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The do’s and dont’s of online social networking…

It recently occurred to me that Twitter is the technical version of passing along newspaper and magazine clippings. Early in my career, I was an Assistant Office Services Manager with Litton Educational Publishing. Sandwiched in with the large manila envelopes, bills, and journals were clippings from the New York Times and other publications that had a handwritten distribution list. Those articles fascinated me.

As my career progressed to sales and marketing, I learned first hand the importance of both gathering and sharingi information. A 100 word article passed along to the right person combined with A-1 client relationship management could have a favorable impact on my performance. You see, people remember you not for the simple, every day gestures that say “I care about what is important to you.”

Technologies like Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn have made make it easier to transform handwritten distribution lists into an instant touch across gloabl boundaries that, if done correctly, will catch the attention of hiring managers, recruiters, and professionals.

Here are some do’s and don’ts that will help you engage your audience:

Do

  • Treat people as individuals. Share information they want and NEED to read about.
  • Use Twitter Search to determine keywords and what people want to know about.
  • Be responsive to your followers. Answer and talk to followers as individuals
  • Have 2 FaceBook pages – one for yourself and one for your business or services. Post relevant information to both.
  • Use a professionally written LinkedIn bio that shows your value as opposed to regurgitating your resume in paragraph.
  • Be generous – retweet articles, acknowledge others for their contributions, help your audience connect with other professionals.
  • Be consistent and trustworthy. Steady postings that help others will also help you achieve your goals.
  • Use Google Chrome to translate Tweets into languages other then English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, Japanese

Don’t

  • Post where you are, you might compromise your safety.
  • Sell or market yourself or your promote your services.
  • Be lackadaisical. The occasional tweet or post is like a drop of water in the ocean. No one notices the impact.
  • Make your personal business public. If you have a problem with someone deal with it in private.
  • Lose focus of why you are using the technology.

Do you play games like Farmville or other applications. If yes, what has been your experience.

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Excellent Career Advice!!!

“It’s time for you to shut out all of the gloom and doom on the TV and just focus on one, simple, small job: your next one!”

Marc Cenedella
Founder & CEO
TheLadders.com, Inc.

Every week I receive tons of emails from friends and colleagues. While there are way too much for me to read, every now and then one will catch my eye as the aforementioned quote has.

Fear is running rampant and our nation is being called to to live with less while we huddle close and hope the monster of unemployment will pass by our doors. The crisis will eventually pass but the question remains how gracefully will get you get through it?

Just like Marc Cenedella, I urge you to focus on one thing; take control of your career and let go of what is beyond your power. What you can control is:

- Your attitude: Like any other project, every great job begins with an achievable vision.
- Your process: Finding a job that best matches your unique qualifications and skills requires you to create and stick to a strong project plan, schedule and specific milestones.
- Your resume: Always, always, always keep it current. You never know when your next great opportunity will appear.
- Your network -: Creating an active job search team means that you will keep in touch often, be both a generous giver and a gracious receiver. Coach your friends, family, colleagues and peers in the specifics, i.e. your goals and how they can help you achieve them.
- Where you look: When used properly, the internet is a great tool for finding employment. Make a list of employers you are interested in working for and look under the “Careers or Join Us” section of their websites.
- Your knowledge: Whether it is learning a new technology or completing your PMP, you must commit to being a lifelong learner to stay competitive in this market.
- Your image: From your head to your toes present a professional image. Always make sure your shoes are polished, your clothes are neat and crisp, you are well groomed and your smile is broad and welcoming.

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Monster: A Portal or Hinderance to Employment

Chances are registering with Monster could be slowing your job search down. According to an article in the Westchester Journal News over 80+ messages per day flooded the inbox of Yorktown Heights resident John Gembecki after he registered with Monster. The emails were all job or career related.

This information supports my assertion that job boards are not the best way to find the job of your dreams. In my opinion word of mouth or building a personal connection is still the best way to get yourself hired. Below are several examples of how 10 clients that I coached found employment over the last year:

  • After 30 years with the same company Rick (not his real name) was offered a new opportunity after he saw the posting online. Instead of sending his resume he called the company directly. Instead of agreeing to a screening interview over the phone he offered to come by, citing that he lived within minutes of the office. He was offered a 6-figure postion at the end of the first interview.
  • Barbara had played a key role in launching a world renowned financial services organization over 20 years ago. Within 3 years of being relocated to another country she was downsized. She called her former employer who had left the organization the previous year and he began tapping into his network to help her find a new opportunity. After 4 months of interviewing she landed a new position as Executive Director of Marketing.
  • A true strategist, Khalil has a goal of reaching a C-level position by 2012. In order to position himself for the challenge he needed a promotion from Director of Project Management to Senior Vice President of Program Management. He made his goals known to key executive leaders including his boss. He was surprised by the support they provided. One CTO even stayed late to help him revise his resume after a series of positions opened up within the organization. He called last week to let me know he received the promotion.

The next time you think of registering with an online job board, you might consider  reconnecting  with that former colleague you think about from every now and then.

View the Journal News article in its entirety  http://lohud.com/article/20081228/BUSINESS01/812280320#pluckcomments

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IT Employment On The Rise (or Not)

According to the article by Eric Chabrow in the July 7, 2008 issue of CIO INSIGHT, Mr. Chabrow claims that the IT workforce reached a record high in the second quarter of 2008 with nearly 4 million workers being employed.
At question is the accuracy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting.

Conventional wisdom amongst readers who responded is employment in the IT sector is anything but thriving. Overall readers agreed that the jobs posted online don’t present genuine opportunities. Additionally the impact of outsourcing and the hiring of those who have an H-1 visa was a frequent cause for concern.

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How to Capture Interest And Win Support For Your Career Goals

Everyday, our lives are peppered with sound bites. Tune into the morning news and you’ll hear something like “Searchers are headed out today looking for John Smith. He has not been seen since Monday morning when he left his home in Hollywood and headed to his office in Miami. ABC’s correspondent in Miami joins us with the latest information about this case.” In a legendary presidential campaign promise George Bush, Sr. avowed “Read my lips, no new taxes.” In fact, knowing how to get your point across in sixty seconds or can change your life.

A key factor in any job search or career transition is the ability to effectively network. I have come across a variety of reactions when I coach people in this method. The most common response is a sigh followed with “I have tried but I have not had any luck.” When I ask about what exactly they tell their network, they say they tell their friends they are looking for a job and if they know of something to please let them know. One of the reasons people fail in their networking efforts is because they lack clarity. Think about it, whom do you know has the psychic power to know what you are looking for and would be willing to listen out for something that could help you, even if they were unsure of what it was you were looking for?

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