by Caroline Leach | Jul 10, 2023 | Careers, Corporate Communications
Compete only with yourself. đźš´
That’s where the true contest is.
âś… How can you stretch and grow?
âś… What can you do better today than yesterday?
âś… How can you beat your personal best?
Much of what we read, see, and experience is about a competition for what we perceive are limited resources. College admissions. Professional jobs. Pay raises.
Comparing ourselves to others on social media makes this even worse. It looks like everyone is doing better than us. No one has problems. Life is easy.
Except this isn’t true. Deep down, we know it intellectually. But feeling it emotionally is another story.
What if we reframed our perspective? What if we approached our lives and careers as if there were more than enough go around? As if there were plenty of opportunities?
Because there are. We live in an era of multiple global problems that need to be addressed. Pick a way to make a difference, and go do that.
And if you’re competing only against yourself, it’s much easier.
People often ask how I navigated a 30-year career in the Fortune 100. How did I get jobs and promotions?
What I realized is I was usually competing only with myself for jobs. Often I was the only candidate being considered. And that makes it easier to be selected!
After my first career change into corporate communications, I was eager for more responsibility. But it wasn’t happening where I was. The company wasn’t growing. People stayed in the same roles for years. To grow, I needed to change companies.
Professional associations are a source of connection and learning for me, especially IABC and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). This is how I met Wendy Greene and Jeff Torkelson. Jeff and I are also alums of the same MA program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, a strong connection.
One day I called Jeff by way of Wendy, who gave me his contact info (pre social media!). There was a business reason I wanted to reconnect, unrelated to a job search.
Jeff and I chatted. He mentioned some challenges in hiring a communications manager. The former manager left the job. Interviews were conducted. No one was hired. Would I be interested in talking with his team at DIRECTV about the role? Um, yes!
A series of conversations ensued, including hiring manager Rosemary Heath. I was thrilled to receive an offer and move to a growing company, 5 years into its run as a pay-TV provider.
Unless I missed something, I suspect I was the only candidate. The question may have been, “should we hire Caroline, yes or no?” rather than “which candidate should we choose?”
And it turned out pretty well. I grew from a manager, to senior manager, to director, to senior director, to vice president in 6 years. I went from an individual contributor to the leader of a team of 45 communicators in 9 different states.
How have YOU landed great new jobs?
P.S. Thank you, Wendy, Jeff, and Rosemary!
by Caroline Leach | Jul 7, 2023 | Careers, Corporate Communications, Leadership, Social Media
Don’t apply for stuff. 🚫
Students and colleagues give me a puzzled look when I share that advice.
How are you supposed to get jobs and grow careers without applying?
Applying for stuff:
đź”´ Rarely leads to anything good
đź”´ Often involves being ghosted or rejected
đź”´ Gives a false sense of taking action that will lead to desired outcomes
What works instead?
âś… Getting to know people and being of service
âś… Building a network of colleagues who encourage and help each other
✅ Creating a reputation – a personal brand – for delivering value
A few examples …
In a career change, I applied for multiple jobs in corporate communications in my organization. Initially, I got rejections. Then I met people on the team through professional associations. They helped me get interviews. But I was often the number-two candidate, without an offer. Finally, I interviewed for a job and hit it off with the hiring manager. The role wasn’t right, but we kept in touch. Two months later, he reached out. A senior writer had resigned. Was I interested in the job? Um, yes! More interviews ensued. They wanted to make me an offer, but I hadn’t applied for the job. So I quickly did.
In leaping from the corporate to entrepreneurial world, I wanted to teach as a focus area. My start was serendipitous. A colleague from a volunteer board was a department director at a local college. He asked if I was interested in designing and teaching a new class in digital marketing. Um, yes! It was a blast. Later, I wanted to move to a larger university. I reached out to people in my network to chat about opportunities. While the conversations were friendly, they didn’t lead anywhere. One referral seemed hostile and uninterested in connecting, so I decided not to push it. A few months later, I got an email introduction. It was someone at the university who knew me from my alumni volunteer work and corporate social media work. A department head asked her for adjunct professor recommendations in digital and social media. My contact recommended me. After several conversations and guest speaking, I was invited to start teaching. Oh, and I had to apply after that.
More recently, I applied for an intriguing part-time contract role. It was complimentary to my current portfolio of clients and focus on coaching, consulting, speaking, and teaching. I thought I met or exceeded the key criteria. I excitedly applied online. Two days later, the rejection email arrived. I reflected on what went wrong. Because I thought my experience was a strong match with the requirements, I didn’t reach out to people for advice. This is a mistake I will not repeat.
So, stop applying for stuff. Instead, nurture your network. Help people. Let them know how they can help you. Do great work and tell people about it in the spirit of serving others.
How have you landed new opportunities?
by Caroline Leach | Apr 8, 2020 | Careers, Change, Social Media
Our new reality with the Covid-19 crisis is intense. It means staying home, working remotely, homeschooling children, and even processing grief. Showing up on social media has likely – and appropriately – taken a backseat to urgent concerns.
It sure has for me, even though I’m a social media consultant and an executive coach. In my work, I keep a social media content calendar for LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. Yet as the crisis has unfolded, I’ve been reluctant to jump into the ever-increasing chorus of voices. My creativity feels like a casualty of the day-to-day struggle to survive.
But here’s what I’ve observed. Even though my postings dropped off, more people were looking at my LinkedIn profile. Fewer posts usually result in fewer profile views, so the uptick was surprising.
Curious, I looked at their profiles and invited some to connect. Many replies were near immediate, even on weekends. More people have time on their hands right now, and they’re craving meaningful connection.
Your virtual presence is a big opportunity. It’s fully under your control, when so much feels completely beyond our control. People are looking online to find current information, seek inspiration, and create connection. You likely have valuable insights that can help others.
By sharing your thoughts, you position yourself as a leader and a go-to person, regardless of your official title. This is more important than ever, whether you’re unexpectedly in the job market or leading a team through chaos while working remotely.
Before coronavirus (or “B.C.”), my clients had two main concerns. The first is teasing out what’s interesting and unique about their experiences. Often they’re so close to what they’re doing that they overlook how it could help others. The second is a concern about being overly self-promotional. For women in particular, this fear is validated by research. During a crisis, overcoming these issues is critical.
Here are five strategies for showing up effectively on social media right now. By modifying your approach, you can position yourself as an expert in your field, a resourceful problem solver, and a leader in turbulent times.
Shift your tone to a realistic optimism based on facts and experience
Content that doesn’t acknowledge the current crisis comes across as tone deaf. As a result, it is often tuned out. Yet all Covid-19 content all the time can be overwhelming.
There’s an art to acknowledging what’s going on and pivoting to the message you want to share. And adopting a relentless spirit of optimism grounded in brutal realism is especially compelling now. You can acknowledge the challenges as you strive to lift people up with bright spots, potential solutions, and interesting ideas.
A role model for realistic optimism is Michael White, the former CEO of DIRECTV where I was VP of corporate communications. His recent LinkedIn content has included science-based ways to keep your family safe during the pandemic, a good explanation of flattening the curve of the virus, and a shout-out for the author of a new book on women’s business leadership in Latin America. (Congratulations, Marty Seldman!)
Consider what people in your network need
Start by evaluating who is in your network and what they would find useful. How many are clients? They may need up-to-date industry information that’s easy to digest. They may be looking for advice on weathering the storm and building a stronger business for the other side of it.
What percentage are colleagues and team members? They may be looking for reassuring leadership, with a genuine level of candor and concrete steps to move forward. They may also seek connection and a comforting experience of being in a difficult situation together – rather than feeling isolated and alone.
Who are your aspirational contacts? Perhaps there are industry leaders, authors, or speakers you’ve long admired. They may be more open to dialogue right now, especially if you offer a perspective of interest to their work. Dorie Clark, a marketing strategist and keynote speaker, describes how a cold contact intrigued her with a brief description of an eclectic background and interests.
Adopt a mindset of helping others
Now more than ever, approaching social media by asking how you can help others is a must. What information and insights do you have that would be valuable? What experiences are you having that others could benefit from? What perspectives would be helpful?
Your posts could be a practical piece of advice, an inspirational story, or a bit of much-needed humor that will help people better work and live through the crisis.
The new phenomenon of “Zoombombing,” when uninvited people disrupt online meetings, attracted the attention of the FBI. Reza Zaheri, founder of a cybersecurity firm, posted on LinkedIn a list of actions to prevent this. Reza helped his network by making it easy to understand the issue and take quick steps to solve the problem.Â
Identify what you can offer that is unique
Give some thought to what only you could share. What are you learning? Have you picked up some strategies for being more effective in a crisis? Do you have a leadership mantra?
It’s essential to be a social media contrarian now. Don’t add to the over-saturated topics like working remotely (unless you have a unique twist on it). Find something fresh and different that only you could share.
Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall recently posted her “new .com” guiding principles. She shared her message to employees and offered it up on social media for colleagues and friends. In it, she articulates her new focus – compassion, communication, community, compromise, and compliance. This is uniquely Cynt.
Engage meaningfully by commenting on others’ content
The day-to-day dealing with the new reality can be exhausting. It can sap our creativity and our ability to generate engaging and valuable content. When you feel like you’re barely functioning, give yourself a break and let up on creating new content.
Instead, engage with people by commenting on their content. Consider how you can deepen and further the conversation with a comment or a question. If there’s someone in your network who would benefit from knowing about a post, tag them in your comment.
If you’ve built a large network or following on a social media platform, your comments may be especially valuable in drawing more attention to someone’s post. That’s another way of generously helping others during a crisis. Your comment may help the content reach a larger audience and make a bigger impact.
Dedicating a brief time every few days to post comments could become a regular habit that helps you and others. Rituals have a restorative power, according to author Scott Berinato. Especially now.
In conclusion, by being appropriately active on social media during trying times, you can accomplish multiple objectives. You can genuinely help others by providing useful information. You can provide calm and caring leadership. Most importantly, you can make a difference in people’s lives, now and in our new normal.
by Caroline Leach | Mar 30, 2020 | Careers, Social Media
Life can change in an instant.
A month ago, who knew we’d be staying at home to help flatten the curve of coronavirus?
Yet as humans we’re wired for connection. Without it, we wither away. So how can we keep in touch in a responsible way when we need to practice social distancing?
It’s a question I’ve been wrestling with during the last few weeks. Why? I believe in sharing content on social media only when there’s something interesting, informative, and/or inspirational to say. It’s about being a bit of a social media contrarian, and doing something different from others. That’s why I’ve been quieter than usual on social media.
I’ve been observing, thinking, and questioning. What does coronavirus and its many implications mean for us? Where are we headed? How will our world change? What are ways we can get ahead of it? How can we help ourselves and others during turbulent times?
In the midst of taking it all in, I noticed something counter-intuitive on LinkedIn. Even though I’m posting less content, my profile views started to increase.
In “normal times,” the less often I posted, the fewer profile views I got. However, I started seeing the opposite. What was turning this social media “truth” on its head in the last few weeks?
To help find out, I decided to connect with some of the people who viewed my profile. As is my practice and recommendation, I sent personalized invitations. I thanked people for viewing my profile, commented on something I could find in common, and asked to connect with them.
The speed of people’s replies surprised me, especially on a Sunday evening. The more heartfelt and open nature of people’s replies were also surprising and touching.
This underscored what in retrospect should have been obvious — people are hungering. And not only that. Depending on their industry, they often have more time to establish professional relationships.
Technology in various forms, including social media, gives us multiple opportunities for connection. Here are a few ideas …
Reach out to one or two people each day
An email or a text to touch base with someone can be a real day brightener — for the recipient and for you. Ideally, that message is sent without any agenda other than to say hello and check on how they’re doing.
Of course, share a bit about what’s new with you and how you’re adjusting to our stay-at-home world. Include a photo or a short video if that makes sense.
You could also take it to another level and connect via Zoom, Skype, or other video-based medium. Every few weeks I’m doing this with a variety of colleagues and friends to share ideas and inspiration. In the personal realm, my sister and I are doing Zoom calls with our parents on Sunday mornings.
Connect with new people on LinkedIn
Consider everyone you come across on LinkedIn as someone you can potentially build a relationship with. People who viewed your profile are an option. Also look at the voices showing up in your LinkedIn feed.
If they’re second- or third-level connects who you find interesting, send them a personalized connection request. Tell them why your content attracted your attention as well as a bit about you. Keep it friendly and lighthearted.
This is not the time to ask for anything other than a connection. You can build a relationship over time from there. To make sure compelling people show up in your feed, follow hashtags of interest on LinkedIn by typing terms of interest into the search bar.
Identify aspirational relationships you’d like to build
In many industries, people have more time on their hands right now. That may make them more open to meeting new people. Who are the thought leaders in your industry? Who are the leaders in your company? Who are authors and influencers you admire?
Start making a list of who you’d like to build a relationship with over time. Okay, it may not ever be the moment to try to build a relationship with Oprah. But there are plenty of other incredible people who are more accessible on social media than ever.
Put your requests out there, keeping it light and friendly and not asking for anything. Once you do connect, make a point to follow the person’s content and comment on it as appropriate.
And if people don’t respond to your requests, don’t take it personally. It’s probably not you. Some people don’t check LinkedIn frequently and may not have even seen your request.
These are just a few ways you can network while working from home in your favorite athleisure. What are some of the ways you are building strong connections from home?
by Caroline Leach | Sep 17, 2019 | Social Media
What’s one thing you should never do after someone accepts a LinkedIn connection request?
Don’t ask for anything.
Don’t ask for a job. Don’t ask to meet for coffee. Don’t ask to set up a phone call. Don’t ask about the person’s goals.
Just. Don’t. Ask.
These words of advice turned out to be the most viewed topic so far in my weekly social media minute videos. In them I share tips from my book, What Successful People Do in Social Media.
What To Do Instead
What’s better to do instead?
Anything that will help solidify the relationship.
Share a warm greeting. Congratulate someone on a recent accomplishment. Offer up something that may be of interest that doesn’t take too much of the recipient’s time. Maybe you saw an article or a video they might find helpful. If you want to pass it along with no obligation to read or watch it, that’s great. Simply focus on building the relationship.
Think about how you react when people immediately start pitching business to you — what I call spamming — right after you’ve connected on LinkedIn or other social media platform. More and more, it happens before the connection itself. Now I simply decline those requests. It’s clear as soon as I accept I’ll be bombarded with offers for services I don’t need right now or requests for meetings I can’t do right now, if ever.
When I first left the corporate world to start my own business, it was financial planners who contacted me. Now it’s people pitching lead generation services. Recently someone claimed they can guarantee story placements in major media outlets. As someone with an accreditation in public relations, I can say it’s never possible to guarantee a media placement. Maybe they were really pitching paid advertising.
Learning from what not to do, there’s a better strategy.
What is it?
Let Your Goals Guide You
Consider your professional goals for the coming season, quarter, or year. Do you want to get a new job? Position yourself for a promotion? Find great new talent for your team? Get asked to be on a non-profit board? Be invited to speak?
Write down your goals, and then identify who can help them become reality.
- If you want a new job, create a list of job types of interest, both at your current employer and other companies
- If you want to be promoted, consider who, in addition to your boss, will have a say in the decision
- If you want to find new talent, think about the skill sets you’d like to find to round out your team
- If you want to be invited to be on a non-profit board, identify specific causes and organizations of interest
- If you want to be invited to speak, think about where you’d like to speak and who might hire you to do so.
Next, look to the people associated with the group and organizations you identified. Who do you already know? Who would you like to get to know? You can use the search feature in LinkedIn to further refine a list of people of interest.
Raise Your Profile with Key People
After that, create a plan to raise your profile with the people you identified. Start by sending a personalized LinkedIn request. Say why you want to connect and what interests you about them. Follow them on Instagram, Twitter or YouTube … wherever they spend most of their social time.
Then keep an eye out for content they share. Scroll through your feeds once or twice a week. Read or watch what they post. Start to engage with their content in a meaningful way. Comment on something that stood out to you. Share how your thinking has changed or what you might do differently as a result. Offer up additional data points or perspectives. Do it in a helpful way, and not to try to show you’re smarter or more informed.
The secret is to find the right balance, not engaging so frequently that you become annoying, or so infrequently that you don’t make any lasting impression.
The best outcome is to start building a mutually satisfying relationship. It’s ideal to build one where the other person enjoys and even looks forward to your comments. And one where the other person is positively motivated to engage in a conversation with you.
Find the Strategic Serendipity
Another way of thinking of this is called strategic serendipity. By engaging with and helping people in your network with a positive approach, you never know what good things might come your way.
In my case it’s been social media consulting clients, business and leadership coaching clients, speaking engagements, and teaching opportunities. Exactly zero of them resulted from my searching through social media, cold pitching services to people I don’t know. Instead, they came as the outcome of being helpful, in a targeted way, consistent with my top goals.
To make it easy to fit this into your busy life, you can create a note in your smartphone of people you want to make a point of engaging with. Set aside a few brief times each week to scroll through your social media feeds and interact with their recent content. Be as helpful as you can. Make it easy and enjoyable to engage with you. And let the strategic serendipity flow.
How have you built relationships in positive ways?
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