How to Get to Brand You

You know the score. It’s all about personal branding these days. You know what to do: the blog, the Twitter account, the Facebook page, the … you know, the branding stuff. You need a job, and to get it, or that fat yet elusive raise and promotion, you have to distinguish yourself. With branding.

Hold the phone, there, sweet pea. Before you go all Seth Godin on us, take a moment’s pause. Just a moment – well, OK, I lied, more like several moments. And get clear on just what kind of brand you’re communicating to those prospective and current Powers That Be.

What the Heck Is a Personal Brand Anyway?

A lot of folks are writing about personal branding without a clear understanding of what that is. So let’s clarify our terms first.

A personal brand is not just the way you present yourself. It’s not merely your self-image. It’s that, and a promise you make to others – a promise that you’ll deliver on that image. That you’ve got the goods to back it up. In short, your personal brand is an assurance that your ego isn’t writing checks your skill level and experience can’t cash…

The American Dream is Dead–Long Live the American Dream

The American Dream is dead– and it ain’t a bad thing.

In a recent survey by Context-Based Research Group, a Baltimore consumer anthropology firm, 78 percent of respondents said they believed the AD was kaput. But they also agreed that it should be, because the dream has become defined by what you can buy, rather than by freedom and ideals.

If there’s one thing we learned in the past few years, it’s that lots of things are more important than money. So here’s some more good news: Those surveyed said they had taken steps to spend less (85 percent) and had de-cluttered their homes (61 percent). Well, now that all that stuff is gone, what’s taken its place? People…

Recession Briefing: Some Construction Unemployment at 30 Percent

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

No industry has taken it more on the chin than construction. Nationally, unemployment fell to 9.7% in January, but in construction it jumped to 24.7% from 18.7% in October. In many regions, union officials report 30% of their members are unemployed or “riding the bench.” (Time)

For the first time in recorded history, women outnumber men on the nation’s payrolls. This benchmark is bittersweet, as it comes largely at men’s expense — because men have been losing their jobs faster than women. (New York Times)

More prosperous American shoppers seem to be defying continuing high unemployment levels and economic uncertainty to renew their spending on luxuries such as jewelery, fashion and cosmetics. (Financial Times)…

Screwed: 1,607 in Chicago

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 2,311

Chicago Transit Authority laid off 1,607 unionized workers intheir decision to cut nine express bus lines and provide less frequent bus service…GNAC plans to eliminate 554 employees and three offices due to loan losses…In Michigan, Consumers Energy will lay off 80 unionized workers by the end of this month…

Want to Work at a Startup? Does Your Startup Need Workers?

Talk about upside potential.

In the recession, lots of entrepreneurs have had to bootstrap their startups. They’re dying for talent, but can’t pay salaries. Meawhile, there are lots of smart people willing to work for, um, “alternative” compensation (i.e., equity, low pay, or nothing), because they want to build their resume, take a shot at a startup or just do something with their unemployed selves.

Enter JobNob.

Our smart friends at JobNob bring the two sides together. They have held eight successful mixers in Silicon Valley for job-seekers to connect with startups, and they’re brining the show to New York on Feb. 9…

Why Daddy Has Time to Eat Fruity Pebbles Till Noon

As a kid, I always hated it when my parents spelled out words they didn’t want me to hear. Back then it was b-e-d-t-i-m-e, or g-r-u-m-p-y. Now it’s words you won’t even need to spell. B-e-r-n-a-n-k-e. C-r-i-p-p-l-i-n-g U-n-e-m-p-l-o-y-m-e-n-t.

Why bring little Timmy or Madeline out of their world of ice cream and action figures and into your world of calling that guy you played club soccer with in college to see if his management consulting firm has any entry-level positions to fill? How to explain, or not explain, the recession to your children:…

Recession Briefing: Super Bowl Still in Recession

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

It appears the scale of the Super Bowl party scene hasn’t fully recovered from the recession. Frank Supovitz, an NFL senior vice president, said there are more events this year than in 2009 but that celebratory spending likely won’t return to its peak of two or three years ago. (Dallas Morning News)

The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly declined in January, but the economy continued to shed jobs and revisions painted a bleaker picture for 2009, casting doubt over the labor market’s strength. The unemployment rate, calculated using a household survey, fell to 9.7% last month from an unrevised 10% in December. (Wall Street Journal)

Some homeowners who may well be eligible for the Federal loan modification program have been denied because their troubles were not deemed “permanent.” The cases all occurred before Treasury explicitly barred such denials in December. Despite the change in guidelines, however, those homeowners are still in limbo. (ProPublica)…

Screwed: 1,000 in Los Angeles

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 2,328

Lost Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa has ordered 1,000 municipal job cuts… Hartford, CT based insurance company Aetna Inc. has laid off 625 employees… 200 Wayne County employees are in danger of losing their jobs if the county’s temporary layoff plan isn’t implemented… Republic Airways Holdings Inc. will be transitioning to jet service, resulting in 175 employee layoffs this coming April… California’s Alvord School District is considering 128 staff layoffs… Wisconsin’s Bay Shipbuilding Co. is planning 116 job cuts due to begin in early April…General Motors will leave 64 Jacksonville warehouse workers jobless this March… Beverly Hills Unified School District is recommended to lay off 20 teachers to meat budget cuts.

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11 Easy Steps to Relocating

If Tom Joad were here today (and real), he might just sit tight in his home state of Oklahoma.

That’s because, despite record high unemployment and an unequal distribution of jobs across the fifty states, fewer unemployed Americans are hitting the road in search of work since World War II.

Worse: only 7.3% of job seekers relocated for work in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Perhaps employers just aren’t hiring across state lines, but some people have it tough—saddled with debt, or a home that they can’t sell. Who’s got the cash for a big move into the unknown?…