January 15, 2024 • 35 mins
Have you ever wondered how some professionals seem to rise to the top of their profession so effortlessly? It all comes down to the power of a strong personal brand, and Pete and Ricky are here to guide you through crafting yours to perfection. They kick things off by discussing the importance of personal branding, framing it as more than just a buzzword—it's your reputation, your workplace identity, and your ticket to opportunity.
In this candid discussion, they discuss the potential pitfalls and advantages of your online persona. Pete and Ricky share a story that resonates with many—a young professional's public response to a layoff—and analyze its broader implications for career prospects. Their chat circles back to the core mantra: play to your strengths, project your capabilities, and keep your eye on the long game, where reputation is key.
Tune in for expert insights on building and living your personal brand, one that's as authentic and impactful as you are.
Additional Resources:
- How to Strengthen Your Professional Presence on Social Media
- Steps to Clean Up Your Social Media Image
- How to Shine in a Saturated Job Market
- How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile
🧠 WANT TO LEARN MORE? Be sure to subscribe and check out https://zengig.com/
👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeteNewsome
👋 FOLLOW RICKY BAEZ ONLINE:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/efrainrickybaez/
Blog Articles: https://www.baezco.com/baezco-blog
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Pete Newsome (00:00):
You're listening to the Finding Zen Career
Podcast.
I'm Pete Newsome, joined byRicky Baez today.
Ricky, how are you?
Ricky Baez (00:05):
I am doing great, Pete.
That's it.
That's it.
It's just great.
I'm doing great.
Look, I just got back from DClast night and I love that place
, Love it.
I'm just not a fan of flights.
I'm not a fan of airports andeverything, but especially any
any trip coming into Orlandofrom anywhere else.
There's always a lot ofscreaming kids and families
(00:26):
going to Disney.
Pete Newsome (00:27):
Understood, but you're here, you're on the
ground and you have yourheadphones on so you can block
all that out.
Ricky Baez (00:32):
That's right.
Yes sir, yes sir.
Pete Newsome (00:34):
Well, today on our podcast, we are talking about
something that I believe to bevery much a growing trend and
important thing for people inthe workforce to pay attention
to, and that is your personalbrand.
That's right.
How to build your personalbrand at work is really what
we're going to focus on today.
How long, how long has it beensince you've you've been hearing
(00:56):
that phrase?
I?
It's relatively new just in thepast couple of years, really, I
think so For me, I I justdidn't hear it much until until
recently.
I've heard this since college.
Ricky Baez (01:07):
Since college.
All right, I've been out of theloop.
Yeah, I've heard that you're,you're, you have to work on your
personal brand.
But here's the thing I've heardabout a sense college, but,
pete, I don't think people knowwhat that means.
I think we should define itright now to see what your
personal brand means.
So I know a lot of people theyat least the people I went to
(01:28):
school with they've heard aboutit, but they think they're
working on it, but they're notworking on the right things
because they can define itproperly.
So what?
What does personal brandingmean to you?
Pete Newsome (01:39):
Well, I think of it as your reputation, right?
What are you known for?
Well, two things what are youknown for?
But then how to be known?
And so when I think of workingon your personal brand, I think
as much as anything of how tobecome a better recognized for
your area of expertise.
Right, how to make your mark.
(02:00):
There's a lot of different waysto phrase it, so maybe what
I've always thought of asprotecting your reputation and
cultivating that at all costs isis now what we commonly will
refer to as your personal brand.
Do you think it's the samething, or is there more to it?
Ricky Baez (02:18):
No, actually I'm.
I'm right there with youbecause to me, personal branding
is exactly, it's a reflectionof you, right?
To me, personal branding iswhat other people?
This is going to soundconfusing, but it's going to
make sense at the same time.
This is when what people think,or what people see when you
look in the mirror.
Okay, when you look in themirror, what do people see?
(02:42):
That's your personal brandingFor so, for example, at work, at
work.
If, if you're really good atExcel and you are the best Excel
person out there, when somebodymentions Excel, it should be
synonymous with your name.
Pete Newsome (02:58):
Okay, I like that and that's a great way.
It's very simple,straightforward way to look at
it.
I think what you're known foris is is what we're talking
about really.
And if you ask yourself thatquestion and say, what do people
think of me when I'm not there,Right?
What would they, how would theyrefer to me, what would to your
point, what would they call mefor?
(03:19):
Or reach out and say, pete,you're the guy who knows X, that
X is your brand, right?
And how you're thought of byothers and, ricky, I think you
know, yours is prettystraightforward, right?
You've worked hard over a longperiod of time to be known as
someone who has a, a, you know,wide and deep HR knowledge and
(03:41):
expertise, and that's how Ithink of you.
I think of you as more thanthat, of course, but from a
professional standpoint, right,you've done a really good job of
of making your mark in thatspace, thank you.
Ricky Baez (03:54):
And you know it's an and that's the important piece,
pete, because it's to me.
I think there's two kinds ofbranding at work.
Right, it's what you're knownfor from a skill set perspective
, what you're known for fromwork ethic, right, yeah, yeah,
because it's.
You know, if it's I've alwaysused this example right, if you
don't know how to do anything atthe office, just figure
(04:16):
something out that you're anexpert in.
If you know how to work thatcopy machine that everybody's
mad at, be the one everybodycalls.
Right.
Be the one everybody calls whenthat copy machine goes down
right.
Oh, Ricky knows how to mess withthis.
Pete Newsome (04:30):
Yeah, there's another way to be known for it
or to think of it as part of ateam and I coach a lot of youth
sports growing up, or when mykids were growing up and now
that you know, as my age doubtis, they started getting to high
school and college and I was nolonger their coach I would say
it's very important to know whatrole you play on the team, and
(04:52):
if you can't define your value,no one else is going to be able
to.
That's for sure.
So as I was coaching kids, Italked to them about that, but
from a different perspective.
Once my kids had to try out forteams, make a team be a
contributing factor on a teamthat was something that really I
(05:13):
focused on a lot with them tosay but listen, if you're on a
basketball team, are you thetallest Right?
That's great, that's whatthere's value there.
Are you the quickest?
Are you the best shooter?
Are you the best defender?
And if you look at all thethings that make up what's
valuable to a basketball teamand what makes a basketball
player good, and you can'tfigure out which one of those
(05:34):
things you are, that's a problem.
Ricky Baez (05:37):
So that's a great example when it comes to
basketball, because for now,this is going to go over the
younger generation.
But back in the day there wasthis dude, a basketball player,
by the name of Spudweb.
I don't know if you rememberwho he is, Ricky of course I
remember Spudweb.
Pete Newsome (05:53):
Who did everyone remember Spudweb?
Five seven.
Ricky Baez (05:57):
I think he was five, seven and he was balling with
the rest of them, but he had tomake a name for himself because
he was five, seven and stilldunking like the six, eight,
seven, five people, and he wasin the.
Pete Newsome (06:11):
Not just dunking but in the NBA dunk contest and
doing well.
I don't know if he won, but hemay have, and I think he was
only five, six.
Was it, yeah, I mean, all Iknow is like wow, he is really
made a name for himself.
So you're right.
So he overcame his limitationto establish his brand as
(06:34):
someone that could outjumpeveryone else.
Right, and there is huge valuein that.
He was in a great basketballplayer.
Ricky Baez (06:41):
Now you said something really interesting
that I just want to bring thatback.
You said that if you cannotdefine your value, nobody else
will.
I got a different take on thatand this part is a little bit
more dangerous, right, I believe.
If you cannot define your value, other people will, and that
value mean that be?
(07:02):
the, exactly they, and that maynot be the value you want to be
seen as Right.
So you have to be in charge ofOf that value train.
That way you communicateExactly who you are and exactly
what you bring to the table.
Pete Newsome (07:17):
It's an important discussion and consideration
right now, in this point in timewhere the job market is really
tight and A lot of people arestruggling to find a role,
because there's more supply thandemand for a lot of professions
right now, and there's a lot offactors in that.
The current state of the economyAI Making some jobs, you know,
(07:41):
defunct and not as important asthey used to be, as a lot of
things happen in the marketright now, and so it's very
important for people to knowwhat they can do right, or and
have it clearly defined forothers, what they can do in a
bit professionally.
And if you're a generalistright now, it's not a great
(08:02):
place, it's not a great thing.
And so if you don't have, firstof all, if you don't know what
you want to do and want to beknown for, you need to work on
that.
Yes, right, let's start there,and then you need to work on
improving it and building it,but you have to start with the
baseline of saying this is who Iam and this is what I do.
Ricky Baez (08:23):
And you know, and that's just it, right you have.
In order for you to get outthere and start Broadcasting who
you are and what you do, you'vegot to take some time to
self-reflect.
What are, what are yourstrengths, what are your
weaknesses?
And this is somebody told me.
Somebody told me this about 20years ago.
They told me and this is amistake, by the way they told me
(08:43):
, ricky, if you got strength,that's fine, you need to work on
your weaknesses.
I tried that for about 10 yearsand then, 10 years into it, I
realized no, I need to doubledown on my strength, because
that's what makes my strength,that's what makes me, and about
10 years ago, I decided to gothat route.
I'm you know what I'm good atspeaking.
I'm good at what I do.
Let me focus on that.
(09:04):
You know what I'm not good atExcel.
Pete Newsome (09:09):
I'm not gonna focus on that.
Ricky Baez (09:11):
The worst thing you can do to me.
Put me in an office for eighthours with Excel spreadsheets.
I mean I'll come out a crazyguy and I'm a crazy to begin
with now, I think what you meanby that.
Pete Newsome (09:20):
I want to clarify that when you're talking about
weaknesses, you're not talkingabout things that are big
limitations to you withrelationships or professionally.
For example, if you can nevershow up on time for anything,
that's a weakness You'rehabitually late, but that's not
what we're talking about here.
We're talking about Trying tobe not be a jack of all trades
(09:45):
and in a master of none, butrather You'd be the best you can
possibly be at the thing thatyou want to do and have aptitude
to do.
Ricky Baez (09:56):
And and and here's an upbeat I can't believe I'm
going down this road, andbecause here's here's why I
think a lot of people have anissue With personal branding
these days.
Because, in my opinion, for you, for you, to make a name for
yourself, you have to a be goodat something that people can
authentically see, tell them,wow, his person's having a good
(10:18):
time here.
They know what they're talkingabout.
They're really energetic aboutit.
Right, they they're passionateabout it.
But what I'm noticing is that alot of young professionals Don't
put themselves in a positionwhere that can happen, and
here's what I mean by that.
What I mean by that is I'mseeing a lot of people today
(10:39):
that when a boss asked him to dosomething or for a volunteer,
they won't do it because they'renot gonna get paid extra for it
.
And what I want to tell peoplethese days is like, look, if you
want to be known for things,you have to do things that
nobody else is willing to do,and you have to again, you have
to bring the energy you got tobe passionate about it.
(10:59):
But if you go out there andshowcase what you can do without
expecting any, any othercompensation, above and beyond
what you're currently getting,the value you're getting, for
that is the seed you're plantingin your boss's mind For future
opportunities.
Pete Newsome (11:16):
Right, and I like and I like where you're going
with this, because, let's say,you don't have a tangible skill
that you can really define andsay I'm the best at excel, I'm
the best with math, I'm the bestwith with grammar, whatever it
might be.
But if you can apply the bestwork ethic and say I'm going,
(11:37):
that's what I'm going to beknown for, my, I'm going to
build my Brand around outworking everyone else that's not
necessarily popular thoughtthese days, but boy is that
effective and and if you go downthe line from employer to
employer and say who's the mostvaluable Right?
it may not be the smartest, itmay not be the the best producer
(11:57):
, but if it's the one that youcan always rely on To be there
and to go above and beyondwithout being asked, that person
will always have a role and avaluable one at that.
Now you made me think ofsomething.
I don't know if you've seenthis yet, but there's I don't
want to talk to.
I don't want to talk to.
(12:18):
I don't want to talk too muchabout this, because or try to
identify who this person is, butthere's a young professional
who recorded herself being laidoff this week and put it on
tiktok.
I saw that he saw that, yeah,and you know she was.
I think the point she wanted tomake is that HR didn't handle
this, this, this conversation,as well as they they could have.
(12:40):
Now, that's a different debate.
We'd have to get into thedetails of it to to share that.
But as I'm watching and ofcourse she, you know no surprise
on on LinkedIn, this is beingshared a lot right now.
It's getting a lot of she'sgetting a lot of support.
Good for her, good for her.
Well, maybe it made her feelbetter in the moment, right, and
(13:00):
maybe the the attention she'sgetting is is is positive to
some degree.
But you have to protect yourreputation for your future
Opportunities and employer, andso what I see is someone who's
going to do that is who doesthat.
We'll do it again and do it totheir next employer.
And if you're going to be theperson that records and then
(13:21):
publicly tries to embarrass anorganization and the individuals
there and you documented it,yeah, I don't get that.
You know that.
That's that's perhaps not thebest thing to do.
Who, and it's probably limitingto future opportunities now
there, who knows it, may it mayend up well, for I, I wish just
(13:43):
a young person the best.
However, yikes right, when wethink of protecting your brand,
everything you do matters,including, you know, getting
attention in the moment andmaking a point.
Yeah, it's great to makesomeone else look bad, but at
what?
Ricky Baez (13:58):
risk Correct and I know exactly what you're talking
about.
I saw that a couple of days agoand, from an HR point of view,
because I saw all those things,I saw all the positive Support
she got and you know what.
Good for her, good for herbefore.
From an HR point of view, I'mlike no, and I wasn't gonna post
on it because I know I wasgonna get eaten up alive.
Pete, I was gonna get, you know.
Pete Newsome (14:20):
And so, but that's the reality of the world, that
we're in right and to someemployers look at those things.
So we're talking aboutimproving your personal brand I
don't on this show but we alsoneed to talk about protecting it
, and that was probably ashort-sighted Decision, mary,
that that is going to I would, Iwould say, probably do more
(14:41):
harm than good to, becauserecruiters look at social media.
Recruiters look at what you'vedone, because that, what you've
done in the past, is the bestindication of what you'll do
going forward, and and so,whether you think recruiters
should do that, whether youthink that's fair, just legal,
they will yep, absolutely will,and they will hold that against
(15:05):
you because that's what theyhave to go on.
Ricky Baez (15:08):
That's right, it's your document to how you respond
and for anybody who hasn't seenthis video and it's, go ahead
and watch it the part that gotto me, to be honest, was she
didn't even give HR anopportunity to finish Within the
first 30 seconds.
Let me stop you right there.
And she started listening onthose things and I'm like, ah,
let them finish.
Protect you exactly how you,how you sing, repeat, protect
(15:30):
your brand.
Now Let me tell you this right,everybody, have the listening
and this is coming from somebodywho's been doing this for 22
years and I have orchestratedHundreds, if not thousands, of
layoffs.
Right, how the conversationfirst starts to orchestrated
layoff is we have to cut 10, 20%and we start looking on who we
can let go and who we cannot letgo, and in each and every
(15:53):
Conversation we always say thiswe cannot let go to Susan we
need her.
We cannot let go a mic we needhim.
We cannot let go a Karen weneed her because they have
established a value in anorganization that if the absence
is there, it's gonna bedifficult to replicate.
You need to create a personalbrand or a professional brand
(16:15):
when your absence becomesextremely difficult to replace.
That's what you need to dowhatever that is, whatever that
is.
Come to my conversation oflayoffs.
I'm like we cannot.
We cannot let go of her.
Pete Newsome (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, be the one who's irreplaceable.
Yeah, that that should be thegoal as an employee.
Now I just want to say quickly,and let's move on from this.
After that, if you Say you hearthat and and say, yeah, but I
can, it doesn't matter how hardI work, there's no opportunity
to be promoted, there's, itwon't do anything for me, then
(16:48):
stop what you're doing and makea change, get out of that
situation, because if you're notin a role when you feel that
your effort will be rewarded,you're in the wrong role.
That's right and that is anabsolute statement.
Full stop on that.
So let's, let's move on back toback to the branding.
So the the benefits of personalbranding tell you establish,
(17:09):
establish your relationship and,as we just were talking about,
that will present futureopportunities to you or limit
them With a positive brand, astrong personal brand will.
Ricky Baez (17:22):
We'll open doors for you Absolutely.
And look it's and I know a lotof people are not going to agree
with this, but it's not 100%about skill, neither it's.
It's.
It really is a perfect balanceof skill, charisma, personality.
You have to find the perfectbalance that works for you.
(17:43):
Not the perfect balance,because that does not exist.
It's the perfect balance thatworks for you.
If you lack on a specific skillset that is difficult for you to
get, you have to bring up theother parts right.
You got to bring up thatcharisma.
You got to bring up that workethic.
You got to bring up that typeof of an environment that when
somebody thinks, oh man, we gota difficult project coming out,
(18:03):
you know what, give it a Francis.
She will knock that bad boy outof the park when people think
about you immediately.
So that's what you need to do.
But to ask for the perfectbecause I don't nobody asked,
but in my head I'm asking to seewhat that perfect balance is it
really depends of what kind ofskill set whether it is tangible
skills, soft skills you have onyour arsenal and you just got
(18:24):
to have a really good strength,and we all know our strengths as
we get into the professionalworld.
Pete Newsome (18:30):
It's hard when you're young to know exactly
where you're best apt to thrive.
For example, I was an awfulpublic speaker early on.
I would have an out of bodyexperience when I would have to
stand up in front of a group andI had to walk through the fire,
so to speak, to get on theother side of that and then
(18:52):
realize it was something I'mvery comfortable doing, and so
you so you.
So some things have to belearned and honed, but once you
are at a point where you have afeel for that, lean into it.
That's really what we'retalking about, and you made a
great point on it earlier.
So what else can you do toimprove and build your brand?
You've talked about, you know,making the decision and then and
(19:16):
then putting yourself in aposition to you know, to build
it.
Say yes to opportunities, seekout opportunities where you will
get to showcase your skills,knowledge, expertise, whatever,
whatever it might be.
Ricky Baez (19:29):
You know, pete, and and, and I think, if you have
the courage to jump into theunknown right, I to me, if I, if
, if I have a team right andsomebody volunteers for
something or or assign somethingto somebody, that I'm like God,
they, they, they may not getthe ball across the goal line,
(19:49):
but how they try and how theyresearch and how they try to
mitigate that screams volumes tome.
That to me is valuable becauseeven if you don't get the ball
across that goal line, if I'mable to see how you work, I'm
able to see how you, how youbreak things down and how you
process it, it does to me, onthe certain circumstances, you
(20:13):
hitting the goal is not asimportant as how you work on
getting the ball across the line, and to me that's key, yep.
Pete Newsome (20:20):
Absolutely, I agree.
Another thing that the youngemployees need to consider is
bringing forth ideas.
A lot of times, people arehesitant to do that.
There's an imposter syndromethat happens, where you think
I'm not qualified to share myopinion and you are right, you
(20:41):
know everyone.
It doesn't.
It doesn't take years, itdoesn't take a great depth of
experience.
It takes being unique andthoughtful and finding solutions
, and one of the things that hasalways been important to me as
a business owner, as a manager,is someone who brings solutions
to a problem.
So I've said over the years,there's a few different types of
(21:04):
people.
There's those who tell youabout the problem.
There's people who will tellyou about the problem and have a
proposed solution, and thenthere's the people who will tell
you that they've solved theproblem and then tell you what
it was.
Now I want that last person tobe that person, right?
Talk about a way to build yourbrand to a significant degree.
Be a problem solver.
(21:25):
So you don't have to be in abusiness a long time.
A lot of young people havefresh, new ideas that someone
who has been in a role or acompany or an industry for a
long time doesn't see, becausethey're not looking for it.
So a fresh lens, a fresh set ofeyes can often be the perfect
(21:45):
person to come up with new ideasin ways to solve problems.
So don't let your lack ofexperience or youth hold you
back.
Ricky Baez (21:55):
So can I explore the opposite side of that corner
real quick?
Because I agree, if you have asolution for a problem, say it,
open your mouth, talk about it,have the backbone to really
address it.
But if you don't, don't openyour mouth just to talk, don't
do that, because I've seenpeople do that as well, because
(22:18):
they think, oh, I have to saysomething even if you have
nothing to say.
No, if you have nothing to say,sometimes silence increases
your value.
Pete Newsome (22:28):
That is true.
You have to know the companyculture or organizational
culture that you're part of.
Some welcome new ideas, themore the better.
Others to the point you justmade, they're more conservative
in nature.
I've worked in bothenvironments.
I worked for a very largecompany Earlier in my career
with 16,000 employees.
It didn't matter how good theidea was.
(22:50):
There was no method by whichthey could implement change
effectively easily.
It was an old school mentality.
I had a choice, just as everyother employee there had a
choice.
Do you want to be part of that?
Do you like that structure?
Is that your comfort area or doyou need to be in a situation
where your ideas and thoughtscan be acted on?
(23:14):
I chose the latter becausethat's my nature.
One's not better than the other, but you have to read the room.
Ricky Baez (23:21):
No, your audience?
Pete Newsome (23:22):
yeah, no audience with this.
Read the room.
Yeah, pick your battles, butfind places where there will be
opportunities to bring yourideas forward, even if it's not
at your employer.
There's trade associations,there's conferences.
There's lots of different waysyou could build your brand.
(23:42):
I'll tell you right now.
Building your brand personallyhelps you professionally.
What I mean by that isvolunteer in areas you're
interested in, Be part of groups, organizations there's a huge
need for that in every communityand align the thing that you're
interested in with what canhelp you professionally so you
(24:05):
can be around people that willallow you to build your brand
with.
I don't think that's done oftenenough.
Ricky Baez (24:12):
It's not because it's again.
It's that perfect balance andyou just said it earlier, pete.
But surround yourself withpeople that would allow you to
do that.
If you're in an organizationbecause I've seen this too many
times if you're in anorganization that just shuts
everything down and you havethis person that has a really
good skill set.
They're ambitious, they reallywant to work hard for the
(24:33):
organization, but they justdon't get the opportunity to do
so, it's not that you'reinvaluable, you're in the wrong
place.
Have you seen that meme aboutthe water bottle?
Our water bottle is worth 99cents at Walmart.
At a movie theater it's $8.
At a theme park it's $15.
The same water bottle, but it'sa different place right.
Pete Newsome (24:57):
How much is that worth in the Sahara Desert?
Ricky Baez (25:01):
Oh, my, a kidney.
So yeah, it's not that you'renot valuable, it's that you're
not in the right place and youhave to know that.
You have to know that if you'renot able to really help the
organization move forward, nowhere's the key not help yourself
, help the organization moveforward.
If you're not able tocontribute to the bottom line,
(25:23):
you have to find somewhere whereyou can.
Pete Newsome (25:26):
Well, let me challenge that, because you have
to be self-serving, and youshould be self-serving.
If you are still growing andlearning and improving and
taking steps that will opendoors for you in the future, you
may still be in the right place, but you need to have a purpose
in being there.
(25:46):
So if you feel like yourthoughts and ideas aren't
contributing to the organizationor not being heard, take that
into consideration.
Everything's a data point, butif the bigger picture is, you're
putting invaluable time thatwill lead to a much better
opportunity going forward, andyou have to consider that to.
That's true.
(26:07):
But you don't have to rely onyour employer to build your
brand right.
You should take ownership ofthat yourself and build it
outside of the employer.
That's what we talked about afew minutes ago.
In the industry, in yourcommunity, in areas that you're
interested in, there are plentyof opportunities if you seek
them out and don't rely onemployer.
(26:28):
Look, it's great if you have amanager who takes you under
their wing or mentor which youcan seek out to help you and
guide you along the way.
Ultimately, your reputation andyour brand is your
responsibility to cultivate.
That's right.
Ricky Baez (26:42):
That's right and and again, you have to know where
you are or you're not value.
Now Let me tell you, if youdon't have that work ethic, if
you don't have that, that energyor that motivation to really,
to really add value to any organis, it doesn't matter where you
go, you can be invaluable to,to that leader.
But, yes, you're right, at theend of the day, you need to work
(27:05):
in the to figure out what yourpersonal brand is going to be
like and that's going totranslate work, especially these
days.
Hey, we're in twenty twentyfour.
We don't have flying cars whenI have hoverboard scientists.
Please hurry up.
We don't have any of thosethings yet, right, but what we
do have is social media.
And, and these days, whatever,we just talked about that girl
(27:26):
who, who, who, who videotapedher layoff, right, and in the
moment it may seem like a goodidea, but that's going to haunt
her later on.
How we just talked about it.
Right now, use that sameplatform to promote what you're
good at, whether you're lookingfor a job or not.
Right, that's right, and we'vetalked about it on this channel,
(27:46):
on this platform, for years nowthe importance of putting your
stuff out on LinkedIn and socialmedia, let everybody know
exactly who you are, what you do, but to help other people in
the process as well, and youwill get phone calls, I
guarantee it, yeah fine.
Pete Newsome (28:04):
Social media is so big right now in prevalent that
it's impossible to ignore.
If you, if your brand isimportant to you and your
professional growth is important, pick the channel that suits
you best.
Some people are verycomfortable writing, some people
are comfortable speaking, somepeople are comfortable on video.
You don't have to becomfortable on all of them, but
(28:27):
you have to pick one and go withit.
So you have lots ofopportunities right now between
LinkedIn, as you mentioned,twitter, facebook, tick tock,
instagram.
There they're all appropriateand applicable, depending on the
situation.
Learn it, perfect it, but it'salso realize not going to happen
(28:48):
overnight, and that's somethingthat is a tough part of social
media.
You and I talk about this.
We are active on social media.
Some things we do we think willdo well and they don't.
Others we don't have highexpectations for and they do,
they do really well.
It is.
It is a tough nut to crack,that is for sure, but if you
(29:08):
stick with it, the success willfollow.
Ricky Baez (29:11):
And look, I think I think what we're saying here,
pete, is folks, at the end ofthe day, it's that that
authenticity needs to be thereand you have to be willing to.
This is going to suck.
I'm going to say you have to bewilling to work for free, right
.
You have to be willing to throwthings out there.
You know it's.
Look, when you go to Olivegarden, right, those breast
(29:32):
texts are free, they get you in.
Right, those cheddar babybiscuits that are at a relative
office industry.
You have to throw out therethings for free.
And whatever money you don't getbecause of that, you more.
You not start up to marketingdollars.
If you got an excel spreadsheetand you're trying to figure out
right on how much money you'regetting for your effort, a lot
of that free time gets not stopto marketing dollars.
(29:55):
And look this, this event thatI was just at over in, it's the
reason I went there to do aspeaking engagement, because
this is a video that I didearlier in the year over in
Maryland, and they're like oh mygod, come on over, let's have a
conversation, put stuff outthere, put the bait out there.
Sometimes you're gonna get abite, sometimes you're not gonna
(30:15):
get a bite, but the rightpeople are going to respond to
you at the right time.
You gotta trust the process.
Pete Newsome (30:23):
Absolutely right was one more thing I want to
talk about before you wrap up,ricky, and that is creating a
personal brand statement, and Ithink this puts a nice bow
around what we're talking aboutIn it, and it's an exercise that
everyone can go through, andthat is to Define yourself in
one sentence, define your brandthat you want to be known for,
and in one sentence maybe two,but let's try to stick with one
(30:47):
that people can see and sayimmediately I know who that
person is, I know how theyportray themselves anyway, right
At the very least.
Now, that's hard to do, I don'tknow if.
Do you have one coming?
Ricky Baez (31:01):
I don't know if you have a spot here.
No, no, I'm smiling because Ido have one.
I don't necessarily advertiseit right Out only then, but at
the end of every session that Ido, I always tell them this.
My goal here is to help youfind your aha moment in a way
that you just love coming towork and you don't have that
(31:21):
pain in the stomach on Sundaynights.
That's what I tell people,because HR is boring, employer
relations is boring, fmla isboring, and I love to bring it
to the forefront in a way peoplecan understand and have fun
along the way.
So I love to bring the ahamoment to people.
That's mine, that's great.
(31:43):
What's yours?
I want to hear yours.
Pete Newsome (31:46):
Well, it's an interesting question.
I should have thought aboutthis before bringing it up,
knowing what would come next,but I have two at this point.
Ricky Baez (31:54):
I have a new one that I'm trying.
Pete Newsome (31:56):
I have something new, that I'm trying to build a
brand around, and so this is awork in progress for me too.
But historically, being astaffing company owner, what
I've wanted to be known for isdelivering effective and
consistent staffing solutionsfor a very inconsistent world.
The world is a crazy place.
It's insane now more than ever.
(32:19):
But we want to be reliable, wewant to be consistent in what we
do, and so the world can gocrazy around us, but I want to
be known for the calm in thestorm, if you will.
But now I'm trying to dosomething different, which is
why this podcast exists and wetalk so much about the career
advice that's needed out there,which is to help students and
(32:41):
young professionals on the pathto career enlightenment.
That's what Zengig is all about, and so I don't have a
reputation in that space.
We don't have a brand.
Zengig is a brand, is a newbrand.
It's only a year and a half old, so we have a big ramp up curve
.
So all these things we'retalking about I'm trying to put
into practice every day rightnow, so I'm learning along the
(33:03):
way too.
Ricky Baez (33:04):
You've been doing it for 17 years for four corner
resource.
It's just not youngprofessionals, it's just
professionals in general.
Pete Newsome (33:12):
Well, that's the point, right, we don't have the
Zengig brand, is not knownwidely in that community and we
want it to be.
That's the goal.
So we have to take all thesesteps.
We have to think about themessage that we're giving the
where we're giving it, thechannels that we're using to
deliver it.
We have to think of ouraudience and we, of course, as
(33:34):
we have talked about so muchover the last 45 minutes talk
about what we want to be knownfor and thought of.
Those are big things to startfrom scratch with.
After, to your point, 18 yearsas a staffing company owner.
Now I'm thinking all right, Ihave to take an entirely
different approach than whatI've been used to doing.
Ricky Baez (33:54):
Then, pete, let's end with this.
Let me tell you I just wanteverybody out there to know
Google, a guy by the name ofSeth Godin.
He is a marketing guru.
A couple of weeks ago I saw aYouTube video of him and he made
a great point about marketingand he says when you see the
Nike logo, do you think sneakers?
(34:14):
And the audience like I meankind of, but no, no, if you see
the Nike logo, you see triumph,you see winning, you see a
warrior, you see you achievingyour goals.
It's a shoe company, right, butthat logo, that organization,
has done a great job and makingsure that logo represents that.
(34:35):
So they're not selling shoes,they're selling equipment to
help you reach your goal.
Whatever, that is right andthey did a great job with it.
Find out what your Nike logo is, find out what that is and look
, it's hard to do.
There's going to be some trialand error.
Some things are going to work,some things are not going to
work right and things may getworse before they get better,
(34:57):
but as long as you take thatfirst step, you're going to be
all right.
People who finish the marathon,they have to take a first step
and this is what you got to do.
Pete Newsome (35:06):
I love it All right, that's a great way to
finish, sir.
Just do it, that's right?
Ricky Baez (35:12):
Oh, we might get dinged, we might get sued, but
you know what?
Send us a cease and desistletter.
Pete Newsome (35:16):
That means we're making an impact it sounds to me
like we're giving Nike freeadvertising.
Maybe they should be thinkingus.
Ricky Baez (35:23):
We should send them a bill, send us a commission.
Pete Newsome (35:25):
We save them.
But, ricky, this is great.
So homework again.
If you don't have your personalstatement, if you don't know
what your brand really is, andwork on that.
It's for your own benefit.
Don't expect anyone else to doit for you.
Thanks for listening today.
We would love suggestions,topics, new ideas and, of course
, if you rate us a five star, wewould love that the most.
(35:48):
But send us comments andsuggestions, questions at Zengig
.
com.
We look forward to hearing fromyou, ricky.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks, as always.
Thank you, have a good one,folks.
Good night.
You're listening to the Finding Zen Career
Podcast.
I'm Pete Newsome, joined byRicky Baez today.
Ricky, how are you?
Ricky Baez (00:05):
I am doing great, Pete.
That's it.
That's it.
It's just great.
I'm doing great.
Look, I just got back from DClast night and I love that place
, Love it.
I'm just not a fan of flights.
I'm not a fan of airports andeverything, but especially any
any trip coming into Orlandofrom anywhere else.
There's always a lot ofscreaming kids and families
(00:26):
going to Disney.
Pete Newsome (00:27):
Understood, but you're here, you're on the
ground and you have yourheadphones on so you can block
all that out.
Ricky Baez (00:32):
That's right.
Yes sir, yes sir.
Pete Newsome (00:34):
Well, today on our podcast, we are talking about
something that I believe to bevery much a growing trend and
important thing for people inthe workforce to pay attention
to, and that is your personalbrand.
That's right.
How to build your personalbrand at work is really what
we're going to focus on today.
How long, how long has it beensince you've you've been hearing
(00:56):
that phrase?
I?
It's relatively new just in thepast couple of years, really, I
think so For me, I I justdidn't hear it much until until
recently.
I've heard this since college.
Ricky Baez (01:07):
Since college.
All right, I've been out of theloop.
Yeah, I've heard that you're,you're, you have to work on your
personal brand.
But here's the thing I've heardabout a sense college, but,
pete, I don't think people knowwhat that means.
I think we should define itright now to see what your
personal brand means.
So I know a lot of people theyat least the people I went to
(01:28):
school with they've heard aboutit, but they think they're
working on it, but they're notworking on the right things
because they can define itproperly.
So what?
What does personal brandingmean to you?
Pete Newsome (01:39):
Well, I think of it as your reputation, right?
What are you known for?
Well, two things what are youknown for?
But then how to be known?
And so when I think of workingon your personal brand, I think
as much as anything of how tobecome a better recognized for
your area of expertise.
Right, how to make your mark.
(02:00):
There's a lot of different waysto phrase it, so maybe what
I've always thought of asprotecting your reputation and
cultivating that at all costs isis now what we commonly will
refer to as your personal brand.
Do you think it's the samething, or is there more to it?
Ricky Baez (02:18):
No, actually I'm.
I'm right there with youbecause to me, personal branding
is exactly, it's a reflectionof you, right?
To me, personal branding iswhat other people?
This is going to soundconfusing, but it's going to
make sense at the same time.
This is when what people think,or what people see when you
look in the mirror.
Okay, when you look in themirror, what do people see?
(02:42):
That's your personal brandingFor so, for example, at work, at
work.
If, if you're really good atExcel and you are the best Excel
person out there, when somebodymentions Excel, it should be
synonymous with your name.
Pete Newsome (02:58):
Okay, I like that and that's a great way.
It's very simple,straightforward way to look at
it.
I think what you're known foris is is what we're talking
about really.
And if you ask yourself thatquestion and say, what do people
think of me when I'm not there,Right?
What would they, how would theyrefer to me, what would to your
point, what would they call mefor?
(03:19):
Or reach out and say, pete,you're the guy who knows X, that
X is your brand, right?
And how you're thought of byothers and, ricky, I think you
know, yours is prettystraightforward, right?
You've worked hard over a longperiod of time to be known as
someone who has a, a, you know,wide and deep HR knowledge and
(03:41):
expertise, and that's how Ithink of you.
I think of you as more thanthat, of course, but from a
professional standpoint, right,you've done a really good job of
of making your mark in thatspace, thank you.
Ricky Baez (03:54):
And you know it's an and that's the important piece,
pete, because it's to me.
I think there's two kinds ofbranding at work.
Right, it's what you're knownfor from a skill set perspective
, what you're known for fromwork ethic, right, yeah, yeah,
because it's.
You know, if it's I've alwaysused this example right, if you
don't know how to do anything atthe office, just figure
(04:16):
something out that you're anexpert in.
If you know how to work thatcopy machine that everybody's
mad at, be the one everybodycalls.
Right.
Be the one everybody calls whenthat copy machine goes down
right.
Oh, Ricky knows how to mess withthis.
Pete Newsome (04:30):
Yeah, there's another way to be known for it
or to think of it as part of ateam and I coach a lot of youth
sports growing up, or when mykids were growing up and now
that you know, as my age doubtis, they started getting to high
school and college and I was nolonger their coach I would say
it's very important to know whatrole you play on the team, and
(04:52):
if you can't define your value,no one else is going to be able
to.
That's for sure.
So as I was coaching kids, Italked to them about that, but
from a different perspective.
Once my kids had to try out forteams, make a team be a
contributing factor on a teamthat was something that really I
(05:13):
focused on a lot with them tosay but listen, if you're on a
basketball team, are you thetallest Right?
That's great, that's whatthere's value there.
Are you the quickest?
Are you the best shooter?
Are you the best defender?
And if you look at all thethings that make up what's
valuable to a basketball teamand what makes a basketball
player good, and you can'tfigure out which one of those
(05:34):
things you are, that's a problem.
Ricky Baez (05:37):
So that's a great example when it comes to
basketball, because for now,this is going to go over the
younger generation.
But back in the day there wasthis dude, a basketball player,
by the name of Spudweb.
I don't know if you rememberwho he is, Ricky of course I
remember Spudweb.
Pete Newsome (05:53):
Who did everyone remember Spudweb?
Five seven.
Ricky Baez (05:57):
I think he was five, seven and he was balling with
the rest of them, but he had tomake a name for himself because
he was five, seven and stilldunking like the six, eight,
seven, five people, and he wasin the.
Pete Newsome (06:11):
Not just dunking but in the NBA dunk contest and
doing well.
I don't know if he won, but hemay have, and I think he was
only five, six.
Was it, yeah, I mean, all Iknow is like wow, he is really
made a name for himself.
So you're right.
So he overcame his limitationto establish his brand as
(06:34):
someone that could outjumpeveryone else.
Right, and there is huge valuein that.
He was in a great basketballplayer.
Ricky Baez (06:41):
Now you said something really interesting
that I just want to bring thatback.
You said that if you cannotdefine your value, nobody else
will.
I got a different take on thatand this part is a little bit
more dangerous, right, I believe.
If you cannot define your value, other people will, and that
value mean that be?
(07:02):
the, exactly they, and that maynot be the value you want to be
seen as Right.
So you have to be in charge ofOf that value train.
That way you communicateExactly who you are and exactly
what you bring to the table.
Pete Newsome (07:17):
It's an important discussion and consideration
right now, in this point in timewhere the job market is really
tight and A lot of people arestruggling to find a role,
because there's more supply thandemand for a lot of professions
right now, and there's a lot offactors in that.
The current state of the economyAI Making some jobs, you know,
(07:41):
defunct and not as important asthey used to be, as a lot of
things happen in the marketright now, and so it's very
important for people to knowwhat they can do right, or and
have it clearly defined forothers, what they can do in a
bit professionally.
And if you're a generalistright now, it's not a great
(08:02):
place, it's not a great thing.
And so if you don't have, firstof all, if you don't know what
you want to do and want to beknown for, you need to work on
that.
Yes, right, let's start there,and then you need to work on
improving it and building it,but you have to start with the
baseline of saying this is who Iam and this is what I do.
Ricky Baez (08:23):
And you know, and that's just it, right you have.
In order for you to get outthere and start Broadcasting who
you are and what you do, you'vegot to take some time to
self-reflect.
What are, what are yourstrengths, what are your
weaknesses?
And this is somebody told me.
Somebody told me this about 20years ago.
They told me and this is amistake, by the way they told me
(08:43):
, ricky, if you got strength,that's fine, you need to work on
your weaknesses.
I tried that for about 10 yearsand then, 10 years into it, I
realized no, I need to doubledown on my strength, because
that's what makes my strength,that's what makes me, and about
10 years ago, I decided to gothat route.
I'm you know what I'm good atspeaking.
I'm good at what I do.
Let me focus on that.
(09:04):
You know what I'm not good atExcel.
Pete Newsome (09:09):
I'm not gonna focus on that.
Ricky Baez (09:11):
The worst thing you can do to me.
Put me in an office for eighthours with Excel spreadsheets.
I mean I'll come out a crazyguy and I'm a crazy to begin
with now, I think what you meanby that.
Pete Newsome (09:20):
I want to clarify that when you're talking about
weaknesses, you're not talkingabout things that are big
limitations to you withrelationships or professionally.
For example, if you can nevershow up on time for anything,
that's a weakness You'rehabitually late, but that's not
what we're talking about here.
We're talking about Trying tobe not be a jack of all trades
(09:45):
and in a master of none, butrather You'd be the best you can
possibly be at the thing thatyou want to do and have aptitude
to do.
Ricky Baez (09:56):
And and and here's an upbeat I can't believe I'm
going down this road, andbecause here's here's why I
think a lot of people have anissue With personal branding
these days.
Because, in my opinion, for you, for you, to make a name for
yourself, you have to a be goodat something that people can
authentically see, tell them,wow, his person's having a good
(10:18):
time here.
They know what they're talkingabout.
They're really energetic aboutit.
Right, they they're passionateabout it.
But what I'm noticing is that alot of young professionals Don't
put themselves in a positionwhere that can happen, and
here's what I mean by that.
What I mean by that is I'mseeing a lot of people today
(10:39):
that when a boss asked him to dosomething or for a volunteer,
they won't do it because they'renot gonna get paid extra for it
.
And what I want to tell peoplethese days is like, look, if you
want to be known for things,you have to do things that
nobody else is willing to do,and you have to again, you have
to bring the energy you got tobe passionate about it.
(10:59):
But if you go out there andshowcase what you can do without
expecting any, any othercompensation, above and beyond
what you're currently getting,the value you're getting, for
that is the seed you're plantingin your boss's mind For future
opportunities.
Pete Newsome (11:16):
Right, and I like and I like where you're going
with this, because, let's say,you don't have a tangible skill
that you can really define andsay I'm the best at excel, I'm
the best with math, I'm the bestwith with grammar, whatever it
might be.
But if you can apply the bestwork ethic and say I'm going,
(11:37):
that's what I'm going to beknown for, my, I'm going to
build my Brand around outworking everyone else that's not
necessarily popular thoughtthese days, but boy is that
effective and and if you go downthe line from employer to
employer and say who's the mostvaluable Right?
it may not be the smartest, itmay not be the the best producer
(11:57):
, but if it's the one that youcan always rely on To be there
and to go above and beyondwithout being asked, that person
will always have a role and avaluable one at that.
Now you made me think ofsomething.
I don't know if you've seenthis yet, but there's I don't
want to talk to.
I don't want to talk to.
(12:18):
I don't want to talk too muchabout this, because or try to
identify who this person is, butthere's a young professional
who recorded herself being laidoff this week and put it on
tiktok.
I saw that he saw that, yeah,and you know she was.
I think the point she wanted tomake is that HR didn't handle
this, this, this conversation,as well as they they could have.
(12:40):
Now, that's a different debate.
We'd have to get into thedetails of it to to share that.
But as I'm watching and ofcourse she, you know no surprise
on on LinkedIn, this is beingshared a lot right now.
It's getting a lot of she'sgetting a lot of support.
Good for her, good for her.
Well, maybe it made her feelbetter in the moment, right, and
(13:00):
maybe the the attention she'sgetting is is is positive to
some degree.
But you have to protect yourreputation for your future
Opportunities and employer, andso what I see is someone who's
going to do that is who doesthat.
We'll do it again and do it totheir next employer.
And if you're going to be theperson that records and then
(13:21):
publicly tries to embarrass anorganization and the individuals
there and you documented it,yeah, I don't get that.
You know that.
That's that's perhaps not thebest thing to do.
Who, and it's probably limitingto future opportunities now
there, who knows it, may it mayend up well, for I, I wish just
(13:43):
a young person the best.
However, yikes right, when wethink of protecting your brand,
everything you do matters,including, you know, getting
attention in the moment andmaking a point.
Yeah, it's great to makesomeone else look bad, but at
what?
Ricky Baez (13:58):
risk Correct and I know exactly what you're talking
about.
I saw that a couple of days agoand, from an HR point of view,
because I saw all those things,I saw all the positive Support
she got and you know what.
Good for her, good for herbefore.
From an HR point of view, I'mlike no, and I wasn't gonna post
on it because I know I wasgonna get eaten up alive.
Pete, I was gonna get, you know.
Pete Newsome (14:20):
And so, but that's the reality of the world, that
we're in right and to someemployers look at those things.
So we're talking aboutimproving your personal brand I
don't on this show but we alsoneed to talk about protecting it
, and that was probably ashort-sighted Decision, mary,
that that is going to I would, Iwould say, probably do more
(14:41):
harm than good to, becauserecruiters look at social media.
Recruiters look at what you'vedone, because that, what you've
done in the past, is the bestindication of what you'll do
going forward, and and so,whether you think recruiters
should do that, whether youthink that's fair, just legal,
they will yep, absolutely will,and they will hold that against
(15:05):
you because that's what theyhave to go on.
Ricky Baez (15:08):
That's right, it's your document to how you respond
and for anybody who hasn't seenthis video and it's, go ahead
and watch it the part that gotto me, to be honest, was she
didn't even give HR anopportunity to finish Within the
first 30 seconds.
Let me stop you right there.
And she started listening onthose things and I'm like, ah,
let them finish.
Protect you exactly how you,how you sing, repeat, protect
(15:30):
your brand.
Now Let me tell you this right,everybody, have the listening
and this is coming from somebodywho's been doing this for 22
years and I have orchestratedHundreds, if not thousands, of
layoffs.
Right, how the conversationfirst starts to orchestrated
layoff is we have to cut 10, 20%and we start looking on who we
can let go and who we cannot letgo, and in each and every
(15:53):
Conversation we always say thiswe cannot let go to Susan we
need her.
We cannot let go a mic we needhim.
We cannot let go a Karen weneed her because they have
established a value in anorganization that if the absence
is there, it's gonna bedifficult to replicate.
You need to create a personalbrand or a professional brand
(16:15):
when your absence becomesextremely difficult to replace.
That's what you need to dowhatever that is, whatever that
is.
Come to my conversation oflayoffs.
I'm like we cannot.
We cannot let go of her.
Pete Newsome (16:27):
Yeah, yeah, be the one who's irreplaceable.
Yeah, that that should be thegoal as an employee.
Now I just want to say quickly,and let's move on from this.
After that, if you Say you hearthat and and say, yeah, but I
can, it doesn't matter how hardI work, there's no opportunity
to be promoted, there's, itwon't do anything for me, then
(16:48):
stop what you're doing and makea change, get out of that
situation, because if you're notin a role when you feel that
your effort will be rewarded,you're in the wrong role.
That's right and that is anabsolute statement.
Full stop on that.
So let's, let's move on back toback to the branding.
So the the benefits of personalbranding tell you establish,
(17:09):
establish your relationship and,as we just were talking about,
that will present futureopportunities to you or limit
them With a positive brand, astrong personal brand will.
Ricky Baez (17:22):
We'll open doors for you Absolutely.
And look it's and I know a lotof people are not going to agree
with this, but it's not 100%about skill, neither it's.
It's.
It really is a perfect balanceof skill, charisma, personality.
You have to find the perfectbalance that works for you.
(17:43):
Not the perfect balance,because that does not exist.
It's the perfect balance thatworks for you.
If you lack on a specific skillset that is difficult for you to
get, you have to bring up theother parts right.
You got to bring up thatcharisma.
You got to bring up that workethic.
You got to bring up that typeof of an environment that when
somebody thinks, oh man, we gota difficult project coming out,
(18:03):
you know what, give it a Francis.
She will knock that bad boy outof the park when people think
about you immediately.
So that's what you need to do.
But to ask for the perfectbecause I don't nobody asked,
but in my head I'm asking to seewhat that perfect balance is it
really depends of what kind ofskill set whether it is tangible
skills, soft skills you have onyour arsenal and you just got
(18:24):
to have a really good strength,and we all know our strengths as
we get into the professionalworld.
Pete Newsome (18:30):
It's hard when you're young to know exactly
where you're best apt to thrive.
For example, I was an awfulpublic speaker early on.
I would have an out of bodyexperience when I would have to
stand up in front of a group andI had to walk through the fire,
so to speak, to get on theother side of that and then
(18:52):
realize it was something I'mvery comfortable doing, and so
you so you.
So some things have to belearned and honed, but once you
are at a point where you have afeel for that, lean into it.
That's really what we'retalking about, and you made a
great point on it earlier.
So what else can you do toimprove and build your brand?
You've talked about, you know,making the decision and then and
(19:16):
then putting yourself in aposition to you know, to build
it.
Say yes to opportunities, seekout opportunities where you will
get to showcase your skills,knowledge, expertise, whatever,
whatever it might be.
Ricky Baez (19:29):
You know, pete, and and, and I think, if you have
the courage to jump into theunknown right, I to me, if I, if
, if I have a team right andsomebody volunteers for
something or or assign somethingto somebody, that I'm like God,
they, they, they may not getthe ball across the goal line,
(19:49):
but how they try and how theyresearch and how they try to
mitigate that screams volumes tome.
That to me is valuable becauseeven if you don't get the ball
across that goal line, if I'mable to see how you work, I'm
able to see how you, how youbreak things down and how you
process it, it does to me, onthe certain circumstances, you
(20:13):
hitting the goal is not asimportant as how you work on
getting the ball across the line, and to me that's key, yep.
Pete Newsome (20:20):
Absolutely, I agree.
Another thing that the youngemployees need to consider is
bringing forth ideas.
A lot of times, people arehesitant to do that.
There's an imposter syndromethat happens, where you think
I'm not qualified to share myopinion and you are right, you
(20:41):
know everyone.
It doesn't.
It doesn't take years, itdoesn't take a great depth of
experience.
It takes being unique andthoughtful and finding solutions
, and one of the things that hasalways been important to me as
a business owner, as a manager,is someone who brings solutions
to a problem.
So I've said over the years,there's a few different types of
(21:04):
people.
There's those who tell youabout the problem.
There's people who will tellyou about the problem and have a
proposed solution, and thenthere's the people who will tell
you that they've solved theproblem and then tell you what
it was.
Now I want that last person tobe that person, right?
Talk about a way to build yourbrand to a significant degree.
Be a problem solver.
(21:25):
So you don't have to be in abusiness a long time.
A lot of young people havefresh, new ideas that someone
who has been in a role or acompany or an industry for a
long time doesn't see, becausethey're not looking for it.
So a fresh lens, a fresh set ofeyes can often be the perfect
(21:45):
person to come up with new ideasin ways to solve problems.
So don't let your lack ofexperience or youth hold you
back.
Ricky Baez (21:55):
So can I explore the opposite side of that corner
real quick?
Because I agree, if you have asolution for a problem, say it,
open your mouth, talk about it,have the backbone to really
address it.
But if you don't, don't openyour mouth just to talk, don't
do that, because I've seenpeople do that as well, because
(22:18):
they think, oh, I have to saysomething even if you have
nothing to say.
No, if you have nothing to say,sometimes silence increases
your value.
Pete Newsome (22:28):
That is true.
You have to know the companyculture or organizational
culture that you're part of.
Some welcome new ideas, themore the better.
Others to the point you justmade, they're more conservative
in nature.
I've worked in bothenvironments.
I worked for a very largecompany Earlier in my career
with 16,000 employees.
It didn't matter how good theidea was.
(22:50):
There was no method by whichthey could implement change
effectively easily.
It was an old school mentality.
I had a choice, just as everyother employee there had a
choice.
Do you want to be part of that?
Do you like that structure?
Is that your comfort area or doyou need to be in a situation
where your ideas and thoughtscan be acted on?
(23:14):
I chose the latter becausethat's my nature.
One's not better than the other, but you have to read the room.
Ricky Baez (23:21):
No, your audience?
Pete Newsome (23:22):
yeah, no audience with this.
Read the room.
Yeah, pick your battles, butfind places where there will be
opportunities to bring yourideas forward, even if it's not
at your employer.
There's trade associations,there's conferences.
There's lots of different waysyou could build your brand.
(23:42):
I'll tell you right now.
Building your brand personallyhelps you professionally.
What I mean by that isvolunteer in areas you're
interested in, Be part of groups, organizations there's a huge
need for that in every communityand align the thing that you're
interested in with what canhelp you professionally so you
(24:05):
can be around people that willallow you to build your brand
with.
I don't think that's done oftenenough.
Ricky Baez (24:12):
It's not because it's again.
It's that perfect balance andyou just said it earlier, pete.
But surround yourself withpeople that would allow you to
do that.
If you're in an organizationbecause I've seen this too many
times if you're in anorganization that just shuts
everything down and you havethis person that has a really
good skill set.
They're ambitious, they reallywant to work hard for the
(24:33):
organization, but they justdon't get the opportunity to do
so, it's not that you'reinvaluable, you're in the wrong
place.
Have you seen that meme aboutthe water bottle?
Our water bottle is worth 99cents at Walmart.
At a movie theater it's $8.
At a theme park it's $15.
The same water bottle, but it'sa different place right.
Pete Newsome (24:57):
How much is that worth in the Sahara Desert?
Ricky Baez (25:01):
Oh, my, a kidney.
So yeah, it's not that you'renot valuable, it's that you're
not in the right place and youhave to know that.
You have to know that if you'renot able to really help the
organization move forward, nowhere's the key not help yourself
, help the organization moveforward.
If you're not able tocontribute to the bottom line,
(25:23):
you have to find somewhere whereyou can.
Pete Newsome (25:26):
Well, let me challenge that, because you have
to be self-serving, and youshould be self-serving.
If you are still growing andlearning and improving and
taking steps that will opendoors for you in the future, you
may still be in the right place, but you need to have a purpose
in being there.
(25:46):
So if you feel like yourthoughts and ideas aren't
contributing to the organizationor not being heard, take that
into consideration.
Everything's a data point, butif the bigger picture is, you're
putting invaluable time thatwill lead to a much better
opportunity going forward, andyou have to consider that to.
That's true.
(26:07):
But you don't have to rely onyour employer to build your
brand right.
You should take ownership ofthat yourself and build it
outside of the employer.
That's what we talked about afew minutes ago.
In the industry, in yourcommunity, in areas that you're
interested in, there are plentyof opportunities if you seek
them out and don't rely onemployer.
(26:28):
Look, it's great if you have amanager who takes you under
their wing or mentor which youcan seek out to help you and
guide you along the way.
Ultimately, your reputation andyour brand is your
responsibility to cultivate.
That's right.
Ricky Baez (26:42):
That's right and and again, you have to know where
you are or you're not value.
Now Let me tell you, if youdon't have that work ethic, if
you don't have that, that energyor that motivation to really,
to really add value to any organis, it doesn't matter where you
go, you can be invaluable to,to that leader.
But, yes, you're right, at theend of the day, you need to work
(27:05):
in the to figure out what yourpersonal brand is going to be
like and that's going totranslate work, especially these
days.
Hey, we're in twenty twentyfour.
We don't have flying cars whenI have hoverboard scientists.
Please hurry up.
We don't have any of thosethings yet, right, but what we
do have is social media.
And, and these days, whatever,we just talked about that girl
(27:26):
who, who, who, who videotapedher layoff, right, and in the
moment it may seem like a goodidea, but that's going to haunt
her later on.
How we just talked about it.
Right now, use that sameplatform to promote what you're
good at, whether you're lookingfor a job or not.
Right, that's right, and we'vetalked about it on this channel,
(27:46):
on this platform, for years nowthe importance of putting your
stuff out on LinkedIn and socialmedia, let everybody know
exactly who you are, what you do, but to help other people in
the process as well, and youwill get phone calls, I
guarantee it, yeah fine.
Pete Newsome (28:04):
Social media is so big right now in prevalent that
it's impossible to ignore.
If you, if your brand isimportant to you and your
professional growth is important, pick the channel that suits
you best.
Some people are verycomfortable writing, some people
are comfortable speaking, somepeople are comfortable on video.
You don't have to becomfortable on all of them, but
(28:27):
you have to pick one and go withit.
So you have lots ofopportunities right now between
LinkedIn, as you mentioned,twitter, facebook, tick tock,
instagram.
There they're all appropriateand applicable, depending on the
situation.
Learn it, perfect it, but it'salso realize not going to happen
(28:48):
overnight, and that's somethingthat is a tough part of social
media.
You and I talk about this.
We are active on social media.
Some things we do we think willdo well and they don't.
Others we don't have highexpectations for and they do,
they do really well.
It is.
It is a tough nut to crack,that is for sure, but if you
(29:08):
stick with it, the success willfollow.
Ricky Baez (29:11):
And look, I think I think what we're saying here,
pete, is folks, at the end ofthe day, it's that that
authenticity needs to be thereand you have to be willing to.
This is going to suck.
I'm going to say you have to bewilling to work for free, right
.
You have to be willing to throwthings out there.
You know it's.
Look, when you go to Olivegarden, right, those breast
(29:32):
texts are free, they get you in.
Right, those cheddar babybiscuits that are at a relative
office industry.
You have to throw out therethings for free.
And whatever money you don't getbecause of that, you more.
You not start up to marketingdollars.
If you got an excel spreadsheetand you're trying to figure out
right on how much money you'regetting for your effort, a lot
of that free time gets not stopto marketing dollars.
(29:55):
And look this, this event thatI was just at over in, it's the
reason I went there to do aspeaking engagement, because
this is a video that I didearlier in the year over in
Maryland, and they're like oh mygod, come on over, let's have a
conversation, put stuff outthere, put the bait out there.
Sometimes you're gonna get abite, sometimes you're not gonna
(30:15):
get a bite, but the rightpeople are going to respond to
you at the right time.
You gotta trust the process.
Pete Newsome (30:23):
Absolutely right was one more thing I want to
talk about before you wrap up,ricky, and that is creating a
personal brand statement, and Ithink this puts a nice bow
around what we're talking aboutIn it, and it's an exercise that
everyone can go through, andthat is to Define yourself in
one sentence, define your brandthat you want to be known for,
and in one sentence maybe two,but let's try to stick with one
(30:47):
that people can see and sayimmediately I know who that
person is, I know how theyportray themselves anyway, right
At the very least.
Now, that's hard to do, I don'tknow if.
Do you have one coming?
Ricky Baez (31:01):
I don't know if you have a spot here.
No, no, I'm smiling because Ido have one.
I don't necessarily advertiseit right Out only then, but at
the end of every session that Ido, I always tell them this.
My goal here is to help youfind your aha moment in a way
that you just love coming towork and you don't have that
(31:21):
pain in the stomach on Sundaynights.
That's what I tell people,because HR is boring, employer
relations is boring, fmla isboring, and I love to bring it
to the forefront in a way peoplecan understand and have fun
along the way.
So I love to bring the ahamoment to people.
That's mine, that's great.
(31:43):
What's yours?
I want to hear yours.
Pete Newsome (31:46):
Well, it's an interesting question.
I should have thought aboutthis before bringing it up,
knowing what would come next,but I have two at this point.
Ricky Baez (31:54):
I have a new one that I'm trying.
Pete Newsome (31:56):
I have something new, that I'm trying to build a
brand around, and so this is awork in progress for me too.
But historically, being astaffing company owner, what
I've wanted to be known for isdelivering effective and
consistent staffing solutionsfor a very inconsistent world.
The world is a crazy place.
It's insane now more than ever.
(32:19):
But we want to be reliable, wewant to be consistent in what we
do, and so the world can gocrazy around us, but I want to
be known for the calm in thestorm, if you will.
But now I'm trying to dosomething different, which is
why this podcast exists and wetalk so much about the career
advice that's needed out there,which is to help students and
(32:41):
young professionals on the pathto career enlightenment.
That's what Zengig is all about, and so I don't have a
reputation in that space.
We don't have a brand.
Zengig is a brand, is a newbrand.
It's only a year and a half old, so we have a big ramp up curve
.
So all these things we'retalking about I'm trying to put
into practice every day rightnow, so I'm learning along the
(33:03):
way too.
Ricky Baez (33:04):
You've been doing it for 17 years for four corner
resource.
It's just not youngprofessionals, it's just
professionals in general.
Pete Newsome (33:12):
Well, that's the point, right, we don't have the
Zengig brand, is not knownwidely in that community and we
want it to be.
That's the goal.
So we have to take all thesesteps.
We have to think about themessage that we're giving the
where we're giving it, thechannels that we're using to
deliver it.
We have to think of ouraudience and we, of course, as
(33:34):
we have talked about so muchover the last 45 minutes talk
about what we want to be knownfor and thought of.
Those are big things to startfrom scratch with.
After, to your point, 18 yearsas a staffing company owner.
Now I'm thinking all right, Ihave to take an entirely
different approach than whatI've been used to doing.
Ricky Baez (33:54):
Then, pete, let's end with this.
Let me tell you I just wanteverybody out there to know
Google, a guy by the name ofSeth Godin.
He is a marketing guru.
A couple of weeks ago I saw aYouTube video of him and he made
a great point about marketingand he says when you see the
Nike logo, do you think sneakers?
(34:14):
And the audience like I meankind of, but no, no, if you see
the Nike logo, you see triumph,you see winning, you see a
warrior, you see you achievingyour goals.
It's a shoe company, right, butthat logo, that organization,
has done a great job and makingsure that logo represents that.
(34:35):
So they're not selling shoes,they're selling equipment to
help you reach your goal.
Whatever, that is right andthey did a great job with it.
Find out what your Nike logo is, find out what that is and look
, it's hard to do.
There's going to be some trialand error.
Some things are going to work,some things are not going to
work right and things may getworse before they get better,
(34:57):
but as long as you take thatfirst step, you're going to be
all right.
People who finish the marathon,they have to take a first step
and this is what you got to do.
Pete Newsome (35:06):
I love it All right, that's a great way to
finish, sir.
Just do it, that's right?
Ricky Baez (35:12):
Oh, we might get dinged, we might get sued, but
you know what?
Send us a cease and desistletter.
Pete Newsome (35:16):
That means we're making an impact it sounds to me
like we're giving Nike freeadvertising.
Maybe they should be thinkingus.
Ricky Baez (35:23):
We should send them a bill, send us a commission.
Pete Newsome (35:25):
We save them.
But, ricky, this is great.
So homework again.
If you don't have your personalstatement, if you don't know
what your brand really is, andwork on that.
It's for your own benefit.
Don't expect anyone else to doit for you.
Thanks for listening today.
We would love suggestions,topics, new ideas and, of course
, if you rate us a five star, wewould love that the most.
(35:48):
But send us comments andsuggestions, questions at Zengig
.
com.
We look forward to hearing fromyou, ricky.
Have a great weekend.
Thanks, as always.
Thank you, have a good one,folks.
Good night.
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