I promised to tell this story and I am sorry I couldn't get through it during the webinar.

mea culpa.

​-A

What do an EVP, a CIO, two CMO's, a VP Sales, a VP Business Development, and a CDO have in common?  Well, it takes a thimble full of energy and...listen to the audio and get energized.

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Over the last three weeks we have seen an uptick in job activity in the following job categories:

Finance
IT
Supply Chain
Operations

What about Sales, Marketing, Data, and the rest of the categories?  Well, it's been pretty tight, still.  But, the fact that I am talking about job offers for leaders in areas that are considered business support, is remarkable.   The clients that we have seen close these jobs were at the VP level and all had a unique C.OP.S.  Many of them used their existing network to promote their new value prop.  Food for thought.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO ASK...WHAT IS MY ROI?  WELL, IF YOU USE ME, IT'S TO GET HIRED.  THE QUESTION, I WANT TO ASK YOU IS SIMPLE.  DO YOU KNOW YOUR ROI FOR COMPANIES, EMPLOYERS?  IF YOU KNOW IT AND YOU BELIEVE IT, WHY ARE YOU HERE?

I was reminded of my it's important to talk about Return on Investment during last week's new client intake calls.  My hope is that making sure your ROI is great is as critical to you as it is to me.  Your job search depends on it.

I recorded some more thoughts from an interesting call last week.

Here you go...

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Do you remember that irresistible tune from Nat King Cole, Unforgettable? That music flooded my home when I was little dude smashing Tonka Trucks. I think my mom thought it would chill me out. If you have heard me, you know that I am not a very chilled out dude. But, the idea of someone special always resonated with me.

We recently hired a data pro to find things that we are missing to help our business continue to grow. I heard this guy speak 7 years ago and there has not been a week when I haven't thought about him. We wanted him to come on board 5 years ago, but we were too slow. We wanted him 3 years ago, but we were not big enough. We wanted him last year but, he started his own business.

Finally, on August 1st, we got him on board. We feel like we won the lottery!

His take on data science is unique. All the stuff we look at is inconsequential. He turned us onto the goods. We always viewed him as mission-critical. We needed him, and finally, finally, the stars aligned.

He is unforgettable. We reference him by his unique actions, not his titles or former employers. He is an adult in the room. He is a resource we feel an outrageous need for. He has a lesson for you.

Most, the vast majority of you are forgettable. I am not trying to be a total jerk. You have been satisfied with your professional messaging. But you are here. So, it's not working. Data Guy's message to you is simple. To have people chase you, you need to be, as Nat King Cole sings, "UNFORGETTABLE." To do this, you need to be referenced by unique actions...things only you can do. 

For those who heard me before, I talk about how hard these unique actions are to craft by yourself. You are too close to your own product. But, here's a hint from our Data Guru and me: It's contrarian. Your actions are contrarian. That's how Data Dude got us to think, and that's what made him unforgettable.

Oh my, what a fun treat I got this morning when I received a spreadsheet and call from a client (now, former client).  Yes, I am working on Saturday...it's a thing now.  I was so excited, I recorded some thoughts.  He says he spent $195,000 on his job search that yielded nothing, zip.  Then, he decided to release the status quo.