The basic rules apply across the board whether your a business, a career person or a celebrity. People place a heavy emphasis on your overall brand because that is how they relate to you. And usually, whenever something doesn’t match up, people – the public – get antsy about it. I have always been in favor of having your brand represent you and your business, product or career, but not to the point where you couldn’t still be a person outside of the brand.

For the career person, their brand, which includes their performance on the job, their skills, and expertise, ties heavily into them as a person. There usually isn’t a specific product or service that is separate from them. Maintaining their brand is quite easy provided they maintain a level of respect, caution and common sense in everything they do. People at entry level jobs may not believe they have an actual brand, but they do. How they carry themselves is reflective of their brand. For example, my son is a hard, dedicated worker. Every employer he’s worked for has been quick to notice this and praise him for it. It’s not a bad attribute to have, but unfortunately it can backfire. Whenever there were extra shifts or extra work was available, they’d call him first because they knew he wouldn’t say no. He ended up putting in a whole lot of extra hours and that almost affected his health at one point. He has since learned how to manage his time better and when to say no. His work ethic shaped his brand.

The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more focused your brand becomes. And at that point, you really do have all eyes on you. So it’s important to understand that if you plan to move up the corporate ladder, you have to carefully cultivate and manage your brand reputation. The greater your role, the more you stand to lose if you make just one mistake. Recovery and forgiveness is harder the more powerful you become.

Celebrities are also heavily tied into their brands. Right now, Lady Gaga is the best example of a growing brand. Known for her music, she was not content to leave it there. She had been working steadily to build a brand that goes far beyond music, and into business. She has recently launched a new web startup and has her hand in various endorsement deals and business ventures. One could say her music opened the door for her to do what she loved, then she used the rewards from that to build her own empire. I’ll admit, when I first learned about the business side of Gaga, I was shocked. I’m not a fan (no disrespect to her) but I was quite impressed that she wasn’t allowing herself to get pigeon-holed by her music, like some artists do. Think of the late Whitney Houston. Her brand was completely opposite of her true identity and she suffered for it because instead of differentiating or even diversifying, she went with it. It’s a smart move to come out the gate letting people know not to confuse your talent with your brand. Artists and athletes especially have to be careful. Otherwise they can find themselves typecast and unable to capitalize on their success into other opportunities.

Entrepreneurs have to be very careful about their brands. I’ll use myself as an example. For years I was known for my recruiting skills. When I decided I had enough and wanted to move on and try other things, I got a lot of push back from people. They thought I was insane for wanting to start a publishing and media company. When I decided to launch my training institute, they thought I once again lost my mind. I worked so hard to get people to see me as something other than a recruiter, that I painted myself into a corner. All of a sudden, I became the advice lady. Never mind that my brand message was to wake people up to understand that they have the power to grow in any economy, under any circumstance. It became more about what advice I’d be giving each day. I had to step back and tinker with my formula over the last few years. The problem I had was instead of getting people to believe in the brand, the company, I worked hard at getting people to believe in me as a person. Some would say that’s where I messed up. While people started trusting in me, they started to want to only work with me. So it became harder to build a team and have them build a rapport with clients.

Call it an execution error on my end, but I had gotten people so used to brand Adrienne, that they didn’t look at brand Empower Me. I had the same problem with my recruiting firm. Because I had done so well with recruiting in the past, people knew my reputation and only wanted to work with me. So as I built my team, I would have to practically beg clients to let my people handle things. You can’t build a company successfully while you’re still doing all the work you did when you started the company. Clients confuse you with the brand and things can get sticky. Be careful how you introduce clients and the public to your business. You are the face of the company, but don’t end up the essence of the company. Otherwise when you step back or out of the picture, clients may choose to go somewhere else. It’s important to get your whole team involved in building the brand. It’s not about just one person, it’s about the experience clients walk away with after working with or buying from your company. That’s what determines how well your brand does.

Whether you’re a corporate climber, entrepreneur or on your way to celebrity status, be mindful of how you build your brand. Train people from the beginning what to expect, and make it a team effort.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
I’ve got people for that.

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

OK I’m not saying that I wasn’t supposed to play bigger because I am. But I found myself moving in directions I clearly was not ready for, and that made absolutely no sense for my businesses. Last January, I made the decision to move out of my home office and got an actual office. You might have seen pictures and video I’ve posted in my new office. I convinced myself that I was much more productive there (which some days I really was) and that it was crucial to have it to meet clients. But I have to tell you, I felt like that was a big fat lie. But I ignored it and moved on. Then I took a look at my operations and equipment. I did a complete upgrade, which I don’t apologize for because that decision was instrumental in me later making my decision to go virtual. My upgrade included a brand new Mac (for me), extra laptops for staff (I didn’t yet have), printers, some web/cloud based programs and upgraded to Android.

Next up, I had to declare to the universe that I was serious about playing bigger, so I paid for the building management to add my company name to the lobby directory. You might have seen that picture too. The day it went up I was so proud. I kept telling myself I’m playing with the big boys now. But within a week, for some reason I was feeling weird about it. Once again, I shrugged it off and decided I needed to add more staff. The first rule as a recruiter I stress to my hiring managers is that there should be an actual need to hire. Well I didn’t follow my own lead. As I look back, I think my decision was more laziness on my end because there were tasks I simply didn’t want to manage myself. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes you must delegate out tasks. That’s what business owners and CEOs do. But on reflection, I really didn’t need to make the hires. I was moving way ahead of myself.

All was well until May when I decided to get an iPad (I know, it sounds crazy, right?). I had already had the Macbook and Android but somehow when I added the iPad, it all started clicking for me. As I began playing around with it and really getting my mind wrapped around all of the things I could do on the road, at home, in the airport or whatever with my mobile technology, I started feeling like maybe I made a mistake. As the months moved on, I spent less time in my office and more time at home, in my original home office and at various Starbucks. Actually, as I was writing and creating content, my deck was my go to place to create. By the time October came around, I decided I didn’t need an office outside of my home. In all honesty, I do some of my best work on the road or somewhere where I don’t feel chained or obligated. Towards the end, the office was a heavy albatross around my neck and stifled my creativity.

By the end of the year, I moved completely back home and severely downsized my staff. It was a painful move for me because I didn’t like having to let go of people, but I couldn’t justify the cost. As far as the office, I wanted to be legit and have a real office, but in the end, I really didn’t need it. I knew that when my assistant was spending more time in the office than I was, it was time to let it go. Financially, it didn’t make sense. Looking back I think the office was more vanity than necessity.

Now that I’m completely mobile I have this freedom. I no longer have a dedicated place to meet clients, but guess what? I don’t need it! For the longest I had been using Skype and conference calls, and now I use Google+ Hangouts. Whether I use my Macbook, iPad or Android, I can do a video call from anywhere. My home office is really just a place for me to do my radio show and a few business tasks. But I love that I can just pick up and go to a Starbucks, or work while I travel, or just work from home. It’s winter, so my deck is off limits, but I’m eagerly looking forward to the spring. I have mi-fi service, which means I can work from anywhere (literally). I use Dropbox so that wherever I am and no matter which device, I can access documents I need to work with. My business is always at my fingertips and I love it!

I’m almost completely paperless. PDF is a beautiful thing and thanks to apps, I can keep as paperless as I need to be. Just about every app I have on iPad is also on my Android. I use DocuSign for getting contracts and important documents signed. I use Xerox Mobile Printback if I need to have documents printed from my Dropbox (which I use to store documents). I use QuickOffice and OnLive Desktop when I need to edit documents. eFax.com allows me to get my faxes sent to me. Dragon Dictate allows me to record and dictate thoughts, strategies and ideas for writing projects. WordPress has an app that I can use to compose blog posts for my site. Even the US Postal Service has an app I use for postage and shipping. I can access my payroll online through Intuit Online Payroll and accept payments via Square, Paypal or Intuit Go Payment. I can manage my social media activities and of course I have other tools on there for online banking, reading magazines, QR codes, books and even Comcast Xfinity Mobile (soon I’ll be able to stream shows). Let’s not forget my bible and TBN, which I had installed on there, when I need to get into the Word. And who needs white boards when I have one on my iPad!

I have over 100 apps on both of my devices and my Macbook is light and portable. I even got MagicJack (which I don’t have to use with an actual phone) because I can use it as a speakerphone on my computer. I can do videos and my radio show from anywhere as long as I have my phone or ipad and an internet connection. Google has made my life even easier with the calendar, Google Voice, Gmail, and Google Docs. I love that all my devices are synced. So I’m not worried about losing anything. Even my book orders are processed virtually with no inventory necessary. I admit though, I was going through the expense of printing and ordering books to keep in my garage. But now, I rarely process an order where I have to go to the post office to mail it out myself. I often joke to my family that now I can live my dream of getting rid of my house and get a decked out RV so I can live on the road. Well, I’ll tell you this much. I’m nowhere close to that (I love being able to take hot showers, sleep in my own bed and watch cable). But I love that I can jump in the car with my sister or my mom and take an impromptu road trip and not have to lug around tons of papers and heavy equipment. It can be a pain in the butt having to unpack the laptop bag at the airport. Now all my devices weigh next to nothing.

Will I ever be completely mobile and paperless? That’s what I’m shooting for. And eventually I’ll be bold enough to get that RV. These days I just want to be free. I don’t want to be tied down to anything. I’m proving that you can grow a successful company and be mobile. I don’t regret getting an office and attempting to grow my businesses out. It was a great learning experience. But in times like these, lean is best. Next up, I’ll be getting all of the books in my library in digital format and scaling back on my clothes. I don’t need as much as I used to. Less is more, and definitely more effective.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
I want to be rich, yet live the simple life.

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

It’s still surreal, 24 hours later, “The Voice” is gone. If you’re a child of the 80′s you know “The Voice”. We all knew “THE VOICE“.

But I’m here to tell you, Whitney was not A VOICE. Her voice was her gift that she used to entertain. It turned into her job. She was a real person who struggled and was human. From the outside looking in, we all envied her, and admired the fact that her voice catapulted her to the top of her industry and opened doors and opportunities for her that paved the way for other women and artists. We commoditized her….her voice. She struggled, as many artists of her caliber struggle, as her fame grew. She made mistakes. But they were hers to bear. It was between her and God to deal with that. And in all of the finger pointing, blaming Bobby Brown, and poking fun, people lost sight that she was a PERSON with real feelings and real struggles and real weaknesses. She was someone’s mother, daughter, sister, friend. And the only person with a right to judge is God Himself.

I sat this morning watching her last interview with Oprah Winfrey and I have to say, I saw it in a totally different light. I really listened to what she was saying and confessing. Sure, we all speculated and judged. I know I did, even though I had always been pulling for her. Whitney and Bobby actually lived about 20 minutes from me when they lived in Atlanta. And I admit, there were times when I was annoyed by the antics and even made the occasional comment about wishing they’d leave so we could have peace in our town. But I didn’t understand…not until I re-watched that Oprah interview, how much pain she was really in. This wasn’t about Bobby leading her astray (she freely admitted she started doing stuff before him). And while her marriage to Bobby did contribute to her downward spiral, the public, her fans, the world set such high expectations and demands for her, she couldn’t handle it. She wanted out (by her own admission).

Those words made me really step back and digest until I really GOT IT. Here are 6 lessons I’ve taken away from the life and untimely death of the incomparable Whitney Houston. And I hope you too take these lessons and apply them to your career, business and life.

Lesson 1- Maintain your identity.

It is well documented that Whitney’s mom was adamant about delaying her debut in music until she was ready to handle it. Cissy knew what she was talking about. The entertainment business will eat you up if you let it. Artists often struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy in their lives once they get that first big hit. The public sets these expectations of what they think an artist should be. We see pop star, diva, world class entertainer. But that’s just their job, it’s not who they are. Their job is to entertain you, that’s it. When the houselights come up, you no longer are entitled to a piece of them. It irked me to no end to hear Oprah relay the sentiment of the fans that she disappointed them because they felt entitled to THE VOICE. As jacked up as it was, Whitney chose to buck that. While I wish she had chosen a different way to do it, I can’t be mad at her for rebelling. She just wanted to be Whitney and just sing. But the world changed that for her. And heaven help any public figure who wants to go a different route. The public rebels and tries to force the entertainer to remain the same for the life of their career. Don’t let anyone else dictate who you are or become. Make sure people understand the distinction between your job and you as a person…and respect it. And if your identity goes through changes and growth, which it should, go with it. Don’t let people sway you from growing.

Lesson 2- Embrace your talent/gift.

In her interview, Whitney talked a lot about feeling the need to tone down her stardom to appease her husband. Many people, especially women, feel ashamed of their talent when they’re excelling at a faster rate than their partners. They purposely choose to dumb down or downplay their talent. Whitney admitted this. I was a bit angry and disappointed to hear her admit this. I learned a long time ago to never, ever, dim my light to make other people feel better about themselves. If God has given you a talent or a gift, then you must use it and share it with the world. It’s OK to shine your light as bright as God has allowed it to be. I fully believe that if she understood this, and embraced her talent, she wouldn’t have felt the need to dim her own light for someone else. And she wouldn’t have sought to hide the pain in drugs. Just my opinion, and no, that’s not a dig at Bobby. The impulse to fall back can come with a spouse, friends or family members. And it can even come with co-workers. Well check this out. My star is rising..not like Whitney’s level, but it’s slowly rising. I’m not dimming a damn thing. Embrace and accept my gift or keep it moving.

Lesson 3- Don’t try to please everyone.

This is especially true about people you don’t know. People like Whitney, Michael, Beyonce, (I can go on) find themselves trying to please everyone by being who the world expects them to be. Be who you are. You have to know when and where to draw the line. Again, being a public figure doesn’t give people free license to their entire life. I’ve never believed in that public figure=no private life crap. A job is a job. It’s not supposed to define you. Some of you would be pissed off if someone asked you to perform work duties when you’re clearly off the clock. It’s no different with entertainers. They are not your trained circus acts that have to always be on. Cut them some slack. Not everyone is going to be happy all the time and you can’t please everyone. When you try, you end up losing who you are. Learn to say NO and be OK with the fact that some people won’t like it.

Lesson 4- Surround yourself with the right people.

Yes men bring no value to you. I can’t claim I know who was or wasn’t around Whitney. I do know her mom fought like hell to bring her back. But when you reach a certain financial status, you find yourself surrounded with people who have their own best interest at heart. Agents, attorneys, accountants, leeches, lackeys and all sorts of people latch on to your rising star so they can get all they can as they come along for your ride. Nobody wants to be around during the bad times. But everyone sure wants to be around when the champagne flows. Money and power, when uncontrolled, leads to mismanagement and toxic situations. Sometimes we find out too late that people are up to no good. And when you’re surrounded by too many people, it’s easy for the bad elements to slip through the cracks. No matter what industry you’re in, keep you inner circle tight and well vetted. Get rid of anyone who’s going to always appease your ego. Don’t lose touch with those who’ve been around from the beginning and who have your best interest at heart. And if the leech happens to be a family member or friend, get rid of them and don’t feel guilty.

Lesson 5- Own and control your brand from the beginning.

See, ya’ll couldn’t handle the truth about Whitney. She was a straight up Jersey girl through and through and she admitted that. But because Clive Davis and Arista painted this image of America’s Pop Princess, the world was outraged when she married Bobby Brown and decided to start being just Whitney. And the public really couldn’t deal when she started her descent. It got too real for you, so many chose to make jokes or just dismiss her altogether. I’m a firm believer that life works in cycles and sometimes you must hit those valleys in order to learn and move on to the next great thing. But when you’re a celebrity, you’re not afforded that privilege. People create this image of you and anything that steps outside of that comfort zone causes them to panic and react negatively. Had Whitney or her people taken more control over her brand in the very beginning, maybe it wouldn’t have been such a culture shock for many when things changed. Never put yourself in a position to constantly have to prove who you are or what you bring to the table. Never give that much power to handlers who create an image that really isn’t you. Don’t be afraid to be authentically you. Be up front in the beginning with who you are and only show what people need to know. Don’t live your personal life in the public eye (you can take that cue from Beyonce and Jay-Z). Separate your personal and your business and demand people honor that.

Lesson 6- When shit moves way too fast for your liking, slow it down until you can handle it better. 

It’s hard to know the trajectory your career will take. In life, everything is a gamble. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. But you have to be ready to handle what comes your way. Life can change in a split second and unfortunately some people get thrust into a spotlight they’re not ready to handle. Because they have people around them talking about once in a life time opportunities and how they need to seize the moment, entertainers (and other for that matter) find themselves signing their lives away and giving themselves to the public and lose control of their careers. This is why I’m always leery about child stars and athletes drafted straight from high school. And if you don’t have proper representation to explain things to you, you leave yourself open to all kinds of nonsense…all in the name of fame. So make sure you listen to that inner voice. If it’s telling you slow down, do it. Don’t do or allow yourself to be talked into doing anything you’re not ready for.

RIP Whitney Houston. You will be missed.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
Remembering singing ‘Saving All My Love’ down in my friend’s basement as a teen

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

I don’t bash people. I don’t get off on that. But I will call out foul play when I see it. Especially when people are being taken advantage of and when fools rush in to circumstances that leave them worse off than they began with. I’m one that will warn you all the way. What good is pointing out not to fall into the well when I don’t point to exactly where the well is so you can avoid it?

Yesterday I got an email newsletter from Angela Jia Kim of Savor the Success, someone I respect and sort of follow the progress of her businesses. And I have to say she was spot on. She said something I think a lot of us with built-in bullshit detectors have been thinking and saying for the longest, but never put it out there. The gist of her post was that people are tired of these high cost, 6-7 figure so-called coaches who are self-proclaimed kings & queens of the world. Now this was a legitimate gripe and I agreed. But then she also promoted several coaches that she knew personally. Her blog, her post, who am I to call foul. Like I said, I agreed with her. She was much nicer than I would have been.

Kudos to you Angela! You’ve never responded to my emails to you, but I won’t hold it against you.

Have you noticed everyone and their mommas are now coaches? There is nothing wrong with coaches. Don’t get me wrong. But not everyone who calls themselves one is. And the worst ones are the so-called “business coaches” who, once you sign up with them, focus on fixing your marketing and social media. WTF!! What ever happened to actually working on the BUSINESS? You can’t market or grow what’s broken. I’ve interviewed quite a few when I felt stuck and ready to move it to the next level. And I got frustrated because they all sounded the same, offered the same, and focused on marketing or “changing my mindset”. NEXT! Hell I know I need to market, I’m focused on success. Now I want to GROW the business and be like Oprah. lol Show me how to do THAT. If I wanted a shrink I’d hire one.

Now if your specialty happens to be marketing or social media, fine, then say that. But don’t dupe people into believing your are actual business coach that will help them fix or grow their business. If I’m having problems with hiring staff or employee turnover, I’m not going to a marketing coach. If I’m trying to get more funding for my business, I’m not going to a marketing coach. Unfortunately, many of these business coaches are nothing more than glorified marketing or copyediting specialists who threw up a coach shingle. Again, if that’s your specialty, run with it. But be truthful.

I blame those high-level, I’ve been on TV, I’ve hung out with celebrities type coaches. Because they package these how to be a coach systems (can’t be mad at free enterprise..some have even made it to Inc 500 status…although now I question why I want to be on that list) and they show people HOW TO MARKET THEMSELVES AS AND BE COACHES not HOW TO RUN & GROW A BUSINESS. And that’s where the problem lies. I don’t want a coach to show me how to be a coach. I’m a business growth strategist, not a business coach. I already know how to use social media (my brand is doing very well, thank you). And I have people to market for me. So we have nothing left to talk about. I expect a business coach to help me with specific areas of my business, not tell me to market more or better. And I certainly don’t need them to tell me to go teach other people how to market.

Every time I’ve asked coaches can they help me with my specific type of business, I get the same crap. Oh, we’ve worked with a wide variety of businesses. Yeah, but have you worked with one like MY business? I’m trying to grow an empire here. I want to roll with the big dogs. And no offense to any small business owner, but I’m not trying to be a one-woman show here. I have huge aspirations and it’s not just about dollars for me. I’m shooting for a level that had it not been for the poor suckers who paid all that money to take these coaching programs, they (rich coaches) wouldn’t even see it. In other words, I don’t want to sell people a bunch of worthless junk that they’ll probably never use, make them attend a bunch of calls and workshops only to find themselves back at square one when it’s over just to make some money for myself. When people come to me, I want them to walk away with a plan and achieve measurable results.

And here’s my other gripe. If I’m paying thousands to work with YOU, why are you pawning me off on one of your trained associates? That’s false advertising. I came to YOU because you marketed YOUR experience and skills to me. You marketed YOU, not your business/company. When I go into Macy’s I know I’m not meeting with Mr. Macy. That’s a given. When I buy from Amazon, I know I’m not getting a personalized transaction from Jeff Bezos. So why the hell are you false advertising that I’ll be working with you, then when I say I want to work with you, the price triples? No freakin’ way. False advertising.

I even have to be careful to let people know there’s a difference between Adrienne Graham and Empower Me! Corporation. You may not always work directly with ME. I tell you up front when you will and when you won’t. I’m the CEO of the company. I can’t wear all of the hats and service all of the clients 24/7. I’m not supposed to.

Coaches, you have two options. Either you create your company/brand as an entity to stand on it’s own, where people come there for the service regardless of who provides it or you honor your “advertising” and work with people yourself. At least tell people up front that they won’t be working directly with you. I understand the one to many concept, the team concept, etc. But you’re not clearly defining it for the people you’re marketing to. And I’m not even saying you can’t charge what you think you’re worth. But you better have the stuff to justify those price tags.

And while we’re on false advertising, I am so sick of this fear based marketing. I wrote a blog post not too long ago about this. We live in a tough economic time and people are desperate. But that doesn’t absolve them of doing their due diligence. I can sit here and blame the coaches all day long. The fact is, they’ve done their job…well. They spun such convincing copy that it hooked their clients in to spend tons of money that could be better spent elsewhere. Here’s my issue. You don’t turn to a coach for last minute help. You shouldn’t be at a point where you need this to survive. I’ve heard people say I’ve invested my last $3,000 so I need this to work. You can’t do that. I understand you need to turn your business around, but get someone who actually has experience in that. Never count on a coach to be your savior. Never count on them to give you a magic pill (or system, or book, or course) that will save your business. And especially never count on them to do the work for you.

Do your research. Make sure you check a coach out, get some real references (not all of those testimonials are legit), and follow your gut. If you know you can’t afford it, wait until you can. By that time, you might not even need a coach any more. A good coach will tell you when they can’t work with you and why. There are some good ones out there. And you don’t have to spend $100K to work with them.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
Beware of false prophets…or is that profits?

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

OK well maybe not literally. But I do have some great news.

Tonight at 7PM EST I will be hosting my first ever Google+ Hangout for my book reading and Q&A that I will also be livestreaming. Did you get all that?

My much anticipated book No, You Can’t Pick My Brain, It Costs Too Much, which was born of a wildfire conversation on Forbes.com last year is finally available, and I’m celebrating. I’m hosting a live Google+ Hangout where I’ll be taking questions and reading excerpts of the book. But it’s not about me. It’s about sharing stories of others who have been silently suffering.

Because Hangouts only allows me to open the doors to 9 people at a time (I know, right!) I’ll also be livestreaming this event via my UStream channel for the general public to watch. It’ll be streaming in real time on that channel, and you may also find it directly on this website (no fuss, no muss). I’ll be taking questions via email, in the Hangout and on my Twitter stream using the hashtag #pickmybrain.

So make sure you connect with me on Google+ so that you can have a chance to join the Hangout. Please know, not everyone will make it on the Hangout. We’re broadcasting for one hour. Will we go over? Who knows, anything can happen. But plan on being there about an hour.

And we’ll continue the conversation over on my Amazon page, where I’ve created a forum to share you brain picking stories and advice.

See you this evening!

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
I said I’ll see you this evening!

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system. Sorry, but there was a certain New England Patriots ring leader who I won’t name (but his initials are M.B.) who just knew his team would crush us. Sorry dude, you lose, we win…again. HAH! OK now I’m really done.

There is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition every now and then. In fact, where would we be without it. It’s encouraged from the field to the boardroom and it tests endurance and separates the boys from the men, girls from the women. And may the best person/team/company win. At the end of the day though, you man or woman up and congratulate the other team (if you were unlucky enough to lose) and keep it moving. You go back to the board room or the locker room to review what went wrong and work on improving next time. And you might even find yourself getting chewed out by the coach or executive team. It’s life, you adjust and come back stronger.

But far too often people take competition to the extreme. Dare I say they get crazy with it. When competition becomes a bad case of keeping up with (or crushing) the Joneses, we have a serious problem.

As a culture, we are obsessed with winning. Not in a may the best team win kind of way, but in an awkward pseudo-reality way like Charlie Sheen. That’s scary to me. What is it that makes us feel that urgency to prove anything to people? Prove we’re good enough, prettier than, smarter than, slicker than, better than, tougher than the next person. The real question is WHO CARES?

I mean really, most times when we think we’re in competition, we’re really not. It’s just an ego-boosting attempt to outdo someone who really could care less about what’s going on in your world. I see it in cities like New York, Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles. People often complain about the fakeness in these cities because you always have core group of people who want to one up everyone else. You’ve probably seen them. They flaunt their (supposed) wealth- which if you come from my old neighborhood, it’s manufactured Hood Rich. They name drop- I mean really, who gives a shit that you had lunch with *insert famous or high profiled person’s name here*. They want to go on reality shows to flaunt their fake rich lives to the world, then get caught up in trying to maintain appearances. All in the name of competition to be the best and show nobody can beat them. *yawn*

Isn’t that tiring? Hell I got tired from just typing it. Who has that kind of time to worry about other folks? Not me. I have an empire to build and things to do. I have my own life and don’t want to live vicariously through anyone else. I quite enjoy my life. I compete with no one.

But it’s not just that. In the corporate world, competition drives people to the breaking point. The pressure to always be on, always produce, always be on top is a lot to deal with. Boards and bosses put an unusual amount of pressure on their employees not to succeed, but to beat the other guy.

Managers, who are often the source of the problem, push their teams to do more and be more so they can cover their own butts. They create an environment of intra-team competitiveness that’s toxic and erodes morale. And when things get too stressful and start falling apart, they want to start firing people, instead of looking at the root of the problem (which can be found in a mirror). While there should be a little healthy competition encouraged, it shouldn’t put team members at odds with each other. I’ve seen it happen. The manager drives them so much that it becomes a cut throat environment and bitterness and resentment get in the way of productivity. And in the end, the executive team is unhappy, clients are unhappy and people start getting pink slips. All in the name of competition.

The insanity of this crush all competition mindset is mind-boggling. There is enough room for everyone. Business owners lose a lot of sleep because they’re so worried about the competition and what they’re doing. Instead of trying to always beat everyone else, focus on building a great company, providing stellar services and products, and being the best at what you do. Who cares how the other company does it? Who cares if they have celebrity endorsements? Focus on what’s going on in your own back yard before you worry about what everyone else is doing. You might just find yourself building a better company in the process. Horse wear those blinders for a reason. It’s to keep them focused on what’s in front of them, not what’s going on around them.

Am I telling you to never compete? No, absolutely not. I am saying don’t make it a fixation. We all want to win, but some prices are too high to pay just for the privilege of saying I won. If you feel the need to always beat everyone else, it’s time you take a look at yourself and what drives you. You may uncover an unhealthy obsession that if not corrected, will lead you into a world of trouble and misery. A little healthy competition every now and then is good for the soul. It keeps you on your toes and open to self discovery. But don’t go overboard. You only get one life to live. Don’t spend it on ulcer and heart medication.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
No offense, but I really don’t care what you’re doing; chill out 

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

Good, you’re back! Now that you’re caught up, let me continue.

I’ve always been a rebellious child so I don’t know why I was shocked that people were really feeling that article. In fact, a few of my friends told me to stop bullshitting when I expressed my surprise and humble gratitude for all of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) comments. Truth is, I wasn’t bullshitting. I was dead on serious. I don’t write with the intention to create movements. My writing inspires people to move, which is a wonderful value add. But I write from my heart and whatever is on it at the time. And that fateful day back in March 2011, I had enough and that happened to be on my heart. Those words happened to have caused a movement, and that movement is to take back your power and earn your worth. I say and will keep saying you have to learn how to draw the line and not feel guilty.

Let me break it down to you like this. As the title of this blog post suggests, you have to go big or go home(less). Life has a way of swinging around violently, kicking you in the ass and disrupting your entire world. In an instance, you can find yourself literally assed out. You have to get this, especially if you are unemployed, on the verge of financial ruin, or about to find yourself with no other choice but to make a go out of your business idea. This is for those who are in sink or swim mode with no savior on the horizon. Some people will say you need persistence, will, determination and smarts to launch a business. And you do. But what you need most is the ability to set boundaries and the confidence to say NO so you can earn what you’re worth.

Hell, some of you don’t even demand what you’re worth at work (as in a 9-5), so it’s no wonder it’s hard for you to draw the line in your own business. But hear me when I say, especially if you’re a one person enterprise. You must charge for your services and make people respect your talents. Otherwise you set the wrong tone and trust me, it’s not a good one because you’re the one who comes out on the losing end.

Let’s suppose you just got laid off today. You have $14 in your bank account. The bills are due. Your kids need to eat and all that’s in the pantry is a pack of ramen noodles and a can of beets. And you’re down to your last quarter tank of gas. There’s no unemployment or inheritance from a rich relative on the horizon. You’ve got one shot (your business) to pull yourself up out of this mess and time is not on your side. Is that a scary enough picture for you? I’m not talking about not having enough money to buy the latest Coach bag or an iPod. I’m talking about having to choose between putting gas in your car or trying to buy some groceries. Choosing between borrowing money to pay the gas bill or the electric bill. Well that’s a very real situation for a lot of people right now. Is this the time where you give away the advice for which you previously made a living? Is this the time where you tell someone oh no worries, you don’t have to pay me, it’s on the house.

Abso-freakin-lutely not! Yet, that’s what a lot of you do. I know, because I’ve been there and done that. Don’t have the t-shirt because at the time, I couldn’t afford one!

I want you to understand that all of us, each one of us entrepreneurs is always a client away from facing a situation like this. This is especially true if you have been putting off or are afraid of marketing and closing sales for your business or just giving away until it literally hurt.

I continue to get comments about the article and email from people who say that they finally get it and that they are now starting to charge. I sit there in astonishment yelling at my computer screen

ARE YOU SERIOUS!? You should have been charging. This is some serious shit. This is not a game.

When you decide to start a business, you do it with the intention of making money. Yes, you can and should give away freebies to gain brand awareness. But you have to learn how to give just enough to get them familiar with what you’ve got and enough to make them want more. Businesses are supposed to make money and don’t you let anyone tell you anything different or make you feel guilty. Let me ask you this question.

Why have you been afraid to charge? 

Listen, I’ve come dangerously close to going broke on more than one occasion. You may not believe it because I have a powerful network and I know a lot of people. I’ve been all over the media. I’ve written some great books, developed some powerful courses, gave some good speeches at events, and offered transformational strategy programs and consulting services. So it looked like I had it made in the shade. Yeah, at times I did have it made…when I had paying clients who valued my services.

But let me be real with you. There were times where I was throwing free ad space and radio time at people, giving away my time, speaking for free, doing favors without asking for anything in return, giving away free products and all the while my bank account was fading away. I had to make sure people liked me. They needed to see what I brought to the table so I had to give away so much. I brainwashed myself into believing that they would appreciate all I did and reciprocate one day. Some did. Many of them however, have me still waiting!

The problem became real as I watched other people prosper as they benefitted from my freebies while I silently sat in pain slowly going broke. That’s some sobering shit, especially when you have a young kid to support. You don’t know what it’s like to be that unaware then find yourself caught like a deer in the headlights. Oh spare me the crap about keeping your eye on the finances. We all get caught up at times. I know my business and how it runs in cycles. I’m usually a good stewart of my money and my finances. But I got caught up in trying to be a kick ass BRAND instead of being a smartly run BUSINESS. It happens to the best of us. But you just pick yourself up, dust off, and keep it moving making sure you take those hard knock lessons with you so you don’t repeat the same mistakes.

You don’t know desperate until you’ve been where you can only afford to pay your staff to keep things running while you take no salary, praying that one of those great people you graciously helped decides whether or not they’re going to hire and pay you. You know what they want and need, and you can just smell the revenue they’ll bring in. Then just as you’re about to finalize the deal (because they’ve been in contact for weeks assuring you that they’re almost ready to work with you) their finances can’t justify the cost. Then your lights get cut off because you knew they would come through and thought you timed it to pay the bill just before disconnection hits. You’ve crapped out. You didn’t get the client and now your ass is sitting in the dark feeling mad, resentful and foolish.

The truth is, they had no intention of ever becoming a client because you kept giving them more and more in the hopes that it shows them how smart you are and how great of an investment it would be for them. So really, they don’t need you any more.

I speak from experience. The response to the article showed me that I wasn’t alone. It showed me that there were still people out there who were silently suffering like I used to. I had to write this book as a manifesto to take back control. I had to give you back the power to say enough.

Don’t let things get as bad as I let them get for myself. And especially don’t let them get bad repeatedly (hey, I said I had to learn, didn’t I?). Trust me, I’m about 2 years clean (meaning I don’t allow myself to get taken advantage of any more). You can do it one step at a time. That first step is saying no, and sticking to it. The second step is assigning a value to all of your services and time and believing it. The third step is get a backbone and draw the line in the sand. After that, things will fall into place.

I know it takes time, but depending on your financial situation, you may not have much time on your side. Learn from my example. Make sure you learn to tell people No, You Can’t Pick my Brain, It Costs Too Much. If you have a problem with that, make sure you get a copy of the book…today!

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
You want to pick my brain? That’s $350 an hour please… 

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

• Dropbox- By now everyone should know of this service. The beautiful thing is I get to keep my important documents in Dropbox to use from any device at any time. I have a free account but you can opt for a paid account. My basic account has 2GB of storage. But if you’re a job seeker, you can use it to store resumes, samples of your work, references, etc. Imagine being able to instantly send a resume right from your smart phone or tablet after an impromptu meeting with a recruiter or hiring manager. It’s a must have for easy access and quick retrieval.
• CardMunch (powered by Linked In)- Now this one might not seem very exciting, but it really is a handy little tool. Currently it’s only available on iPhone and iPad. But they’re allegedly working on other platforms. You take business cards, use your phone or iPad to capture a picture of the card, and their “team” transcribes the data. Now, I don’t know why this is appealing, but it is what it is. The cool thing is once the contact information is in your system, you can pull a person’s Linked In profile information and connect. Like I said, not exciting but eh. People do still hand out business cards and it’s a free app.
• OnLive Desktop (powered by Microsoft)- OK I know I said five apps, but OnLive and QuickOffice are tied in my book. I like that both allow you to edit and work on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. OnLive opens up to look just like your Windows desktop with the icons for each program on the desktop. And you can open documents you’ve stored in the system in any of the programs to edit in real time just like you would on your PC. Don’t believe me? Check it out. It also allows you to store documents, so Dropbox may be repetitive. Now QuickOffice allows you to edit too, but it also allows you to view PDF documents as well. It’s not as fancy as OnLive, but it does the trick. I opted for the HD Pro version of QuickOffice for $14.99 and it was well worth it. Plus it was before OnLive came out. But both programs are great if you need to edit your resume or documents on the fly to present to a recruiter or hiring manager.  Both can be synced with your Dropbox account.
• LunchMeet (powered by Linked In)- It’s rumored that this app was inspired by the book Never Eat Alone. This is actually a pretty cool app that I stumbled across while trying to find apps to optimize my boring Linked In app. So here’s the deal. You create your profile by signing in with your Linked In account. Then you tell the app when and where you will be available to meet. Then you search for other professionals who are in your area who are available around the same time, and invite them to meet you for lunch. OK on the surface, this can be a little creepy. But it’s actual pretty useful. It’s a planner meets calendar meets networking tool. So check it out.
• Taleo Radar (powered by Taleo)- I saved the best for last. Mostly because this app is more for recruiters than job seekers, but you can still use it as a branding tool. Taleo is a company that makes applicant tracking systems. You’ve probably seen them when you applied online for a job with a major company. Radar is location based so you have to leave your location setting open. But the gist is the app is supposed to allow job seekers to be matched to positions. Allegedly it can be used to apply for jobs at thousands of employers, nearly 50% of the Fortune 100 and nearly 80% of the Fortune 500. You set up a brief profile and recruiters can search you out based on your skills. As the job seeker, you can create a great profile using precise keywords so that you can get on the radar (no pun intended) of recruiters. Don’t take my word for it. Explore the app for yourself and see how you like it.

In my opinion, these are all great apps that job seekers can find helpful. I purposely left out job board apps because I preferred to focus on actual tools. If you come across some other ones that I need to know about, let me know.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
Trying to make it easier for job seekers! 

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.

When I published Go Ahead, Talk to Strangers: The Modern Girl’s Guide to Fearless Networking, I had no expectations. I was basically writing to see if I could do it. I was always that kid in English class who always wrote “A” papers without breaking a sweat. I was that blogger who had a knack for saying just the right thing, even if it was something other people were afraid to say publicly. I inherited my story telling abilities from my Dad. I could spell, string together proper sentences, and I had an actual story to tell. So I did it. When I was researching the self-publishing process, I made sure I understood as much as I could so I didn’t get jerked around. I chose Lulu.com as my distribution channel and went for it. The book went on to be featured in Black Enterprise Magazine, and three years later, I still get some sales coming in. All with minimal marketing. Like I said, I had no expectations and didn’t really have a marketing plan in place. If I sold books, great. If I didn’t sell books, that would have been fine too. I just wanted to see if I could do it, and I did.

As I wrote and released my next few books, it became clear to me that I needed to do more than I had when I released the first book. Sure, I had a strong social media and industry following, and people really liked my work. But the stakes became higher for me when I finally said to myself “you’re a writer“. Until that point, even though I blogged and contributed to Forbes, Examiner and a few other sites, I never considered myself a real writer. Jackie Collins and Terry McMillan were writers, not Adrienne Graham. Adrienne is a businesswoman. But then it dawned on me that writing books was part of building my brand and a way to leverage my expertise. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a degree in journalism or that a big publisher hadn’t come to scoop me up. I was a writer and I was on my own.

When I wrote the blog post Be An Author, Don’t Just Write Books last month, I had already come to the conclusion that writing and publishing was a full time gig. If I was going to continue self-publishing, I had to treat it like a separate business entity under the Empower Me/Adrienne Graham brand. So I’ve made it my mission to educate myself on the process and pass along what I learn to others.

Here are some basics that are vitally important for you to know as a self-published author.

• Own your stuff. If you know you want to self-publish, before you even write your first word, buy your own ISBN (International Standard Book Number) number. I did this for my very first book. In fact, it’s one of the first things I learned. When you own your own ISBN, no matter where your book is sold or published, you retain full rights to your work. Vanity press shops and places like Lulu and Createspace say they will give or sell you a number. But if you want to take your content elsewhere, you can’t. They own your content if you use their number and become publisher of record. The only place in the United States, and I can’t stress this enough, you can buy an ISBN number is from Bowker. You need an ISBN for each book you want to eventually sell in bookstores, and you need a different number for each version of your book. They cannot be reused. So if you have paperback, ebook and audio, they all need separate numbers. You can buy one, ten or one hundred ISBN numbers at one time. At first I got the one, then I bought ten.
• Pay for someone to do your cover art and editing. I have always had someone else do my covers. I usually put a bid out on Elance.com and have had some really great designers. If you want to be taken seriously, I would suggest you not use the DIY covers on sites like Lulu.com to create your covers. They don’t look professional. Invest the dollars into a real designer to come up with a custom cover for your book. Make sure you give them the correct specs for the cover and get it in every file format you can. Also, just as a precaution, get them to make a matching CD cover, CD face, and graphics to use on your website or in print (should you decide to have posters or banners created for book signings). Editing is another area you shouldn’t scrimp on. I chose to self edit, and that may have been a mistake. But going forward, I will be using professional copy editors to review and suggest corrections for my books. There’s nothing worse than having your book go on sale, then get email telling you they found errors!
• Diversify your offerings. At first, I stubbornly only wanted the print version of my book available. I had this egotistical mindset that holding an actual book in my hands validated me as an author. Yeah, and it cheated me out of sales too. Now, I have made three of the four books available on Kindle and Nook, and they’ll soon be on iBooks. I’m also recording audio versions of my books as well. You want to give people as many ways to access and buy your books as possible. Take the time to create versions that are comparable for each method you make your books available.
• Get on Amazon and in bookstores, BUT always sell copies from your own website. It’s great and validating to have your books sold through well known book store. But that cuts into your royalties and profits. I always order copies of my books to keep on hand should someone make a purchase directly from my website or if I happen to be at an event where people want to buy directly from me. Of course the benefit of this is you make more money selling it on your own. The downside is unless you’re a well known author or have a popular, loyal following, sales will be low. So make sure you’re maximizing your opportunities.
• Create a marketing strategy. Nobody is saying you have to go on a full fledged book tour. Technology has made it so much easier for authors to get the word out about their books. Truth be told, a marketing plan should be in place before you even finish your book. You have to know how you will sell your books and the best ways to reach your audience. You should not be relying solely on social media to announce your book. Your marketing plan should include book signings, a virtual tour, media appearances, giveaways, distribution, contests, discussions and reviews. Not all things will work for all types of books or authors. But the beauty is you can experiment until you find your perfect mix. Write your marketing plan as you would your business plan.

This happens far more often than you might think. The problem is most people don’t know how to steer the conversation back to an actual interview. Instinctively you want to show your stuff so that they know that you are the best candidate, so you map out a plan or strategy that has just given them cause not to hire you. You’ve given them the milk (an implementable strategy) for free, so now they don’t have to buy the cow (you). You can’t just say no because there’s a chance that they won’t want to hire you. But there’s also a chance that they weren’t going to hire you any way even if you do give them the information. So what should you do?

Here are three ways to keep the interview on course.

• Don’t get offended, get strategic. Being asked to prove your worth by actually coming up with a real strategy for a real problem is offensive. But this is not the time to get an attitude, storm out, or express your outrage by telling them how much you’re knowledge is worth. I once had a woman so outraged about being asked to work a simulated project that she said she charged $50 an hour for her work. Needless to say, she was not hired and as a matter of fact, the hiring manager blacklisted her because of her attitude. There may be any number of reasons why a hiring manager is asking you this. They could be checking to see if you really know your stuff. They could legitimately not know how to interview or ask questions that would appropriately gauge your talent. Or they could simply be using it as a way to screen you out of the position. The good news is you actually can maintain the control of this situation. Ask questions that will get you to the heart of why they are asking you to do this. Once you understand why they’re asking, you can tailor your answer accordingly.
• Give them just the facts. Now contrary to what I said above, some interviewers just want to see what you know so they can glean ideas that they can implement without having to actually hire someone to do the work. To counter this, share with them a similar situation at a previous job and how you were able to successfully navigate the issue. Share the end results (increase in sales, reduced turn around, etc) as a result of your process or strategy, but don’t go into specific details of the process that led you there. Then tell them that you can’t reveal each step of the process because you owe confidentiality to your former boss. Then sit back and wait for their next move. If they choose to end the interview, so be it. But if they really want you, they’ll come back with greater interest.
• Steer the conversation back to them. Learn to ask great questions because it helps with mental leverage. For instance, when an interviewer wants to know how you would handle a certain issue, ask them if it is something they currently are having problems with and why they think this is the case. Ask them what they’ve done so far to find resolution and what hasn’t worked for them. Some interviewers may get annoyed, but trust me, there’s a reason for this. You are getting them to tell you exactly what problems they’ve been experiencing and it gives you a frame of reference of how to respond. You don’t want to just start giving them textbook answers. You want to be able to draw on your previous experience so you can show them how you’ve handled similar situations and how it could translate to helping them with theirs.

Now that the book is out, I’d love to hear your experiences. Go over to my Amazon page and join the conversation. You might be selected to appear on my radio show.

Til next time,

Adrienne Graham
Interviewers, candidates, can we meet in the middle?

Check out my new book Get Recruited: Secrets from a Top Recruiter on Using Unconventional Tactics to Get Noticed in an Inconvenient Economy in paperback or on Kindle! While you’re at it, order your paperback copy of No, You Can’t Pick My Brain. Or if you can’t wait, get it on Amazon Kindle. 

Do you like this article and want to reprint or share? You can, as long as you include this in its entirety:

Adrienne Graham is the Founder & CEO of Empower Me! Corporation (www.empowerme.org). She is a strategist that helps people grow their career, business or network in any economy. She is the voice behind Views from the Top Radio Show, and the creative visionary behind Empower Me! Institute and Empower Me! Magazine. Her writing and shows focus on Career Management, Networking Strategies, Entrepreneurial Success and Small Business Management. You can also find her causing a ruckus on Forbes.com.