Increase Your Professional Networking IQ

At a recent social gathering I spoke with a corporate attorney who proposed a question to me that went something like this, “How relevant are social networks and do you see them as a generational phenomena?”
The attorney also expressed, “Once I register an account with one of these sites and add a profile, I have no idea what to do next and who cares what I say or do?”

The short answer to the last question is, “Someone does care what you say or do”. Online social networks helped to elect America’s first Black President. In the Middle East, social networking caused old government power hubs to crumble and to become replaced by new ones. Organizations use online networks to raise millions of dollars for political and non-profit causes. Businesses have found innovative ways to use these sites to promote their organization’s goodwill and to connect with their customers and employees. In short, social networks help to connect us in many powerful ways. Continue Reading

Why a LinkedIn Profile Is Crucial for C-Level Executives

LinkedIn has become the go-to site for individuals who want to display all aspects of their professional life in one place.  By setting up a profile you can showcase your resume, display your professional websites and blogs, garner recommendations, catch up with former associates, and acquire new networking contacts.

There’s currently no better online “catch all” for professionals hoping to gain exposure with recruiters and hiring managers.  This is why, as a C-level executive, it’s a good idea that you jump on the bandwagon with everyone else. Continue Reading

Job Search Advice: 5 Major Social Networking Job Search Mistakes To Avoid In 2012

If you’re engaged in a job search right now, take some time during the holiday season to revamp your job search strategy and make sure you aren’t committing any of these job search stalling mistakes.

SOCIAL NETWORKING MISTAKES

LinkedIn Mistake #1: Never request to be endorsed by someone you have never professionally or personally worked with, for, or with whom you have conducted business.  It is incredibly unprofessional.  How can someone recommend you and the work you’ve done if they’ve never actually worked with you in some way, shape, or form? Continue Reading

5 Tips for Leveraging you Social Network in Your Job Search

“Social media is just a buzzword until you come up with a plan.” – Zach Dunn

You know what they say – “It’s who you know, not what you know”. While I’m not so sure the second half of the statement is true these days, the first half of the statement is definitely true. Your network of friends, family and acquaintances is by far your single largest asset. While many people worry that “leveraging your network” means you will need to “cold call” your friends and relatives and ask them to help you get a new job, this is not the case. The Internet combined with your Network makes for a very powerful tool in your job search. Knowing how best to leverage this tool is not always obvious, but if you know what to look for it is quite easy to do. And then, of course, there is your extended network. Before the Internet, it was difficult, at best, to know who was in your extended network. With sites such as LinkedIn, your extended network is immediately known. =>> Ten ways to leverage professional networking Continue Reading

5 Tips for College Recruiting

ERE.net just published another great article for those engaged in college recruiting. This article was written by Kevin Wheeler, President and Founder of Global Learning Resources, Inc.

Kevin’s article first made the point that college recruiting hasn’t been as easy for employers during this recession as one might expect for a variety of reasons. For example, instead of graduates looking for work like they would in a normal economy, many more have chosen to stay in school for a double major or to go to graduate school while still others have chosen to travel or work abroad.  Kevin then provided employers with the following five excellent suggestions:

1. Focus on brand building and on getting your best employees to engage with students in discussions, webinars, and in ongoing interactive conversations. This builds trust and starts to develop a relationship that can lead to high interest in a job offer.
2. Let managers do the recruiting. If HR is doing more than 50% of your college recruiting, you do not have an effective program. By using HR staff, you are adding expense and reducing the quality of the interaction that the candidate could have with a potential boss. Avoid the temptation of thinking that HR has some “magical” ability to psyche out candidates or do something a hiring manger couldn’t do. It isn’t true! No one knows the job better or can get a sense of whether a student might be a good candidate or not than a manager.
3. Don’t focus your attention so much on the school itself. Developing a relationship with a particular school usually means getting known to the placement office. This may have some limited value, but it is far better to get students to join your Facebook fan club or your Twitter stream.
4. Develop a longer-term approach to recruiting college students. Start your initial contact with a candidate when they are in their freshman year. Build an internship program and invite candidates in to work, even if only for short one- to two-week stints, so you can establish some face-to-face understanding. Follow up with email by offering them research help, mentoring via the Internet, or whatever makes sense and meets both of your needs and abilities. By the time they have entered their third or fourth year of school, both of you will know if there is any commitment in the relationship.
5. Use print, video, and even campus television to drive candidates to your social media and websites. Don’t waste time on campus-based job fairs. The best campus job fairs attract only a few candidates, most of whom have no interest in your firm at all. Create a virtual job fair that you advertise via the print media. Do this job fair every few weeks and keep up the advertising.

Source: 5 Tips for Getting Ready for College Recruiting in 2011 – ERE.net.

The Sexy Side of HR

Jessica Miller-Merrill of Blogging 4 Jobs recently contacted me to ask if I would be interested in partnering with her and a few other human resource industry professionals to deliver a panel presentation at the SXSW Interactive conference in March 2011 in Austin, Texas. Her vision was to put together a group of us who could talk about how and why employers should use cell phone text messaging, social media, and other technologies to recruit and retain top talent. I gave her the enthusiastic thumbs up.

Jessica submitted the proposal in July and last week was notified by SXSW that her proposal made it to the second round of consideration. This next round consists of voting from visitors to the SXSW Panel Picker Page and those votes count for 30 percent of the score given to each proposal. In short, if you think that this is a good topic, it is really, really important that you vote for our panel.

Jessica (@blogging4jobs) will moderate The Sexy Side of HR panel and we’ll be joined by Joel Cheesman, Blogger & VP at Jobing.com (@cheezhead) and Carrie Corbin of AT&T Talent Attraction (@thealphafemme).

Please take out two minutes and do the following: Go to the Panel Picker Page, click the link to “Sign In” near the top corner, click “create a new account” (assuming you don’t have one already), complete the simple form, and vote for The Sexy Side of HR panel. It really is that simple. Thanks!!

Want to Recruit Social Media Experts? Host a Breakfast for Them.

The Twin Cities’ Social Media Breakfast was recently held at Deluxe Corporation. The event focused on small businesses and their use of social media. At the event, a panel of small business owners discussed how they currently use social networks to strengthen and expand customer base.

What has this got to do with recruiting? Well, Deluxe is re-making itself from the leading printer of checks into an information technology consulting firm for small and medium sized businesses. Let’s say you own a restaurant and want to build a powerful social media presence to drive loads and loads of new and repeat business. Who do you call? Deluxe wants you to call them. So how does a recruiting team get in front of a bunch of social media gurus? One great idea is to host a social media breakfast and invite everyone in your metro in that space. Then they can learn more about you while you learn more about them. Most won’t be interested in you and/or you won’t be interested in them for one reason or another, but if dozens or even hundreds of potential hires attend, how can you go wrong?

Take a peak at footage and pictures from the event!

Social Networks: Virtual Organize It, Stupid!

Social Networks: Virtual Organize It, Stupid!
by Pierre Coupet

Networking Can Jump-Start Your Career

There are a number of ways that you can acquire the job you want. You can go the traditional route of finding an ad and applying for the job, or going through the temp agency where you can get your feet wet in certain fields.
But another great way to get a job is through networking. Whether you have a family member who can make recommendations for you, or you join an organization where you get inside tips on companies, meeting the right people help you get you the job you want. Let’s look at some ways you can make networking work for you.
Talk to Your Friends and Family
If you’re really looking to find work and the want ads haven’t been very good to you then you may want to start networking with people that you trust the most: your friends and family. Not only can they surprise you with the information they know, they have your best interest at heart, which is always a plus.
Since your relationship with them is more likely to be casual, you can simply ask if they know of any job leads or people that you can link with for opportunities, without having to worry about being professional. You may just find that by networking close to home, you can find your next job lead in no time.
Join Clubs, Organizations or Advisory Boards
Making strides in a local or national club is another route that you can take to network your way to a great job. For instance, if you’re in the IT field, you might want to join The Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP) to make connections and learn the ins and outs of your field. And if you career choice is accounting, you might want to join the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
If you’re already a professional in your field and are looking for new opportunities, you can always join the advisory board of one of your local organizations. For instance, if you’re working in the field of communication and want to raise your stakes as a professional, you can vie for a spot on the advisory board of Girl Scouts of America where you will be able to show your community service efforts and meet important people at the same time.
Try Online Networking
A newer form of networking that has proven to be successful in acquiring employment is online social networking. Whether you’re participating in fun sites like Myspace and Facebook, or professional sites like LinkedIn, you will find that many recruiters are locating candidates through this online vehicle. It’s good to research sites that recruiters visit most, check out blogs, and learn the culture before diving in. That way, if you set up a website profile or participate on message boards, you will be able to make the best first impression possible every time.
Networking is a great way to create new opportunities in your field. So conduct your research, make your connections, and get those opportunities started. In no time at all, you’ll see that your efforts will begin to pay off.
About the Author:
Heather Eagar is a former professional resume writer and is passionate about providing working professionals with current, reliable and effective job search tools and information. Looking for resume writers? Check out reviews of the top resume services in the industry at http://www.resumelines.com.

New-Age Recruiting: Using Online Social Networks to Secure Employment

The world of job recruiting has changed drastically in recent years. Whereas in the past, the route to securing employment was simply getting your resume together and responding to help-wanted ads – or even getting approached by a headhunter – now much of the recruitment process is taken care of on the Internet.
Both recruiters and job seekers are finding that by mingling with one another through mediums like online social networks, they can accomplish their combined goal of getting a person employed. It is for this reason that taking the time to understand social networks is beneficial, especially if you’re actively seeking employment. So let’s take a closer look at this new and exciting aspect of job recruiting.

What are Online Social Networks?
Very similar to the idea of the traditional social network, an online social network offers a space on the Internet where individuals with similar interests or agendas can congregate to share ideas, insights, and help one another achieve goals. Before, you may have found yourself joining a national collegiate fraternity or sorority, or even a club or organization in your community, to achieve this type of networking experience. But now, organizations and groups with a similar purpose have moved onto the Internet, affording more people from around the country the opportunity to network.
Utilizing Online Social Networks to Your Benefit
So what can an online social network do for you? Along with fraternizing with your peers, they are great for helping you find employment. Job seekers are becoming increasingly aware that many recruiters spend time searching popular social networking websites like LinkedIn, Myspace, Plaxo and Facebook to interact with and often times recruit new job candidates. So to make themselves findable for recruitment, they congregate in those places.
If you are serious about finding employment, it is in your best interest to join one or more of these online social networking sites. There you can post your resume and give other useful information about yourself that will offer insight into your qualifications. Once you’ve posted your resume, you can visit field-specific blogs on these sites or in other places. Just like with social networking sites, recruiters often choose this avenue to seek out candidates and make employment invitations.
Carefully Monitor Your Social Networking Behavior
While online social networks are great places to find career opportunities, you should definitely be aware of your actions while there. Fun-filled sites like Myspace and Facebook can easily lure you into their excitement; however, if your purpose is to be seen by recruiters, you might find yourself projecting a non-professional image. To avoid this from happening, remember not to post unflattering pictures of activities you partake in with your buddies on your profile. And ask your friends to refrain from leaving risqué comments on your page. Since your main goal is to make your profile as professional as possible, you don’t want to give recruiters any reason to second-guess your qualifications.
The opportunities to secure employment with the click of a mouse are better than ever. So before you print off you next resume or think about going to a job fair, consider joining a professional online social network. You may just find that your next employment connection will be right on the other side of your computer screen.
Heather Eagar is a former professional resume writer and is passionate about providing working professionals with current, reliable and effective job search tools and information. Check out reviews of the top resume services in the industry at http://www.resumelines.com.