There is no time like the present for producing and building a strong personal publicity/Web 2.0 to be ready and in place for the months ahead. Campaigning to find and land a new opportunity is not a one-shot kind of thing anymore as I am sure you have come to find out. Finding a new position cannot and does not happen in the 11th hour anymore and relying on recruiters to "go to work for you" is not something that happens either. Recruiters do not seek out opportunities for specific candidates. They never have and they never will. Finding opportunity has to do with timing and need (recruiters will only contact you if you are the perfect fit for an opportunity they are looking to fill) and so the approach needs to be very "campaign oriented" on a very layered and strategic level. Campaigning beyond posting a resume and applying for jobs and even beyond social networking is very necessary now.
People often say to me: "I should not have to pay for a job!" This is NOT about paying for a job! This is about hiring an expert to work for you on a personal publicity and third party endorsement level to help you build better and lasting visible brand (including Web 2.0) and then literally go to bat for you to get you to the table with an organization that will have a profound interest in your talent due to a strong brand and endorsement. The executive and professional job market has become more competitive than ever before and let's just say that Personal PR is not just for celebrities anymore. Hiring parties are very excited about this business model because they realize that we do not represent and endorse just anyone who is willing to pay for it! This is about representing a person who "has the right stuff" and someone who we can personally back and recommend. After all it is also ECMG's reputation at stake when it comes to pitching and recommending a client to any organization. We have to be able to back up what we say about our clientele.
If you're not interested in a personal campaign or if you just cannot afford it, I'd like recommend my PR ONLY (personal brand building and publicity representation) service level. This is a cost effective personal publicity program that can help build presence in the markets via our representation and endorsement as well as a Personal Brand/Web 2.0 that we then also manage for our clients on a regular basis. Let's face it, managing a personal brand effort takes time, know-how and work (and most people just don't have the time or ability to do all that on a consistent basis). Exceptional executive talent can no longer afford to go UNDERGROUND and consider themselves "safe from having to job hunt" because recruiters don't recruit as much or as intensively as they used to and then again, executives can also no longer become unapproachable. In today's market, no one is safe and I don't care who you are, what you have done or what you can do. Staying ahead of the game and defining a strong personal publicity/Web 2.0 presence as a thought leader (on and off line) is also now a necessary thing to do and have in place at all times!
