Personal marketing has gone 2.0 with LinkedIn. I attended a workshop last week on using this professional social network, and learned the surprising statistic that more than 30,000 recruiters troll this network for job leads. While we can put crazy or incriminating pictures out on our Facebook, how we present ourselves in the LinkedIn setting is crucial for creating the right impression or “brand image” of ourself for potential employers as well as the professional network we have built via our “online rolodex.”

How do we do brand ourself then? We already brand ourself in the “real-world” in various ways, and  many of these be transferred directly AND improved on in our virtual world:

• From a resume & cover letter…to a complete profile
• From the 30-second elevator  pitch…to a 6-word headline
• From a business card exchange…to a reach extending way BEYOND six-degrees of separation
• From a pre-selected private recommendation…to an ongoing catalog of public recommendations
• From positive (but undocumented) peer respect…to a ranking of “expert opinion” based on votes for your answer to a LinkedIn question
• And finally…from pre-interview company research…to researching current & former employees (or the new hire that took the position you applied for)

While obviously your 2.0 brand is of increasing and necessary importance and LinkedIn has a number of great  tools that can propel you and your name farther than ever before, proponents all agree: LinkedIn (or any social network for that matter) is NOT a substitute for human interaction. To get your online rolodex, you have to network - in person.  To get a hold of someone important and convey your voice, you have to pick up a phone.  LinkedIn is just one part of your overall brand strategy!

Simply put? I’ve been focused on the search for the “perfect” internship that will give me the RIGHT experience for the career path I want to follow. When I first graduated from my undergrad, I see now that I really did not have a clue as to what I wanted to do and the goal back then (also during a recession) was simply to get a job that would pay off the pricey incurred school loans.

Part of going back for an MBA for me was to complement my background with the precise skills required to do exactly what I want to do (as I now know what it is, as well). That said, the “perfect” internship for me is not dependent on any sort of paycheck or resume-filling experience, but is completely dependent on gaining the experience that can propel my career forward on the right path.

So how am I spending my spring break?

• Networking - following up with past contacts to ensures quality relationships can continue; meeting new contacts that have diverse experiences, fresh insight, and quality connections; and building up my profile and network on sites like LinkedIn to best promote myself and “qualify” these connections.
• Reading & Researching- catching up on non-school related reading that promotes my understanding of my chosen field, the geographic business area in which I plan to work, and the information needed to connect and relate to prospective employers.
• Blogging - on this and other sites to put what I am learning and doing into writing to provide a relevant log of activites (in this case) and to show prospective employers my level of understanding in terms of my chosen field (in other cases).

These are just a few of my current activities…I’ll try to throw some beach-time and relaxation in there, but for now, catching up to get ahead is probably the most beneficial thing I can do!

There were some heavy-hitter ads, such as Pepsi or Careerbuilder; some rerun ads that had previously aired; foreign automakers versus the U.S. Big 3 that pulled out; but the biggest successes seemed to be the simplest - viral marketing. Two in particular proved that viral marketing is not only recession-friendly in terms of advertising cost, but can be EXTREMELY effective in terms of capturing interest and encouraging follow-up!

The commercials are here…follow the instructions to ’see what happens’! What can be better than Superbowl commercials that keep on giving?

GoDaddy.com -

Jack-in-the-Box -

Two are with my winterterm class “Creativity & Innovation” which is hectic enough with 2 midterms and 2 projects in a short 4-week period. My group already did one last week on Apple vs. IBM, and this week our project is more creative…establishing a viral marketing campaign for Chapman University’s Leatherby Center for Corporate Entrepreneurship & Ethics. I can’t divulge any details (as we’re ‘competing’ against 2 other groups this week), but I hope know we’re going to KILL it!

Finally, next week I’m competing in the ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) Case Competition, where we will prepare a strategy & the corresponding valuations for a possible merger & acquistion. Have I taken finance yet? NO.  Have I ever done a valuation in my life? NO. Do I know anything about the M&A field? NO. Are we going to win? Well, I don’t know but thankfully it’s a team effort, so we’re all bringing in our respective strengths. Oh, & I’m teaching myself valuation and M&A this week…I just joined the group last week.

So wish me luck, as I don’t want to look like a dumb BlondeMBA.  At least I’ll get all those oral presentation/public speaking  jitters out of the way…one “um” and “uh” at a time…I’ll thank myself later, right?

That said, as you can see from my Twitter feed, here’s my “time management” from the last couple of weeks:

- Motivational speakers: 4 — 1 for every class session
- Educational conferences: 1 — for the Saturday class session
- Textbooks purchased: 2 for winter class, 5 for spring semester
- Money saved by textbooks purchased online: 50% for a total of about $500
- Group meetings: 1 and another Monday, to discuss 2 class projects
- Getting an MBA: priceless (meaning it’s too expensive to put a price on

That said, I’m taking “Creativity and Innovation,” a.k.a. corporate entrepreneurship.  My school, Chapman University, likes to focus on “reality-based education,” so while this class may sound kind of vague and an “entrepreneur” can really be anyone, this class seems to be good as it focuses on honing creativity & innovation even if you’re working for someone else. (FYI, if your school is #9 for graduate entrepreneurship programs, chances are a majority of your opportunities & even class electives will have this focus, in case you were wondering).

So far, our creative assignments for the class really are “real,” involving PR and promotion of both the entrepreneurship center and Chapman University. (FYI, my professor is also the director of the entrepreneurship center, so will be gleaning from our ideas.)

All in all, creativity & innovation does seem to be an extremely important topic for the next wave of business leaders. A recent BusinessWeek article highlighted the downturn of Silicon Valley, long the hotbed for innovation and new techie products, citing that there haven’t been any NEW big players that are really making a mark…Google, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, etc. are the most recent.  Most companies are just improving on existing technologies.

Obviously, if the U.S. is to succeed in keeping up with global competition, we need to figure out a way to improve our level of creativity and innovation in bringing new, market-changing products to the table…food for thought as I undergo this 4-week class.

In the spirit of things, Blonde MBA has undergone some upgrades (at least in MY opinion as we can all use a little change), so I want to point out a couple of things:

1.  Curious about a day in the life of an MBA student? Microblogging via the Twitter feed on the right now allows me to update you every second of the day! J/k as luckily for you, my life is not that interesting…but I can at least update a little more frequently & you can see what a typical MBA student is up to!

2. Soon to come upgrades…if I don’t write them down they won’t happen:
-  A resource page with some links/readings/recommendations that I happen to be interested in
- A link or page with my resume, as face it - most MBA students are job-seekers & like need to market themselves however possible…I’m sure you’ll understand!

3. As always, I welcome your comments/contributions/questions, even if it’s to tell me to write about something else…

Happy New Year! ~ Blonde MBA

Happy New Year...stranded in Minneapolis!

...at least it was semi-pretty!

If anything, the MBA program is a test of your stamina. Learning the material hasn’t been as hard, but as these next few days will test, taking 1 final exam a day in “hard topics” (accounting, economics, & statistics), it’s all about managing the workload to effectively study.

I’ll definitely have a recap (& more time to update) after next Wednesday, so wish me luck!

BTW, hoodies seem to be the Saturday morning review session rage. Unfortunately, at 8am I was too tired to get a picture.

I don’t think it’s the hair styling due to the embarrassing amount of foil on my head. It probably has more to do with the stack of non-business magazines I’ve gone through…or just not thinking of schoolwork & mellowing out to wierd salon music…or the fact that us MBA students have been working nonstop for 14 weeks and need a break before finals!

Either way, I’ll enjoy this and Thansgiving break so I can hit books as needed again! I think it’s a good time management strategy!

Today’s college students, and now graduate students, do everything via Facebook…attend or RSVP for events, become fans or members of student groups, talk to our group members, compare articles, network with alumni, you name it! Who came up with this??

Jason Feffer, CEO of Sodahead.com

Answer: Jason Feffer, one of the co-founders of MySpace.com, has set up a new networking site called Sodahead.com, and came to talk to Argyros School of Business and Economics students last night for the first ever Global Entrepreneurship Week. Beyond the entrepreneurial feel of “thinking big,” he gave us insight into how the social networking industry came about and just BLEW UP in a very short time…

• Friendster evidently came about first, but as “My Facebook” was at the beginning, was a closed network with little to no customization by users. MySpace, Feffer’s company, was started in 2003 as an alternative to Friendster and open to pretty much anything - any user name, any “glitter,” and any background the user wanted to hack in. Ugly, yes, but from there, MySpace simply followed and built on what the users were doing most - checking out each other’s pictures, adding music, etc. - and what times/places of the world were doing what. This simple market research (and collaboration with advertisers) caused it be sold within three years for approximately $580 million. Nice cut…
• That said, now Facebook has become an alternative to MySpace, for those users who precisely do NOT want the glitter and glamour, and as us MBA students, allow us to connect to our schools and even now, business professionals and company pages.

Where will these sites go? It’s safe to say I think I’ve grown out of MySpace…those tweens can have it…but I don’t think I’m making a complete jump to the STRICTLY professional LinkedIn. Wherever you go, these sites have allowed many to connect to old classmates, friends, and even family in more ways than ever before…I (and Jason Feffer) thinks they’re here to stay (with ongoing adjustments in a never before established industry)!

For more on how start-up Sodahead got started, check out this interview with Jason Feffer…