Your On-Line Brand should be your Real Life Brand

Thanks to Facebook, a long lost cousin from my father’s side of the family reconnected with me. The last time I saw this guy was back in grade school. He was a few years older than me so I never got to know him on a personal level. I finally got a chance to meet him after some 40 years, and I must say that it was certainly good to reminisce because we knew of so many people in common.

When the “so, what do you do for a living” question came up and I gave him my standard elevator pitch, he seemed captivated, so I continued with enthusiasm. I quickly discovered that it was not what I do as a recruiter that impressed him, but the name of the company. As I told the story behind the name of the company, it actually brought tears to his eyes. What I later discovered, was that my father was also his favorite uncle and they once lived in the same household.

When we said our goodbyes’, he gave me a hug, told me how proud he was of me and suggested that I write a book about what I learned from my father. What I didn’t tell him was that I have been given that advice many times before and I actually started writing a book. But that was about five years ago when the headhunting business started its downward spiral. This was also when the writing stopped.

Recently I came across a blog post that said something that resonated with me. The blogger said…if the real presentation of who you truly are isn’t congruent with the content you post online, people probably won’t mention it in public blog posts or comments, but on the back-channel, the word spreads rapidly that you’re FULL OF ****! Thats when I decided to post the notes from my book on my blog to let the world see me for who I truly am.

The name of my company is A.W. Forrester Co. It is also the name of my father. His exact name is Ashley Willeston Forrester.