A wise friend of mine says the best way to get work is to keep working. In these days of slashed client budgets and uncertain employment, it seems there is no work. But there will be, especially if you keep working to put yourself first in line when the money starts flowing again.
Whether you’re consulting, looking for a job or both, there’s a lot you can do for yourself, clients and prospects. If you have a job and are hoping to keep it, you can take a leadership role by creating current and future opportunities.
Build your brand and your security by continuing to do the work. Here are six ways to keep working.
Take Time to Dream
One blessing of the recession is that many creative and strategic people now have time to actually be creative and strategic. When the money was flowing, rebranding, re-strategizing, redesigning all took a back seat. Now is the time to envision the next phase of your evolution, be that business or personal.
Invest in Your Business
This is the time for the cobbler’s children to get some shoes. Don’t just dream about what the shoes will look like. Go make them and put them on. Smart marketers know this will pay off in the future. Plus, new shoes, in the form of a reinvention or reinvigoration of your business, also give you an excuse to reconnect.
Create Bonding Opportunities
Engage clients in dreaming too. Create a bonding opportunity by hosting a strategic brainstorm session – the kind of thing you might not have time to do when the money is really flowing. I’m not a fan of giving away all your time and ideas, so you’ll have to consider if this is for fee or for free. Either way, a few hours spent helping clients envision the future could make sure you’re a part of it.
Stay in Touch by Adding Value
Don’t just contact clients and prospects to see how things are going. Set a goal to bring them one new idea a month or a quarter. Always walk into an interview with ideas. You can even tell them that you know budgets are tight, but here’s an idea for the future. Of course, continue to bring timely recommendations for ways to take advantage of the recession mindset.
Keep Learning
Many marcomm, PR and media professionals have zero awareness of what’s happening in the brand-consumer connection universe beyond their ken. This world is evolving by the minute, with various disciplines spilling into one another. Use this time to reach beyond your core competency and learn about related fields. Assign team members to study specific areas and share with the group, and even with clients. Both you and your organization will be more marketable as a result.
Help Someone Else
How about taking all that brainpower for dreaming and strategizing to a non-profit board? They’re all in need of ways to connect with donors in tough times. They may be ready for a re-invention. As an individual or an agency, marketing and communications professionals have a lot to offer a non-profit beyond writing the occasional press release. Get some extra exposure for your work by joining the President’s Summer of Service at www.serve.gov, where you can register your project and share your story.
Guest Expert:
Lilli Cloud, founder of Blue Feet, has more than 20 years of experience in developing and delivering persuasive communications to generate results with target audiences. She works with entrepreneurs and executive job seekers to articulate their core offering and share it with the world – both verbally and in writing – in a clear, compelling way that makes them stand out from the crowd.
She also works with corporations to develop strategic communications, organizational positioning and messaging, and teaches people how to refine and deliver their messages electronically, in print and through verbal communication.
In her career as a PR and marketing professional, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and small and mid-size businesses in a variety of industries. She honed her understanding of the cultural basis of communications during her years abroad working in the Middle East and Australia.
She also worked as vice president at PainePR, a mid-size firm highly regarded for creativity. There she led teams on consumer, business-to-business, technology and healthcare accounts. Prior to that, Lilli was a vice president with the international public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard where she handled corporate and public affairs accounts.
Lilli is a graduate of the University of Missouri where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
