Hannah Morgan

Social Media In Job Search

As a last minute sub, I presented this information on Social Media in Job Search yesterday.  It was a great crowd and lots of good questions. 

What amazed me most was the fact that most people did not read blogs.  I asked them how they got their news...however, I didn't get a lot of answers, so the jury is still out. 

SmartBrief, Alltop, Technorati are wonderful sources to use to find blogs by industry and key words. 

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Social Media In Job Search

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Summary Sunday

This is one of my favorite Summary Sundays so far.  It is referencing some of the posts from this week I shared on Twitter.   Actually, if you aren't on Twitter yet, there are some posts here to help.

Let me start with Tim Tyrell-Smith's post on the sales funnel and target companies!  This is WHY target companies and marketing plans work.  This is why traditional job search fails.

How to Create a Job Search Funnel from Tim's Strategy

Defining an Target Audience for your Personal Brand from Brand-Yourself.com

This post takes the Tim's idea to the next level of implementation!  Who needs to know about you!

These posts are all about using social media to build relationships and communicate your value.  They aren't going to talk about job postings over Twitter...remember, stop chasing the job postings.  Build relationships.

10 Ways to Initiate a Conversation on the Social Web from Social Media Today

You WILL Get Googled Are You Afraid? from Careerealism

The 5 Best Ways to Use Twitter for Your Job Search from The Wise Job Search

10 Ways to Use Twitter Lists from Mashable

Leadership Gurus to Follow (on Twitter)  from New Rules of Work

To Blog or Not to Blog

Creating a blog is an excellent way to begin developing your "brand" and start managing your career.  I've been speaking with several people recently about starting one.  I truly believe any one can do this and have fun with it.  There are some things to consider before testing the waters of blogging (and by no means am I the expert on this, just a practitioner sharing her thoughts.)

Why do you want to blog?

Do you want to blog because you want to create an online presence?  Do you want to share your expertise?  Do you like writing and are looking for a format in which to do this?

Do you care if anyone reads it?

In other words, is there an audience who would be interested in reading what you have to say?  When I started, the only one I knew reading my blog was my Dad.  He would send me emails critiquing my work.  There were others who began to read it but few commented on the blog.  It was like hearing crickets chirping and I wondered, "is this even worth it?"

How often will you add to your content?

There is no wrong or right answer here, however, the "experts" say that building a lot of content can increase your Google Search rankings.

What will you blog about?

This is probably the most important point. What is the "brand" or reputation you are trying to create for yourself? You want you topics to be "on brand" or related to the type of work you want to be known for.  Sure, it is OK to go off-topic or off-brand once in awhile, but, if the purpose of blogging is to increase the awareness of you, I would recommend that you write about something that will promote you professionally. 

How will you let people know about your blog?

You can add your blog to your LinkedIn profile.  You can share your posts on some of your LinkedIn groups, you can put it on your business card and you can Tweet it.  Just to let you know, I've seen a large increase in my readership since I started using Twitter.  These two tools are very symbiotic.

If you are truly serious about taking your blogging idea to the next level, you will probably want to speak with people who are blogging.  You will also want to read about blogging.  Here are some of the resources that were recommended to me to help you learn more about blogging:

ProBlogger.  This post on 5 Steps for Planning the Direction of Your blog is super!

The Blog Catalog

I would like to provide two additional thoughts about blogging:

• Blogging is supposed to be interactive.  Ask for comments and feedback.
• Anyone can read what you've written, so be aware.

Are You Lurking or Participating?

Are you a "lurker"?  I guess I should define the term to be sure you know what I mean.  According to Wikipedia:

"In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely or never participates actively. Research indicates that "lurkers make up over 90% of online groups" (Nonnecke & Preece 2000). Lack of trust represents one of the reasons explaining lurking behavior (Ridings, Gefen & Arinze 2006)."

Is it a lack of trust that prevents you from engaging? Spam, violation of your privacy...what is preventing you from participating? Why should you bother?

"Trust Agents" and "Crush It", two amazing books I've recently read, reference lurking. It is, according to them, a good first step to take when exploring new tools.

So, there's nothing wrong in getting the "lay of the land".  Figuring out who's active and how they are active in the groups you are newly part of is pretty smart.  However, at some point, once you've figured it out, you need to participate.

Participating means commenting and sharing.  Why is this important? 

• Creates an awareness of you
• Demonstrates knowledge/expertise

I moderate a LinkedIn group exclusively for job seekers who have completed a job search training program.  There are over 500 members.  The majority of them do not participate. Perhaps it is lack of trust or maybe they don't know that they can share news or add discussions.

I am also part of a Yahoo Group which is extremely active. People regularly post information.  But you know what?  It is a clunky tool.  It is email based, it is difficult to find user profile information.  Yahoo groups were wonderful when they were first invented, but we've come so far. (Sorry, got sidetracked). Members of this group lurk too.  They majority don't participate.  When they do participate, they have been encouraged to "introduce themselves".  They post a long boring resume-type message. 

If you are ready to stop lurking, then begin posting information that is "on brand". You can do this in any of the "groups" you belong to or tools you use (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter)  What I mean is, if you are an Electrical Engineer, share an article, news or link that would help other electrical engineers. Look for ways to help others. 

Instead of "introducing yourself" begin by participating!  Your reputation will precede you (if done correctly).

Job Search Is All About Marketing

We all need to learn more about marketing.  Either as an employee or a job seeker, understanding the key trends in marketing is important to your career preservation.

If you are job seeking, then you are launching a new service into the marketplace...that requires you  know how to market your service!

I've written posts about marketing: 

The 4 P's of Marketing

What's Your Value Proposition?

Sales 101

WIIFM

While I don't have formal training or education in the concepts of marketing, I am researching and learning more about it every day. 

How does marketing apply to job seeking and business?  Watch this video.  I've followed iWrite for a while.  They are a super cool company with super cool people and I was honored to help out with their project, "Talking Marketing".  They are on Facebook and have a super website and blog!  Add them to your Google reader!

Just Like Job Seekers, Marketers Need to Use Social Media to Build Trust from Talking Marketing on Vimeo.

It is not the most talented person who rises to the top...it is the person with the greatest brand!  Start thinking like a marketing manager today!

Twitter Lists worth mentioning

 

 My kids say I am addicted to Twitter.  Maybe I am.  But for good reason.  I have been able to connect and interact with some really excellent thinkers through Twitter, people I would not have ever had an opportunity to meet without this tool. 

For those of you with a Twitter account, you can follow me at @careersherpa

If you are a job seeker looking for advice and information about job search, follow my list

Career Experts

Once a month, I join forces with some of the best resume writers and coaches around, follow us here:

Career Collective

If you are looking for cutting edge wisdom and insight, follow this list

Great Thinkers

If you want to learn more about the trends in social media, you can follow this list

Social Media

Lists are wonderful because they've done all the work for you.  From these lists you can begin following those tweeple who tweet about interesting stuff.

If you live in Rochester, NY, there are many good lists.  I follow   Emily Carpenter/Rochester

Adapt Your Job Search

It is going to take some new approaches to capture the attention of overwhelmed HR professionals and hiring managers today.  If you are looking for a job right now, most likely you are submitting your resume to posted job openings.  It will take much more than that to secure your next job.  Oh, you already knew this.  So you've heard you need to be networking.  You've been attending networking meetings until you are blue in the face and that doesn't seem to be working either. What else can you do? 

Taking that first step out of your comfort zone generally takes courage.  But where to start?  Jacob Share has posted 8 Creative Ways to Use Social Media for your Job Search  on JobMob.

Some of these ideas are pretty interesting.  In order to be successful with any of these ideas, you will need to implement your strategy well. 

One of the suggestions made is to use a video resume.  If this is something you chose to embark upon, you will want to see some examples.  What is it you hope your video resume will accomplish?  What message are you trying to get across?  It has to be more than just, "Hey, this is what I have done".  Convey your personality, make it high quality and keep it at 1 minute.

Another suggestion was to use Flickr to push your message.  You can get pretty creative here.

The idea behind this post is to develop creative ways to use social media to develop an online presence because you just never know when, where or how your next opportunity will happen.  Using a variety of approaches, especially social media, could increase the odds. 

2009 Hiring Trends In Review

Each year I look forward to CareerXroads Sources of Hire study results.  Why?  Because it justifies what all the expert career coaches are saying. 

We all know how turbulent 2009 was.  The results of this study help point out several things:

51% of Full time jobs were filed by Internal Transfers and Promotions

26.7% of all external hires were from Referrals (#1 external hiring method)

22.3% of Hires attributed to the Company Website

The authors of the study state that hiring attributed to the company website an obvious flaw in sourcing.  However, I believe that the message is getting out to job seekers that the job boards may not be the answer.  The pro-active search method of identifying employers and targeting them for opportunities might be catching on.  Social Media is also catching on.

Please, read the full study and come up with your own conclusions!  Let us know what you think!

Stay "On Brand" and Cater to Your Desired Audience

It is wonderful that there are so many networking groups around for the unemployed.  These groups offer wonderful support and ideas.  They also offer great opportunities to meet new people whom you instantly have something in common (job search).  These groups offer the opportunity to meet people from other industries and backgrounds you may not have interacted with before.  All this is good.

You know the old saying, everything in moderation.  That's where I am going next.  Use these networking groups to support your job search, however, don't stop there.  Join professional associations related to your desired new occupation.  Become involved in volunteer work that will allow you to use your talent. 

Beyond job seeker networking groups, there are GROUPS on LinkedIn.  It is also important to have a mix of professional interests represented here.  What I mean is, join and participate in groups that have something to do with your next career move. 

Recently, I was looking at a LinkedIn profile of someone who belonged to almost 50 groups (50 is the maximum you can belong to).  More than half of the groups this woman was affiliated with were "job search related".  She was missing an opportunity to interact and develop relationships targeted towards her next goal.  

Part of social media and networking is becoming known as an expert.  I don't think anyone wants to become known as being an expert job seeker!  I don't want to bash these forums, they are important, but...everything in moderation.  Networking is networking.  I have always been an advocate of networking with the unemployed.  They are very empathetic and probably more in tune with the job market than those that are employed.  However...there is an element of marketing involved in job search as well.

Know your audience.  Cater to them.

Post status updates related to your industry or occupation more than what job seeker related events you are attending or other details about your search.

I read a post the other day on the 4 P's of Social Media.  Here is the link.  The original content is credited to Buzz Marketing for Technology.

These 4 P's have to do with promoting you!  The talents and skills and knowledge you bring to the table. You want to be sought after for your demonstrated knowledge.  Using social media is a way to get the message out there and share what you know about your new career, NOT JOB SEARCH (unless you want to become a job search coach).

As you use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for your search, consider sharing information that demonstrates your knowledge more than what you had for breakfast or other "off-brand" information.

Find trade publications or industry newsletters to read.  Then you can share interesting articles from those.  Here are some resources to find on-line content:

SmartBriefAllTop

AllTop

WebWire

Weddle's Association Directory

What is Your Social Media Policy?

Businesses around the globe have been jumping on the social media band wagon.  They each have a different reason for doing it:  increase sales, increase customer service levels, increase brand awareness...Companies have corporate Fan pages on Facebook, blogs, Twitter accounts and are trying to figure out this new technology.

So as corporate America tries to leverage this new communication vehicle, we too, as individuals need to determine how we will use it.  Will it be to increase our personal brand, connect and network with existing contacts and new people, learn new things or find jobs.  I don't really think "not playing" is an option any longer.  We fought email, we fought online job boards, but eventually they won. 

Companies are also establishing "usage" policies for their employees.  A survey published by Robert Half, Whistle - But don't Tweet - while you work, says that 54% of employers do not allow the use of social media sites to be used during working hours. Hey, it is new, what do you expect.  This is likely to change.

However, just because it may not be allowed in the workplace, doesn't mean it isn't something you can participate in during your free time. 

Refine your LinkedIn profile.  Join Groups and get the weekly digest of activities. Have these updates and digests sent to an email account or RSS feed so you can access them when you have time. (Here is a great post on how to master your social media life)  You can determine how often you want to engage and perhaps if you see something of interest, you can join in or benefit.  

Consider these personal usage questions:

• How often will you use social media?
• What social media tools you will use?
• What is your purpose for being on this tool (keeping track of family, learning new things, meeting new people, sharing knowledge, developing personal brand?)
• What is your policy for connecting, friending, linking or following people?

Once you have a strategy or plan, it makes it much easier to use these tools.

Summary Sunday

Summary Sunday is a collection of posts from my reader and tweets.  There really is no rhyme or reason for their being selected...they just caught my eye.  There is a lot of good advice out there.

 

Alternative Personal Branding Books from Brand-Yourself.com

• If you are looking for a good book to read on Personal Branding, this post has picked the top 5 (they are on my reading list too). 

Fight Back! Five Blogs for Better Networking! from UpMo

• Perhaps you are looking for networking advice/help/insight.  Here are some suggestions of blogs to read.

Personal Branding.tv from Reach Personal Branding (by William Arruda et al)

• There is a brand new website for video help for your career management.

The New Career "Normal" = Get Reckless

• From CAREEREALISM, JT O'Donnell interviews Seth Godin...this says it all in my mind.  Worth watching!

Avoid these 9 Cold Call Mistakes from Cold Calling Master Class

• Looking for help making cold calls?  This is written by a sales professional for sales professionals, which we all must become.

Our Professional and Personal Lives are Blending

Sharing information is a personal value of mine.  I hope that by sharing information that people reading it or hearing it will come up with solutions or new approaches or innovation of some sort that will improve how we all are doing things. 

This week, I was hit over the head by some information and it forced me to think about the advice I've been giving job seekers.  Previously, I've held the belief that a job seeker needs to fit into the employer mold.  Well, kind of.  The job seeker needs to give the employer what they are looking for and my recommendation has always been to keep your personal stuff, personal. 

However, personal and professional seems to blur a lot lately.  Sometimes it is difficult to draw the line.  Is the fact that I am a mother relevant to my future employer?  No, not unless my new employer is an advocate of families or mothers.  But it is a crime to let people know I am a mother?  I used to believe the answer was almost yes.  If you are confused, I am too. 

Social media or change in societal norms is changing my outlook.  What I mean is, you see and hear people sharing both their professional and personal stuff on social media.  Is that wrong?  The old me says yes, the new me says, I don't know.

Chris Brogan is in the forefront of social media.  If you take one look at his blog, you will see the blending going on.  He merges professional and personal.  Please, go read Chris Brogan.  I think it is partially fair to say that this merging/blending of the two is how we start building trust.  Trust is key to building relationships.

What really got me thinking was this post my friend (Mike Lally) forwarded to me.  It is an interview with Seth Godin by J.T. O'Donnell.  Seth is a great thinker.  Here are some of the topics Godin brings up:

• You’ve Been Brain-Washed & Seduced…It’s Time to Fight Back!
• Why Career Labeling Stinks & What to Do About It
• Older Generations: Safe Doesn’t Cut It Anymore
• Get Fearless, Get Reckless

So what this post is really about is understanding how and maybe why things are different today.  We all want to succeed, but we need to understand that perhaps the rules are changing.  Perhaps our definition of success needs to be re-evaluated.  Perhaps our goals are no longer realistic in today's world. 

We can't change the world, we can adapt.

Twitter Replaces Job Boards?

TweetDeck's recent news (read article from ClickZ) about partnering with TwitJobSearch is a sign. A sign that we seek a quick solution to finding a job.  There are millions of tweets every day and many are by recruiters and employers leveraging this medium to find suitable candidates.  It weeds out those who do not "speak" social media.  It weeds out those who are not up on technology.  It weeds out people period. 

While this is an interesting phenomenon, posting jobs on Twitter, it is still focusing on the old, old, old model.  Post a job to find a candidate.  The newer model is, find someone you know and trust and hire them.  But, this isn't a new model at all.  Most high level/high profile jobs have always been filled this way.  When was the last time you saw a CEO job posting on Monster? 

Twitter's real power is that it allows us, me and you, to meet new people-  people we may not have an opportunity to interact with otherwise.  On LinkedIn, it is very hard to enter into a discussion with someone you do not know or are not connected to.  This is not true of Twitter.  You can enter into conversation with almost anyone, therein lies its power.

Most jobs are filled through networking.  You don't like to network or you don't know how.  Therefore, it is taking you longer to find a job.  Stop searching the postings.  A very small percentage of people actually secure a job from solely applying for a job online.  So why the big fuss over TweetDeck's new incorporation of job tweets?   It is because no one has been able to quantify or qualify networking well enough to make it easier to find opportunities.  It is far easier to chase the postings. 

What this is all pointing to is that in order to manage your career, you must embrace technology and incorporate Twitter into your networking strategy.  Have a plan. Choose to follow people wisely.  Look for great thinkers and movers and shakers in your industry. 

The @InterviewAngel has a great post with advice on how to brand yourself on Twitter.  20 Tips for Building Your Brand on Twitter.

Here are some other good posts about using Twitter: 

How to Best Use Twitter Lists for Job Search from JobMob

Stop Asking for Informational Interviews

Personal Branding, Who Needs It?

What is personal branding anyway?  Wikipedia says:

Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands (Lair, Sullivan & Cheney 2005).

Who needs it?  We all need it.  Today, more than ever before.  But it shouldn't be fake.  It has to be genuine- real- authentic. And even if you are "just looking for a new job" you need it too!

Jason Alba posted this slideshow on his blog the other day.  It does a great job of defining what it is and how to define and build your brand.  (sluggish at times, be patient).  Brand You: Personal Branding.

(Great work Kristian Anderson)

If you are looking for more information on personal branding, there are some gurus who write about it.  It seems every one is writing about it, because it is a critical component of career management and job search.  You can say you don't need it.  You can say it doesn't apply to you. However, it is real and it IS for everyone.  

Dan Schwabel:  Personal Branding Blog

Tom Peters, The Brand Called You, from Fast Company from 1997

Collection of Personal Branding Articles from QuintCareers

Reach Personal Branding Newsletter from William Arruda

Executive Resume Branding (and more)

Be a "Giver", Not a Job Seeker

Instead of focusing your sights on the dream job or any job for that matter, focus instead on being a "giver" or "sharer". 

Here's an example:  A woman attended a professional group made up of community agencies.  She is a job seeker, but did not introduce herself as one.  Instead, she introduced herself as an HR professional and circulated her business cards.  She offered her HR expertise to those in the room, not as a job seeker, as a giver.  Her message and her intent caught the attention of some of the attendees.  No one is sure what will happen next, but it could be the beginning of something.  You just never know.

When you focus too much on FINDING A JOB, a strange and sometimes un-attractive aura begins to follow you.  Leach, mooch, desperate, entitled, over qualified, user or loser are tags I have heard and, dare I admit, even used myself to describe some job seekers.  I know they don't mean to be perceived as such.  Maybe they have no idea.  However, the perceived becomes reality.  

On many occasions I have heard job seekers declare "I won't network with other unemployed people".  How incredibly short sided.  Networking, with anyone, is of value as long as you have a goal in mind.  Sharing could be that goal. 

• Who do you know who could help someone else? 
• What insight can you provide on your industry or occupation?
• Have you heard about a job that might be good for someone else?
• Have you read a good book or article that is worth sharing?
• What resource(s) have you found helpful?

Sharing and giving builds trust.  It makes you likable.  It is sometimes so rare, it makes you memorable.  

In the spirit of sharing, I came across this news that SimplyHired.com has some new functionality to their site.  Here is the article (from Search Engine Watch).  This is a small excerpt from the article:

"Simply Hired has also added a "Share" feature that easily enables searchers to share job listings with their networks on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn - as well as through email. This is an easy way to shoot out a message to social networks to find contacts and referrals."

Can you let me know if any of this works?  Add a comment and share!

Stop Asking for Informational Interviews

What every person needs is a little advice, right?  Employed or unemployed, you need to be in touch with what's going on.  How do you do that? You read, attend meetings, and talk to people. 

When you reach the point of talking to people, you have to know what advice you are looking for.  Is it understanding where your industry/line of work is going in the future?  Specific challenges a company is facing right now?  How to make contact with people inside target companies?

Most people are busy and if they are going to give you their precious time, there has to be something in it for them.  Your job is to find out what will motivate them to provide advice. Remember, flattery will get you everywhere. 

Much of what will determine your success in securing a meeting, see, I am calling it a meeting, not an informational interview, is based on how you ask for it and what you are asking for.

It is best to start off with people you know and get some experience under your belt.  Then you can move to referrals or those you don't know (cold calls).

One way to warm up the coldest of calls is to learn something about the person first.  Google them.  See if they are on LinkedIn or Twitter.  You are hoping you can find them on Twitter because it is so easy to see what they are saying. 

1. After you've watched their tweets for awhile and begin following them. That's the first time they'll see your name perhaps. They will know you are following them if they manually accept followers. 
2. You can send intelligent Tweets, sharing information is what I am talking about. 
3. Re-tweet their Tweets, more name recognition is going on.
4. You could even ask them a question.  If they haven't followed you back, that's ok, just use the @ sign.

Most people will want to help if they know how they can provide some.  It is crucial that you clearly define the help/advice you are looking for and hopefully why.

I am not suggesting that you don't ask for these informational interviews.  I am urging you to call them something else. 

Summary Sunday

I truly enjoy pulling together some of my favorite posts from the past week.  It is a great way to give back and reinforce some key job search lessons. 

Because the most important part of your search is about being a good networker, here's a post about building your network:

Top 10 People You Must Have in Your Network from CAREEREALISM

If You Have an Extra Half Hour from Chris Brogan

Job search is also about having the right "lingo". 

63 Robust Personal Branding Verbs  from Executive Resume Branding

The Truth About What to Leave Off Your Resume from EmploymentDigest.net

The Worst Interview Question Ever and How to Answer from the Career Doctor

And just because I re-tweeted and really liked these:

Personal Branding for Dummiesfrom CAREEREALISM

Overqualified for a Job from Punk Rock HR

Social Media is NOT about Telling People What You Had for Breakfast

Social media isn't about disclosing what's going on in your personal life.  It is about sharing information with other people.  It is a tool for learning! 

This is the same definition for networking, if you recall. 

Finding people with whom you have a common interest and sharing what you know and what they know.  Because we live in a "flat world", the answers to our questions are out there somewhere.  You can find the answer if you know where to look.

There are yahoo groups, google groups, wikis,  user forums, Ning, LinkedIn groups, blogs and Twitter.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of ways to share content and info, Stumble Upon, Digg, etc.

Most people, not all, get it. They are using these tools to spread a message by sharing information- by providing written content and sharing their expertise.

If you want to learn more about these tools, you are going to have to teach yourself.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that there are some great places to learn:

Mashable:  The Social Media Guide is chock full of great information on all those tools.  Go read and learn.

LinkedIn has a Learning Center with tons of articles and mini videos to walk you through using and even mastering the beast.

Facebook might be just for fun for you, however, businesses are tapping into it. It makes it easy for them to "push information".  There are applications you can add to your Facebook account that can help you find jobs.  Keppie Careers wrote about these applications and there might be even more now.

This is not a short term investment.  This is an investment in your future.  You will, undoubtedly, be out of work again.  Isn't it time you start learning this now and begin managing your career?

Still not convinced? 

If you think age discrimination is a problem now, wait until you aren't using these tools and missing out on all the jobs being posted and shared ONLY in these places.  It may just happen.