Career Management articles by the best and brightest in the field

• Four Four-Letter F-Words That Stall Your Careerby William Arruda
  If you want to get ahead in your marketing career, stop using four-letter words that begin with the letter "F." No, we aren't talking about THAT word. (Although cursing your boss is probably not going to get you very far, either.) But the F-words here are far more lethal, more destructive, and more devastating to your career and professional fulfillment. more
• Sweat the Small Stuff: A Counterintuitive Approach to Professional Successby Linda Kaplan
  It might sound counter-intuitive, but "sweating the small stuff" is actually a recipe for success. In fact, it can be one of best weapons in your business arsenal. more
• How Do I Love Thee...? Ten Tips for Using Web 2.0 to Give Back to Your Professional Networkby William Arruda
  Effective networking is all about giving. One of the best ways to give to your network members is to help them build their personal brands. And if you help them build their brands on the Web, you demonstrate how savvy you are about the new Web 2.0 world we live in. And, for marketers, being savvy about social media is essential! Here's a list of 10 free or very low-cost Web 2.0–focused personal-branding gifts. more
• Advice to Out-of-Workers: Read This Before You 'Network' With Meby Lori Feldman
  Before you ask me to go to work for you, go to work for yourself. When you've implemented the suggestions above, I'm more receptive to helping you connect with your next job opportunity. But I don't have time or inclination to work with job-seeking networking spammers. Heed the lesson of the online social networkers: "It's the relationship, stupid." You won't stay unemployed forever. But the work you put into documenting your accomplishments online and taking an interest in others in your field is a long-term investment in yourself. more
• Personal Branding Predictions: The Top 9 for '09by William Arruda
  Personal branding is something that every career-minded professional needs to be thinking about—every day, and with everything they do. With the recession growing in severity and marketing budgets being cut, now is the time for you to be thinking about your personal brand—before your name lands on the layoff list. more
• Six Free Tools for Online Reputation Managementby Dan Schawbel
  Gems of 2008: Online reputation management means tracking your brand and reacting when necessary. Brand monitoring can save you from a potential disaster when someone cites your name in an article that misrepresents you. What's more, it can help you proactively join conversations around your topic area, helping to get your brand name out there. more
• Six Free Tools for Online Reputation Managementby Dan Schawbel
  Do you know what people are saying about you? Online reputation management consists of tracking your brand and reacting when necessary. Sometimes it's tedious. But brand monitoring can save you from a potential disaster. It can also help you proactively join conversations around your topic area, to get your brand name out there. more
• My So-Called Marketing Life: How Do I Extend the Reach of My Brand?by Susyn Duris
  Although she has been successful in promoting and extending corporate brands, the author entered into another chapter of her life a few years ago: re-energizing an acting career. Eventually, she came to see marketing herself as an actor as the same as marketing any other product or service. She revisited common-sense ideas on how to extend a brand. These common-sense ideas, usually known but put on the marketer's back burner, should always be top of mind to help you get noticed and extend your brand. more
• 53 Smartphone Applications for On-the-Go Marketersby Kimberly Smith
  While games remain the most widely downloaded smartphone apps, developers haven't forgotten about those of us who have work to do. In fact, we found quite a few apps that are useful for marketers. Take a gander, and then tell us the applications you've found useful for improving productivity and staying up-to-date on all things marketing. more
• 22 Questions (and Answers!) About Leveraging LinkedIn to Enhance Your Marketing (and Your Marketing Career)by Ann Handley
  Gems of 2008: If you're like most of us, you probably have a LinkedIn profile and a slew of (or at least some) connections there. But are you leveraging LinkedIn to the best of its abilities, as both a marketing tool and career resource? more
• Marketers, It's Time to Hop Off the 'Time Management' Treadmillby Stephan Spencer
  Gems of 2008: Ever sigh to yourself, "There just aren't enough hours in the day!"? You're not alone. Most marketers are overloaded and under-resourced. But it doesn't have to be that way. And managing your time more efficiently isn't the answer. more
• Marketing Champion Q&A: Xerox VP Christa Carone Builds the Brand and Reputationby Roy Young
  During the 12 years that Christa Carone has been with Xerox, the company has been on quite a roller-coaster ride, having gone through significant challenges back in 1999 through 2001/2002, when the company's brand and reputation really took a hit. Recently she discussed with Roy Young her work to strengthen the company's reputation in the marketplace, to bring the brand back to a place that is worthy of such an iconic name like Xerox, and to help the company grow. more
• Marketing Champion Focused on Customer Analytics: Q&A With Paul Barsch, Marketing Director of Teradataby Roy Young
  Paul Barsch, Marketing Director at Teradata, the business intelligence and data warehousing firm, is responsible for coordinating services engineering teams to define, build, and bring new offers to market. A self-described "information junkie" with over 15 years in marketing for information technology and consulting firms, Paul challenges all marketers to bring value to their organizations by taking the analytical path to understanding customers. more
• What Makes a Marketing Champion? An Interview With Matt Strain of Adobeby Roy Young
  Matt Strain is director of worldwide relationship marketing at Adobe, where after just three years he is recognized as a Marketing Champion who adds financial value to the company. He has had a distinguished career in technology marketing. He recently took time to share his thoughts about what makes him successful and offered advice to fellow marketers for getting ahead in our challenging and competitive field. more
• How to Market Your Independent Film to Festivalsby Matthew Syrett
  Film festivals have become the prime venue where independent filmmakers launch their works to the public. Festivals offer an excellent place to build buzz about your film, find distribution deals, network, get press coverage, and experience an audience for your movie. Despite the importance of film festivals, most independent filmmakers have not really considered how best to market themselves to these venues. more
• 22 Questions (and Answers!) About Leveraging LinkedIn to Enhance Your Marketingby Ann Handley
  Like most of us, you probably have a LinkedIn profile and a slew of connections there. But are you leveraging LinkedIn to the best of its abilities, as both a marketing tool and career resource? If you aren't sure, you aren't alone. Indeed, many of the 16+ million people who have signed up on LinkedIn are probably asking "now what???" more
• Marketing Champions: Interview With Cisco's Luanne Tierneyby Roy Young
  Luanne Tierney, Senior Director US and Canada Channels Marketing at Cisco, has had a 20-year career in technology marketing—the past 12 years at Cisco, and before that at Apple, HP, and 3Com. She is a "Marketing Champion," because she drives cash flow for Cisco by helping channel partners market more effectively. Excerpted here is her philosophy of leadership in marketing. more
• Five Tactics for Busting Silos in Your Companyby Roy Young
  As a marketing professional, you likely work in a specialized function that may feel like a silo in your company. But you're also best positioned to break down the walls between your function and others (like R&D, sales, finance, and so forth). It's not an easy task, but the following five tactics can help. more
• Marketers, It's Time to Hop Off the 'Time Management' Treadmillby Stephan Spencer
  Ever sigh to yourself, "There just aren't enough hours in the day!"? You're not alone. Most marketers are overloaded and under-resourced. But it doesn't have to be that way. And managing your time more efficiently isn't the answer. Nor is simply delegating. You also need to be discerning about what you take on. In fact, when was the last time you prioritized your "to-do" list based on what will help further your marketing career instead of merely what will get you through your week? more
• Three Small Tips to Juice up Your Personal Brandingby Dan Schawbel
  What goes unnoticed by many can be an keen advantage for the few. By taking steps to not only build a personal brand but also seek new ways to circulate your name, you will be more successful. Here are three easy (and easily overlooked) things you can do to juice up your personal branding. more

Career Management: See all 142 marketing articles

Career Management case studies, deconstructing real life examples and illustrating lessons learned

• How a Video Podcast Series Garnered a Top Industry Award and 68,500 views in 12 MonthsTellabs
  Last spring, telecom player Tellabs launched its "Get Schooled" video-podcast series as both a way to communicate with customers as well as showcase the depth and breadth of its offerings. Get Schooled did that and more... generating tens of thousands of views, landing a coveted interview, and garnering an industry award. more
• How a Finance Director Left Her Day Job and Launched an 'Engaging Brand' Online via a Podcast and BlogThe Engaging Brand
  A finance director, feeling stifled by the corporate world, launches her own business based in branding and egagement... with only $1,000 to spend. Two years later, she's a blog and podcast star with a successful business. more
• How a Marketing Consultant Significantly Increased His Client Base via Social MediaL&G Business Solutions
  Marketing executive and consultant Lewis Green wanted to re-establish his company in January 2004 after moving across the country. With no professional network in place, he figured the best way to promote his business would be a blog. His first attempt failed. But not his second. more
• How A Financial Services Firm Increased its Deliverables by 25%, With Fewer Staff, After New US RegulationsRydex Investments
  In an era of increasing federal regulation and greater competition in the mutual fund market, a financial firm found itself needing to modernize its marketing efforts. Rydex Investments, a private company that sells funds and other financial products primarily to institutional investors, decided to try some new techniques to get its sales materials quickly into the hands of prospective customers. more
• How an Internet Company Attracted Top Talent—and PR—via a Viral VideoRhinofly
  When Dutch Internet company Rhinofly needed new designers, project managers, and programmers, the company didn't want to use traditional job boards because in the past they hadn't been effective in attracting qualified candidates. To target the best tech-savvy job candidates, Rhinofly created a video capturing the essence of the company while creatively conveying the job descriptions. The video went viral, bringing in not only top job candidates but also widespread publicity. more
• How a Small-Business Consultant Leveraged a High-Profile TV Commercial to Generate New Traffic and Win New BusinessLocalZing
  A competing online marketing company's unorthodox approach to self-promotion got consultant Karl Long thinking about ways he could use his personal blog as a public relations tool to help his company, Local Zing. As a tiny Florida player in the field of advertising for small businesses, Long knew he should consider unconventional ways to promote his company. Taking his cue from the competitor, he launched a campaign that increased traffic on his blog more than 500%, raised his Google profile, and led to new business. more
• How One Provocative Post on a Hewlett-Packard Blog Spread WorldwideHewlett-Packard
  The majority of Technorati's Top 100—many of which have teams of writers—feature new posts as often as a dozen times a day. Can a corporate blog with a single writer build a large international audience without multiple daily postings? more

Career Management: See all 7 case studies

Career Management online seminar broadcasts from the best minds in marketing

• You 2.0: Measuring (and Improving) Your Personal Brand on the WebAttendee rating:  - Jun 12, 2009
• Connecting the Dots: How LinkedIn Can Enhance Your Marketing (and Your Marketing Career)Attendee rating:  - May 29, 2008
• All About Brand You: Building a Stand-Out Marketing CareerAttendee rating:  - Sep 20, 2007
• Google, The Secret Weapon for Career SuccessAttendee rating:  - Nov 17, 2006
• No Cape Required: How to Become a Marketing Champion in Your OrganizationAttendee rating:  - Oct 27, 2006
• Marketing’s Role as Chief Customer OfficerAttendee rating:  - Apr 27, 2006
• How to Climb the B-to-B Marketing Career LadderAttendee rating:  - Mar 2, 2006
• Keys to Success as a Web Manager: People, Politics and Content, with Gerry McGovernAttendee rating:  - Dec 8, 2005
• CFO vs. CMO Smackdown: How to Win the Budget BattlesAttendee rating:  - Aug 4, 2005
• Marketing Career Turbocharger: Put Yourself in OverdriveAttendee rating:  - Jan 6, 2005

Career Management: See all 10 seminars

Career Management mini articles distilling bite-sized advice (from our Get to the Point newsletters)

• Get Wired and Get HiredInteractive Marketing
  The news isn't good: Fidelity Investments this week announced its second round of job cuts, NEC is cutting 20,000 jobs and Motorola just shed 4,000 workers. But despite the doom ...
• Let Everyone in on the LaunchSmall Business
  Before you introduce a new product or service, it goes through a lengthy design process and rigorous testing. You spend untold hours on a marketing strategy, getting everything just right. ...
• Time Is MoneySmall Business
  It doesn't matter if you work in an entrepreneurial or corporate environment: Demands on your time can pull you in two—or ten—different directions. Taking control of your schedule can be ...
• Speak to MeMarketing Inspiration
  Some people are born speechmakers. They thrive on the rush of speaking to hundreds. They deliver rousing presentations without notes. They never want it to end. And we hate them. ...
• Put Your Inner Child to WorkMarketing Inspiration
  In a blog post at MarketingProfs' Daily Fix, Paul Williams extols the business value of a child's imagination. "When it comes to curiosity and creative problem solving, kids have the ...
• How to Exceed Your Clients' Expectations Every TimeSmall Business
  Michael Goodman believes there are five keys to consulting success. Today we will look at one—setting realistic client expectations up front and planning to over-deliver on every project. Why? It's ...
• That's a Great Idea!Small Business
  Our society gives a lot of lip service to thinking outside of the box—so much, in fact, that the very phrase has become a cliché. And there's a good reason: ...
• Optimize Your Networking CostsSmall Business
  Conventional wisdom holds that joining a variety of professional organizations is one of the best ways to network. How can you tell if the fees you pay are worth it? ...
• Three Tips for Staying in the LoopSmall Business
  What would you do if one of your employees accepted an offer from another firm? In a large company, you might plan a goodbye party. But in a small business—where ...
• Find Business Opportunities at Your Chamber of Commerce Small Business
  You could be missing out on remarkable networking opportunities if you aren’t participating in at least one Chamber of Commerce. Take the example of MarketingProfs blogger Lewis Green, who belongs ...

Career Management: See all 10 quick reads

Career Management marketing downloads for the busy professional

• Conducting a Marketing Job Search
  Here's your guide to landing that perfect marketing job. Complete with exercises, checklists, and a whole boatload of advice, you can be on your way to a better, more challenging, and more rewarding position.
• Your Career Management Guide
  As marketers, you juggle many projects, priorities, and agendas all at the same time. This life of multitasking sometimes means you forget one of your most important professional projects: managing your career. Although we can't help you find the time to manage your career, this template to managing your career can tell you how. With exercises, checklists and step-by-step guidelines on how to make this lifelong project - your career - your biggest professional success.
• Managing Your Marketing Career
  Not only does your job require you to keep up with the new trends and strategies of the day, so does your career. This guide, with advice from some of our top career specialists, will help you identify you're strengths and weaknesses (sound familiar?), your true soulmate of a job and the best strategies for landing it. Even if you already think that you've got the career thing under control, this guide will give you new ideas and the tools to get to where you want to go, and beyond!

See all marketing downloads

Career Management Daily Chirp for the busy professional

• Commercial Break: Honda's 'Cog'
  In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at Honda's "Cog," which went viral before the term "viral" had gone viral. more
• Marketing Addictionary: 'Headfake'
  Headfake (noun): A situation in which you are familiar with a person's online avatar picture, which gives you an inaccurate idea of how that person appears in real life. more
• Twitter + Wine = Dream Job
  With all that negativity about today's job market, a bit of lightheartedness doesn't hurt, right? Well, looks like Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma City, has done so by creating THE dream job for a Twitter and Facebook power user who's a wino (no joke). more
• My Big Fat Job List
  Looking for a job in what CNN calls the "worst job market" in decades? To help with your search, we've compiled a Big Fat List of some of the most popular job boards and career resources, including marketing-focused sites. more