
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21. Your Resume and Cover Letter
• Showcase your experience, your education, your achievements, your
credentials
• Create both a functional and a chronological version
• Create a Visual CV (www.visualcv.com)
• Consider hiring a professional resume writer to work with you
• Customize your cover letters for each job
• Post your resume to several sites
• Use the verbiage from the job description
• Send a hand written thank you
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22. Networking 101
• WHY: Most people find jobs
through people they know, not
through online postings
• WHAT:
Create a proactive networking
strategy----write it down and measure
your success
– Create your ―elevator speech‖
about who you are and what you
are looking for and practice it on
everyone (what 3 words describe
your brand?)
– Read books/blogs on networking
techniques
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23. Networking 101
• WHO: Your network is bigger than you think:
– List of former colleagues, supervisors,
classmates
– List of people you know from
church/synagogue, community organizations,
etc.
– Find recruiting firms that specialize in
communications/marketing
– People your family knows that can assist you
– People you don’t know now but that you want
to meet (use LinkedIn)
• HOW AND WHERE:
– Events to attend (free, low cost) in your
community
– Take a class or seminar
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24. Implementation
• Get business cards printed that
you can hand out when you
network
• Recognize that you may spend
more time searching for your
next position that you expected
• Don’t take rejection personally
• Continue to stay positive and
surround yourself with people
who will support you during
your search-it will show in your
interviews
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25. Implementation
• Find opportunities to exercise,
eat right, enjoy your family and
friends, complete projects that
you have been meaning to do for
years
• Network, network, network
• Volunteer your time and talents
to an organization that will
benefit
• Get feedback from close friends
and family on your networking
techniques, elevator speech and
continually refine your approach
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26. Five things to do when you are out of work
• Create a job for yourself
• Focus on ambition and execution
• Start a blog about the industry you want to join
• Start a company
• Practice talking about yourself with everyone
Penelope Trunk
The Brazen Careerist
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27. Books to consider
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28. Available Resources
Top Communications Professional Organizations:
– PRSA (Consider getting your APR, read
articles, attend seminars and monthly
meetings, join the board, post your
resume)
– IABC (Consider getting your ABC, read or
contribute articles, attend seminars and
monthly meetings, join the board, post
your resume)
– AMA (Read or contribute articles, attend
free webinars and monthly meetings, join
the board, post your resume)
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29. Available Resources
• Sign up for Ned’s Job of the Week e-
newsletter (JOTW@topica.com)
• If you want to create your own firm, then
look into all the resources available through
the U.S. Small Business Administration
www.sba.gov and your State agencies that
promote entrepreneurship
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30. Professional Help
• Consider hiring a professional • Consider hiring a career coach
resume writer to write several to help you figure out your
versions of your cover letter plan
and resume
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31. We are free to do what we will with the
cards we are dealt, to chose what response
we will make to fateful events, to decide
what cause or persons will receive our
devotion.
-Steven Covey