I’m still a novice in the Web 2.0 world, so I spent the day with my headset on, listening to many of the seminars offered by the sponsors of the Brand You World – 2007 Global Summit. While multi-tasking as I was tuned-into the speakers, I discovered an amazingly honest post about depression, written by Jason Alba of JibberJobber.com. 
This post is a must-read for anyone who has felt like a "psycho-ceramic" as a result of career-related disappointment or defeat; a layoff or termination; a constructive quit or forced resignation. While I was aware of Jason’s resurrection from unemployed software engineer to entrepreneur, I didn’t realize how profoundly the period of unemployment affected him. The good news is that this guy who I’ll call, "The Energizer Brand-Man," has feelings and is uncommonly able and willing to share them.
I am proud to be selected as a strategist and partner by people like Jason, who are looking to open a door to the wild world of corporate employment. While I empathize with them, I add value to their search by staying focused on innovative strategies and solutions to end their pain. Jason’s success proves that humility, self-reflection, and a willingness to try new approaches are powerful tools that can be integrated into your brand and your presentation.
Please read more about Jason’s story, take-in the comments of other career professionals and counselors, and comment about your own experiences: sharing anonymously online may be cathartic. If you aren’t convinced that humility and self-reflection are effective tools, check out one of my previous posts, Truthfulness as a Job Search Strategy. Jason is a self-made brand; learn from him and with him.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Karen, I had the chance to listen to Jason’s presentation today at the Brand You Global Telesummit– it was superb. If you didn’t get a chance to hear him today, you’ll want to do so…along with all the other speakers. It was a most amazing day of learning from personal branding’s best!
My headset was molded to my ears today! I was able to listen to Wendy’s excellent interview of Jason Alba.
I loved his charge to all of us – create your R-O-B – return on (your) blog.
A question for you, Billie, and others: What has been the return on (your) blog?
The author of http://www.careeracceleration.net has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: Sharpening a pencil with a knife makes you feel really manly. Thanks for the info.
It is peculiarity of our electronic world that PayDay Loans offers this comment in Jan. 2010 about a post I wrote in Nov. 2007. I appreciate your read, PayDay, and the time you took to respond…
Is your point that my blog post leaves little for the reader to grapple with? If so, I agree that bloggers (including YT) can be criticised for pontificating rather than creating opportunities for dialog and debate.
Here’s one for you and other readers: What are some topics that you would like to discuss and debate, related to the broad issues of career management, social networking, personal marketing, generations in the workforce, etc? Please share: I’ll do my best to “set the table” with issues of interest so others can come and join the feast…