Yesterday, Steve Roesler asked Will You Survive Your Branding? I’ve actually been struggling with this concept of personal branding and even though I’ve presented on the subject a few times, I’m still a bit of a skeptic. There has been something nagging at me, a voice inside that has grown steadily louder that something about personal branding doesn’t jive with me. But something about Steve’s post provided a pedestal for my inner voice. Here’s the full comment I left:

Lately, I’ve been thinking how great individuals of the past would have “branded” themselves. Think Ben Franklin could have put together an effective elevator speech lasting under 30 seconds? How about Tom Jefferson or Marie Curie? And for that matter…would they even have entertained the notion of engaging in personal branding?

It’s with this in mind that I continue to feel a bit sad about where we are right now. We’re expected to distill our essence down to something that can be drunk from a thimble. For those of us who curiously explore many things and have a bit of a renaissance soul, the exercise of personal branding is one that feels awkward and confusing.

The question that we face is: how to blaze a different path in today’s world? It’s not easy to swim against the current which preaches the necessity of the singular expertise, the narrowness of personal expression. Ahh, but maybe this is just the time to reinvent the renaissance thinker, doer, explorer, creator. Every challenge is an opening for opportunity.

Are you a fellow renaissance soul who openly rebels against the constrictions of today’s personal branding movement? Speak out and make your voice heard. We can be more than one thing. We can reclaim the idea of passionate eclecticism that guided the great minds of the past. What do you think?

Today, my good friend and fellow deep thinker Tim Walker pointed me toward an article from Time.com called Using Twitter and Facebook to Find a Job. This prompted a short, private back-and-forth on Twitter about the benefits of social media for work seekers and the overarching connections to Richard Bolles. It’s Richard Bolles who has come to be most commonly connected to the high-value idea of developing “weak ties” in our professional networking.

What are these weak links and why are they so darn valuable? I know one of the first groups we tend to reach out to when we need new work are close friends and family. It makes a certain amount of sense: if these folks won’t come to our aid, then who can we really rely on in our time of need? It turns out our strongest links may not be the most effective, however. Here’s the counter-intuitive approach from Bolles:

It makes sense that the people you are closest to will have more in common with you; they will tend to have the same interests as you, and they will tend to know the same people as you; there is a lot of overlap between your circle of 250 and their circle of 250. And because of that overlap, they will be more likely to know what you know. And in the same way, they will be less likely to know what you don’t know; in this case, of possible job-openings. It is when you start getting farther away from your core, and start finding people with less overlap between your 250 and theirs, that you will find the people and information that you, and those closest to you, are less likely to know. Though it seems paradoxical, it is the people that you know the least well, who are most likely to be helpful in your job hunt. This is called “The Strength of Weak Ties.” (emphasis added)

Bolles’s work is a wonderfully useful extension of the work proposed by Mark Granovetter around the same time in the early 1970s (and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they built off even earlier work). If you’re inclined to read up on some truly outstanding academic work, take a look at this later article from  Granovetter, The Strength of Weak Ties: A Network Theory Revisited. You’ll find many of the same principles. Here’s a wee snippet:

It follows, then, that individuals with few weak ties will be deprived of information from distant parts of the social system and will be confined to the provincial news and views of their close friends. This deprivation will not only insulate them from the latest ideas and fashions but may put them in a disadvantaged position in the labor market, where advancement can depend, as I have documented elsewhere (1974), on knowing about appropriate job openings at just the right time.

So what can we quickly draw from these juicy bits of knowledge? Don’t be afraid to reach out to individuals not in your tight inner circle. Even the most tangential connection may be the one that helps you settle into your next work gig. If the thought of contacting people you haven’t spoken to in years is daunting, start smaller. Reach out to people you know, industries you’re familiar with, groups you belong to and then take it one step outward.

• Use LinkedIn to find new colleagues and groups who are connected to your own contacts.
• Join in on Twitter and seek out interesting people. Start up a dialogue there and expand your network.
• Go offline and volunteer with a nonprofit. Give five hours a week and you’ll be amazed at the diversity of people you’ll meet in your work. Plus it has the bonus of making a contribution to a worthy cause.

If you’ve had success at developing your own weak links to find work, what did you do? Love to hear your stories.

I’m in a unique position where I straddle a few different roles. My role as Chief Community Officer for JobAngels puts me in contact with jobseekers around the world who need help finding work. But this is currently a part-time, voluntary role so I’m also seeking work myself. I’ve chosen to put myself out there through Gravit8 and offer services to help organizations build communities and think about their customer relationships differently. As a starting point, I laid out what types of work I’m open to on my Hiring Chris page: www.gravit8.com/about-gravit8/hiring-chris/.

If you’re out there and looking for work, think creatively about your options. You don’t have to go down the same path (I fully understand it may not work for everyone), but if you’re looking for just a full-time job you might be missing opportunities. To this point, read Connie Bensen’s latest post: Reinvent to Find New Opportunities (I’d like to think that I inspired bullet #3). But the truly juicy nugget is bullet #4:

Put yourself out there. There are many seeking jobs. You need to TELL potential employers that you’re interested & how you can contribute to their business objectives. How do you know who the potential employers are? Look around because they’re everywhere. Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn make it easier than ever to connect with everyone at a company no matter their position. (Tip for LinkedIn – if you don’t know someone’s email address, use Groups & select one that you belong to. Add a note as to why you want to connect.) This is the time to stand out from the crowd. Make your success happen.

I’ve learned through my own experience and experiences of others that waiting for others to make the magic happen for you isn’t a gameplan for success. I won’t lie…putting yourself out there takes courage. I still struggle with it at times. But here are a few strategies I use which have been successful:

Know what makes you unique. Don’t think one singular talent or skill, but think cumulative. For me, it’s my combined background in association membership development, experience working with clients on developing actionable websites, in-depth knowledge of social media and growing expertise in business anthropology. See how each of these particular elements add to create something special? It’s the same for you.

Know how your unique professional self can help an organization solve a problem. One sure way to distance yourself from the jobhunting pack is to not think about employment from your own perspective, but approach from an employer’s perspective. Think how you can help take away a pain felt by a prospective employer. Your reputation for being indispensable begins with tackling problems that clear the way toward increased sales or reduced costs.

Know there is strength in partnerships. If you’re open to the idea of being flexible and pursuing contract or consulting work, realize you don’t have to go it alone. Find other agencies or consultants who could benefit from your unique services and pitch the possibility of collaboration. Just remember the first two points above also apply here: know what makes you unique and how you can help them solve a client problem.

Don’t sit around waiting for magic to happen. Realize that you do have something unique to offer either an employer or a partner. Think about what that might be and then go get it. And let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you.

A few weeks ago I was interviewed briefly by BusinessWeek for an article on people affected by the current economic situation. I’m one of the individuals they call a “Rebounder” or someone who decides to start their own venture rather than just looking for another job.

You can read the full article After Layoffs, Starting a Business from Scratch or skip ahead to my profile The Rebounders: Chris Bailey.

It’s a nice write-up and I appreciate the additional exposure for new solopreneur venture: Chris Bailey Consulting Works. Think of it as the action-oriented business that envelopes the ideas discussed here at Bailey WorkPlay and at Gravit8 Social Marketing.

If there’s one thing I wish the folks at BusinessWeek had highlighted, it was my work with JobAngels. I spent a quarter of the interview talking about this aspect of my solo work, but it didn’t make the profile. Oh well.

Read the profiles of other Rebounders. If you’ve been laid off or sense that it’s coming around the corner, know that it doesn’t have to be an end. It can be a beginning, too. As Patti Tower, one of the Rebounders interviewed, noted: “I feel set free rather than laid off.”

[Note: This is my latest post at Gravit8 Social Marketing. Because JobAngels really does mix both the social media and marketing focus of Gravit8 with the careers and work focus of WorkPlay, I'll likely cross-post articles like this occasionally. But seriously...you should really subscribe to both blogs anyway. Now, back to our regularly scheduled post.]

When an opportunity to make a positive and revolutionary change in the world lands in your lap, you just have to leap on it and grab hold with both hands. For me, this opportunity takes the form of JobAngels. It all started with just one tweet from Mark Stelzner who asked what would happen if one person would help just one other person find work. In less than 140 characters, it simplified what is the most critical issue facing millions of people.

Not that the answer to this pressing problem is simple. Finding work at any time can be a frustrating experience; add a crappy economy to the mix and it can be an excruciating, soul-devouring exercise. I witness this happening to the handful of people I’m working with currently as a JobAngel. Our identity is often intertwined with our working persona so when we lose our job, we don’t quite know how to cope with the change. It’s an emotional rollercoaster ride where you really don’t know how far down you’ll go.

What does this have to do with social media? As it turns out…EVERYTHING. When you lost your job and a part of your identity, the worst thing you can do is become a hermit. This is a time when your social network is a gift. You need to know what there are caring people out there who do give a damn about you, who will lend you support when you need it, who will connect you to others who can help. Of course these aren’t new things, but social media increases the potential for widening and deepening personal relationships in new – and extraordinary – ways.

Back to JobAngels…I’m the Chief Technical Officer, which is really just a fancy way of saying that I’m the person who makes sure all the technology works well. The soon-to-be launched community site that I’m developing will hopefully incorporate the best of what makes social media special. We want for folks to have the ability to build meaningful relationships with others, share resources and information, and ultimately connect them to work that matches their talents and passions. Plus, here’s my personal hope that will be the cherry on top of it all: that we demonstrate the potential that social media has to make this world a better place.

There will be much more to come as I offer some experiential lessons on how this online community continues to take shape. I think there will be many ideas and practices that you’ll be able to incorporate into your organization’s own community strategy. Oh, and if you’re willing to be a JobAngel (or especially if you need help finding work), reach out to me or connect with our team. We’re at Twitter (@jobangels and #jobangels), LinkedIn, and Facebook.

I’m noticing a lot of blogposts, articles, and other resources focused on the jobhunt, as if the reason why is a great mystery. Yep, the current recession is putting many folks (myself included) into the growing legions of unemployed professionals. I was let go from my own full-time gig last month. This isn’t my first foray into this territory, which in some ways is comforting. If this happens to be your first time out of work or if it’s been a while since your last time, hopefully I can offer some suggestions to help you deal with this experience. These are more related to your emotional well-being since this can quickly become one of the casualties of unemployment. At the end of this post, I’ll toss out some of my favorite links on how to navigate the process of getting your next best gig.

Know and trust your value.
Just because you don’t have a job doesn’t mean you have little value. There are organizations out there who are looking for you and what you can bring to them. But you’ll never benefit from this connection if you undermine your own value, sell yourself short, or convince yourself that you have little to offer. You have the ability to define your value to a prospective employer.

Focus on good mental and physical health.
Being unemployed can raise all kinds of nasty thoughts and feelings. It’s important to be mindful of these. I won’t suggest that you shouldn’t feel pissed off, sad, or confused. But the absolute worst thing that can happen is to wallow in them for so long, they take up permanent residence. Feel them and then let them go. Sort of what I call “catch and release.” Easier said than done, I know. Which is why taking care of our mental well-being needs to be connected to physical well-being.

When I feel the negative thoughts arriving and getting comfy in my head, that’s my signal that I need to get out for a walk or run or bike ride. I plug into my iPod and get my heart pumping. And I’ve also lost some weight in the process, too.

Get social so you don’t get sucked into the cycle of depression.
If being out of work has reminded me of anything, it’s the importance of having a support network. Friends, family, and even acquaintances have been terrific in offering their support. It’s as true now as it was the last time I was out of work.

But here’s something else I’ve come to believe: you get what you give. My social network has grown wider and deeper, which was happening prior to being unemployed. And with that strong social network, I’ve come to realize that I can help other job seekers. For instance, I’m working with another workseeker, Alora Chistiakoff to put together a Jobhunters United Tweetup here in Austin. The point is that you don’t have to go through this experience alone.

Other helpful resources…
Here’s a set of resources that I’m finding extremely helpful right now.

• Job-hunting? Don’t apply and fill, create and pitch from Rosa Say
• Overwhelmed with possibilities when plotting your career? Try this approach from Pamela Slim
• Is Your Head Spinning From All the Career Advice You’ve Been Reading? and Serendipity and Your Job Search from Heather Mundell
• A Radical Approach to Being Laid Off: When Just Surviving Just Isn’t Good Enough! from Bill Crawford
• Using the Social Web to Find Work ebook from Chris Brogan
• 100+ Smart Ways to Use LinkedIn from Linked Intelligence

And don’t be shy to add some of your faves here, too. Just post them in the comments area.

Interestingly, this phrase is one of the top search phrases that lead folks to Bailey WorkPlay. As much as it pains me to say it, I can understand why. I’ve done my fair share of work that’s sucked, but I’ve also been fortunate enough to do work that’s been exciting and rewarding.

Here’s a truth about me: I don’t like to work either when that work doesn’t challenge me, inspire me, or use the best that I have to offer. So, this issue is one that I’m curious to explore in more depth. Below is part 2 of 3 in this series covering three more reasons why we might not like to work. Tomorrow, I’ll post the final reasons. And like last time, I’ll flip each reason in a more positive direction so we can do something about it.

Reason #3: I don’t like to work because…I dislike the people I work with/for.
I guess there are two ways of looking at this. Either you’re working with folks who you genuinely have no connection with (I’m trying to be diplomatic here…we all have worked with people who were flaming numbskulls). Or you’re the problematic person who seems to push co-workers away. If it’s the latter and you’re self-aware enough to know it, consider whether your negativity is due to your own unhappiness in your work or personal life. If that’s the case, it’s okay…you have an opportunity now to fix it.

But if it’s the former and you find yourself working around unpleasant people, that’s a level of stress that’s probably not going to go away any time soon…particularly if it’s your manager. I can’t promise any easy remedies, but I will offer this: they’re likely not going to change for you. Which means you’ll need to either learn to navigate around difficult personalities or get the heck out of there.

Reason #4: I don’t like to work because…I’m tired.
There’s no doubt about it…a job can exhaust us, sap our energy, keep us in what feels like a never-ending spiral. Taking a vacation often means coming back to more work so we don’t take the leave that is one of the top benefits an organization offers. But I will argue that’s not work, that’s a J-O-B. Work often requires an intense energy, but it’s an energy that quickly restores itself because we can’t wait to do it again and again. If your job drains you, think deeply about whether it’s work you really want to be doing.

Reason #5: I don’t like to work because…I’d rather do something else I enjoy a lot more.
There are two questions that are worth asking here: what is this activity you’d rather be doing and is there a way to turn it into an income-generating gig? While it’s not always possible, sometimes there are ways to pursue a playful passion and make it a career. It might take some imagination and bit of risk-taking, but wouldn’t you rather get up every day knowing that your work is something you absolutely love?

Here’s another question: are you ignoring a powerful signal trying to tell you something important? If play means being outside hiking and you’re stuck inside an office all day, maybe your work is better geared toward being in the open air. If you love to cook, but you’re crunching numbers for 8 hours a day, maybe it’s time to think about those culinary classes you’ve been putting off or that dream of starting a catering business.

If you come to determine that your playful activity will always just be a non-paying hobby, that’s okay. You might just keep it in your backpocket and perhaps there will come a day when your playful activity might open an opportunity to take it in a professional direction.

Tomorrow, we’ll finish up with these final reasons:
Reason #6: I don’t like to work because…the money creates a conflict.
Reason #7: I don’t like to work because…it means time away from my family.

If there’s a reason that I haven’t touched here, please leave a comment (and feel free to make it anonymous if it helps). I think there are many out there who struggle with this question and your input can help make a difference.

Interestingly, this phrase is one of the top search phrases that lead folks to Bailey WorkPlay. As much as it pains me to say it, I can understand why. I’ve done my fair share of work that’s sucked, but I’ve also been fortunate enough to do work that’s been exciting and rewarding.

Here’s a truth about me: I don’t like to work either when that work doesn’t challenge me, inspire me, or use the best that I have to offer. So, this issue is one that I’m curious to explore in more depth. Below is part 1 of 3 in this series covering two reasons why we might not like to work. Throughout this week, I’ll post five more reasons. And because I think there’s always something we can do to love our work, I’ll flip each reason in a more positive direction so we can do something about it.

Reason #1: I don’t like to work because…the work I do feels like drudgery.
I’m starting with what I think is probably the #1 reason folks do a Google search on this phrase in the first place. You’re in a rut, doing a job that sucks, wishing there was something better on the horizon. Now, I can tell you that the answer is to get out and go find work that you’re truly passionate about, but somehow I think you already know this. The question you’re likely wrestling with is…how? I can’t offer a complete answer here, but I say this: you owe it to yourself to find work that is uniquely yours, that fits your unique set of talents, that makes you feel of use. Make a commitment to find a career coach who can help guide you toward work that let’s your best shine through every day (note: I’ve worked with quite a few who I can highly recommend so shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to guide you along).

Other things you can do right now…
Know exactly what that drudgery looks like to you. Do you seriously want to leap to something else only to land in the same muck you left? Sit down and create an inventory of what you dislike about your JOB. Once you know what that drudgery looks like, you’ll hopefully be far less likely to find yourself neck-deep in it again.

Okay, now what do you like about your JOB? I guarantee there’s something there you can work from. Build an inventory of these things. You can use this list to construct an idea of what your best work looks like.

Reason #2: I don’t like to work because…I feel undervalued, underappreciated, underpaid, under-etc.
This was the impetus behind my recent post You Alone Define Your Value. Far too often, we internalize these feelings and own them as if they were ours to hold. Well, it’s time to disown this crap right now.

Things you can do right now…
Reclaim your value in your current work. If you feel undervalued, underappreciated, etc., create a gameplan for addressing this. It starts with you. Do you honestly feel that you’ve added value to your organization? Have you done something remarkable in the past few months? Have you visibly grown your business over the past year? If you can answer “yes” and have concrete examples, put these to paper. Now, it’s time to have a chat with your manager. Given the belt-tightening that’s going on right now, you may not be able to do much about the underpaid issue, but focus on a persuasive argument as to how your performance deserves greater visibility. Managers aren’t mindreaders and as much as we might expect them to instantly see our work and give us the necessary kudos, we need to understand they can fall prey to busyness too and can benefit from our gentle prods.

Find another place to work where you are valued, appreciated, well-paid, etc. Let’s say that you’ve done the first exercise and had the talk with your manager to little effect. Then, it’s time to move on. If you like the work you do and need to find another place to practice it, connect with your network. If you don’t know what that looks like, find a career coach, a mentor, or a colleague to bounce ideas.

Later on this week, we’ll take a look at these other reasons. And if there is another reason not listed here, leave a comment and let’s explore it together.

Reason #3: I don’t like to work because…I’m tired.
Reason #4: I don’t like to work because…I’d rather do something else I enjoy a lot more.
Reason #5: I don’t like to work because…the money creates a conflict.
Reason #6: I don’t like to work because…it means time away from my family.
Reason #7: I don’t like to work because…I dislike the people I work with/for.

It always amazes me how easy it is to lose our sense of value. As working professionals, it usually starts in our work. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that organizations are notorious for not fully grasping the value of each employee. I’m not talking about valuing that little slice of work that falls within the job description (though there are times when even this may be undervalued for sure). Rather, I’m talking about the richness of each employee’s value: their passion, their potential, their desire to bring the fullness of themselves to all they do. When this feeling of undervalue goes on for a while it’s all too easy to feel invisible and downtrodden. It’s also all too easy to create a story that says that no other organization will find you valuable. So you toil away in the same place, under the same conditions, quietly, desperately, each day muddling into the next. And the heart-wrenching part is that it often slides ever so easily into our personal life when we begin to question our value as an individual.

Remember that you alone have the ability to define your value. You get to decide your own worth as an employee, a professional, a human being. You determine which labels apply to what you do and to who you are.

If you’re trying to figure out where you’re going or how your work fits into the bigger picture of your life, I hope this holiday time gives you a chance to ease back and reflect. Know that it’s never too late to reclaim your value for yourself and choose to offer this for something better. Be of use to something or someone that appreciates all you are.

Leave it to Pamela Slim to help me fine-tune something that I’ve been playing around with for a while. As I aim to keep all the various parts of my professional life in some sort of harmonious symmetry, I find myself struggling to define what I am doing. On a near daily basis I ask myself questions like:

How does my career path relate to my current job?
How does my current job relate to my graduate work in business anthropology?
How does my graduate work relate to Bailey WorkPlay?
How does Bailey WorkPlay relate to my career path?
…and so the cycle continues.

Much of the confusion lies in that word ‘job’. I often wonder how the work I do daily relates to where I’m going in my professional life. Don’t get me wrong…I enjoy what I do. Yet, there’s little of the business anthropology that I’m being trained to do and the employee engagement that embodies the focus of Bailey WorkPlay. How does all of this integrate? Or is that just the technicolor dream of a guy who is often accused of being a crazy idealist?

Let’s start with the whole notion of a job. It’s a word that carries some fairly crappy baggage…and more often than not we help pack its bags. By taking the small view of a job, we easily lose sight of our greater professional purpose. Pamela smartly points out:

When you focus first on the perfect job, you automatically narrow your opportunities to jobs you are familiar with. Jobs are temporary things, often enticing on paper until you realize that as soon as you get comfortable in your position, it will change, your boss will change, your team will change or your organization will change. That is just the nature of business. Therefore if you go into a job excited by the position or the person you will be working for and not the work itself, you often set yourself up to be disappointed.

Instead, she encourages us to think about our ‘life’s work’ instead. I’ve been mulling over my own life’s work (or what I tend to think of as a calling) ever since I left college. There are days when I think I have it all figured out only to have something happen that puts my idea of a calling in doubt. Thanks to Pamela I think I now know what happened: I focused a bit too much on the job details of the calling. I know…strangely paradoxical.

Now I have the beginnings of a new perspective on the question of my own life’s work. Where the core of Pamela’s life’s work is transformational, I believe mine is relational. You can see this in the questions I pose to myself above. It’s one of the reasons I chose anthropology since so much of it involves intensive study of human relations. I love taking ideas and seeing how they relate to each other. I love bringing people and ideas together and then helping them see the relationships. I love working in organizations and helping leaders better relate to their employees and customers. This is the core purpose behind my work in business anthropology and Bailey WorkPlay.

And knowing this, I too can be in occasionally rough situations in my job and still remain focused on my core passion of relationships. Even when I’m not actually doing business anthropology or employee engagement, I am helping to generate relationships between people, ideas, and actions every day.

So…here’s a gentle challenge for this week. If you’re struggling to figure out how your job, career path, and life’s work relate to each other, take some time and reflect on the exercise at the end of Pamela’s post. Then come back and share what you believe is your life’s work. I’d love to hear about it and know what I can do to support you.