Staying Current with Trends is NOT a Fad

Nowadays it seems everyone has an e-newsletter, a Facebook page, a Twitter page, a YouTube channel, etc. etc. As an inquisitive marketer I'm always hungry for information and I admit I have a "To Be Read" folder in my Outlook that is never read (it's impossible to find that spare 1/2 hour a day). And once or twice a year, that folder is emptied without a second thought. 

"An entertaining must-read." - Brenda Meller

I'm sure there are tons of great articles and nuggets of information. But there's also a lot of recycled info that's pretty useless, or worse, outdated. 

If you're a marketer like me, you like to keep a pulse on what's hot and what's current, and also keep an eye open for what's next. 

There's a great e-newsletter that I opened today that inspired this blog entry: from Springwise.com. 

Read and subscribe here: http://springwise.com/weekly/2010-07-28.htm 

Here are just a few trends they highlighted in this week's and last week's issue. I'm citing the sentences that summarize each story the best, and that piqued my curiosity.

• "31Projects is a new online platform that helps connect such graduate students with companies and organizations in need of business expertise."

This could be yours... for a swap.

• "Luxe Home Swap allows people with high-end dwellings to swap accommodation with others all over the world."

Apparently he can get his own doggie bag.

• "FIDO FACTOR — Fido Factor is a US directory of dog-friendly restaurants, venues, bookstores and other establishments."

I hope you enjoy the read. And I'd love to hear your favorite marketing / inspiration sites, too. Because watching trends will never go out of style.

The Power of Volunteering

I attended a great networking session at Lighthouse of Oakland County today. They started a new program offering job seekers a free monthly breakfast plus workshops led by individuals in the community.

Beth Grossman, an Executive Search Director from Angott Search Group, spoke about a variety of candidates she has worked with who have use their career transition time to volunteer at a charity or other non-profit organization.

Twelve hours after the presentation, here is what is most memorable for me:

1. Volunteering fills that gap in your resume. It demonstrates your desire to stay active and be productive. Plus it gives you something current to talk about in an interview.

2. Being a volunteer can help to lift your spirits. It's tough being unemployed. It's frustrating. And knowing you're not alone doesn't always help. By volunteering your time to help a cause that you are passionate about, you redirect your energy toward helping others. And that feels good.

3. If you're trying to change industries and don't have work experience in your desired area yet, you may be able to gain some experience in a volunteer capacity. That may be just enough to open doors for your next career.

4. When you volunteer and assist at events such as those put on by Lighthouse, you have the opportunity to mingle and interact with a variety of working professionals. Sometimes these individuals are board members or senior executives. And making a name for yourself in a volunteer capacity will give them a very favorable impression of you.

5. It's nice to get out of the house. Or the library. Or the Michigan Works office. There can be something quite calming about working in an office setting that you can't quite achieve at your home office. If you miss the interaction and hustle of office work, you may be able to find a temporary office space as a volunteer.

6. Volunteering gives you something to talk about to friends and family, instead of rehashing your job search. We know they all mean well, but hearing "you'll find something soon" and the gentle head nodding and acknowledgment of the hours you logged on Monster this week can get old really quick.

7. Volunteering gives you a chance to help give back. Maybe you're a whiz at Excel spreadsheets. Or perhaps you've worked as a marketing director. Or maybe you simply enjoyed supporting a team in an administrative role. We all know every company has had to cut back, and many companies are struggling because they can't afford to build back their teams... yet. Non-profits and charities have their own challenges. Many organizations like Lighthouse are finding themselves in the unique situation of finding that previous donors are now clients needing help. You've got the time and expertise, why not volunteer? You might not have the dollars to donate, but you have intellectual insight which can be equally valuable.

So now I've got you convinced to look for some volunteer work. Where do you start?

Pick a charity. Any charity. Preferably one where you have a personal connection or personal interest. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:

• You could consider the American Cancer Society because you lost a loved one to cancer. My mom lost her battle with cancer when she was 46. One of my personal goals is to someday volunteer for the American Cancer Society, hopefully in a speaking  role.
• If you love kids, you could consider ChildHungerEndsHere.com. The Twitter hashtag is #fightchildhunger. This program serves Forgotten Harvest, Gleaners and Food Gatherers in SE Michigan. Two good friends of mine, Jennifer Marsik Friess and Susan Ferraro of Volare Public Relations have been assisting this program, and they've recruited me to help. 
• Lighthouse of Oakland County has a great volunteer program in place, and many success stories as a result. They mentioned their goal of providing support and inspiration to move people from crisis to self-efficiency. This is in the form of housing, food, counseling, and much more.
• Need something to sweeten the deal? Target is offering a "Scoop it Forward" promotion where you can earn some Ben Jerry's ice cream just for volunteering at a local charity. You just enter your hometown (or metro area) and follow the instructions to find volunteer opps.

Do you work for a charity and need volunteers? Reply to this post.

Are you a job seeker who needs experience to fill a gap on your resume? Reply to this post and tell us what type of volunteer work you are seeking. Or, better yet, contact the PR dept of your desired charity. 

We all can work together to help one another move forward. Don't you agree?

Need Help? Hire an Intern (You'll thank me later...)

The economy has forced us all to tighten our belts, possibly reduce our staff, and for some folks, find a new career altogether. Some of the jobs that were eliminated aren't coming back - requiring refocus.

What this means for all of us is that we need to work more efficiently with reduced resources. I always joke that if you feel that you are overwhelmed at work, then you are working at capacity and that's a good thing. :)

I'm noticing a lot of connections lately who are hesitant to post a job opening because they are leery of being overwhelmed by responses. Or, they are seeking to hire a contract position and if business continues to grow, they may expand it to full-time. All good signals that things are starting to rebound.

From the job seeker perspective, they may be seeking new positions in new industries, and have little to no experience in these areas. And we all know how hard it is to find a job when you have no experience in that area.

This brings me to the topic of today's blog: interns. I'm a big fan. And I'm referring to paid internships - not free labor. That's just not right, in my opinion.

When you find the right intern, you'll find someone who is eager to learn, hungry for work, interested in the job / your company, and a dedicated employee. You get the benefit of having a second pair of hands, at a low cost, without a full-time commitment. Plus you are helping someone to get a foot in the door of a new industry, and possibly in a new position. They get the benefit of gaining valuable on-the-job experience.

I've recruited and hired several interns throughout my career and have always had a positive experience.

Keep in mind though that interns aren't always college students. Sometimes they are experienced individuals who are changing industries. The advantage here is that experienced workers (or, older workers) are more reliable, confident in their abilities, and sometimes more polished. I give everyone equal consideration when it comes to applying for an internship. I'm more concerned that they are seeking an internship for the right reasons -- a foot in the door in the industry -- than how many years they have been in the workforce. If I'm reading in between the lines that the only reason they want the internship is for the money, or to get out of the house, etc., then they aren't a serious candidate. I'm seeking interest, passion, and enthusiasm. Because if you have those traits, you'll be a great intern.

Many colleges and universities offer Career Services to their students and alumni, and often will help you develop and post paid internships. My employer, Walsh College, helped me with my internship posting and I would gladly refer them.

What do you think? Have you hired interns before? What value do they offer you -- both personally and professionally?

Powerful Women -- quick... who comes to mind?

Without thinking about it too much, who comes to mind when you think of Powerful Women?

I'll give you a minute.

Okay, done?

So, who came to mind for you?

At the top of my list were Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Oprah, Suze Orman, Ellen Degeneres, and maybe a musician or two (Lady Gaga, Madonna, Britney Spears). I'll admit Sarah Palin was an afterthought for me. And she always reminds me of Tina Fey.

Thinking that I might be biased because I'm a woman, I asked my husband the same question. Surprisingly, his answers were similar. He also debated whether the Queen of England was powerful or not, and I prodded him to skip her if he wasn't sure and to name off as many women as he could.

What if I were to ask you to name Powerful Women who were local to your city/state? For me, Jennifer Granholm (Michigan's governor) comes to mind. As does Michelle Hodges (President of Troy Chamber of Commerce), Stephanie Bergeron (president of Walsh College), Terry Barclay (President of Inforum Michigan), Rhonda Walker (WDIV reporter, whom I heard speaking at an event last week), and Beth Chappell (President and CEO of the Detroit Economic Club). I'm sure there are dozens of others but those come to mind for me.

Now what if I were to ask to name Powerful Men? Or, Powerful People? Chances are, your list would be filled with politicians, businessmen, entrepreneurs, etc. etc. You'd probably mention a few CEOs who are men, too. If you had to name any CEOs who are women, you'd probably be hard-pressed to name a few.

Maybe this exercise was really easy for you because you follow Powerful People on a regular basis. And if you're not interested in Powerful People at all, you're not reading this post (yes, I'm talking to you... oh wait, you ARE reading this...).

There's been a shift over the past few years with more women moving into leadership positions. This was definitely highlighted by the last presidential campaign. As women, we know that we're still under-represented in many industries and within leadership positions. I was at an Inforum Michigan event today where one of the speakers was (is) a powerful woman: Charlene Begley (president and CEO of GE Home & Business Solutions and a senior vice president for GE). She mentioned that in her current role, she typically travels Monday through Friday. She further explained that up until a few years ago, her job did not require her to travel this much.

A question was asked during the event about work/life balance, and about women moving into leadership positions. Often women will not ask for promotions or more challenging roles. Some women don't think they are competent enough - nor do they want the added responsibility - that may come with those roles. Still many others who may be the breadwinner for the family are still the primary caregiver. We will make choices about having a successful career, but when it comes to deciding whether to accelerate into senior leadership positions, the family wins out.

I'll admit in some ways, it is our responsibility as women to find a careful balance between career success and personal/family happiness. Too often you see women who have successful careers who end up divorced, or without children by choice because the timing is never right. Having a supportive spouse and an extended network of family members and friends to help with family care-giving helps. And from there, it's up to us to decide how far we want to go in our career.

In other ways, our careers may be limited by the culture of the company. I've seen the good ole boys network alive and well at past employers and know I'm not alone in this observation. Even though we want to move ahead and move into leadership, the opportunities never come to fruition. Certain women acknowledge this and move on to find success elsewhere. Others accept the culture and come to terms with the environment.

Ultimately, it's up to each person to decide for herself -- or himself -- how far they want to go in their career and the choices or changes that will need to be made to achieve those goals.

As for me, I find it inspirational but also necessary to look around and identify Powerful Women. They can share their learnings. They pave the road for so many women behind them. They serve as mentors -- some directly, and others indirectly.

So who else is a Powerful Woman to me? In addition to the above, I think the list should include those who are just starting out in their careers and already demonstrating a quest for knowledge, and pursuit for excellent in any task - large or small. Amber Kaipio @akaipio, is a marketing intern at Walsh College who exemplifies this.

It should also include women in the Detroit Social Media community who are experts at building relationships and networking. Shelli Gutholm @shelligutholm, Carrie Roeder @ideationista, and Jennifer Marsik Friess @JenMarsikFriess to name a few.

Plus it should include those who have great presence in any group - positive energy, and a genuine, likeable woman. The kind of women who immediately bring a smile to your face and make you feel special, whether you're meeting with them one-on-one or see them in passing at a huge networking event. Susan Gibson at Corp! Magazine, Lori Williams @loritwilliams, Patty Buccellato of Refined Images, Tember Shea of Inforum Michigan, are a few that come to mind for me.

What do you think? Who comes to mind for you as a "Powerful Woman"?

Blog? Why Bother?

Blogging can be a chore for some, and a dream for others. I fall into the latter category.

I've always enjoyed journaling and/or writing in a diary. I've written books cataloging my teenage and college years and look back on the entries fondly. My audience for these books was me only -- although I think you always secretly wonder when you're writing a diary if someone else might someday stumble upon the books! :)

So why do I blog now? Great question. The best answer I can give is that I simply enjoy it.

Sometimes your thoughts just need a place to go. Sometimes there are themes I see reappearing in my personal and professional life and it's almost like I'm being led to the blog topic. Real life is my inspiration, you see. If you forced me to sit down and free write about something, I'd probably have a hard time getting started.

Sometimes I blog about companies and people. I always try to keep my blog topics positive. Nobody really wants to read a pessimist's blog, do they? Or a complainer's blog. Or a whiner's blog. Or do they? I know I don't.

Sometimes the companies and people I blog about read my blogs. That's not the reason I blog about them, but I keep in mind that they might read it. And sometimes it's pretty cool to see that people do read my blog. After all, I'm just me. I'm no Seth Godin or Ellen Degeneres. Well maybe not yet anyway...(yes I'm kidding).

Sometimes I blog because I haven't blogged in a while and I want to continue to be an active blogger. It gives me an opportunity to practice my writing style and tap into a different level of audience participation. Someday I hope to write a book and maybe a blog entry or two may make it into the book, so this is kind of progress toward that life goal for me.

But most of all, I blog for me. I can whatever I want and leave out whatever I don't want. Nobody tells me what to blog. I choose what to blog about, when to blog, and how often to blog.

There are a lot of other reasons you might choose to blog, including:
1. Demonstrating expertise on your field of interest
2. Cataloging some portion of your life: a trip perhaps
3. Gaining attention of potential future employers. Yes, it happens.
4. It provides you with a creative outlet - esp for writers
5. It's interesting to know that when you blog, the entire WORLD can read it. (more realistically, a few dozen might only read it, but still... the whole WORLD...)
6. Documenting a topic where you've gained life experience. I've read blogs about parents dealing with a child's illness and triumph when they are healthy again, women struggling with infertility and their insights gained along the way, an entrepreneur who has bumbled along and then finally found their life's calling, and so much more.
7. You think you are FASCINATING and want the rest of the world to know, too. See #5 above.
8. You have something to share
9. You think you have nothing to share -- but by blogging you discover that you DO
10. You like organizing thoughts into a list of 10 items

And that, my friends, is why I blog.

Brenda

WANTED: women's retailer -- professional attire

I need a women's retailer who sells professional attire to join us for a Professional Image event at Walsh College in Troy, Michigan on Thurs, April 29 from 6-8:30p. We need a retailer who can provide their own models and maybe 4-5 outfits, including professional (interview) suits as well as professional work attire (including casual fridays) for a fashion show. We would prefer they bring their own "models" but we can pull from our staff if needed.

I'm holding a meeting at Walsh next week with the men's clothing retailer and our image consultant who is delivering a presentation at the workshop. I'm hoping to have the women's retailer locked in by this date so they can join this meeting.

I do not have a budget to pay for this retailer. They will have the opportunity to distribute discount coupons, if desired.

We are expecting 100-130 attendees, all students and alumni of Walsh College. Walsh is the area's only all-business college. Many attendees are already in the workforce, while some may be just getting started. In today's economy, having the opportunity to display your professional fashions to a captive audience may be just the *free advertising* that you need to help make your monthly goal. :)

Let me know if you have anyone in mind. Please feel free to forward. Have them contact me asap at mellerbrenda@hotmail.com.

Changing careers? First career? Get Thee to an Informational Interview

The current economy has placed many workers-in-transition in the position to evaluate their careers, something they never expected. We have all grown accustomed to the fact that if you do your job, show up on time, and do what is expected (and maybe even do MORE than what is expected), that we'll be gainfully employed until we retire.

So many people have had this dream shattered over the past two years. I've met many people with this scenario and my heart goes out to them. Even my dad, who was employed with the same company for over 20 years, was let go from his job. He had planned to retire within the next 10 years. He was a hard worker, often working overtime or coming in on weekends when requested. But like so many others, his position was eliminated and he was escorted out of the building with a box of possessions from his desk. Ouch. And then some. He's fine now, but it was pretty traumatic at the time.

For many others, their layoff occurred at different points in their career and they've been taking advantage of the many free workshops and networking events for the unemployed. Some are still looking and waiting for the job they had to come back with a different employer, while others have bid farewell to that career and have turned their heads in another direction. These "career changers" are the inspiration behind this blog entry.

One technique I suggest to job seekers who are changing careers is to set up an informational interview. An informational interview is different than a job interview because you are NOT interviewing for a job. You are instead interviewing a person so gather information. These informational interviews are highly suggested by many career counselors as a way to learn more about a particular industry and career path.

Let's take the example of Steve (name and some details have been changed to protect the identity of this person). Steve worked in retail for over 20 years, moving into progressively higher positions. He changed retailers every few years (common for the industry) and made minor gains in salary and job titles. His experience has included hiring and firing employees, managing schedules, maintaining inventory, and working with the public in a sales capacity. Steve left the retail industry after the last holiday season and is now considering moving into a non-retail position, possibly with HR or Sales.

When I was speaking with Steve about his background, I suggested he first revise his resume to highlight the skills that showcase his experience in HR and eliminate any accomplishments from his resume that aren't specific to this new field. I also suggested to Steve that he set up an informational interview with a person in my network who has worked in various positions in HR over the years.

The process for an informational interview is as follows:

1. The job seeker requests a connection to the person they would like to set the informational interview with. I highly recommend doing this through your LinkedIn network.
2. When the connection is made, the job seeker mentions to the interviewer that they are seeking an informational interview to learn more about jobs in their industry, and also mention that you are NOT looking for a job; just to gain some insights.
3. Mention that you are looking for just 15-20 minutes of their time. If they give you 45 minutes, they like you.
4. Bring your resume, but do NOT offer it unless it comes up in conversation or they ask for it.
   
5. At the start of the interview, mention again that you are NOT looking for a job, but you are looking to gain some insights from their perspective.
   
6. Ask questions: how did they get their start in the industry? What positions are available/in demand? Based on your background, how would they suggest you get your foot in the door? Use this time to pick their brain.
7. Dress professionally, just as you would in a job interview.
8. Have a list of questions prepared. Don't rely on this person to guide your career.
9. As you approach the 20 min mark and if you're not finished with your discussion, mention that you want to be considerate of time and ask if they have a few minutes. (this gives them an "out" that might be awkward for them to mention, but will be appreciated)
10. At the end of the interview, request a business card, thank them for their time and their insights.
    
11. Send a thank you note.
12. Did you read #11? Make sure you send a thank you note. Yes, it's THAT important.
    
13. Follow up on their tips and send them a follow-up note. You never know where your future will lead and it's good to start building your network now, before you're even in the industry.

Regardless of your circumstances or the reason for your career transition, an informational interview can provide you with insights that you won't learn during the job interview process, or even through casual networking. It's important to have the right qualifications to move into the career, but you might not know what the "right" qualifications are unless you've had an informational interview with someone who works in the field.

From the perspective of someone who has been on both sides of the desk for informational interviews, I'll say they are helpful and essential if you are moving into your first professional career or moving into a new field. And as someone who is passionate about marketing, it is flattering to me when someone asks to pick my brain over coffee. I also like to know that I could be helping someone in the quest for their next career. Because hey -- if we all help someone else out -- it's going to help improve the economy all around, wouldn't you agree?

As for Steve: I'm going to keep close tabs on him. I have a feeling his career change will be the start of some great things.