Media Coverage: Julia Scheffer, Global Communications and Marketing Manager at AltoPartners, lends her insights and expertise as part of a panel discussing the current trends and best practice when it comes to creating a personal brand and how executives can enhance and protect their personal brands. Julia Scheffer offers detailed tips to all candidates looking to further enhance their credibility as thought leaders and how they can maintain their personal brands as they progress through their careers.

This webinar is part of the AESC BlueSteps Executive Search webinar series. To listen to the original webinar, click here

On June 29, 2016, Julia Scheffer represented AltoPartners when she participated on a panel discussion with business leaders from 3 other well-regarded Executive Search firms. The webinar served to highlight the importance of creating an executive personal branding strategy and how this personal brand must always be maintained and protected to ensure the executive’s credibility.

The discussion presented views on the difference between Cover Letters, E-Notes and Executive Bios and the most appropriate context to use each of these tools throughout the networking and executive search/recruitment process. Additionally, the panelists discussed the Do’s and Don’ts of creating a personal brand, the most effective way to use LinkedIn as well as the most effective strategy for handing out business cards at events - particularly whether executives should have an official corporate business card and an additional personal card.

Scheffer also discussed the importance of protecting one’s personal reputation online and listed the most appropriate ways to use various social media platforms to enhance one’s personal brand credibility and reputation. Scheffer concluded with advice regarding the importance of a well- guarded personal brand online and how corporates are increasingly monitoring employees’ online presence to ensure no “spill over” negative impact to the corporate brand.

To learn more about what Julia Scheffer and her expert peers believe are important, listen here

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About Julia Scheffer

Julia is the Global Communication and Brand Manager for AltoPartners, the international alliance of independent executive search and leadership consulting firms, with offices across the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Julia is the global brand custodian and communications and marketing lead for the alliance.

Previously an Associate at Brunswick (a leading international communications consultancy), Julia has worked on landmark South African M&A deals such as the Massmart/Walmart merger and Anglo American’s defence against Xstrata, and has been involved in a number of corporate financial calendar activities, listings on the JSE, as well as positioning campaigns for blue chip listed companies, at both corporate and senior management level.

Julia brings a wealth of strategic corporate insight and experience in stakeholder communications, media relations, crisis communications, reputation management and digital communication strategies. In addition, she has worked on a number of change management and internal communications campaigns within companies in the mining, financial services and government sectors.

Honing her skills in integrated communications, Julia worked as a strategist in the media and television production industry, with specific focus on clients in the retail, financial services and industrial sectors. Julia specifically chose to work in the television industry to add to her “storytelling” skills and appropriately tell a corporate story in a relevant and compelling way.

Back in PR, Julia took up a senior position at Jenni Newman Public Relations (Pty) Ltd, with a view on strategic counsel across the client base and new business development whilst also being involved in the operational and strategic activities within the agency.

Julia holds her MA in Corporate Communications, with specific focus on internal communications as a strategic alignment tool between internal organisational culture and external brand image.