Tony Deblauwe, Founder, HR4Change held a virtual interview with me on using social media. If you’re just leaving the military and aspiring toward a job (or career) in the civilian workforce, here’s a good introduction.
I am sharing the 7 questions with you:
T: 1. You talk about the power of using contacts – what do you mean by that?
Leveraging contacts is quintessential in the job search. In my ebook, I emphasize the power of “weak ties” which often form the basis of the best source of contacts and ultimately job leads. Contacts are necessary online and offline for a successful job search; they are the key to getting the “inside” track about company and employment information. The more contacts we have, the closer we tap into that sometimes elusive hidden job market, which is typically 70-85% in normal, economic times, and up to 90% in these troubled times.
Despite the allure of social media and the temptation to confine a job search to an exclusively electronic means, contacts represent human communication and relationship building (to quote a skill I saw listed in a job listing for a bank today). Regardless of whether the contact originated online, inevitably, it will turn into an offline, face-to-face contact. People hire other people, not computers!
T: 2. What’s the best method for identifying corporate “insiders”? The best method is to “think like a robber and go through the back door” by doing some real sleuthing. First and foremost, is the opportunity to elicit and solicit human contact. If that isn’t possible, tap into web sites which can provide vital information for you, such as linkedin.com, jigsaw.com (the free company data download is a goldmine), and hoovers.com and zoominfo.com for company insider information.
T: 3. How can someone address “social media fatigue” when building their online brand?
Primarily, social media does not guarantee immediate employment. It is neither a panacea nor a “cure” to replace human relationship building. Just as many career coaches and professionals caution job seekers about excessively searching online, the same applies to social networking. “Social media” fatigue can occur easily because of false expectations about what social media does. It is a viable job search tool, not a remedy or instant care for abandoning other successfully job search techniques, such as cold calling, prospecting for job opportunities and using the telephone (gasp!) to gather leads.
Fatigue can also occur because social media is something of a sensation in job searching at the moment. Mark my words, another trend will appear! Lastly, fatigue can occur if someone uses social media to a saturation point. All the more reason to set up “Google alerts” to see what is being communicated about you or to calculate your online identity (scoped out by hiring managers and recruiters).
In the book, I allude to how one establish a health online identity, as opposed to a negative one, which is difficult to erase from cyberspace and from potential employers’ memories!
T: 4. What alternatives do people have to building their online brand without using a blog, Facebook or Twitter?
Visual alternatives are important more than ever. Audio bites, once a swansong in branding, have been eclipsed by videos. Consumers are hungry for visual information, confirming why YouTube’s popularity is off the radar screen. And speaking of YouTube, it is now ranked as the second most popular search engine, so head there to view short, valuable video clips on job searching.
Another alternative are visual resume sites (I have a comprehensive list of the major and minor players), PURL’s, which are personal URL’s that job seekers can create to be noticed by employers. and virtual business cards (mine is http://melissamartin.businesscard2.com
T: 5. How is YouTube used for job search?
YouTube has multiple roles in a job search:
a. watch what recruiters and hiring managers are looking for in job candidates
b. insider information on preparing for interviews, preparing a personal brand and accessing outstanding, innovative job search information
c. learning ideas about how other people got hired or promoted
d. creating a personal brand to entice potential employers
e. creating videos to establish online credibility and prove expertise
f. creating videos to demonstrate to employers that you are technologically savvy and current
T: 6. What key trends do you emerging with social media and personal branding?
Recruiting trends. Linkedin.com, for example, contains articles about this trend. Social media is being embraced by decision makers and hiring managers because advertising revenues (particularly daily newspapers) are eroding at an alarming rate.
Growth in accessing job search information on IPhones, cell phones and blackberries.
Personal branding has always been visible in North America since the 19th century in one shape or form. Numerous companies have used personal branding to sell their products and services. (On the front page of my web site, there’s an audio clip on how one major American donut chain has something in common with conducting a successful job search. And yes, it involves personal branding).
I also see the emergence of personal branding in the academic world.
In North America, we accept instant gratification to rule our society. Positive personal branding solidifies and quantifies a job seeker’s profile. It “clinches” the sale of a job candidate, in a current economy where 1 out of 5 Americans are jobless. (Today I learned a new term called “Q6″ to reflect the collective number of everyone who is truly unemployed, not merely the government unemployment statistics we receive regularly).
This is just the tip of the iceberg, if you are new to social media.
I am also an approved job search expert on www.careerealism.com and on www.secretsofthejobhunt.com, two top web sites in the U.S.
Melissa Martin, Bilingual career coach/social media specialist
Rated among the top 100 exciting, inspiring career coaches by onlinedegree.net in 2011
Connect with me on linkedin.com and check out my FREE report: Turbo charge your job search: 15+ sizzling tips to be irresistible to employers (Over 30 pages packed with solid information). http://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissacynthiamartin
