I attended the Alberta Certified Management Accountants (CMA) conference in Calgary on Friday. The speakers included digital marketing guru Mitch Joel and business visionary Leonard Brody. My previous knowledge of Leonard came from watching a presentation on-line, and he did not disappoint - lots of food for thought. I have been reading Mitch's blog "Six Pixels of Separation" for over three years, and I love his book. Through Mitch's blog and the links to other blogs, books and news articles, I have started to educate myself on not just digital media, but the direction of business in the future.
Mitch spoke on personal branding and the overwhelming response by the other attendees that I talked to was that they enjoyed his talk immensely but .... Many accountants believe that they don't need to build their personal brand because they work for a company and aren't trying to drum up business. Many others could see the need, but had no idea how to start.
Here's my take on the situation. Right now accounting hiring is very much as it has been for the last twenty years. We apply to jobs with our resume, we interview, and our references are checked. And yes, jobs are now advertised on-line, and I really hope that companies Google prior to hiring (avoiding fraudsters that way), but that's the extent of the on-line influence. That's what is going to change.
Why do I think that? One reason is that economic growth is happening in the small business sector. If you want to work for a small company, you need to bring more than accounting knowledge. You need to be able to participate in the business to the extent that the owner/ownership group wants you to participate. It is fine to say "I have great marketing ideas" but most people want to know how you know they are 'great'. One way is by bringing knowledge of the digital landscape and new media, but how can you demonstrate that if you don't have an on-line presence? As Mitch said "your brand isn't what you say it is, it is what Google says it is". I would say the same applies to you. How can you say you have a grasp of this world if you can't demonstrate that you participate?
Another reason that I think that your on-line presence matters is that many business owners are very connected digitally. That's how they find new employees or at least, that's how they check people out to see if they want to interview them. If you don't exist on-line, it might dim your chances of being hired.
I also think that there is a major shift happening from 'jobs' to 'earning an income'. The economic downturn of 2008 is still and will still impact our economy. Companies and government will hesitate to create full-time positions and will instead choose to hire on contract.
However you look at it, you are competing for work - whether through applying for traditional jobs, by competing for contract (short-term) jobs, or by literally trying to make a living through your own business. Your on-line presence is going to influence your success!
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