Nicole Williams, resident career expert at LinkedIn, is not only the founder of her own media company, WORKS by Nicole Williams, but also the author of three best-selling books, including Wildly Sophisticated: A Bold New Attitude for Career Success and Earn What You’re Worth. Her latest title, Girl on Top: Your Guide to Turning Dating Rules Into Career Success, has even been optioned for a film by Academy-Award-winning producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen.
It’s safe to say Williams knows a thing or two about marketing herself as a brand. Here, she talks about finding a connection with the vice president at Penguin and getting your name out there in a terrible economy:
Ten, 15 years ago, when I was getting my book published, the vice president of Penguin was sitting in on my meeting. And for some reason, I had done [an] Internet search and knew that this guy came from Toronto, Canada, which is where I was born, and it was that affinity that [enabled] me to [get a] record-breaking advance. Use every method possible to prepare yourself and then to market yourself so that you’re someone that gets noticed. There are opportunities out there. And sometimes in a bad economy there’s actually more opportunity than [less]. It’s just a matter of [going] after it more strategically.
For more from Williams, including how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, read: So What Do You Do, Nicole Williams, Author, Entrepreneur and Career Expert at LinkedIn?