A lot of people are afraid of public speaking. If you ask a psychologist, they would attribute it to a fear of oneself, not of the audience! When queried recently on the topic, I introspected, glanced through my documents and came up with the list below:

The following is an excerpt of discussion with members of our BlueSteps Executive Career Services team during our BlueSteps' webinar Creating a Relevant Brand. If you are a BlueSteps member, access your full recording here. If you are interested in becoming a BlueSteps to access our webinar archive, along with other career management solutions, learn more here.

Social selling – is a sales approach focused on the use of social media to identify prospects, develop and build relationships and, eventually, close a sale.

But can social selling get you closer to your career goal?  We believe that the principals of social selling are applicable to any executive job search strategy, making you simultaneously the sales person and “the product/ brand”.

With social recruiting at the center of any hiring process, your online presence has become more important than ever. That is why you shouldn’t leave anything to chance and take advantage of the social selling practices to reach your next executive position. Here’s how:

1. Build a strong, professional brand

Whether you know it or not, you already have a personal brand. Everything you do, write or say, changes the perspectives of those around you, and in the age of the Internet and Social Media, you are already on a public stage.

Take control of how you are perceived and use your brand to boost your career and attract new opportunities. By proactively and intentionally managing your personal brand you can shape your own reputation, showcase your knowledge and increase your visibility in the job market. Ready to start crafting your executive image? Here are our 8 top tips to build that unbeatable brand:

As CEO of AESC, I come face-to-face with business leaders around the world on a regular basis. C-suite leaders regularly share with me common challenges in their industries and organizations, from a lack of diversity to the struggle to innovate in an increasingly complex and ever-shifting business environment. As a result, I recently discussed those top challenges of today.