Category Archives: Networking for a job

Connecting with Online Influencers takes Bawls!

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Fueled-By-BawlsEveryone’s talking about “Building your Online Community” and influence all over creation. I’ve talked about it myself. But does anyone ever tell you the HOW TO’s? How does that work if you are naturally shy? Good of you to ask!

It actually is great if you’re a little on the shy side because though networking online or off may be similar, you can sort of hide behind the computer and talk to folks through the keyboard as opposed to a little face-to-face action (unless you’re Skying or hanging out on Google+).

In fact, I prefer it. I always feel so uncomfortable networking IRL (in real life) because I tend to be a little on the timid side when first meeting and blow that outta the water after we’ve conversed awhile. I know, you find that hard to believe but it’s the gosh dang truth. However, both networking IRL and online are needed to build your community, further your business and get the word out or to help others do the same. It takes interacting with others and it makes the world go round as apposed to playing jacks in a corner somewhere by yourself.

When working your way through the online world and connecting with others it’s a good rule of thumb to follow others and especially influencers in your space who have been plowing ground and making headway. And sometimes following those influencers, connecting with them on Facebook and across different social platforms can be a little intimidating to say the least. Sometimes it takes bawls of steel to hit the “friend button” on Facebook for fear of rejection or whatever.

Here’s how I developed my strategy.

  1. Follow the experts – I researched who the influencers were in my space. I studied where were they writing, who were they connected with, how were they connecting, what were they talking about? If there are folks doing it right, figure out what they’re doing that’s working. Now, apply that to your strategy – and I don’t necessarily mean copy them. But you can learn from them, follow some of the same folks they follow and who follow them and go from there to find your own voice.
  2. Find one platform, do that well! – I started with Twitter. I read every book I could find on Twitter, figured out the ins and outs and then began to start practicing what I learned. I searched hashtags and sat in on Twitter chats and watched what was going on. Then I connected with those folks who were “experts” for lack of a better word, and followed them, following their followers etc, etc. I started reading their blogs, commenting on them, showing my face in their world while sharing my own blog and my area of expertise.
  3. Cross-pollinate – I love the word cross-pollinate because to me that represents the best way to take your connections on one platform over to another platform. I began with my connections on Twitter that I was following, engaging with and learning from and finding them on Linked In and sending a short intro like “I’m bringing this on over from Twitter and would love to link up!” And most of them accepted my request.  I built my Linked In with several these same folks from Twitter. Then I started doing the same with Facebook. All of these platforms have their own feel and what I found was Facebook was very laid back where Linked In was more business chatter. I started learning about their kids, families, what they loved doing through Facebook and it created a great way to connect on a more personal basis. Twitter was a land all it’s own but very short, sweet and to the point and definitely serves a purpose. (NOTE: if you don’t want to mix personal and professional you don’t have to, but it can be a great way to dive deeper into these relationships you’re trying to build).

I will say I had some major kahuna’s to connect with the folks I’ve connected with – but I’ve always had those (not literally). But you never know until you try and reach out and touch someone, right?

What happens when you do this? You become part of some really amazing communities. You have the chance to perhaps even be considered a thought leader yourself and have the opportunity to advance your business, find a new career and help others do the same.

So grow some bawls, reach and connect with others. Learn from them and give back by liking their posts, commenting on their blogs, and simply engaging with them. There are some fantastic folks out there just waiting to show you the ropes!

Photo Credit: BevNet

Check out this hangout with the @Gozaik team discussing the new Twitter Resume and Job Posting product Gozaik

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gozaikA few weeks ago I came across a new product for both sides of the hiring line – job seekers looking to find jobs and connect with recruiters online and for the recruiter and companies looking for prime candidates! I’m talking about a new kind of Google filtering within Twitter that narrows the job search for the above mentioned folks.

I immediately connected with the founder Joe Budzienski and asked if he would join me in a hangout to discuss it further, which we did. Here is the recording – it’s only around 30 mins!

I love anything that has to do with social and new technology! Check out the cool ways this is going to help you as Employers, Recruiters and Hiring Managers:

Promote Your Job Tweets

  • Gozaik job search displays job tweets to job seekers. Sign up now to validate your Twitter handle and drive more traffic to your Twitter job posts.

Search Candidates (COMING SOON!)

  • Identify active job seekers that meet your criteria. Review rich multimedia resumes. Watch video introductions.

Spot Trending Talent (COMING SOON!)

  • We spotlight ‘trending’ job seekers. Individuals with the most activity trend within your dashboard, highlighting job seekers you may be interested in.

Tweet Job Announcements (COMING SOON!)

  • Increase your job tweet response by delivering your job announcements through our ‘Job Announcement’ service. We structure tweets to optimize candidate response.

If you’re a job seeker or someone wanting to hire the best talent – do yourself a favor and check out Gozaik. Make sure to connect with them online. Get in on the ground floor!

 

Networking is a bunch of malarkey!

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network meetingToday’s guest post comes from my friend in the HR/Recruiting world Bonnie Ungaro who is in my neighborhood, ya’ll! Bonnie know’s what she’s talking about when she writes about networking and I wanted to share with you to spur you into networking – online and off! Enjoy, and make sure to connect to Bonnie and subscribe to her blog where this post was originally aired. She’s also on the Twitters.

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How to make a real connection with other professionals? 

Ah-ha, gotcha! I don’t really believe networking is BS, however earlier in my career I honestly did not see the value and here’s why – I was meeting the wrong people.

In the beginning of my career I attended several conferences, seminars and networking events and had a decent amount of exposure to HR folks. However, a majority of the time I had the luck of running into one of two kinds of people “The burnt out HR person” and “The blah blah me, me, me person“. Of all the many HR folks I met I only made two valuable HR connections (connections that I am still in contact with today!).

Here’s one super awkward example from my experiences. A couple of years back (before my professional social media days) at ILSHRM, I attempted to “network” during the lunch break. I approached three different tables with people and asked if I could join them for lunch. The first two tables told me they were full, the last table had one woman and she was the “classic burnt out HR person“. It was terrible! I felt like I was in high school, and that I was a huge LOOSER:(

But it’s not just me! Recently, in speaking with some of the younger folks at work about networking I’ve learned they too don’t see the value. Additionally the networking events I do attend in my community (from an eyeball perspective) the average age is 45+, not to mention many of these seasoned professionals have well established relationships so when they are at these event they are talking with each other. This situation is highly intimidating to “younger”/ “foreign” people. (Stay tuned for my post about seasoned professionals and being inclusive.)

Here’s how YOU can network more efficiently:

1:) Use social media to make connections. Using Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and/or G+ or one of the many other social media sites out there will help you find “the good ones”, the people worth connecting to!! It’s kind of like how Match.com changed the dating world. Yeah, you’ll still meet weirdos but you’ll also have a greater chance at connecting with really amazing people in your industry!

2:) Once you’ve established the “superficial” social media connection, schedule a phone chat, G+ hangout or Skype call with the people you see potential value in. This will further your relationship and open the door to a real professional connection.

3:) Ask your new contacts if they will be attending any of the upcoming conferences, seminars, etc. If they are arrange a time to meet.

So that’s you’re 1,2,3 to making valuable connections and networking more efficiently.

On another note, if you’re like me and kind of shy, don’t be afraid to say hi to someone you’ve met through social in person or AKA “IRL”. Some will be receptive and some may not, but at least you can walk away saying you tried.

Meet the Author:

bonnieMy name is Bonnie and I am certified human resources professional, and certified social sourcing recruiter. I have great passion for all HR topics that I share over at TheHRLife. I’d love for you to come visit! Feel free to connect.

Managing Social Media while Recruiting – Is it possible?

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Here is a great post I came across this past week by my online friend Bill Vick from his site where he dives into using social media as a tool in recruiting and social networking. He puts out some great content and I’d like to share this video interview he did with Leslie Mason of the recruiting team Intuit. You can find the original post HERE!

The most frequent comment I hear from recruiters when we talk about social media is that it takes too much time… they are super busy finding candidates and filling reqs and don’t have 2 -3 hours a day to spend on social channels, updating their statuses and broadcasting information. While I agree that it takes a bit of time up front, once you have all your social profiles completed you really only need to spend 30 minutes a day monitoring and updating them.  I am a big believer in automating whenever possible and have found some great tools to help me navigate the social media waters.

First get all your profiles “social ready” especially your LinkedIn profile.  Make it easy for candidates to find you, have your LI Profile completely updated.  Make sure you are an open networker and your profile clearly spells out what you are recruiting for, what industries, etc. and how to contact you so candidates can find you.  I also use a one click LinkedIn invitation and post that on my profile so people will connect with me.  A friend of mine, Stacy Zapar, figured out a way to do it.  Here’s her article with instructions: 
http://www.stacyzapar.com/2010/12/how-to-be-linkedin-pro-create-one-click.html
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My favorite tool and secret weapon is the Bitly Bundle!  Keep all your current job openings in a bitly bundle and post it on your LinkedIn profile at the top of your summary.  You can tweet and post to Facebook directly from the bitly bundle.  I socialize my bundle every Friday so people can review my job openings over the weekend. It’s quick and easy and only takes one click.  Bitly also tracks analytics and creates a QR code for your jobs… very cool.

Some quick ways to automate are to follow blogs and online papers like Mashable, TechCrunch, Fortune, VentureBeat, INC.com, Wired, Engadget, etc.  Then use RSS feeds to Google Reader or Outlook.  You can quickly scan and click on interesting articles and then use a tool like Buffer App to schedule sharing via Twitter, LinkedIn and FB.  This is a free tool that allows you to schedule up to 10 articles at specified times each day.

HootSuite or TweetDeck are great tools to manage social feeds.  I use HootSuite and have linked it with my Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Feeds.  I have tabs for each stream and can schedule posts to all of these networks, multiple times.  Bullhorn Reach is also a free service to automate job postings; it will send your jobs out to your specified networks at specified times.

People are visual… we find that candidates today want to see what it would be like to work with potential employers.  A great way to show your company’s culture is with Pinterest.  You can create Community Boards with pictures of your campus and candid pictures of employees having fun at work as well as videos from the hiring managers.  This gives candidates a peek behind the curtain, into your organization.

Remember the first rule of social is to build relationships!  We are not out there to be a job board aggregator.  Become a subject matter expert in your area… follow thought leaders, engage with them, comment on and share their articles.  You never know…one day you may get an invitation from Bill Vick to be interviewed.

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Make sure to connect with both of these fine folks online – there’s great learning coming your way when you do.

Building your online community BEFORE you need it!

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online community buildingI’m a part of a fantastic community called #TChat (Talent Culture) and World of Work started by the awesome Meghan Biro. You should check out the TChat radio program on Tuesday evenings and our Twitter Chat on Wednesdays > Read more about that HERE. This is a fabulous global professional discussion where we discuss things from Social Business and Branding to Careers and the World of Work.

This past Wednesday we discussed “Connecting Career Dots“ and let me say it was a great discussion. I learn so much from this community. You need to connect with them. It’s always great to learn from others in business and hear their expertise, experience and to always be learning.

One of the questions that was on the agenda that we discussed was our “What is your advice to those in the Job Market for utilizing technology” and my answer was a big “Build your Community BEFORE you need it!“

Building an online community takes time, effort and patience. Some people just don’t get this.

Some people start their social strategy without a strategy and think that they can immediately start selling their wares, themselves, their careers, their resume’s or whatever and that’s just not how it works.  It takes time to build a trusted brand and community that includes sharing others content, retweeting, interacting, engaging and proving that you’re an expert in your field. Why would you want to shoot it all to hell by self promotion?

Social Community Building is a sticky wicked. Granted, you’re there to show the world how fabulous you are but there is a thin line between self-promotion and showing you’re all that! It’s more about relationship building.

I have folks tell me all the time “Susan, you are so connected – how did you ever get that way?”

My answer? I follow folks that I wanna connect with. I engage with them. I share their awesome content. I make them laugh. I comment on their updates. And then they start noticing you…….it starts happening. They start following you back. They start commenting on your updates, and so on, and so on.

Yes, this takes a lot of time and perseverance. But the end justifies the means.

I know that if and when I need anything, I have a community that knows the answer or where to go to get it. These folks trust me and are totally willing to lend a hand, send a recommendation, help me get a job or refer me to someone who needs my goods.

If you were laid off today, do you have that community that you could go to for these kinds of things? Something to ponder.

Photo Credit: Andar360

The Circle of Twitter – Dissecting our Strategy!

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circleI’ve been thinking a lot about Twitter and how it’s being used and to see if we might need to dissect our strategy!

I had originally titled this post “Is Twitter nothing more than one big Circle-Jerk?” I thought I would change it to keep folks from swallowing their teeth!

But since I have your attention let’s take a look at one of the definitions for “Circle-Jerk”  from friendly Urban Dictionary -

Urban Dictionary- circlejerk

I’m a Twitter nut, but I’m wondering if we’re doing it wrong and not really taking a better approach.

For example, every Friday (and then some) we have the fabulous #FF (Follow Friday) sagas. This is where folks on Twitter will give virtual “shout outs” and “high fives” to followers and other Twitter nuts whom they love and appreciate and I think it’s all well and good. And nobody does that better and is more sincere about this when doing it then our good friend Steve Brown.

But there are always those that are sucking up – and I guess that’s okay – and they want you to keep the chain going, so to speak. Or perhaps we’re just following the footprints of others online.

Here’s the thing, Twitter can be a valuable tool in sharing and following great content, expanding your learning and gathering an online community but if we’re just shouting out nothing but thank you’s, #FF’s and not engaging or sharing great content – what are we there for? We have enough Spam!

Here’s a great (and funny) example of Twitter shouts by my friend Robert Caruso - that shows the absurdity of what we sometimes do on Twitter – and what it would sound like if we could actually hear what’s going on through The Twitters -

That video cracks me up cause that’s exactly what it would sound like if we were actually listening to someone read our Tweets.

Here’s a novel idea, how’s about we strategically share great content, make sure to acknowledge folks that help build our community, add value, engage with us – and not just click “Retweet” just to grab someone else’s attention, because everybody’s doing it, feeling obligated and to make it count! (Those last three words came to me by way of watching ‘The Titanic’ one too many times)

I can’t wait to hear your opinions on this subject and if/how we can improve our strategy………

Happy Tweeting!

When HR is kicked to the Curb

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I can’t tell you how many emails, DM’s, Facebook Messages and LinkedIn messages I get from folks that are looking for work. And I don’t mind at all.

I love connecting folks with other people who are looking for prime candidates online and looking for referrals and recommendations from people they trust. That’s the new way of doing it.

With every new job posting it seems there are hundreds applying for that same position which can be very frustrating and overwhelming to someone in our current job market.

Even if you’ve gone to college and received a PHR, SPHR, GPHR or GOPHER (okay, I made this last one up) and have worked in your field of expertise for hump-teen-million years – you are not exempt from being laid off. It’s a fact!

It’s interesting and alarming that so many HR and Recruiter friends are the ones contacting me lately with the awful news of them finding themselves being laid off, canned, booted out of their long-term positions and some of them are frantic. I would be the same.

I will say it again folks, nothing is EVER a sure thing.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’ve found yourself in this position and are in job-search mode:

  • Network: Try and stay connected online and off. You may just connect to the right person that can make that introduction to a key connection that will help you get that next gig.
  • Don’t be afraid to reach out to your connections and let them know (like folks are doing with me – and that’s cool). Sometimes you just have to open that mouth (or email) and let others know your business. We all need support. And again, your connections may be key in helping you get that next opportunity.
  • Keep your certifications up to date. Go to conferences and sit through all the boring sessions if you have to.
  • Continue to pour any and every kind of knowledge in the ole brain. And no, you don’t already don’t everything there is to know. If nothing else, it will help you maintain your sanity. (Note: Try to refrain from all the Alien shows. You don’t want to mention those in your next interview)

It hurts my heart when I receive an email from a friend (especially a smart and savvy HR friend) telling me they were just let go. I immediately go into a mode where I’m looking through all my connections to see who I can connect them with that can help, wracking my brain for a job posting I’ve seen across the Webs that have been shared by my recruiter friends and struggling to try and see how I can help them in their search.

As I stated yesterday on a status update “It takes a Village.” But if you haven’t invested time in building that Village before you need it I just don’t see how you are going to survive this new way of the social job search incorporated into your strategy.

Being able to connect and pull from those said Villagers is key in getting ahead in your job search in today’s social savvy marketplace.

For more info on how to develop social into your job search strategy check out Discovering Social’s “Defining your Personal Brand.”

The What, How and Why of Defining your Personal Brand

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Big brands like Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds are understanding the need for having an online presence in not only promoting their brand but actively listening to what folks are saying about them online, being able to quickly respond and engage their customers or potential customers.

The same tools can be used for building your personal brand to actively listen online, connect with key influencers and potential companies you’d like to work for and stay in touch with current job opportunities, for example.

It even works in our social business strategies. Knowing how to develop a strategy from point A to point B is so important.

Your brand is all about who you are and how you want to be known.

My pal Kyle Lacy just posted a fabulous article on this subject called “10 Steps To Writing Your Personal Brand Story” and it has many nuggets to incorporate into your strategy. I encourage you to read it.

That being said, I am hosting a Webinar today at 2:00 pm Central Standard Time, on “Defining Your Personal Brand” that will give you some insight into a few things such as:

  • Being present in social spaces
  • The importance of having an online presence
  • How Organizations and Big Brands are using branding and social media
  • How Job Seekers are using personal branding to find jobs (with a REAL LIFE Case Study)
  • What is Employer Branding?
  • What separates you from the pack?
  • The Power of Engagement and Online Connections

You won’t want to miss it. Sign up HERE>”Defining Your Personal Brand Webinar“

I’ll be sure and put on some makeup, do my hair and get out of my PJ’s.