I was thinking about some of my mission-critical tools I use for branding and networking and thought I’d share some of them with you, especially as you work hard in your job search, with your network and your personal brand:
- A good email account. I really like Gmail for the interface, spam protection and ability to get (and search through) my email on my Android. I encourage you to get a professional email address — usually something like firstnamelastname@gmail.com or something like that.
- A business card. When two professionals meet for lunch they shake hands and eventually exchange business cards. That’s what we do. We don’t exchange resumes… as a professional you should always have your business card ready for your peers. I use VistaPrint for my cards.
- Resume. You just can’t get around having a traditional resume. Even if you have an excellent LinkedIn Profile you will still be asked “can I have your resume?” You should have this ready to go at all times (but use discretion in when you actually give it to someone).
- JibberJobber Account. You need to organize your job search. Many people use a spreadsheet or sticky notes to organize their job search. JibberJobber is a website that replaces that job search spreadsheet, and the added bonus is that you can have your info in JibberJobber through the rest of your career (which means you keep this information through many transitions).
- A phone number. I recommend you get a Google Voice or Skype account so that you can put ONE number on your resume or business card, and then have that number transfer to your cell or home or whatever number you want, whenever you want. You don’t have to give out your home number again, ever!
There you go – more job search tools coming in a future post.
