I’ve mentioned it before, but I love movies and the way that regardless of what is going on in our economy, lives, politics, world, etc a good movie can totally take you out of it and introduce you into a world unknown for a period of time.  I also love the lessons that we can learn from watching them – on life, risk taking, love, friendship, forgiveness and of course recruiting & branding.

20 Years ago – An Oscar was THE goal.  It was credibility, notoriety, fame, fortune and the physical manifestation of success.  Today its is the same thing with a interesting way to select movies that half the US population never will see.

20 Years Ago – The MTV Movie Awards didn’t exist.  But in the last 19 years it has evolved into being the one place where movies that people actually watch over and over and over – regardless of their technical and acting quality can be recognized for simply being awesome.

The Oscar is like the HR’s answer to the “Best Places to Work List”

The MTV Movie award is where your friends love to work.

(Now, select the alternate ending of the blog that best meets your needs)

I’m A Company:

Having a “best places to work” icon on your career site is great and a huge feat and something every company should be extremely proud of.  But don’t expect it to sell its self any more.  People aren’t looking at that as the end all be all of great places to actually work.  Its an icon, like an Oscar, but we all know that where people fill the seats and spend the money isn’t always on the oscar contenders.   Make sure that you are selling your company for what makes it unique an some of the features that aren’t always considered on those lists.

MTV Movie awards does the basics (best female lead, best movie…blah blah) but what makes them stand out and unique is they do other categories like best kiss or best WTF moment.  And the other categories aren’t wasted on things like costume and make up design because, well, people EXPECT that to be there in movies now.  You only playing up your branding around your excellent benefits or other things that everyone else on that list can offer is actually putting you at the disadvantage.  Job Seekers are EXPECTING that – especially from a Oscar Worthy organization.

I’m A JobSeeker:

So, you are out there searching for a job.  You are like an actor that is reading over 2 scripts determining if your next best career move is the oscar worthy epic where you will have a bit part or if it is the potential summer break out hit where you will have a bit part.

Don’t feel pressure to “want” to work at the companies on the “best places to work” or where your friends love to work.  Its ok to work for the quirky off the wall place that everyone just loves to work at but doesn’t win any awards.  As you look for your next role – take a look at those lists, but also take a look at other places that you hear about, read about on social media or online or just randomly see a opening at.   Decide for yourself based on conversations with current employees, the feel you get when you walk in for your interview, the way you are treated throughout the process to make your decision and where the “best place to work for you”.

In the real world people are cautious about what and how they say things.  There is something about looking someone in the eye or hearing their voice on the phone that changes the mental decision making process between what you want to say to someone and what you actually do say.  It is in that situation that your brains decision making process kicks into overdrive and helps you make good decisions not to upset, hurt, offend, etc.

In my real world life, I get faced with a tough decision (or lets face it, an easy one) and I carefully analyze it, weigh the risks, potential outcomes of each possible option, the impact it will have on all of the parties involved and make a educated decision based on those factors.  What wins is the path that seems the most logical.  I rarely make a decision based on emotional drivers.

In social media however, most people just put it out there (me included!!!).  I don’t always think through what I do or say or the larger, longer term impact that it can have.  From a decision making factor it is like taking a few shots of tequila then exposing me to 2000+ people to say exactly what I think.  We forget that much like when we say things in our real life, we can’t really take it back.  In fact its worse in social media because the electronic record is there forever.

The complete opposite tends to hold true for most organizations that are tightly controlling their “branding” – There is so much time spend doing the analyzing of what you should/shouldn’t put out there that they often come across so vanilla that a potential employee doesn’t really know them at all.  Your corporate facebook fan page, twitter accounts, corporate blog, etc  are all an extension of your organization and what you put out there about your organization – both good and bad – needs to be analyzed just like you were saying or presenting it to someone face to face.

When you are sitting in an interview with someone or talking to people at a BBQ – what do you say then (positive) about your company?  When they are frustrated or get a call from a headhunter – what makes employees stay with you?  Its typically not what is on your traditional branding material and on the information you feed out online.

I’m not suggesting you dive overboard and go to the extreme that a lot of us do as individuals – putting things out there that you probably shouldn’t have.  But, I am encouraging brands to move in that direction and be more human.  Be more real.  Be more vulnerable. Show the quirks and the not so positive part while highlighting the rest.

In doing so, you’ll gain the people that appreciate your company for who it is and want to work their regardless.

Just like the people who stay friends with me even when I do (and say) really stupid things.

It’s time to put your social media prowess to the test and tell the Social Recruiting Summit what you want to see in the breakout sessions!  I am so excited to be going this year after missing the big event at Google in June.  There have been tons of great ideas submitted and all you have to do is add your own or just vote for mine a few.  (If you like mine, then feel free to vote for them!)

If you aren’t coming why do you care?  Simple – I’ll be tweeting (along with everyone else, likely) the highlights – so vote for what you want to know about!!

So – here are my ideas for the unconference/discussion based sessions -

• Imitatition isn’t the Sincerest Form of Flattery in Social Media: Authenticity, Individuality and Building YOUR Brand
• Rolling out Social Media & Social Recruiting Beyond HR:  Introducing and Earning Buy- In for Social Media At Your Organization.
• A Person Behind the Avatar: Why Connecting and Providing More than Just Business is Good for a Corporate Brand –

Want to see all of the suggestions – check out the official EtherPad for Social Recruiting.

If you aren’t registered yet – make sure you sign up today by clicking below:

It was announced today that Levi Johnston will be posing in playgirl soon.  Levi Johnson is the former almost son in law of Sarah Palin and the baby daddy of Bristol’s baby and the twitter friend to me and PunkRockHR.  (If we are lucky, he will a surprise with C@L….) I actually found this as an interesting twist following his “dating” Kathy Griffin and a host of other odd personal branding steps.  I would think that as someone who was thrown intothespotlight  with this election would have come up with a more targeted strategy to jump into the spotlight…lets get real – cougars are likely a target market so the Kathy Griffin thing could make since, but playgirl…umm…not likely his target market and that is as far as I will go into that.

If he was smart, he would have watched how Sarah Palin in less than a decade went from an Alaskan Mom to the VP Candidate in one of the most historic elections our country has ever witnesses.  A person can not do that without a strong personal brand (even if they don’t know what that means…) Like her or not, Sarah Palin has done quite well with creating a personal brand for herself.  The rimless glasses, bump-it style hair do and red suit was a big hit for me at halloween last year.   I like her from a personal brand because she was targeting people like me and I identify with it:

1. Busy working mom with strong family values – Check, with fewer kids – but I get it
2. Golly, Gee Shucks, I’m not a normal person – Ok, most of us are.  You aren’t really, but more so than the suits.
3. From Idaho – Check – ppl are different there…yes, that is good and bad
4. Has a selection of guns – Check..I am quite good on the target w/my 9mm
5. Shoots moose – ok, well, I’ve been chased by a moose in the woods…long story, but true.
6. Says what she means even when it is stupid – I am ABSOLUTELY guilty of this one and admit it freely.

Not saying I agree or disagree with her politics – but her brand was undeniably unique.

As you build your personal brand – don’t try to be who you aren’t – it won’t come across as authentic and people are smarter than you give them credit for.  I talk with a lot of people that are working on there personal brand and make comments about not feeling comfortable sharing so much (Like I do) and that is completely fine.  One of the best personal branders I know is Jenny DeVaughn who established a brand around 6 core competencies (If you were at recruitfest, you would have heard all about it – so don’t miss the next one).  She doesn’t blog, tweet or RT publically anything outside of those 6 factors.

Levi Johnston is taking advantage of his fame.  Sarah Palin is doing the same in a much more contrived way.  I choose to be who I am and am totally cool with it.  You find a nice middle ground that you are comfortable with and run with it.

Earlier today, before my breakfast of Excedrin and Coffee (keeps me slender), I remembered a brief convo I had with @animal about Personal Branding. I said most of it is common sense – everything else is “smoke and mirrors”. While it may be common sense to me, I’m sure there are plenty of people who either a.) don’t know that you can use the Internet to market yourself or b.) could care less (the satisfied with stat-quo crowd).

Not to discredit my original assessment, I still feel that there are FOUR basics that everyone can use to increase exposure to their “Personal Brand”. This is not only vital for job seekers, but also for existing employees who are trying to network within their field or perhaps attract new business to their organization.

Facebook

We will get to LinkedIn later, settle down. Facebook is more interactive [than LI] and gives you more of a canvas to really let your personality show. While I already have 700 people from college and high school on Facebook, I am now using it to build relationships with people I have tweeted with on Twitter. I guess that is the tip here – expand your network; Facebook can be used for more than looking at pictures of your ex.

Make sure you change your Facebook URL if you haven’t done so already! Mine is facebook.com/adamelliotfields. This makes it easy to send to people after you have had a good conversation with them.

Common sense: Make your Facebook profile PG-13. Don’t be a square, but don’t make your interests something like this: “beers, blunts, blondes lol”. Remember- you want people to be attracted to your personality first; this opens the door to further conversations about your skills that pay the bills.

LinkedIn

Put down your pens and paper, there isn’t really a whole lot to say about LinkedIn. Let’s go over the obvious: create a profile and add people! Recruiters are using LinkedIn just as much as the other job boards, wink wink.

My first tip here is to join groups based on your interests and then network with people through that group. Simple as that. Also, for the love of God, put your damn email address in your profile. If you are concerned with spam, create an email address likeadam.fields.linkedin@gmail.com, just make sure you check it! I went a step beyond and posted my Twitter name, so you would have to be a complete idiot to not be able to get a hold of me. Facebook = personality, LinkedIn = skills.

Blog

You don’t need to buy a domain and a web designer (although having @smalps as my BFFL really helps). Try blogspot, wordpress, or tumblr. I personally like TwitBlogs.com because it is SO user friendly and seamlessly integrates with my Twitter profile.

Write about anything that is on your mind. Seriously, just be cool and let your personality come through. If you write about an article that is industry-specific, you can definitely get some attention to the professional side of your personal brand that way.

Just have fun with it though, don’t worry too much about the design and SEO at first. If you are a boring person, have a few drinks and then blog. Your blog could even be about getting buzzed and blogging (this could be big…)! Make your blog URL the default URL in your Twitter profile, and make sure you integrate it with your Facebook and LinkedIn pages (they have apps for that).

Twitter

Duh. Create a Twitter profile, add people, post links to cool articles, videos, songs, whatever. ReTweet people you want to get to know better.

Look at Twitter as a party (not a frat party, but like an upscale-apartment party where everyone is wearing designer jeans and drinking wine). Don’t be a soulless sales-person and hand your biz card out to everyone and move on. Instead, spend time to get to know a few people. Use TweetDeck and create a group called “Friends” (or Homies, Peeps, Brothas From Otha Mothas, etc.). This is your “Buddy List”; use it to keep track of the people you interact with on the regular. Twitter is going to be the medium you use to attract people to your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Blog pages.

Well, that’s it. This approach has allowed me to build relationships with some pretty cool people! I just got into Twitter in the spring, and went from not getting it, to being a self proclaimed master. In a few months, you can increase your network and create a name for yourself in cyberspace.