Archive for Category: Social Media
Free “LinkedIn for Job Seekers” webinar this Wednesday June 23rd at 8pm EST
Posted in Job Hunting Recommended Resources Social Media on June 22, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Finding your dream job just got easier!
In this free, 60-minute training webinar, I’ll be sharing the strategies and best practices to leverage LinkedIn at every stage of your job search. Discover how to:
- Build an online profile that attracts the attention of recruiters and hiring managers
- Expand your professional network to drive more opportunities your way
- Use LinkedIn to find job leads and get your resume to the top of the applicant list
- Access the benefits of Job Seeker Premium, a brand new LinkedIn feature
- Find expert answers to your questions about LinkedIn
Register now at http://learn.linkedin.com/jobseeker!
Tags: LinkedIn
The Most Important Career Growth Tip
Posted in Career Advice Productivity Social Media on June 17, 2010 at 9:27 am
A few days ago I received an email from a colleague who serves with me on a nonprofit board.
“Does anyone know where I can get Mets/Yankees tickets?”
I knew (Stubhub.com!), so I responded right away.
Later that day I was desperately trying to remember the name of a website I’d recently heard about where you can find out which social media sites have your username available. After racking my brain, I decided to tweet the question. Within three minutes, I had the answer (www.namechk.com).
On another occasion recently, I was trying to make a decision about hiring a branding expert. After researching all over the web and feeling more confused and frustrated than ever, I decided to reach out to three business owners I trusted and ask for their opinions and referrals. Their advice was invaluable and I was finally able to make my decision.
All of these situations reminded me of the most important career growth tip you can learn:
Ask for help when you need it.
Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…
Tags: Career Advice, Networking
The Secret to Successful Networking in the 21st Century
Posted in Career Advice Networking Social Media on June 7, 2010 at 10:15 am
Last week I attended the annual conference of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the largest organization for university career services professionals and entry-level recruiters. As someone who frequently talks about the powers of social media for connecting, this conference was a reminder that LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are only half the networking story.
At the NACE conference, I had the pleasure of meeting people in person whom I had previously only communicated with online or by phone. While I had good relationships with many of the people I knew virtually, something changes when you connect in person, waiting in an interminable Starbucks line together or sitting side-by-side on a bus to an offsite conference event. More trust is shared, relationships become a little deeper and stronger bonds are forged.
The secret to successful networking in the 21st Century is what my friend Diane Danielson, with whom I co-wrote The Savvy Gal’s Guide to Online Networking, calls a “clicks and mix” approach: equal parts online and in-person networking.
Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…
Tags: career, NACE, Networking, Social networking, work
3 Ways to Spring Clean Your Career
Posted in Career Advice Social Media on March 19, 2010 at 11:42 am
I’m having trouble writing this blog post, because all I want to do is go outside and enjoy the warm spring air.
Alas, I am inside at my computer, occasionally staring out my window at the bright blue sky. And, after I finish writing, there is more inside work to be done today. I’ve just received a delivery of three brown boxes filled with file folders, storage bins, crates and plastic hangers. I have a stack of garbage bags at the ready. There are fresh batteries in my label maker.
That’s right; it’s spring cleaning time.
The truth is that I absolutely love organizing, filing, folding, purging and alphabetizing (my accountant told me I am her only client who color-codes my tax documents). Yes, I am a Virgo.
But I know that spring cleaning (or any-time-of-year cleaning) is not easy for everyone. It can be hard to let go of the old and make room for the new. But it must be done, and spring is a great time to refresh and renew every nook and cranny of your home, office, garage or any other space that needs sprucing up. It’s also a great time to spring clean your career. Here are three important ways to do that:
1. Clean your career (literally). When was the last time your organized all of your career documents, both on paper and on your computer? Take time now to toss or delete outdated versions of your resume, file past cover letters, put company information you’ve gathered into marked folders and organize that rubber-banded stack of business cards you’ve collected over the past several months. (Hint: if there’s a card whose owner you can’t remember, Google that person or check out his or her LinkedIn profile to see if you can jog your memory. If not, toss the card.)
Read the rest of this post on my “College to Career” blog at MyPath.com…
Image: ApartmentTherapy.com
Tags: Career Advice, Facebook, LinkedIn, organizing
Some (Career/Workplace) Things I’m Grateful For
Posted in Future of Careers Recommended Resources Social Media on November 25, 2009 at 10:53 am
It’s no secret that 2009 has not been the easiest of years for most college students and young professionals; however, over the past year there have certainly been bright spots. Today, in honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share some of the positive trends I’ve noticed this year.
More resources to help students and recent grads. While we’ve lost some bloggers and websites this year, we’ve also welcomed many helpful new resources for young professionals. I’m particularly grateful for the resources I find myself recommending over and over again, such as UrbanInterns.com, LinkedIn’s Grad Guide and Twitter lists (check out my list of career/workplace experts to follow).
University career centers serving more alumni. Resources for more experienced job seekers are growing as well — and some of that growth is coming from college career centers, which traditionally only served students. Almost every career services professional I spoke with this year mentioned the influx of alumni calling for their help. One career director at an Ivy League university told me that, for the first time ever, they’ve added a dedicated staff person to service alumni.
I think this is a great thing: as people face more career changes and job hunts, they need more resources to turn to. While I do suspect that career centers will begin charging their alums (currently the vast majority serve alumni for free), I believe this trend is here to stay. Perhaps in the future university career services will become more of a lifelong resource rather than a one-time stopover. (more…)
Upcoming Teleclass: How To Social Network To Get A Job
Posted in Career Advice Job Hunting Recommended Events Social Media on September 14, 2009 at 11:44 am
You keep hearing about LinkedIn…and Twitter…and Facebook. But can they help you find a mentor, create an online career development network and ultimately find a job? The answer is a resounding: YES!
Please join me on Thursday, October 1 at 8:00pm Eastern for “How To Social Network To Get A Job – A Teleclass”
I will be presenting along with Brian Kurth (Career Transition Guru, Author, TV Contributor and Founder of VocationVacations) and Miriam Salpeter (Blog Author, Speaker, Career Coach and Twitter Expert).
I hope you will join us on Thursday, October 1 at 8:00pm Eastern for this exciting and informative teleclass. The cost is just $19.99.
On CareerTV: Twitter, LinkedIn and Living in Your Parents’ Basement
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Job Hunting Recommended Resources Social Media on August 24, 2009 at 11:47 am
This week I’m launching a new regular video segment with my friends at CareerTV. I’ll be chatting via Skype each week with host Sean O’Grady about timely career issues.
In our first five-minute segment, we’re answering viewer questions about finding jobs on Twitter, connecting professionally on LinkedIn and surviving when you move back home with mom and dad (hint: lay off the frozen yogurt).
Watch the video here.
Have questions you’d like us to address in future CareerTV segments? Please share in the comments section below!
5 Steps to a Fantastic LinkedIn Profile
Posted in Career Advice Job Hunting Social Media on August 9, 2009 at 5:34 pm
As a Campus Spokesperson for LinkedIn, I am currently in the midst of facilitating a series of training webinars for college career services professionals (sign up here if you haven’t already — they are free!). I recently wrote a blog post for CollegeRecruiter.com advising career services professionals how to improve their LinkedIn profiles. Today I’ve adapted those tips for job seekers and young professionals:
As the largest and most vibrant professional social network, LinkedIn provides a wealth of opportunities for job seekers and ambitious young professionals. But LinkedIn doesn’t work unless you work it.
How can you make the most of LinkedIn? Here are some tips for creating a profile that will impress employers, colleagues, headhunters, professional association members and more:
1. Include keywords in your summary statement. The Summary portion of your profile provides a chance to share the highlights of your bio in your own words. It’s also a place to include key words and phrases that a recruiter or hiring manager might type into a search engine to find a person like you. The best place to find relevant keywords is in the job listings that appeal to you and the LinkedIn profiles of people who currently hold the kinds of positions you want. Check out LinkedIn’s Company Pages feature to search through the profiles of employees at your dream employers. And remember, it is absolutely fine — crucial, in fact — to include unpaid or volunteer work in your Summary. If you are a current student or recent grad, you can include relevant coursework and extra curricular achievements as well.
2. Write for the screen. LinkedIn, or any website for that matter, is not the place for long-form prose. Present your summary statement in short blocks of text with lots of white space. Bullet points are great, too.
3. List all experience. One of the most valuable aspects of LinkedIn is the way it connects you with former colleagues and classmates—which, as we all know, are some of our best networking contacts. It would be a shame if a long lost former colleague or classmate, who happens to be a recruiter now, couldn’t find you because you hadn’t listed that shared employment in your LinkedIn profile.
4. Collect diverse recommendations. Nothing builds credibility like third party endorsements. The most impressive LinkedIn profiles have at least one recommendation associated with each job a person has held. Think about soliciting recommendations from professors, internship coordinators and colleagues, employers, classmates with whom you shared an extra curricular activity and professional mentors.
5. Share your news frequently. The best way to stay on other people’s radar screens is to update your status on LinkedIn (the box near the top of your profile) at least once a week. Tell people about events you are attending, major projects you’ve completed, professional books you are reading, successes you are celebrating or any other news that you would tell someone at a networking reception or on a quick catch-up phone call.
Want to become a more active user of LinkedIn? Check out the LinkedIn Learning Center and, for students, the LinkedIn Grads Guide. I also recommend Guy Kawasaki’s LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover.
Podcast Interview with TheUniversitySpace.com: “Smart Social Media for Recruiting”
Posted in Generation Y Recruiting Social Media on July 20, 2009 at 12:20 am
Many thanks to Ray Ferreira at TheUniversitySpace.com for interviewing me on the topic of “Smart Social Media for Recruiting.”
Here is an introduction to our conversation:
Online social networks create a whole new media paradigm through which to reach today’s graduating talent. The rapid pace of this shift, and a new world of social etiquette, has left many corporate university recruiters off on the sidelines.
In this podcast we’re joined by author, speaker, and Gen-Y expert Lindsey Pollak, as we begin to frame out an approach to social media practices that can serve recruiters in the university space.
Listen here and please join the conversation at TheUniversitySpace.com!
Tags: TheUniversitySpace.com
On the LinkedIn “Seek Week” Blog: Stop job hunting like it’s 1999!
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y Recommended Resources Social Media on April 23, 2009 at 11:19 am
Thank you to the team at LinkedIn for inviting me to write a guest post for the LinkedIn Blog’s “Seek Week,” which is dedicated to helping ’09 grads find jobs.
LinkedIn has also launched a great resource for graduating seniors (and all college students and recent grads), the ’09 Grad Guide and a discussion group featuring helpful articles, job postings and Q&As.
Here is an excerpt from my guest article, “Stop Job Hunting Like It’s 1999: Dos and Don’ts for ’09 Grads”:
Job hunting is a journey, so I’d like to begin this post by paraphrasing from my favorite movie about a journey: The Wizard of Oz: We’re not in the 20th Century anymore, Toto.
This is the sentence I find myself thinking whenever a college student says something like, “I’ve sent out, like, a hundred resumes and I still haven’t found a job!” Emailing out resumes and waiting for a response used to be a perfectly decent strategy for finding a job. Not anymore. Today’s job seekers, especially ‘09 grads job hunting in a recession, need to be more creative, more proactive and more tech savvy than ever before. We are blessed to live in a time when there are so many new job hunting tools and techniques. Take advantage!
Here are some tips: Click here to read the rest of this article on the LinkedIn Blog…
Tags: college graduation, Job Hunting, LinkedIn
