Personal Branding Archives - Career Horizons

10 07, 2019

Forget Being a Generalist: Be a Multi-Specialist!

By Matt Youngquist|2019-07-10T19:36:26+00:00July 10th, 2019|Changing Careers, Job Searching, Personal Branding, Resumes|Comments Off on Forget Being a Generalist: Be a Multi-Specialist!

Once upon a time, you'd ask a person what they did for a living and they'd likely tell you they were in sales. Or marketing. Or accounting. Or technology. Or one of several other common, easily-identifiable career categories. These days? Well, thanks to the increased "consumerization" of the labor market and the resulting hyper-specialization of most job functions, it's hard to find people who fit these generalized career boxes any longer. And if they do [...]

22 11, 2017

The Single Word That Landed Somebody a Job

By Matt Youngquist|2017-11-22T19:00:51+00:00November 22nd, 2017|Interviewing, Personal Branding|2 Comments

From what I've witnessed in conducting role-play interviews with hundreds of clients over the years, the vast majority of professionals today seem to believe that the purpose of an employment interview is to "show the employer that I can do the job." With all due respect, I disagree. I think this is a dangerous oversimplification of what really goes on during the hiring process. And I maintain that if the average job hunter stops and [...]

20 01, 2016

Photos, First Impressions & Branding

By Matt Youngquist|2016-10-20T17:37:26+00:00January 20th, 2016|LinkedIn Tips, Personal Branding|Comments Off on Photos, First Impressions & Branding

When it comes to one's professional marketability and success in landing new opportunities, there are obviously a ton of different components that factor into the mix. Without question, education and experience play a critical role. So does networking. And one's resume. And the degree to which one is able to consistently produce great work and demonstrate this to potential employers via references, recommendations, and tangible work samples. One small piece of the equation that often [...]

11 03, 2012

The 5 Core Competencies of Self-Promotion

By |2016-10-20T17:37:44+00:00March 11th, 2012|Interviewing, Job Searching, Networking, Personal Branding|5 Comments

When it comes to ensuring ongoing career success, the operative word is marketability. Marketability, not talent alone, is what is separating the big winners from the big losers in today's world of work. And along these lines, I've been espousing an equation for years that will likely bore the dickens out of most people, but that I'm going to share anyway -- since it sums up what I've learned after having the chance to observe [...]

9 02, 2012

Time to Ditch the Resume & “Embody” Greatness?

By Matt Youngquist|2016-10-20T17:37:45+00:00February 9th, 2012|Personal Branding, Resumes|2 Comments

Imagine a world with no resumes. A hiring market where people aren't judged by the superficial impressions given off by a single short document, but on their ability to actually "prove" that they're highly capable in their field and capable of solving an employer's problems. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? And a much more fair way of going about things? Well, it seems that a growing percentage of employers are starting to think this way. They're [...]

6 04, 2011

The Wisdom of Ken Grant: Be Interesting, Or Else!

By |2016-10-20T17:37:56+00:00April 6th, 2011|Job Searching, Networking, Personal Branding|8 Comments

You're interesting, whether you know it or not. You are an incredibly alluring and interesting person by default, simply because you are a human being with a unique background and a lifetime of stories to tell. That's what Ken Grant believes, at least. Who is this Ken guy? Ken is a long-time ally of the firm who is not only a partner in one of Seattle's top advertising agencies, EXCLAIM, but also a former brand [...]

5 03, 2011

8 Personal Branding Tips by Maren Finzer

By Matt Youngquist|2016-10-20T17:37:57+00:00March 5th, 2011|Personal Branding|Comments Off on 8 Personal Branding Tips by Maren Finzer

Today, I'm proud to feature a "guest post" by friend of the firm Maren Finzer, who asked me to not only get the word out about a special free upcoming 3/15 tele-seminar she's delivering on personal branding (details here) -- as well as pass along eight great tips on how professionals today can properly assess their "brand" and differentiate themselves from the competition. So without further ado, here's what Maren has to share on the [...]

14 12, 2010

The Power of Well-Chosen Words

By Matt Youngquist|2016-10-20T17:37:59+00:00December 14th, 2010|Personal Branding|10 Comments

Quick quiz -- what people (or companies) come to mind when you hear the following phrases? 1) Just do it. 2) Elementary, my dear Watson. 3) That's the way it is. 4) Where's the beef? 5) Billions and billions. 6) Make it so. 7) Bam! 8) Just the facts, Ma'am. 9) Good night and God bless. 10) Make my day. While I threw this list together on the fly, spanning a few different decades of [...]

1 09, 2010

Losing My Facebook Virginity: 5 Key Insights

By |2016-10-20T17:38:05+00:00September 1st, 2010|Career Websites/Apps, Miscellaneous, Personal Branding|16 Comments

While a lot of people (it seems) view me as some sort of social media expert, since I use a lot of technology, blog constantly, and teach classes all over town on using the LinkedIn website -- I'll confess, I've completely avoided (as in: like the plague) getting involved with Facebook until very recently, as some of you discovered the other day via an announcement I ran in my monthly newsletter. My reasoning for being [...]

16 12, 2009

Reputation vs. Character: Et Tu, Tiger?

By |2016-10-20T17:38:17+00:00December 16th, 2009|Networking, Personal Branding|4 Comments

Help me out here, everybody. I've been hearing some hush-hush snippets of conversation in the hallways lately about Tiger Woods and some kind of naughty e-mail he sent out or something. I think there was something on TV the other day, too, when I was flipping channels. Can anybody enlighten me? Has Tiger engaged in some kind of recent behavior that was impolite or improper? Just kidding, of course. One would seriously have to be [...]