Start Date: 19XX:
College graduate. The way to "stand out from the crowd" was to triple
proof read your resume and have the print shop run it out on heavy stock
paper. Oh, and get your dad to pass it around at work.
Enter stage left: Email.
And rock our world it did! Quick study on how to format/desktop publish
resume..... Press send to impress. Staples/Kinkos/Fed Ex - eat your heart
out.
(note: jobs plentiful, college grads welcomed. On the job training
provided - a few typos here and there forgiven.)
Fast Forward to The 21st Century:
Our kids and their on-line chat rooms and this Facebook thing got our
parental pants all in a twist. We did as we were told, and followed them
online to keep them out of trouble. In retaliation, they launched their "Keep
Parents Off Facebook" campaign, mastered privacy settings, and learned to
smell the guidance counselors' imposter profiles a mile away.
But Facebook, it turns out, was pretty shiny. Luring us into its lair,
parents were seduced and Facebook became the neighborhood bar with you
tube bands, photo slide shows on the back wall, and a place to catch up
with old friends -- no cover charge.
2008: The economy tanked - jobs were vanishing and life savings were
shrinking. Networking was becoming a really big deal - only on this round
you also had to do it online. For some of us, this involved a learning
curve. Throwing privacy issues out the window, we started to realize that
the concept of the single page error free resume was evolving into a multi-faceted online
presence.
2009: So, okay, if Facebook is Cheers, the sitcom bar in Boston, then
LinkedIn is the necessarily conservative (and slimming) Brooks Brothers
(or budget equivalent) Interview Suit of Social Media.Your LinkedIn
profile, like that suit, gives you credibility -- its a critical piece of
the job hunt scheme and building your online persona/resume. B-o-r-i-n-g,
proper, and correct. Post your resume & CVs, powerpoints, educational and
book club approved titles you are reading, and papers you have published.
Join or ask for an invitation to industry related groups and post those
memberships on your profile. Post a recommendation for someone, and they
will probably return the favor. LinkedIn gets you connected and positioned
to be found by HR web crawlers. It is a great place for them to see you in
the flesh before they invite you in from the cold. Learn to work it, and
you will soon have access to the movers and shakers in your industry.
Attend local network affairs and get in some face time. You might even get
your mug on the video they always post the next day. Post links to your
blogs and drive traffic to your website. There are scores on articles that
show you how to craft an effective profile. Read them.
2011: New Years Resolution: Figure out this Twitter Thing.
Like a true ignoramous negatron that I sometimes can be when I'd rather
not admit I don't know something, I thought twitter sounded kind
of...........lame. But the resistance came from that fact that it felt like one. more. thing. to. learn.
Wow. Totally off base. Twitter is actually, quite Starbucky. Aromatic.
Fun. Educational. Jazzy. And a great commfy couch to plop down on when I
need some inspiration from others in my field. And it is SO easy to jump into!
Tweets point me to articles and professional chat groups
I may otherwise not have found. Twitter is sort of like having a really
cool robo-professor with 24/7 office hours.
Now converted to a semi-knowledgable positron.
Conclusion:
So, okay - to recap: the job market s%cks. And you know that. But you also know you have to get
out there to be seen and be found. Pound the pavement for real, and
on-line. Build and maintain your digital persona bit by byte, but dont
become overwhelmed by the process. Its just like the old days. Really.
here's how it should go.......
Get up - get breakfast, shower and put on your best suit. Check into
LinkedIn and update/connect/see whose checking you out.
Loosen your tie or kick off your heels and grab a mocha latte. Learn the
difference between # and @. Practice crystallizing a compelling thought
into 140 jazzy clever characters. Start following people with whom you
share an interest. Report sexychick87 as spam. Or not. Tweet links to your blog
or a great article in the NYT. Follow and be followed. Thank others for retweets and follows.
Join and Like Facebook Pages and Groups relative to your industry and
start posting thoughtful comments and links to your blog.
Come to think of it, maybe you need a new blog. Write one and post it.
At the end of the day, drop into Facebook for a quick beer and let
everyone know you are job hunting. Collect a few atta girls/boys from your
friends and be encouraged to start all over tomorrow. Post a link to your
latest blog.
Remember, you have a better shot of getting the interview, or at least
having your resume read, just like in the old days, if you have a
meaningful connection. Only in today's world, its up to you to create that
connect and make it easy to be found.
It doesn't end here, but so far, you started building your on-line persona. there's still job boards and websites. Conferences and on line placement exchanges. I'm getting to all that. But In the meantime, the next step for me is to figure out that 4 square
thing. Let me know were yer at!
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