A recent question poised by About.com asked, “What do Microsoft, Ebay, Netflix and Target have in common?” The answer, “All these companies (and many more) have used LinkedIn to recruit candidates for employment;” an answer you wouldn’t have expected four or five years ago. Technology has definitely changed the process for finding a job.
Sure, we all know the job market is still very slow. There are millions of people out of work; most of them actively looking for a job. Add to them a percentage of the employed population who are also actively pursuing opportunities to change jobs. And top that combination with the passive seekers who will change jobs, if the right one is offered, and I think we all can agree it’s also a crowded market! Serious job seekers have to do whatever they can to differentiate themselves from the masses and get noticed. Using social media effectively can help.
Social Media with a Professional Twist
My blog this month was inspired by four individuals who contacted me during these past two weeks asking for help with their social media job search efforts. To my surprise, three of the job seekers were under the age of 30; an age where I would have thought they would be teaching me something about social media. But as it turns out, they’re comfortable using social media for “chatting”, sharing pictures, and posting random comments about their day. They are at a loss when it comes to utilizing these tools for professional postings, networking and job search. Wonderful, we can all learn something.
As it just so happened, I had the pleasure of speaking last week at the DeVry University’s College to Career Boot Camp. At this fabulous event for DeVry/Keller students, I presented 10 Tips for Improving Your Job Search Results which included Tip #2 – develop a Strategic Career Communications Portfolio. No longer can a job seeker be successful with just a traditional resume and a networking spiel. In this competitive market job seekers have to commit to doing their homework and spending time on preparation and self-reflection (Tip #1) in order to create a powerful portfolio of communication tools that are branded and aligned with the job seekers’ values and goals.
The objectives of using social media tools in your portfolio are two-fold: (1) create a professional and interesting on-line presence of your skills, experience, and career goals, and (2) provide an inviting and collaborative environment to connect with a network of friends and colleagues who are interested in what you are doing and how they can help you achieve your career goals. To accomplish these objectives a job seeker will want to utilize technologies offered through:
VisualCV
What’s Appropriate?
If you haven’t been using these social media tools up until now, or if your only experience has been with friends and family and social interactions, you may want to start slowly. I would suggest you begin by setting up your LinkedIn account with some basic information and then begin your process to invite a few professional friends to join your network. As you have the opportunity to view the profiles of others, look at them as if you were a recruiter or hiring manager. You’ll begin to get a feel for what is being shared that you like, and what you consider not appropriate for an employer to view. Consider your profile a work-in-progress and modify as appropriate.
Here are a few tips on each of the sections of the LinkedIn Profile that will help you get started:
Name: I know you know your name – but I want you to think about it differently. Think about how you want to brand yourself. List your name the way you think it will be easier for others find you; full name rather than nickname, middle initial if there are a lot of people that come up when you Google your name; or perhaps adding some distinction of educational degree or certification. Since my name is so common, there are nearly 400 Deborah (Debbie) King’s listed in LinkedIn, I decided to brand myself as Deborah A. King, SPHR and listed my name that way as well. Everything I put out through my social media accounts are listed the same way for consistency
Headline: Here’s a place to catch someone’s attention - declare your key skills or the position you desire. Use this space wisely. What do you want to be known for?
Photo: Remember, you want the viewer to see you as a possible fit for their company team, so the photo should match the “brand” you are trying to create to distinguish yourself from others who may have similar backgrounds and experience. This “brand” should include some of your personality and personal characteristics. I’m not suggesting your photo has to be serious; but make it a photo that says “I’m talented, smart, and a good team player – I’ll fit with your workplace culture!” This is not the place for a photo of you and your dog – unless your field involves animals.
Resume Data: With any of your on-line information you’ll want to be careful to protect your privacy. You have a choice here: (1) list primary information with bulleted key words and save your full resume as something to share with interested, qualified recruiters, or (2) list your full resume. Be aware that viewers of your profile are really just looking for the highlights, so focus on those key buzzwords.
Recommendations: Although an employer is going to check your references before offering you a job, it certainly is helpful to have a few comments shared by colleagues that will speak to the qualities and talents you bring to the relationship. I know you’ll want to build recommendations right away, but give it time. As you are networking and someone asks what they can do to help you, this might be one of the requests you ask for their help with. Also, it’s nice for you to write recommendations for others – perhaps they will return the favor.
Reading List: Sharing what you are reading is a positive way to influence others about your interest in staying current with what’s being written and talked about in general, as well as your career interests and areas of expertise. Don’t overlook this opportunity to suggest a book, or share a book review. Utilizing all the capabilities of your social media tools helps to show your professional and personal “well-roundedness”.
Your Activities: Yes, this is an area where you can mention that you are planning to attend a Job Fair, or a professional conference, but don’t forget to also use this area of your profile to share articles or videos that you think might be interesting to people you are trying to influence. Naturally keep it career-focused and good natured. Not too much personal information, and stay away from information that may involve political, religious, or controversial topics that could not be talked about in an interview. Be careful with humor – just like in an interview, you never know what is going to offend someone. This is a section you should update as often as you can, but at least once a week.
Files: Have you presented at a conference or an association meeting recently? Well, showcasing and sharing that PPT file or video through your LinkedIn profile might be a great way to demonstrate your areas of expertise. Naturally you would not post company proprietary materials without receiving the appropriate permission to do so.
Websites and Blogs: Are you interested in creating a blog where you can share insights and knowledge while demonstrating your experience? If you have a passion for writing this might be an option you’d like to explore. I’m not suggesting a blog where you post random reactions to everyday life. I’m suggesting a blog that would be of interest to people who might be looking for candidates with your background and expertise. This would be an option if you can commit to the following: (1) Will you enjoy creating interesting content to share with your community? (2) Are you disciplined to write and publish on a consistent schedule? Check out sites such as blogspot to see what’s involved with getting started.
Join Groups: If you’re looking for a way to fill up your email inbox quickly, join a few too many groups. Only join those that are aligned to your career interests and that you are truly interested in participating with. And, once you join, start participating – are their questions you can answer, dialogues you can contribute to? I do not recommend you use these groups as a way to post “I’m looking for a job – do you need me?” Let them first realize that you have something to share, and then let them know about your career interests.
As you can see, just one tool like LinkedIn provides a lot of opportunities for you to get your messages out while building a network that will be interwoven with the personal, face-to-face network connections you will also be building. Starting out with LinkedIn will give you plenty of experience to then move on to Facebook, Twitter and VisualVC. It may also help you modify your Facebook profile if you now realize that what you’ve got posted is a little to “friendly” for recruiters to see.
Wrapping It Up
Just a few more tips:
- Be consistent within and across the various medias.
- Don’t get fired – be aware that employers are checking out these sites as well. Someone will read whatyou post – so be careful.
- Monitor your internet presence daily through Google. You can easily set up automatic “Google Alerts” so that you know when something about you has been posted.
- Be careful with your Facebook privacy settings – don’t let others send photos of you to their friends. You never know where those photos are going to be shared.
- Network before you need to – if you have a job, great! LinkedIn is for everyone, with and without a job. Getting started while you have a job will make it easier if you ever need to use it for job search.
- Help others and they will help you. It’s not all about you – make it about your network, and you will be amazed at what the universe brings back to you.
- Lots of folks are into the numbers. I suggest you think about the quality of your relationships rather than the volume. Consider what you have in common and what the relationship can bring for both of you – if it’s not a fit – pass.
- Social media tools can keep you on-line for hours. Make sure you are doing this when you are off the clock. Be aware that employers are monitoring the sites you visit and how long you stay on those sites. Don’t let this activity lead to disciplinary actions or worse!
- Never, never stop thinking about privacy – don’t list any account numbers, birthdates, mother’s maiden name, etc. Job seekers are often targeted for identity theft because they naively list so much information about themselves. Be aware of what you are sharing and why. Remember you can’t control who will see what you post once you hit the submit button. In addition, most times you cannot delete something that has been posted.
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