Czarina Trinidad's Career Blog

I Heart ATTASK (Part 2)

2011-07-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, I get to write this most awaited second part, and it's now sort of a big deal (for me!). For 13 months now in AtTask, I have accomplished many milestones that I have set for my new career. I have passed 6 certifications few months ago, learned our product and got to know our clients really well in the past year. I could proudly say that I have experienced success in sales in a very short amount of time.

I always like to note down my lessons learned here as a personal wisdom that I can share to all. I have proved that I didn't have to be the smartest tech geek in understanding our technology to reach my sales potential in our software company. But there's two things I did have for sure - I have the aptitude to learn and to achieve something in my company, and I have the "happy and grateful" attitude coming to work everyday.

What I am really happy and grateful for my company is that - I have finally found my "match"... I like to learn, and I got trainings. I like to be challenged, and I got targets to hit. I like to be motivated, and I got recognition. I like to be a success, and I got a road map to get there.

Recently in late May, I accepted a promotion to become an Account Executive in our sales department. My main responsibility now is to bring in new clients, and uncover new sales opportunities in our existing clients. What I love about my new role is that I get to help my clients better understand and organize their work using our portfolio and project management software. I share with them my passion and our company's vision of work management and going social which is the future of work. I feel like a heroine bringing positive change in the workplace and the world for the next generation....

Here's why AtTask is such a BIG deal!!!

Yes, You Can Land Your Dream Job!

2011-04-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Whenever I would meet old friends and colleagues who knew me from my old job a year ago, they always asked me how I found my job now and how I turned my career around in this recession and struggling economy. I usually light up like a bulb when I tell them because I'm so passionate about my career and I thought I had an amazing story to tell anyone who've lost their job or wanted to quit their job and looking to upgrade their job for a better opportunity and make more money. (Why not?).

I wanted to share to all my personal recipe for landing not just my dream job that I have now, but for directing my life to a long-term promising career as well. Here's few wisdom for all who'd like to reinvent themselves. And yes, you can land your dream job!

1. HAVE A PLAN
Job hunting with a plan will land you to your dream job faster. Decide what you love to do and go for it. Draw your own road map (where do you want to be 6 months from now, or a year from now?). Have a target to shoot for and be specific (what industry, position, salary, driving distance, etc.). Have a mission for achievement, a vision for future, and a passion for success... Know your strengths, assess your skills and value. Write it down in detail. I had my career plan written down and I was very clear for what I wanted to get when I was on the job market.

2. ANNOUNCE YOUR INTENTION
Marketing your self effectively in the job market is probably the best thing you need to master right away. I made my job hunting public in my LinkedIn, my Facebook, my Twitter, my blogs, in all the networking events I go to. I also reached out to significant people whom I know professionally could help me get some inside scoop on opportunities to my target industry (Software/Technology Sales position in Utah County for my case). Announcing your intention to get a new job or that you're in between opportunities may be a little too humbling or humiliating or risky for others. But think of this, you are not unique. You have nothing to be ashamed of. There are millions of people job hunting right now.

3. KNOW YOUR GOOD REFERENCES
Sure you have a killer resume, cover letter and online profiles, you slammed your first or second interviews, you have the education, the talent, the skill, the experience for the job... But when your future employer calls your former employers, your colleagues in the industry, are you confident enough that you have their recommendation for your character and work ethic? When they Google your name, what do they see, and what do they read of you? References can make or break you in landing your dream job.

4. FEED YOUR HEAD
If you've listened to Jim Rohn's motivational audio programs on Business and Life, then you must have heard this and I quote: “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” I am a huge advocate for both. I have hired personal, career, and success coaches in the past years aside from my own personal coaching and readings. I listen to my audio books every single day, to the point that it has become my way of life. Implementing this self-education also means learning new skills, new language, new technology, new processes, new techniques, etc. The more you know, the more valuable you can become.

5. FIX YOUR MINDSET
If you have a scarcity mindset and have lost hope for your dream career, you must be watching lots of depressing media like MSNBC or CNN, or talking to negative and complaining people a lot... Stop that habit and mentality right now because it will only drag you down to gloom and doom and you will never achieve anything in life. If you want a serious career change now so you can change your life situation a year from now, then have a prosperity and abundance mindset instead. Have a positive attitude in life and an attitude of gratitude in everything that you have now. Be excited. Be prepared. Be happy now. Expect that your dream job is coming to you. Feel what it is like... Then you know you can attract your ideal job to you and you can experience your dream career and live a success-filled life.

I found this video among many success stories in career change and landing your dream job.

My Life Lessons on Success

2011-03-19T09:57:00.000-07:00

The last nine months of my new found career has been a blessing in my life. My personal attitude towards my career and other aspects of my life has been nothing but positive, exciting, and abundant. It is very humbling to even think that a year ago, my life was so different...

A year ago I had this strong intuition that a significant change in my career is about to come and that I had to prepare for it. I had no clue at the time on the "how" and "why" or "what's next", but I knew the feeling was good and exciting and that I was ready to embrace it with all the faith and energy that I got. One thing I knew for sure back then... I was determined to find something new and challenging for myself to discover all my potentials and pursue my true passion for success. (As you can see in all my Facebook status, I talk and think of it all the time!)

Sales is my chosen profession where I have visualized for myself to find true meaning and purpose in my life. This sales profession has opened my eyes to many future possibilities and has taught me valuable lessons on the power of having positive attitude, setting and achieving my goals, being inspirational to others, attracting more abundance and leading my destiny to live the life I wanted.

Sometimes, I would ask myself, "why is this dream-career-success-stuff such a big deal for me?" I would spend the time networking and attending motivational self-empowerment and inspirational personal development conferences just to be around like-minded people. And most of the time I would invest more in hiring a life vision coach, career coach, success habits coach, dream and intuition coach, image therapy coach, positive attitude coach, then read more books and listen to more audio books to learn it all again... over and over again! Hopefully, one day I can answer this clearly for myself.

Or maybe I already know the answer.... I AM JUST ABOUT TO BREAKTHROUGH!

I Heart ATTASK!

2010-08-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

It's been more than two months now since I started working for ATTASK, INC. in Orem (Utah), and I've been waiting for this right time to finally blog about it!

I am very pleased now that I've made this strategic career-change decision and chose to move in to AtTask. At first, I was really nervous as this is a big change in my environment and a big challenge for me "technologically..." But I was confident with myself that I can learn this new business.

Coming from a completely different and chaotic world, I would admit that learning new processes and understanding my technology sales job within my first month was painful and inevitably, that's the only way to get through it. I learned the true meaning of patience, sacrifice, and flexibility... It also made me realize the value of my 15 years of experience in hotel sales and customer service. I truly believe now that I was destined to be prepared to take on this new role.

I was hired as an account manager to join AtTask's new sales team called CSR (Customer Success Representative). My main job is simply to manage and maintain a long list of existing clients. I develop and execute my strategic account plans to protect and expand AtTask's renewal revenue, maximizing my clients' use of our products and services, and offering all the possible support to ensure their successful implementation and adoption of our project management tool. I also develop solid relationships with my clients' executives and senior management, usually CIOs, CFOs and PMOs. I also dedicate myself in learning our product through continuously trainings.

(To be continued in Part 2)

New Career Mission Accomplished

2010-07-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Few months ago, I decided to go public during the most exciting time of my life in this year's peak of unemployment and US recession: HUNTING DOWN MY NEW DREAM CAREER in the technology industry. After 6 weeks of full time job seeking, hard work, 110% hope, quadruple self belief, and daily dose of my Cheetos... I have finally landed my top target job, the one that I exactly wanted. More than a month ago, I have started training and working for AtTask, Inc., a project management software developer based in Orem, Utah, as an account manager, also called Customer Success Representative or CSR.

I am a great fan of navigators, maps, and methodologies. I read a lot of How-To books and articles. Everything I learned, I practically implement it in my life in general. I have time lines in my life, Plan As, Plan Bs, short term and long term goals, list of tasks to accomplish today, tomorrow, etc. Several times, I have created my own work and life flow so I know I am in control of all the situations I can control, including my career.

For weeks and weeks, this is what was posted in all of my public profiles, and before I update all of them in the next few days, I'd like to remember THIS ROAD MAP THAT I MADE FOR MYSELF that made a huge significance for me in landing my new dream career. This is what I call "my career mission and vision."

Industry: SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Division: SALES AND CLIENT CARE OR SERVICES

Title: ACCOUNT MANAGER, CLIENT EXECUTIVE, ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Location: Orem, Provo (Utah County)

MY KEY POTENTIALS AND VALUE PROPOSITION TO MY TARGET EMPLOYER:

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT:
* Protect and expand your company’s revenue streams. Develop and execute your strategic account plans. Maximize your customers’ use of your company’s products and services.
* Represent your customer as a single point of contact. Quota Responsibility for the renewal of support contracts, and contribute to your pre-sales activities.
* Develop and maintain solid relationships with your clients’ executive and senior management.

ACCOUNT/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT:
* Team-driven sales of company’s product, services and solutions. Handle leads and sales within a geographic region.
* Strong prospecting and development of new business. Set goals to generate leads and improve sales.
* Demonstrate your company products with a variety of clients.

MY TARGET COMPANY:

Stable organization who is leading in their market that offers competitive products, solution and services that are a MUST to improve their customers’ business quality and revenue in the new economy. Have proven large (and global) accounts like Fortune 500, etc.
Takes pride in hiring only the best, and known for their vibrant, dynamic and rewarding workplace. Takes pride in creating exceptional work experiences, encouraging innovation and being involved.
Committed to challenge me to reach my potential, and will allow me to grow within their company.

MY KEY EXPERTISE AS SALES AND ACCOUNT MANAGER

Account Development
Executive and Customer Relationship Building
Sales Training and Team Leadership
Region and Territory Expansion
Sales Presentation
Negotiation and Closing Activities
Solution and Consultative Sales Models
Account Retention
Customer Service Delivery
Integrated Sales and Marketing Plans
Quota Achievement

MY PROFESSIONAL PROFILE:

Goal-driven, dynamic sales and management professional with 15 years of experience in sales/marketing and building record of success in developing and implementing sales strategies, marketing campaigns, and solutions that generated 7-figure revenue growth. Excellent motivational skills to build and sustain momentums for peak performance. Expert in managing all phases of sales development cycles from prospecting and cold calling through detailed presentations, negotiation to closing and follow-up activities. Able to develop and maintain solid relationships with clients’ executives and senior management.

Check out My Online Resume at http://www.utahgigs.com/CzarinaTrinidad

Contact me at Czarina1975@yahoo.com.

Obviously, the rest is now history. This case is now closed and this major accomplishment has already brought some breakthroughs in my life - which I will be happy to note in my future blogs.

In every memorable moments in my life, I always pick a song to remind me what it was like, so this is my song for my new found career.

5 Criteria to Define My Ideal Future Employer

2010-06-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

Just like companies are investigating their prospect candidates, I also do my own company intelligence research as well, before I shoot them my job application.

What are the qualities of the computer software company that I want to work for? This was my most important strategy, to target only my hand selected companies.

When you want to work for the HR, or accounting, or admin, it may not matter.... But for me as a picky salesperson, the company brand and reputation is the most important for me. It is the company brand that will identify and carry my name in that industry, my professional email address, my business cards everywhere I go, and it is their corporate brand that I will stamp as well on all my websites, resume and portfolios. As a personal branding enthusiast, I only want to represent brands that are the best in their niche.

Here's my top 5 list of criteria in finding my ideal company to work for.

1 BEST PRODUCT IN THEIR FIELD. If it's a web analytics company, it better be the best in web analytics. If it's a project management software company, it better be the best in project management software. They must be well known for their leadership in innovation in their industry.

2. BEST REVENUE GROWTH IN 2009. It's supposed to be tough to make more money in the recession. But certain computer software companies stand out in growing more revenue year after year, and their 2009 revenues are proof. This can also tell that their products are in demand, and there's more potential sales in the future. That's awesome for a salesperson like me. Ka-ching! This is also a good sign that they can afford me.

3. VENTURE CAPITALIST Hot-List: If a venture capitalist invested millions and billions of dollars in this company in the last 12 months, it's a sign of trust in that business and the potential for maximum growth of that company is expected in the next 12 months or so.

4. BEST WEBSITE: A company's website is the company's best talent recruiting tool. If the company knows how to position themselves in their market through a dynamic website, whether they are marketing or selling something, it's a sign they're competitive. Need I say more?

5. BEST PEOPLE: I network with the people at the company's Sales Department and see how they treat me on the phone, and on social media. I engage with their Twitter and connect with them via LinkedIn. If the people are well-treated inside the company, it will show in their voice (or text) and in their enthusiasm to connect with me.

I know these criteria only makes my target list shorter, but I don't need 50 interviews to find out the ideal one for me. Just trusting my intuition, I will know in just one look if the company fits me.

10 Keys To My Successful Career Change Job Search

2010-06-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Seeking for a perfect-match job and employer in a new industry field for me is like looking for a perfect-match spouse.... It takes courage and strategy to analyze how you could get to the top 1% of global talents to even get noticed. In the past 6 weeks that I was actively job-searching in the computer software and technology world, I have discovered so much about myself... I never knew I had so much self-belief that I could break in an opportunity to change and challenge myself to adapt in a highly technical environment.

I have attended several webinars for a successful job search. I have networked with technical recruiters, job coaches and professional resume writers, but I found out that only me can do what I have to do to land something for my self. I believe that I am a key talent in this global war for talent and I believe that the perfect-match employer should not let someone like me just pass them by.

To other job-seekers in my level, here's my 10 Keys to my Successful Job Search that I'd like to share with you all as I noted from a free webinar by Get-Hired Bootcamp.

1. GOAL IMAGERY. I am focused and I have clear goals. My case is a career change from hospitality sales to software sales. I anticipate 'technical' objection but it is not going to stop me. I am aware of the high unemployment rate and the recession, but I chose to stay positive. I only envision my end-results - Account Manager position in one of the best software company in the industry. I won't settle for less.

2. CREATING JOB SEARCH ACTION PLAN. I'm task oriented. I have a laundry list of activities for the day. There is a day for updating resume, practice interview, creating profiles in different job search sites, face-to-face and online networking, etc. Looking for the perfect-match job is a serious full-time job.

3. PRESENT THE BEST 'YOU' POSSIBLE. Here's where my Personal Branding strategy in my new career change takes the center stage. My resume strategy is all about positioning my sales management strengths, qualifications and past accomplishments. I want to sell my confidence in the sales process, and not the un-technical hospitality background. I used all my personal and professional websites to brand myself as a talented enterprise software sales professional. This is where I spent most my time at first. After a few weeks, I started to get noticed.

4. ACCESS HIDDEN JOB MARKET. I networked consistently online and face to face. I went public with my job search so people can find me and refer me to different companies and recruiters.

5. HARNESS THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA. All my public profiles matter to me and I want to standout. I cleaned out my online presence so my relevant connections in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter will notice that I'm serious in my job search. I built my online resume, and my own website. I googleg me all the time to make sure people will find the best and relevant information about me.

6. MARKET YOUR POTENTIALS, NOT YOUR PAST. I see people successfully changing industry and careers all the time. So it inspired me to pursue high-tech! I used all my public profiles to market my potentials and credibility.

7. OVERCOME PHONE PHOBIA. I didn't get this far yet but it is on my activity list this week. I assume my target employers get thousands of resumes. And I just have to make that call to tell them "I'm serious. You should meet me."

8. PRESENT YOURSELF EFFECTIVELY IN NETWORKING. This is something that is constantly in the works for me. I now have printed my own business card to give away. It was weird for me the first time to give a 60-second commercial when you're looking for a job. It's all about creating good lasting impression, and building better rapport.

9. INTERVIEW LIKE A ROCK STAR. I never know what to expect so I come prepared. I research about the company's culture and vision, and my interviewer to see if we have something in common. I study the position I'm aiming for. My personal motto in my job search is that the one who stands out with confidence and the most prepared gets the offer. The hiring manager may or may not care about my answers to their questions. All they want to know is if I have the qualities they are looking for. It's easy to pick these qualities in sales and I know I have the best qualities of a salesperson.

10. NEGOTIATE YOUR NEXT EMPLOYMENT OFFER. This is something that I'm expecting every after my interviews, and this is something that I need to learn fast. I need to get inside the minds of my target employer and understand how they view me and my value proposition in their company. This is all about positioning myself as an asset to my target company.

There are more keys to successes in career change and job search but these are some basics that I'm currently doing and mastering.

Why I Picked Software and IT Sales as my Next Career

2010-05-27T09:08:00.000-07:00

If you've googled me these past days and saw my recent updates and actvities, you will know I'm highly motivated to land a new career in the fastest growing industry right now - Software and Information Technology. Sales and customer service is my strongest background, so what's so special in software and IT?

It was not an overnight decision. I thought of this since January. I studied the market trends on where companies put their biggest investment. Success-driven CEOs need business solutions in this thriving new economy - whether in gaining stronger market share, or improving their greatest asset (their people) . I decided I want to be current and be able to offer what's more in demand.

In one article I read earlier this year: "Software and IT sales professionals sell specialized high-tech products, such as servers, networking hardware, or enterprise-level software packages. IT and software sales reps work to determine the needs of clients and pitch them hardware and software packages that meet their goals. After the sale, they may continue to serve as a liaison between the client and their company. This sales segment can be highly lucrative, but requires requires extensive knowledge of the company’s products and technology in general. Continued expansion in the software and hardware industries, as well as increasing computerization of traditional businesses should spur strong growth in software and IT sales jobs, which are projected to increase 35% by 2016."

I CAN DO THAT.

But so is the rest of the job-seekers in my chosen highly competitive industry and category. The job market isn't the same as I used to know, especially with the 10% unemployment rate here in Utah. I am determined to take on a new challenge my life and career and few anticipated obstacles aren't gonna stop me.

As an excited job-seeker in software and IT sales, I knew I have to have my own strategies to get noticed FAST. Check out my top ten success strategies to landing my new software/IT sales position in my next blog.

Call to Action Taken

2010-05-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

So it has been since March 16th since I last blogged about this paradigm shift and this call to action mystery that has been stimulating my mind... I knew by then that I'm at a tip point of my life and career to make a positive change. I saw the signs and did not disregard it:
* I had laid out my plans and strategies to jump from point A to point B back in March (and no one had a clue?)
* I had my professional photos taken (don't I look awesome?)
* I was hitting the professional networking events and luncheons very heavily since January (I was popular!)
* I was blogging about it for months (hints?)
* I paid attention to the changes in our economy (I took some after-office workshop in Salt Lake for months to know what's "hot" out there and how I can blend my talents in the new economy)
* I was prepared to take this call to action (I have an inspired thought and have to act on it quick!)

To make my point short and sweet, it has worked well to my favor (that's why I can't stop smiling!). I left my hotel job in April, took a short vacation in Houston, and found my self's next purpose. Now the exciting part is, I'm officially in the job market and on the right track to finding the next big challenge that is truly meant for me so I could sing the song inside me....

It took me more than a couple of weeks this month to truely know myself (which I think is the most valuable experience I have ever had since...) I asked myself:
* Who am i?
* What can i offer?
* What motivates me?
* What do I really want to be or to do?
* What makes me tick?

In this interesting process, I became:
* my own motivator
* my own career coach
* my own analyst
* my own strategist

As a result, I got it all planned right so I can focus to my target goals.

Ambition to Meaning, A Call to Action

2010-03-16T20:06:00.000-07:00

This blog about my paradigm shift has been so powerful for me in the last two weeks. I knew I was looking for something bigger than myself when I was writing this. I was clueless at that point. Personal branding has nothing to do with this now but I spent one whole night and one entire weekend to picture myself for the future. I've literally drawn my life in front of me and I was determined to take on the right path to go out there and fulfill this.

Then I watched "The Shift" movie of Dr. Wayne Dyer, and he was talking about a quantum shift from "ambition to meaning." I have clearly defined myself in this blog that I am very ambitious and will do everything I can to make something of myself withing a year, and will continue looking for the best opportunity out there for me. This movie came to me at the very right time. I'm in that point in my life where I was looking for something bigger than me, or bigger than my personal and career ambition. I was looking for a meaning and for my life's purpose.

I have also read the first few chapters of Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life" and I have understood his principles, but I knew I was looking for more than just preparing for my eternal life. I need some call to action.

This ambition to meaning principle of Dr. Dyer is about finding your true calling and defining your own destiny here on earth, and fulfilling this destiny in front of you right here, right now, by using all your resources and talents. And make sure that in your death bed, you will not regret a thing that you did not fulfill in all aspects of life.

Here's the song in the movie that simply touched me, or stucked me right through my heart. "Don't go with your song inside you."

Ok, go out now and get this movie. I got mine in Netflix. God bless and stay humble when you find your Meaning!

My New Paradigm Shift and My Indispensable Step Moving Forward

2010-03-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

When I started this project on February 1st, I was not expecting anything at all. All I know was I was open to this new idea and my attitude then was, "Sure, why not. It's not gonna hurt to succeed, and if I didn't, then at least I tried to take this path and will never wonder what this personal branding was all about." Come 30 days later, and its' time for a psychology check up on what this has done to me so far.

The bottom line is, I have officially changed. I felt that I have moved on miles and miles away. I felt that I'm different. I have become the type of person that I wanted to meet for a long time now. It's hard to say what actually worked in the strategies that I have done. But I admit that I have completely transformed "me, myself and I" from the way I communicate, the way I present myself, the way I felt, and the way I believe. I have become more honest, more sincere, and more passionate than ever in all aspects of my life. And I can see that these changes have empowered me. What I just went through for the last 30 days was a perfect paradigm shift both professionally and personally.

This discovery of my new paradigm shift was almost like a miraculous and glorious mystery... It is a blessing, a calling, a magic, a purpose, a power, a belief, a control, an implication that there's an indispensable change in the way I should handle my career and life starting from now on.

I acknowledge now that for me to be able to serve well this new paradigm or this new revolution or this new passion, whatever I want to call it, I need to change my professional environment and this should not be disregarded or neglected. My new exciting and dynamic edition (of me) is now searching for the next best opportunity out there. I am ready to move forward and take the next big step and offer the world something new, fresh and relevant.

Unleashing The Amazing Person Who is in Me

2010-02-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

I have identified that my self confidence in this blog is sort of trapped... It is FEAR that's standing in my way to writing my successes. Let me confess this once and for all... I worry about what people will think of me, when I'm writing here, whether they know me of not.

This fear is holding back my inner energy, my passion to say what I wanted to say, my power to realize my goals and my dreams, and worst of all, it is blocking the opportunities that may come my way. Today, I am letting go of this ugly monkey on my back. So long, farewell, Fear-none-doe!

Let's start all over and let's all meet the real amazing person behind this blog.

I believe that what makes me the amazing person that I am now, is that I am successfully able to differentiate my self from the rest of the crowd. May it be from the rest of the employees of my resort or in the sales department, in my competition in my field, in my group of friends, and in any networking or social events that I attend.

So, how do I do that? I simply studied and embraced personal branding methods. I can also call it positioning myself so I can be noticed in any way I can. If it didn't mean anything to you, let's say I did a total make-over of my professional and personal lifestyle in every sense of the word. The image, the communication, the relationship-building, the empowerment through learning, the passion, the networking, and so on..... I have polished and reinvented myself from the inside out to become the confident, powerful and amazing woman that I wanted to be, or that I am now.

In my next post, I want to write about about how I have mentally and consciously measured my ability to differentiate myself and stand out in anything that I do.

Am I Ready To Do It Again?

2010-02-18T21:10:00.000-08:00

When I was writing my last blog, I thought that this career blogging and success story making is the most ambitious, most gutsy and most ballsy of me! I was hesitant many times to hit "publish" but I have to post it because that serves the main purpose of what I'm trying to do. I was more weary than proud that day. Obviously, I realized that I have some issues that I need to face... before I can write my successes.

1. My traditional and conservative mind somehow disproves my openness to talk about my own successes in this process. It is very much more personal now than I originally thought. I didn't want others to perceive that what I'm doing will work just as effectively for them as well.

2. Failure has never been an option for me. But sometimes, I have this weird feeling of fear to succeed.

3. The last blog has opened up new questions for me, "What's my next bigger dream? What's my next dream job? What's my next dream home?...."

4. I've written, drawn, painted, and measured my life's biggest dreams before, and everytime I do, I'd be able to realize them... sometimes faster than I ever imagined. It felt really good. Now, I want to ask my self... "Am I ready to do it again?"

I Want To Build My Powerful Personal Brand Because...

2010-02-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

I believe that building my own powerful personal brand is my highway to success. If you're still wondering what I'm talking about, maybe it's time now for me to tell you why I'm doing what I'm doing and how I'm doing it all within in a year or less... As a hotel sales professional, this is very important in my business planning.

I want to differentiate myself. I want to stand out in any crowd. I want to be seen not only as beautiful in the outside but also beautiful in the inside.

I want to network harder and meet new people face to face everytime. I know that everytime I meet someone, I am opening doors of opportunities for me and my work so I can achieve my goals faster. And I am doing the same for them so they can achieve their own goals faster, too.

I want to be found online and meet new people digitally. I embrace the social internet of the future and the value of social media and its impact to our daily lives, and businesses and careers. I do not want to be passed over or live in the past.

I want to prepare myself for the new economy to come in the next year or two. I want to learn new trends. I want to sacrifice my time to learn something new so I can be more indispensable as a connection to someone, to my friends and family, and to my company. I aspire to be a leader and I am driven to succeed.

I want to be heard. I want to be seen. I want to be known. I want to be confident. I want to be in control of my career.

I want to be raw and sincere and truthful to people. I want people to instantly like me. I want them to enjoy talking to me. I want them to look forward to my emails or to meeting with me. I want them to be inspired by me.

So, how will this make me the "dynamic sales pro extraordinaire" brand? Well, I already am. I'm already living it, and breathing it. All I have to do is to be consistent, and one one day at a time, a success story will be made and written. And one person at a time will see the glow in my spirit.

Taking Risks and Time to Change in Personal Branding

2010-02-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

When I started this new personal branding project blog this week, I realize that it involves so much risk and will require some of my personal time to make it work, or to even make sense to what I'm trying to achieve at all. Like instead of me relaxing at home at night after work, I will be updating my blog and take notes of my progress on a daily and weekly basis.

It is risky because it will require me to change in a significant way... like my way of thinking and presenting myself, my lifestyle and my whole attitude towards achieving my dreams, my work ethic and my productivity at work, my relationships to my friends, family, co-workers, clients, and people that I will meet along the way, and every life that I can touch in this journey.

Not only I am sacrificing my time in writing, but so much of my time is spent on reading books, too, aside from doing some house chores daily. I also have enrolled myself in a short career development training course in Salt Lake City and I take this class once a week. I also have a very active social life. I am also very dedicated to my work and networking activities.

So to gratify myself in my career blogging, I tried to find some blogs that talks about the same topic on personal branding. This week I have found a community of bloggers who have become successful in their own career within a year because they devoted their time in building their own powerful brand. This has inspired me to go on and take this big step to a new and exciting chapter of my life. I have introduced myself to some of them, have started connecting with them and have joined their online groups and communities.

Bringing The Personal Branding Project At Work at Zermatt Resort

2010-02-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, Feb. 1st, I have shared with one of my senior sales manager here at Zermatt Resort, that I am starting this new career blog about my new personal branding project for 365 days, and I'm not sure if she really understood what I'm doing but she supported me in my idea of reinventing myself to become a dynamic sales manager. I explained to her how I wanted to step it up here in our department, be heard, be involved, share my own ideas and strategies that I wanted to pursue, etc. While I was explaining this to her, she must have seen my "halo" (you will see this word a lot here in my blog. It's my favorite term when I see sparkles in peoples' eyes when they talk to me about something that I'm passionate with.)

In short, I have convinced her that we, as the Sales Department of Zermatt Resort, should market ourselves in-house and be recognized by all our employees and other managers. As a result, I asked our HR Department if we can contribute some sales articles in our resort monthly Newsletter, and we asked our in-house photographer if we can have a group sales photo, and look cool.

So, everyone... I want you all to meet my coolest and brightest colleagues at the Zermatt Resort Sales Department. It is our mission to brand our sales department us as "Utah's #1 Sales Team." (Got that complement from our former GM when he commented on our Zermatt Facebook.)

We wanted to thank Weston Fuller for his amazing photography (this is just one photo out of the hundreds he took yesterday afternoon), and Jonathan Wagstaff from our Adventure Haus (Zermatt's Adventure Concierge) for our winter outfits! This cool shot was taken in our Ice Castles (check our Facebook Photos here) here at the Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah.

What is my Brand "Offline"

2010-02-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

Personal Branding is a huge topic to talk about. You google this and there's 8,890,000 results. There's articles and tips you can find online. My biggest influence on this topic is Dan Schawbel, who is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog. I'm a huge fan and I can't put this book down.

Even before I knew what this personal branding is all about, I already have discovered and created my own brand. Since this is very work and career related, I wanted to talk about how I have already branded myself as a Global Sales Manager of Zermatt Resort, among my peers at work, and among my clients and people that I meet in my networking activities.

Before all these social media craze and social networking came up into this huge existence and importance in every one's life, career and image, I already have been branded as "very polished fashionista." The shoes, the purse, the accessories, the wardrobe, the dark hair, the green eyes, the little bit of this exotic accent, the Calvin Klein scents, the blings, etc. My whole package look is a brand, and it is fun! Then there's my voicemail greeting on my phone, or my voice messages, my email, my proposals, my contracts, my communication style with clients (new and old). Then there's my reputation at work and how I work with my colleagues and other departments, and how I handle my responsibilities and my work ethic, etc. For the last 3 and a half years at Zermatt Resort, I have been able to establish my own brand as hardworking and productive. The good news is, people like me.... in person (or on the phone), or what we call now my "offline" brand.

I want to keep my posts short and structured into specific topics that are related to what I'm doing now in discovering more about personal branding and how I'm applying this in real life. I'll keep you all posted and I hope you all will understand why this is so important in building your own career success.

Welcome to my new Personal Branding Project

2010-02-01T20:09:00.000-08:00

Starting today, February 1st, 2010, I have challenged myself on a new career mission, which is to blog about something I am very passionate about, PERSONAL BRANDING. This phenomenal trend in 2009 (may have started earlier) is being practiced by the new generation of entrepreneurs, businessmen, and career professionals as a proven path for personal, career and business success. It basically means marketing yourself as a remarkable individual with unique talents and abilities, and sharing it with the world through blogging and social media. Other activities also includes endless face-to-face networking, building valuable relationships, professional reputation and image management both online and offline, effective communication skills for self-promotion both internally at work and in the community. Through these activities, opportunities will come my way which will lead to achieving career success, both for myself professionally, and for my job as the Global Sales Manager for Zermatt Resort.

This blog will be heavily career oriented, highlighting my goals, my strategies, my plans and my accomplishments as I dedicate some extra work time on branding myself as a "dynamic sales extraordinaire." This process will be my one year project starting February 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011. I will be sharing here my own progress, my own techniques, and my own success story. My purpose is to also meet other sales professionals like me with the same interest in personal branding, to meet inspirational businessmen and entrepreneurs in different industries, to inspire my own peers and colleagues at the Zermatt Resort, to be an expert in social media tools to promote myself and my career blog, and to connect with my new prospect and present customers.

I will also be promoting to a great extent my own company, Zermatt Resort, (as this is where I will be experimenting all that I am learning in this process), to produce more traffic to our company website, and build a strong awareness of our unique property. I know one day, or one day at a time from today, the right someone at the right time will notice me and my passion in this blog, and will say, "Hey, look at this girl.... She's doing something cool! Let's find out what is this Zermatt Resort she's talking about."

I also wanted everybody to know that no one has asked me to do this. This is my own personal project, my own initiative to be a successful sales manager through personal branding. I know for sure this will help me in my self-motivation at work, and I want to blog about it to keep my momentum going.

So that's my introduction to my new niche! I hope someone could leave me a comment.

The Birth of My Own Brand

2010-01-30T20:12:00.000-08:00

For a few weeks now, I've been thinking about starting a new career blog for myself. I've blogged before, and this is nothing new to me. But I really don't know how to market my blog, and I didn't have a niche or target audience, or relevant content that people will be attracted to reading my writings all the time. All I know is that I wanted to write my thoughts and opinions.... and never really cared if people read it or not. But some people do and after a few years for doing it, I thought if I was really relaying to them an impressive message, or more importantly, am I projecting my true self, or am I telling my true story behind my comic and satiric tone. Yes, it was fun for a while until lately, I realized that people have been comparing me to what I write about me online and to what I really am offline. Good thing is, I only write fun things about me, but knowing the true me, I was very shallow and hesitant to come out of my cutesie and witty alter-ego.... This is just how this new blog begun.

Last night, I worked on my computer all night until almost 2AM in the morning just going through all my public and social media profiles to make sure I am not hurting my own image online. This cleaning up will be an ongoing task for a while until I'm happy with it. I updated my LinkedIn, my Google profile, my Blogger profile, my Bloglog, my Twitter, my Facebook, and my blogs....

I wasn't satisfied with all of it, and I decided to purchase my own domain from GoDaddy.com and create my own website. Last night I gave birth to my new brand website and my own piece of the world wide web, CzarinaTrinidad.com!

My Dream Come True as Zermatt's Global Sales Manager

2010-01-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

Before I begin the purpose of this blog, I wanted to share how I started at Zermatt. Four years ago, I've been glancing this major construction in Midway. I knew that this new Zermatt Resort will be opening in the summer of 2006. I remember it was the beginning of April 2006 when I spent my life savings to buy this second hand Dodge caravan in a yard sale in Park City, to take a chance of getting a new job in this place which is only 6 miles away from our house in Heber.

I knew I had to strategize my career path, and I knew I was ready to take on a bigger title and more responsibility. I also knew that I have put a hold in my career for a while... and it was time to move on. So I prepared my plan well. No. I over-prepared. I studied the company and its management. Who's who and where they came from. Their mission and vision. I used a lot of resources to help me polish my resume, and make a dynamic presentation of myself to the Director of Sales in this huge storage building then, now called the Bernese Event Center. I walked in to Zermatt's job fair that day in April 2006 with the right attitude, and my biggest American dream. I was in my shiniest and most professional look. My dream job at Zermatt was to be their Catering Sales Manager, then become their Global Sales Manager. After a couple more interviews, I got an offer to be their Catering Sales Manager and I knew this will be a significant step in my career here in America. I later started in May, and just a week before our opening day, I was promoted as one of their pioneer Global Sales Manager. It was my dream come true.

Where and How I Started My American Dream

2010-01-23T14:34:00.000-08:00

I guess I can't tell you my career goals until I tell you where I came from. Here's a short bio: I was born and raised in the Philippines, and I thought I'd be a journalist-writer slash TV personality, newscaster, talk show host or even an actress/model. But I got swayed to the hotel industry for some reason and I had so much fun, I was at the Peninsula Manila Hotel for six years later on after my college graduation.

I started as a Front Desk Receptionist/Cashier, then moved up to Banquet/Catering Sales Manager position. I had to leave my life and promising career in the Philippines to marry my long distance boyfriend, whom I also met at the Peninsula. Long story short, I got in the US (Utah of all places) late 2001. I started as a Reservations Specialist for a property management in Park City, UT but only during the winter. I would talk on the phone a lot and it was a good practice for my English. It was a hard transformation. I thought my nose would bleed at the end of my shift for having to learn to understand well and speak a different language all day long! Believe me, there were some not so nice people who will insult my accent and tell me that I can't speak English at all. Sometimes, I'd just cry in the break room and asked my self, "didn't I take English as my major in college? So why are these people thinking that I can't speak it?" A few weeks later, I got better!

After our wedding in April 2002, I thought I need to strategize my life and career. I worked for the Yarrow Hotel in the Sales Department as a Sales Assistant and as a Conference Services Coordinator. I knew at that point that I have to start my life all over again and had to overcome this challenge on perfecting my English, both orally and written. I thought to myself that if I want to be successful here in America, I have to be like one of them and be able to fight an equal battle.

My four years at the Yarrow was only my preparation for a bigger dream that I wanted to pursue. We got our first beautiful home in Heber, UT in 2004, just a couple of years after we got married. This new home ownership has changed me a lot, made me grow up faster, and made me to dream bigger! At first I thought if I'm not a nurse here in America (like most of my cousins), I can never have anything like a house.... But this was only the beginning of my American Dream coming true!

Let's back up a little bit in my history. I was first here in America in 1999 for almost a year, just to try it out and see if there is something promising here for me, but I came back to the Philippines and back to the Peninsula in 2000... Not much inspired, but more of a looser and broken hearted. Some friends would tell me that I'm such an idiot to quit my American Dream then, as there's millions of Filipinos who would want to be here in the US... and start somewhere in the restaurant kitchens, or as nannies, or even to just look for an American husband.

I knew I have to wait a little bit, like 22 months. Then I came back again here in the US with a much bigger dream.... a dream that I want to make a reality. I remember then, my fiance (my husband now) promised me that we will make all our dreams come true here in this beautiful country. And he didn't fail me.

That was my long intro. Now, let's see later what else happened to me so I can get here to the path that I have chosen in my career here in the US.

Welcome to My Story

2009-12-29T18:30:00.000-08:00

I'm Czarina Trinidad and I'm creating a new work blog for myself as a personal and professional experiment. This blog is intended to communicate with my LinkedIn network so they can get to know me and my shoe collection a little better...

I can not wait for the new year to be on work blog mode, so I'm starting this today. I am hoping that through this blog, I will be able to reach out to my network on how I can help them with what I do for Zermatt Resort, share how I learn and do my business and networking skills, and hopefully to meet dynamic people who can coach me with my personal branding and marketing of my work life at Zermatt Resort. But really, I just wanted to write down here my story.

Hope you are all having a great holiday and wishing you all a very prosperous New Year. I know we'll be talking more (or I will be for sure!) and we'll be getting to know each other more in 2010! Looking forward to successful networking with all of you!