How do you capture the scope and depth of your life in an 8.5 x 11 white paper?  One dimensional thinkers in times past (pre social networks) could be captured in a white box, but the transformation of networks to social networks, face-to-face to online conversations have changed the rules of engagement.

Traditional resumes or resume 1.0 are dead and it is not because of the Green movement.
As a personal brand you engage your community, perspective employers, customers, and future business partners through a series of brand impressions that can be leveraged through your online community. With social networks like Twitter, Linkedin, VisualCV and Slideshare and other free tools a person can more effectively communicate their personal brand and what makes them different?

Definition of Visual Resumes –  Is a visual communicator of your personal brand that creatively tells your story through a brief series of images, ideas, and experiences that are  in a sharable and searchable format.

Examples of Visual Resumes
o    Dustin Sommer – A student from my Personal Branding Class (@Dustin Sommer)
o    Saranyan Vigraham - Employee at Qualcomm (@Saranyan)

Goal of Visual Resumes: Extend the engagement of your personal brand (Employers spent 20-30 seconds viewing resumes)

Visual Resume Elements
o    Brief - Recommend 15-20 pages
o    Story Telling Format
o    Avatar- Global ID
o    Spreadable – Embed into your blog, Linkedin, and Twitter
o    Searchable – The use of tags for searchability in the social network and in Google
o    Images – Sources: Flickr and istock photo

Why Create a Visual Resume?
o    Shows your creativity
o    Optimize your elevator pitch.
o    Think in soundbites
o    Practice story telling
o    Extends the engagement.

A Note to GRUSTLERS:  (Grind-to-Hustle)
Especially if you are a GRUSTLER, the traditional resume doesn’t work.  Your resume is probably loaded with experience that is not directly related with your passion and doesn’t do you justice.  You need away to communicate the varying dimensions of your life.

Share a link to your visual resume.

I believe that creativity is one of most important elements of building a strong sustainable personal brand and that it is not talked about enough.  I found this video clip on the TED website and though you would enjoy it.  At the 2008 Serious Play conference, Tim Brown the CEO of the “innovation and design” firm IDEO talks about the powerful relationship between creative thinking and play.

Speaks volumes about you, originally uploaded by chilcott.

We live in a digital world where we text, IM, DM, blog, and email, but at some point you will have to come from behind the laptop, cell phone, or monitor and face the real world. Technology is nothing more than a tool it doesn’t solve problems by itself it takes the human interaction of your personal brand to communicate and connect real people and great ideas.

As wonderful as you are you are you are not the first person to think about the idea you have. Trust me. Branding is about packaging an idea in a way that is digestible and engaging. Everyone wants their audience to consume their thoughts and ideas and leave them clamoring for more while passionately spreading them to others.

At the end of the day you have the responsibility of bringing your idea to light and communicating it in the real world. Becoming comfortable speaking in front of people is something that I recommend all personal brands, but he only way to get better is practice, sorry you can’t outsource this function.

Growing up I stuttered. I could hardly talk, but one day I made a decision that I wanted to be a better speaker so I took every opportunity to get in front of people speaking for free to improve my speaking ability. At first I had to type out 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper and memorize every word, then I converted to note cards, and now key ideas on a screen. It has been a long journey but has paid great benefits. Simply put you will have to turn up the volume of your brand and speak there is a world waiting to hear you.

“All brands speak it is not an option but a responsibility.”
Hajj E. Flemings

Keys to Presenting your Personal Brand

o Be Creative. Add visuals, stories, case studies, and interesting points.
o Study other great speakers or presenters.
o Be a Story Teller. People are more engaged when you are telling a story versus reading bullet points. (Hint: Most people can read the worlds on the screen.)
o Be You. Your personality is crucial in bringing your idea to life.
o Be Visual. Whenever it is appropriate or feasible work to incorporate and communicate your thoughts visually.
o Think like a Tweeter. Less is more, keep it simple.
o Be interesting. There are too many copies, please be an original.
o Be Accurate. Your credibility is at state.

Thoughts from the Experts:
o Nancy Duarte (@nancyduarte): “Creating great ideas is what we were born to do: getting people to feel like they have a stake in what we believe is the hard part.”
o Chip & Dan Heath: Six Principles of SUCCESs: Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional Stories. (The SUCCESs checklist, is a tool for dealing with communication problems.)
o Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki): 10/20/30 Rule (10- Slides/20- Minutes/30- Point Font)
Tips for Creativity:

o Istock Photo
o Flickr
o Slideshare.net: Great resource for ideas

Resources
o Great Speakers:

•TED (Technology Entertainment Design) www.TED.com
•Kevin Carroll
•Mitch Joel
•Seth Godin

Brand Gap

My Favorite Tools

• Keynotes Software
• Apple Laptop
• Kensington Wireless Presenter

Must Reads

Slideology: Nancy Durate has created a masterpiece on slide presentation.
Reality Check: Guy Kawasaki has some great incite on presenting.

iPhone_ad, originally uploaded by h_flemings.

Like most people when I heard that Apple was developing a cell phone, I got excited. I knew it would be revolutionary and it was, but in ways I never imagined. Here are a few points to ponder.

1. When was the last time you waited hours in line for a new cell phone to be released? You haven’t.

2. When was the last time you purchased a $599 cell phone that the cell phone company would not insure? Most people haven’t.

3. When was the last time you purchased a cell phone and couldn’t change the battery? Probably never.

4. 25% of iPhone purchasers switched from another carrier to AT&T, just for the phone. Not the plan, not the rates, not the customer service, but the phone.

Important Dates in Phone History
* Alexander Graham Bell receives patent for telephone March 7, 1876
* Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola places the first cell phone call April 3, 1973
* Steve Job of Apple launches the iPhone June 29, 2007

This is the power of branding at its best. There are currently no discounts on the iPhone and I can say with confidence, there will probably be none in the foreseeable future. At one of the Apple Stores in my area, customers lined the night before, just in case the store ran out. Little did they know the store had 5,000 phones on hand, didn’t run out, and were able to service everyone that wanted a phone with ease, even thru the weekend.

As a brand strategist, I watch Apple in admiration, knowing they have definitely mastered their niche and changed the world of cell phones forever. So, I say to you, what product or services do you offer that is changing the world?