As I’ve been building my business over the last year, I’ve had to learn a lot about blogging, marketing and business. Some of what I have learned has been from free sources, some from a great network of higher education professionals, most notably those in the #sachat (Student Affairs Chat) community. But easily, the most practical and actionable business advice I have received has been from one place.It’s called the Third Tribe.
Third Tribe is a membership site, created through a partnership between some of the best minds in social media marketing, including Chris Brogan, Brian Clark, Sonia Simone and Chris Garrett. They believe there is a “third way” between traditional hard-sell marketing and wishy-washy soft-sell marketing, which comes across as apologetic, or doesn’t seem like marketing at all. It’s built on efforts to create strong relationships with your customers based on authenticity and trust, coupled with a strong desire to offer products and services that they need.
It’s been a great place to study the tactics that these guys use to make marketing and business-building seem effortless, and to see the truth behind their businesses…hard work; dedication to the idea that building a business means selling your ideas, not selling your soul; and the ability to learn lessons from their mistakes and to teach others how to avoid them. There’s so much good stuff there, that my only real struggle has been choosing what to implement. If you like this blog, it’s because of Third Tribe. If you find it annoying or scattered, well…that’s all me. Which is why I joined Third Tribe, and why I stay a member. When it comes to non-annoying marketing, I am clearly a work in progress.
Joining a membership site is not for everyone, and if you know for a fact that you wouldn’t benefit from being a member of this kind of a place, then stop reading now! If you want to know what I’ve gotten out of it, read on, because I have some good news and some bad news for you, as well as some perspectives that might make it worth your while to consider joining Third Tribe.
What I’ve gotten out of it:
Early looks at upcoming sites, programs, products and services from Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, Chris Garrett, Lewis Howes, Laura Roeder, and many more.
Connections with other, lesser known, but equally engaging members, like Mike Davenport of Stick Figure Simple (who drew the great stick drawing above for his guest post) Dennis Charles of Build Your Career with Passion, Dr. Susan Giurleo, fitness expert Lisa Johnson, Shane Ketterman of TCGeeks.Com (formerly ipaddaily.com) and Hashim Warren (Career Greenlight). All of these are people that have helped me, and that I have made personal connections with and given advice and perspectives. In short, I’ve become part of a closer network and support group of like-minded business people, who want to both make money and be decent, genuine people. I’ve been able to both hear and share successes, failures, stresses, and to ask for support and ideas.
Regular members-only seminars where great business minds of the social media era like Johnny B. Truant, Naomi Dunford, Pamela Slim (Escape from Cubicle Nation), Dave Navarro (The Launch Coach), and Mark McGuinness (Lateral Action) share how they built their sites, their businesses and their credibility. Some of these seminars also come with great discounts for Third Tribe members on their programs.
Great guest bloggers and guests for my podcast, and invitations to guest post on other sites, including Darren Rowse’s FeelGooder.Com
Answers to my questions or concerns in the forums and on regular Q & A calls with the founders. I don’t know what Chris Brogan charges to answer client questions beyond this pay wall, but I’m sure it’s more than my entire investment in my membership. And he’s answered several of my individual questions, and countless I had but others asked first. When I ask a question of any of the founders, I get an answer.
I’d tell you that you can’t pay for access like that, but truthfully, you can. That’s the good news.
But…here it comes…
The Bad News
Third Tribe is closing its doors to new members on April 1st. The announcement that open enrollment was coming came as kind of a surprise to me, but with it, some other news that was probably a long time coming… a re-format and even better features are coming soon, and the price is going up. I’m still waiting for details, but have a few educated guesses that I will keep to myself for now. But since the site is run by CopyBlogger media and has great partners in Darren Rowse of ProBlogger and Chris Brogan, I know it’s going to be awesome.
So if you are entrepreneurial and struggle with marketing your business, or if you love social media and would like regular access to some of the best minds in that realm, it’s a great time to get in and get access.
All of the above Third Tribe Links are affiliate links, which means that I will earn a commission for each lead resulting in a sale.
There is also a great deal going on at DailySuccessDeals.Com where you can get a month of membership at Third Tribe, plus other good stuff worth almost $1000 extra from UnMarketing, Laura Roeder, Michael Port and others. Check it out by clicking the banner below. (I am also an affiliate of this program.)
A while back, I sent in an article to David and Michelle Riklan, the operators of SelfGrowth.Com for possible inclusion in their cooperative book project, titled “101 Great Ways to Enhance Your Career”. This is a compilation of 101 articles with practical, solid advice on how you can take action and improve your career.
I am extremely excited to be a part of this, and am equally excited to be a contributing author along with Tory Johnson, Laura DeCarlo, Brian Tracy, Charlotte Weeks and many more of the world’s leading career experts.
This book was created by David and Michelle Riklan, the founders of the #1 Self Improvement website in the world, SelfGrowth.com. They tapped into the minds of today’s greatest career experts and pulled together a nice collection of 101 insider secrets that shows you how to instantly and positively enhance your career!
In these days of decreased professional development budgets, many higher education professionals are having to scale back their funding for conferences and events. This book offers a practical alternative. All the articles are short, thought-provoking and easily digested–perfect for a professional development reading group, or to share with your staff during team development meetings.
David and Michelle have also bundled the book with some “bonus gifts,” and have created a package of $1,500 worth of absolutely free gifts that you get by purchasing just one copy of our book. I’ve contributed one of the bonuses (my “Mastering the Job Interview” presentation), and have been impressed by the range of topics covered in the other bonuses.
SelfGrowth.Com is so confident you will love it, that they are backing it up with a completely solid guarantee.
Go there and take a look for yourself – and make sure you check out the bonuses.
(Please note that all links above are affiliate links. Sales of books made through these links will support the growth of this site, and help bring career coaching and resources to those who need it. In this vein, I plan to apply all profits made from affiliate sales of this book toward providing free coaching sessions to unemployed or financially disadvantaged higher ed job seekers.)
One of the hardest things to do in any job search process is to be yourself while also being polished, on point, and focused on delivering a targeted message to your potential employer about how you will are the perfect “fit” for an open position.
Clients sometimes ask me how they can convey their sense of purpose and desire for a position without coming across as phony. My answer: quit trying to prove yourself and spend your time being yourself.
The logic behind this is simple enough. If you conveyed your qualifications well enough on your resume, cover letter, and other application materials, then the interview is less about that and more about two things:
1. Whether you presented your qualifications accurately, and
2. Whether you will fit into their organizational culture.
If you have presented your qualifications accurately, you do yourself a disservice by presenting yourself as someone you’re not. So try as much as you can to go into each interview “comfortable in your own skin,” and let the details settle themselves.
The truth you must be most comfortable with is that the most qualified candidate on paper often is not the successful candidate in the process. By the time an interview happens, you have been given a so-called “equal opportunity” to state your case, and the assumption you should take into each interview is that all candidates meet the basic qualifications for the job. This will allow you to meet your potential employer on a more equal footing. A good job match will be dictated as much by your potential fit into an organizational culture, or your ability to navigate the nuances of such a culture, in an emotionally intelligent and productive way, as it will be about your actual skills, experiences, and qualifications.
Understanding organizational culture is tricky. You must be ready to separate your interest in a particular job from your possible fit, and accept that a rejection doesn’t label you as “unqualified” for that type of position, or even for another position at that institution. It just means that wasn’t your day, and that wasn’t the job.
This will allow you to move on toward exploring other opportunities, and clear the path to a position and an organizational culture that will hopefully be a better fit for not only your qualifications but for you.
My five-year-old son Brendan is a real fan of a new show on Disney Junior called Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Set in the magical world of Neverland, home to Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, the show follows three young pirates (Jake, Izzy, and Cubbie), as they regularly foil the evil plots of Capt. Hook and his sidekick, the bumbling Mr. Smee.
I’m not usually one to like the retelling of classic stories from my youth, but I have to admit that I have a great deal of affinity for Jake and his cohorts, mostly because my son enjoys the show so much.
The other day a friend asked me if I ever thought about when children lose their sense of imagination. He remarked that he could keep himself occupied and happy with the simplest of things when he was a child. And I know this to be true, because it was true for me, and because I see it daily with my two children.
It may seem cranky for me to say this, but I think the world beats it out of us and makes us too serious for our own good. I spend quite a bit of time trying to explain things to my son, that seem so intrinsic to functioning as an adult, that I regularly find myself questioning the logic of adult behavior, and the ways in which we cling to procedures, policies, rules, and the ever-present “just the way things are.” And I realize then that I am spouting nonsense. And the saddest thing about it is that this nonsense is very much the accepted status quo.
As a coach, one of the most important things I do is to help each client imagine what aspects would be included in their perfect career. And often what this means is that we return, together, to childhood, and spend some times exploring what they enjoyed doing most, what they were most interested in, and what kind of people and places they were most comfortable being around. In many of these explorations, I have found that clients have abandoned doing what they most enjoy in pursuit of material gain, increased influence in their field, titles, positional authority, control over their organizations, and when possible, their personal destinies.
The “Ah-ha” moment usually comes when they realize that their goals are complete bullshit, and that they have nothing to do with who they’re meant to be, and everything to do with a fiction and fantasy that society calls success. We work together to face each client’s fears, anxieties, and the practical, emotional, and circumstantial blocks in their path. You can only do this by picking them apart, holding them up to the light, and seeing them for what they are. Only then can a client move forward and meet himself or herself truly and deeply and genuinely, as who they are meant to be.
My friend Tommy Walker, a social media strategist I’m working with to develop a more engaging Facebook strategy, has a favorite saying: “I don’t do bullshit.”
Okay, so maybe that’s not all that original. But it is authentic. And if you’ve ever had the opportunity to speak with Tommy, to read his thoughts on his blog, or to chat with him on the Internet, you just understand the Tommy has developed and cultivated a true sense for who he is as a person, and matched that, as best he could, to a career which brings out his best.
So what are you doing to align your career with who you were meant to be?
Close your eyes. Remember the joys you had in your life. Not just the joys of accomplishment in your career, or those adult milestones that many of us strive to achieve (like getting a first job, having a first apartment, buying a house, buying a new car, getting married, having children, etc., etc.) Go back, go deep, and go long.
Then say to yourself, loudly “Yo Ho, let’s go!” And get back to where you once belonged.
There’s a simple truth that many job-seekers ignore when it comes to the job search: You can only be so ready.
If you are currently searching for a new job, you’ve likely spent quite a bit of time writing your resume, getting feedback about your interview style, researching jobs, planning your interview wardrobe, and honing your networking skills. These are all practical steps, and should lead to a greater sense of confidence in your career skills, and in the likelihood of being hired for a new position. But for some people, the job search seems extremely nerve-racking, gut-wrenching, depressing, and soul-less.
Putting yourself out there into the job market can certainly produce a great deal of anxiety. Preparing, practicing, and getting feedback can somewhat reduce your anxiety. But let’s get real: many of your job search anxieties may be self-made and self-reinforcing. If you are applying for jobs that you are qualified for, and you have spent an appropriate amount of time researching different positions, and exploring what factors are most important to you in a position or employer, then you are ready.
In some circumstances, it is indeed very much possible to be over-prepared, overconfident and basically “overdone.” So do yourself a favor: get ready, get comfortable, and go with the flow.
One of the best ways to reduce anxiety during a job search is simple, in theory, but difficult and complex in practice, and it’s this: quit wanting a particular outcome, and let yourself enjoy the search. In higher education, we are often called upon to plan our programs and services around anticipated outcomes. In a job search, the obvious outcome seems clear enough: getting a job at the end of the process.
While this is certainly an understandable and completely logical concept, it ignores a simple truth: wanting the wrong things will only cause you pain and suffering. If you approach your job search with an open mind, and an open heart, you are more likely to find satisfaction and a new sense of direction, which are worthy outcomes, in and of themselves.
Some tips:
Start from where you are. Before you go looking for a new position, ask yourself what you want from the search, and how you will define success.
List for yourself all the parts of your current job and your current life that bring you joy, challenge you, and give you peace.
List for yourself those things in your current job and your current life that bringing misery, anxiety indifference, and pain.
Take a few moments to imagine the possibility that there is a position out there that would be an incredible match for your skills and your experiences, while also giving you joy, challenge, and peace.
Take another few moments to decide what your “deal-breakers” are. These are the things that you know you cannot do, for risk of destroying your sense of joy, your need to be challenged, and your peace of mind.
When presented with any opportunity, match it first to those things which bring you joy.
Hold all the major aspects of the position “up into the light” and look for the deal-breakers.
When you see a deal-breaker, walk away. Go with a glad heart, and the optimism and that the right thing will come along, and that by passing by an opportunity that would bring you misery, create anxiety and destroy your peace of mind, you have left yourself open to the great possibility that there is something out there in the universe that you are not only capable of doing, but indeed meant to do.
As you close the door on any opportunity (or have it closed on you), accept for yourself that the opportunity was not meant to be (either now, or possibly ever)
Lather, rinse, repeat.
This approach reinforces one simple thing: it is always okay to just be yourself, and see what follows. In fact, it is all you can do in your life and career, if you are to find happiness, challenge, and genuine peace of mind.
Fill out the form below to join my mailing list and get free job-seeker resources, starting with an “Are You Ready?” worksheet.
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
