Leave Your Mark

Why I chose to read this book? 

At a specific point in time, I was planning to make a big leap in my career- so the plan was to look forward to a book that could give a new direction to my thought process.

How the book is arranged? 

The whole book is divided in four parts, and each of them takes you through the journey that author went through. Along each step, she explains her learnings which the readers can apply in their life.

About the author: 

Aliza Licht has been the following-

• Public relation executive for a major fashion brand DKNY since 17 years.
• Working towards her passion of fashion, even if that meant to give up her study in medicine. 
• Building a Twitter community with half a million followers.
• Tedx speaker.
• Named as one of the “Six Women who rule the world” by Times Magazine
• Awarded the “Reigning Queen of Social Media” title

My Rating: 

3/5

Personal take-away: 

The book jumbled up over several topics starting from how to get your dream job to social media to behaving right in professional world. It didn’t solve the purpose that i had in mind (my expectation could be at fault too). There was unnecessary detail about fashion industry which I had no interest in, and the whole thing about social media was also a bit blown up. Having said all that, it was still a nice and light read. My favorite quote was- 

Keep pushing your limits at every stage. Remember that change shouldn’t be comfortable, and if it is, it’s not change.

Summary: 

Following is the chapter-wise summary of what this book is about.

1) Finding the right career path: The author here describes how she found the right career path for herself.

• Since her parents were doctors, she was inevitably drawn to think about medical line too. 
• During the course of her study, she realized that the whole topic was not interesting for her.
• After struggling about it within herself, she decided to quit half-way and ignore all the time spent so far.
• Digging deeper into the topic, she realized her passion for fashion can be turned in a profession.

2) Getting experience when you have no experience: The author here gives some tips on how to get closer to your dream job, even if you have no experience in that regard.

• Find contact that is closest to what you ultimately want to do, or at a company you want to work for.
• Set up some fake interviews and think of them as real.
• Look for chances to talk to others in the company you applied for.
• Find opportunities on some relevant projects from another or your existing company.
• Learn from tutorials on internet.
• Don’t wait to be taught, go out and teach yourself!
• Getting experience when you have no experience is not easy, it takes creativity and passion!

3) Writing a killer cover letter and a rock solid resume: The author here explains how to write a cover letter and resume to land yourself in your dream job.

• Cover letter:
  • Correctly spell the name of person you are writing to.
  • Refer to the person by his professional title.
  • Spell company’s name correctly.
  • Use formal writing etiquettes.
  • Keep the look and fonts professional and specific to your industry (for example: Times new roman for applying at a law firm)
  • Keep the font size normal.
  • Don’t write in caps.
  • Don’t use exclamation marks.
  • No uncomfortable punctuations (no emojis!)
  • Mention recommendation at start.
  • Mention you marketable skill.
  • Include a few sentences about who you are and what you have been doing.
  • Include at least one good line conveying why you want to work for them.
  • Mention recent accomplishments.
  • Get to the point quickly.
  • Read it over multiple times.
  • Read it backward, it helps you to read slowly and find wrong spellings.
  • Write cover letter in body of email.
  • Upload resume on shared filed system- to know if it was viewed and/or downloaded.
  • Don’t include promises like “i will call you later”, which inevitably puts the action item on you and not the other person.
  • Close the letter by thanking in advance.

• Resume:
  • Remember this paper is the only thing representing you until you meet the other person.
  • Start with objective and tailor it to industry you are applying for.
  • List every company you worked for.
  • Don’t include your responsilities but accomplishments, what you have done is more important than what you were supposed to do!
  • Include stats in accomplishments, for example: increase revenue by 5 percent.
  • Don’t add accomplishments that obviously look like the ones of your team.
  • Describe skills in most sophisticated way.
  • Include multiple ways for employer to contact you.
  • Put social media profiles only if you are okay with employer searching you there.
  • Use keywords that employer might list in his job profile.
  • If you have gaps in job history, you can include what you did during that time and what you learned from that. For eg: traveling to India taught me a new culture.

4) Sucking your current job dry: The author here explains tips on how to make the best out of your current job.

• Love everything around yourself.
• Anticipate your boss’s needs.
• A great attitude is a great marketable skill.
• Do a great job for yourself without expecting a pat on the back.
• Find a mentor to build a strategic and meaningful professional relationship.
• Dress like others in the office, so people feel they are “like” you.
• Investigate your employers beforehand, know the CEO.
• Be on time.
• Don’t act personal with your boss.
• Pay close attention to culture and atmosphere.
• Don’t question everything, find answers for yourself.
• Don’t gossip.
• Be a self-starter and build relations with people proactively.
• Don’t post on social media about your job, or check company policies first.
• Don’t send social media request to your boss.
• If you are connected already, remember they see what you post.
• Learn from your colleagues.
• Leave graciously, thank your boss and everyone else around.
• Make sure that you build some references for your future job(s).
• When you provide them as reference, remember to call them and remind them about yourself.

5) Nailing your first interview: The author gives tips about killing it in an interview.

• Don’t sound rude and arrogant, just be politely confident.
• Find and prepare examples of your strength.
• Maintain eye contact.
• Make sure you are the right personality for this job.
• Talk about a big obstacle and how you overcome it.
• Give an example to demonstrate that you can colloborate well with team.
• Think about “what are your weaknesses”, remember that- your weekness can’t be core competency of job you are going for.
• Prepare questions to ask the interviewer.
• Find your role model.
• Focus on your best professioal attributes.
• Point one thing interviewer can’t learn about you from your cv.
• Ask for intrerview’s business card.
• Send a thank you email note on that day itself.
• Besides preparing for answers, interpret how they can be perceived.
• If your answer makes the interviewer uninterested, turn the table around and get him to speak. People love to talk about themselves.

6) Win your business card during first job: The author here offers tips for earning your own business card.

• Work dedicatedly to make everyone proud.
• Don’t mind putting in extra hours and times in your work.

7) Going for promotion or raise: The author explains the ways to earn a higher raise or promotion in your job.

• Make yourself irreplaceable by willingly taking on various responsibilities.
• Identify three to five innovative and unexpected things that you’ve accomplished.
• Show, don’t tell. Make a presentation of your accomplishments, including as many statistics as you can.
• Attach the idea of your promotion to the benefit of the company.
• Make sure that you have been in your current position for at least two years.
• Make your boss shine. If you have successfully done that all year, your boss is going to try his best to keep you.
• Develop competencies to play and hang with the bigwigs.
• Make yourself uncomfortable with the idea of speaking up in a large group.
• If you come to work with dirty hair, look unshowered and unkempt, it is not a look that screams, “Promote me!” It’s a look that screams, “I don’t really give a shit.”
• Remember that successful people always find a way to make the impossible happen.
• Live by the principle that not solving the problem isn’t an option.
• Stay connected because accessibility makes you indispensable.
• Know what’s going on with their business.
• Know your market value.
• Think about what other “perks” you can ask for outside of the salary, just in case money is not an option.
• Always ask for more than you expect to receive (within reason),
• Politely try to prove (using market research) why you believe that you deserve more.
• The best time to ask for a promotion is two to three months before your company’s annual review period.

8) Surviving People and Politics: The author here describes types of people you will find in every office, and how to deal with them.

• One who constantly complains, is helpless and oversensitive.
  • Advice: Never joke or test out your sarcastic humor.
• Super-aggressive coworker who rules by bullying.
  • Advice: Consider lying low when you’re in his presence.
• The “I” person who takes credit for everything.
  • Advice: Create a responsibility chart to let your boss knows who is handling what.
• The person who changes depending on whom he’s with.
  • Advice: Ask for things in writing.
• The person who thinks yelling gets people to work.
  • Advice: Remain calm and even-keeled.
• Giant head, Giant ego who thinks only his opinion matters.
  • Advice: Do not openly compete with him.
• The person who thinks work is what other people do.
  • Advice: Make sure your job responsibilities are clearly defined so that you don’t get blamed for it.
• The person who gets by simply because of good looks.
  • Advice: Work harder to prove its not just looks that matter.
• The boss who has a big title and doesn’t actually do ANYTHING.
  • Advice: Know your worth and create a track report of what you do.
• The person who steals other people’s ideas and serves.
  • Advice: Put every idea in writing and make sure to cc your boss.
• The person whose primary goal is to spread gossip.
  • Advice: Stay away from them.
• The perma-negative person who thinks the world is coming to an end daily.
  • Advice: Don’t let his negativity get into your head.
• The person is so clueless it’s a wonder he knows how to get dressed in the morning.
  • Advice: Harmless fellow, just ignore him and be happy that you have so many more brain cells than he does.
• The “MR. TALENTED” type of coworker, who will always find a way to point the finger at you.
  • Advice: Be respectful and professional at all times,save any examples of bad behavior.
• Bottom line: Learn to work with all different types of people- this matters much more than doing your job perfectly. If you dumb yourself because of others, you will never be maximizing your potential.

9) Shifting gears and getting ahead: The author here gives tips on how to breakthrough and make it big in your career.

• If the breakthrough means moving on with a new job, follow guidelines might be helpful.
  • Don’t just learn your job, learn more about your dream role.
  • Leverage your existing network to job hunt.
  • Get recommendations, third-party credibility is always more powerful than anything you can ever say on your own behalf.
  • Judge a job on its future potential.
  • Nail what is in front of you and your next step will become crystal clear.
  • Work at the opposite job to gain experience for the job you ultimately want.

• If the breakthrough means advancing with current job, follow guidelines might be helpful.
  • Research and pitch with your boss for new ideas.
  • People like choices, so present always your boss with different scenarios.
  • Identify voids in your company’s work processes.
  • Think aerial view.
  • Don’t be afraid to question the status quo.
  • Be friendly to make friends with your peers.
  • Put your ideas into a beautifully laid-out deck.
  • When you are pitching for a new idea over an email, remember:
    • Don’t put everything in subject line.
    • Can you somehow use an “exclusive” or an exclusive angle? People love the word “exclusive” because they love knowing that they’re getting special content.
    • Customize the content (You know those mass emails you always delete).
    • Check how’s your style. Sometimes it’s not what you pitch, it’s how you pitch.
    • Be authentic.
    • Don’t write a novel.
    • Don’t be a stalker. Make just one attempt (a few days later) to follow up.
  • Always thank people who support you. It’s not a given for them to do so.
  • Build successful client relationships. Ask yourself these questions: 
    • How easy are you to work with? 
    • Are you accessible? 
    • Are you reliable? 
    • Are you credible? 
    • Are you helpful?
    • Are you valuable to their business?
    • Are you indispensable? 
    • Are you appreciative of their business? Do you show it?
  • Make sure to make relations and remember that people will go out of their way to do business with people they like.

10) Text-Message Speak and Other Ways to Ruin Your Chances: This chapter is about guidelines that will help you to understand how to communicate in the professional world, since being too casual there is often considered disrespectful.

• When communicating over e-mail:
  • Remember that subject line is to get the attention span of another person.
  • Communicate according to your type of audience and their seniority.
  • Address each person personally.
  • Use full sentences and proper grammar, no chatting language.
  • If you send an important email, don’t go off for five days and desert your inbox.
  • Don’t stalk but a gentle follow up is okay.
  • Don’t fill in the “to” section of the email until you are finished writing to avoid accidental sending.
  • Double-check that the person you are emailing is the right person. (We all know so many people by the same first name)
  • Keep it brief.
  • Think before you hit that send button.

• When working in a professional set-up or looking for your dream job:
  • Realize that your social media presence is equally important after your resume
  • If you post any questionable content on your social profiles, make your accounts private.
  • Don’t lie about your experience or your contacts.

• When talking in a professional set-up or interviewing for your dream job:
  • There is more than one way to get your point across and some ways are better, do your homework to get the right language out.
  • Always sound passionate about success of business, whether it’s in your job description or not.
  • Sharing your stress with your boss would make him believe that you can control it all.
  • Don’t shoot down an idea before you researched it.
  • If your boss is raising an issue to you, then she wants it figured out by YOU- even she didn’t ask you to do so explicitly.
  • Never point the finger back at your boss.
  • Sound and be more proactive.
  • Show and not just talk why you deserve a raise.
  • Ask for permission to plan vacation.
  • Don’t whine, there’s a lot to complain about at work.
  • Don’t follow or friend your boss first on social media. Always let her take the lead.
  • Don’t let your body language talk too much- whispering under your breath, sighing and chuckling are all rude and childish.

11) The Making of DKNY PR GIRL and Half a Million Followers: The author gives some tips for people to engage on social media. These tips are based on her experience of being able to build a popular virtual character representing DKNY on Twitter.

• Approachability leads to conversation.
• Filter what you say in social media. You never know whom you’re going to offend.
• Don’t leave your profile picture and bio in social media blank.
• Be careful not to post too much consecutively or you will annoy your followers.
• When you write something that resonates with everyone, people are more likely to engage.
• If you start a blog, determine what your purpose and point of view will be and stick to that filter.

12) Revealing Fashion’s Biggest Twitter Secret: The author explains how she took the onus of declaring to half a million followers about being the voice behind DKNY’s virtual character. Follow-up tips:

• When it comes to social media, always review the content one last time before you post.

13) Being Socially Savvy: Author explains how your social media profile speaks volumes about you and tips to handle it well.

• If you just joined the social media jungle, start small and strategic.
• If you don’t have anything good to post, don’t post at all.
• Start the conversation and follow it. Out of sight, out of mind strongly applies here.
• Know what to post where.
• If posting on a platform feels like a “obligatory task”, you shouldn’t be there.
• Know what conversations people are having.
• When you can’t think of anything original to post, share other people’s posts.
• In times of a national or world crisis, you don’t need to be on top of your social media profile.
• Don’t post stuff that doesn’t actually belong to you.
• Embrace yourself. You have unique qualities to offer the world and you just need to figure out which ones you want to put out there.
• Don’t beg by posting “Follow me!”
• The easiest way to strike up a conversation online is to ask someone a smart question or compliment something he has recently accomplished.
• If you have great advice, or a good fashion eye in this case, why not recommend something? The more you speak about a subject intelligently, the more you can become an “expert” on that subject.
• Keep the “social” in social media. The more friendly and open you are, the bigger your community will grow.
• Even with a competitor, show that you’re confident and comfortable in your own skin.
• The more ways you can come up with to enhance your brand – without outright selling anything – the better.
• Inspire! People love to be inspired.
• Don’t tend to get aggressive online.
• Humility is an attractive quality.
• Pretend the delete button doesn’t exist in social media.
• Watch the order in which you are posting.

14) Social Media Damage Control: Inspite of the tips given above to be cautious on social media, a damage might get done. Use the follow ways to level it up:

• Remember that no social media profile is worth risking your status or profession
• If need be, craft a well-thought-out apology statement.
• Don’t comment on something if you’re not entirely sure what happened.
• People expect a statement or apology to be issued fast.
• Empathy, empathy, empathy! Be humble when drafting your apology.
• Don’t put the blame on someone else.
• When you post your apology, post it only on the platforms where the situation was discovered.
• Babysit your crisis. You need to be monitoring the press and all your social platforms 24/7 during a crisis.
• Be careful whom you respond to, you will never win with some people, and
• Let an apology settle for a bit before you go on talking about other things.
• Deleting comments in social media is a big no-no.
• Assemble a crisis team before you need them.
• Delivery of the apology is everything. If you put it out there, you need to be really sure you stand by your words.

15) Being Your Own Publicist: Author explains how and why it is important for every person to be his/her own publicist- whether in a professional setup or not.

• Shape yourself as a brand, and it is an ART.
• Branding on a personal level is the art of aligning what you want people to think about you with what people actually think about you.
• Think of yourself as a brand since people consume your words, actions and how you present yourself in various ways.
• Every person has something unique to offer and that branding yourself is the best way to make sure people know what that is.
• Think about the best products or assets you have in yourself.
• When crafting your personal brand, you need to keep those angles in mind
• Note down the core principles that you stand for
• Gauge what do you want to be known for. A lot of people do a lot of things, but the person who does it the loudest gets the “expert” credit.
• Promote the marketable qualities or talents that are unique to you.
• What do people remember the most after meeting you? Consult with friends and colleagues who can give you honest feedback on this answer.
• Know yourself by writing your bio. A bio is a summary of you, your professional and your personal lives. Put everything that you are- on a paper.
• Bios are written in the third person, which is genius for the purposes of your  branding exercise, because it allows you to take a step back and not feel totally awkward talking about yourself. Instead of writing things like “I did,” write “He [or she] did.” It’s an out-of-body experience, one that will help you understand who you are and what you have done so far. Also, it’s OK to brag a little, so do list your most important accomplishments.
• Write about your personality/physical attributes, education, career path, important jobs and titles, hobbies, passions, talents, awards, marital/family status, affiliations, charity etc.
• Write your bio in chronological order: Start with your current position and then take people through a brief synopsis of the past. The goal of the bio is to show how you got where you are.
• When you start writing, you might get to a place where you have nothing left to say. That’s OK because your story is never actually done.
• Once you reach that stopping point, cozy up in a chair somewhere and pretend that you’re reading a story about someone else. Do you like this person? Are you impressed by what he‘s done? What do you feel this person should change about himself? Be objective. Pretend it’s not you that you’re reading about.
• Make your life “word cloud” by pulling out the keywords in your bio that really summarize your story. These words will describe the overall picture in a list format. The stronger the attribute, the bigger the word should appear.
• Find an image for each word that you pulled out and create a mood board of your life. Take a step back. What does it look like altogether? What do you want to keep? What do you want to change?
• Continue the journey. Since your story will end right in the middle somewhere, think about where you want it to go. Start imagining what you want the rest of the article to say. Continue writing it all out as if it has already happened, but this time in italics – all your aspirations, everything you want to accomplish. Perfect the story until it reads exactly the way you would want it to be printed in the New York Times.
• Your article might be tough to read and you might not like it, but that’s OK.
• Let this article light the fire to make some positive changes in yourself.
• Personal branding is not about becoming famous.
• Personal branding is about identifying the best version of you and striving toward achieving and communicating that every day.

16) Casting Yourself in a New Leading Role: Author explains how you could take steps forward in order to craft yourself in an image that you want for yourself.

• The way people perceive you goes beyond what you say and how you work with others.
• Image is a powerful asset that lets people think about you even before you have opened your mouth.
• Think if your image matches your personal brand.
• Your image matters and you have the power to change it.
• Ask yourself: what impression do I make on the people who meet me?
• The reality is that people do not have that much imagination when it comes to other people. What you show them is the only thing they will know. If you want people to imagine you in certain roles, you have to help them see you that way.
• There are many tools that you can employ to get a certain image. Style is one of them.
• In any business, fashion can help define your image.
• Do you currently project the right image for the personal brand you want to build?
• Establishing a “look” that is purely you.
• Choose a look and stick with it, it will help others memorize you. (Repetition IS reputation!)
• Take pride in your look; it shows the world that you value yourself.
• “Dress up for the job you want, not the job you have”- the right look can transform you.
• To help yourself, get the right lookL
• Know your body.
• Get style-inspired: Gather images of people whose style you most admire.
• Record best outfits: If you find a great look that made you feel wonderful that day, write it down, or better yet photograph it.
• Identify your go-to clothes that never let you down.
• Your style needs to match your profession.
• Stay in your comfort zone.
• Having a strong sense of personal style leads you to confidence.
• Your style needs to empower you to take on the world each day.
• It should give you the energy and confidence to tackle whatever comes your way through the day.

17) When You Get to the Top, Don’t Be an Asshole: The author here explains how should leaders behave.

• Know how to lead a team.
• Work on earning respect from your colleagues, first and foremost.
• Learn the ability to get people energized.
• Develop and communicate a clear vision and how you are going to accomplish it.
• Don’t assume that people understand the task at hand.
• Be a good manager, micromanage if really needed. People might not like it, but a “gentle” reminder of deadlines can actually save people from making huge mistakes.
• Develop personal bonding with each person individually.
• Be appreciative of your team’s efforts
• Be gracious and supportive, others can’t help but be impressed with you.
• Make people feel confident, by appreciating their work.
• Surrounding oneself with small people might make you feel big, but it’s a false sense of strength.
• Remember that the stronger the team you build underneath yourself, the more you can accomplish.
• Real leaders are never afraid of the people who walk behind them. They are too busy looking ahead to the future to care.
• Key to leading is to be a likeable leader.
• Give credit where it’s due.
• Being a boss, it is still okay to show your human side
• Leverage talent, not just someone’s seniority.
• Be honest with your people. Openness and transparency are very much required.
• Be fair, so don’t pick favorites.
• Solve conflicts amicably.
• Be open to new ideas.
• Don’t confuse like-ability with being a yes-man.
• Help someone achieve something greater than they could have achieved alone, that’s powerful.
• Best leaders are in touch with who they are. They are aware of their faults and are constantly self-assessing themselves.
• Leadership is not about the corner office, it’s about being able to motivate and inspire others.

18) Making Cocktails Count: The author here explains how to behave in professional social gatherings.

• Listen to people, since everyone wants to talk and be heard.
• Learn how to network.
• Know your self-worth and be able to contribute to any conversation.
• Best way to start a conversation is either to ask a question or throw out a compliment.
• Always think of yourself as equal to the person you’re speaking with, even when that might not be the case. It will give you the confidence necessary to engage in a great conversation.
• Know who your host is.
• If you know you’ll be mingling with people later, read the news that day.
• The best conversations give some spotlight, and take some spotlight.
• Ask questions that show you’re really interested in what that person has to say.
• If he or she doesn’t return the favor, just remember that you were the most engaged listener at the party and the person others remember as being so nice to talk to. It works like a charm.
• There is no point in hanging around talking to no one.
• Remember that people don’t start talking to people who are on their phone.
• If you make a connection at a party, get that person’s business card.
• Consider emailing that person next day for having an opportunity to meet.
• If you are in an official social gathering with your coworkers, skip the alcohol altogether if you get a loose tongue when you drink.
• Try not to talk about work-related projects or issues.
• Don’t get roped into office gossip.
• Don’t expect to hang with your boss. It’s okay if it happens naturally
• Make sure you are clear about what your personal brand stands for.

19) Presenting Like a Pro: The author explains how to be a professional at speaking, inevitably its an important skill at any stage of career.

• Know your content.
• Identify what takeaways you want the audience to walk away with.
• If you’re showing a presentation deck, don’t fill it with a lot of words. People will start reading and not listening!
• Practice, practice, practice – on camera! You need to know how you sound and look when you give a talk.
• When you look yourself up in camera, take notes on every awkward thing you do.
• Be really critical of yourself to improve. Do that until you get a result you can live with.
• Learn to read a crowd – and tell a joke.
• People being on their phones instead of paying attention, is not a good sign.
• If you expect them to laugh and they didn’t, clear the air with a moment of levity. (Wow, tough crowd!!)
• If you expect them to clap and they didn’t, lighten the moment. (“Go ahead, it’s OK to clap.!!)
• It’s not that your delivery is poor, it’s that the crowd doesn’t know how to react.
• By calling out what the crowd should have done, you make it easy and comfortable for them to do what you want
• Establish your style while you talk.
• Edit the speech to the time needed.
• Make eye contact, even if you are reading with notes.
• Breathe! It helps the words flow gently and easily.
• Smile while speaking.
• Good speakers not only command attention, but also respect.

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