Social Media A Fad Or An Essential Career Tool

Social Media Networking: A fad or an essential career tool
CDAA | Brisbane | 3 March 2010
Jenni Proctor | Career Clarity
jenni@careerclarity.com.au

Essential career tool always
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
Networking

Traditional networks

“It’s not what you know, it’s who knows that you know about it.”
Networking – A new dimension

Typing pool – 2010 version

Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Power TrioBest sites for career management

Social
Mainly social for most people
Can ask anyone to be your friend
News Sharing – Status, New babies, Holidays, Parties, Photos
Business
Heavily used by small business
Fan pages and groups to share specific information
News Sharing – Workshops, Products
Meetup groups – networking events
Facebook

Ernst & Young Careers

<A way of communicating to many using only 140 characters Used a lot by celebs and business US trend to advertise jobs through Twitter >
That’s 138 characters!
Headline pointing to your website or article
Expand your job or business network
Can search on daily basis – find out what jobs are coming up
Expert status
Twitter

www.linkedin.com
More professionally oriented
Can’t just link with anyone
Interest groups
Resume uploaded
research people, companies, groups
Linked In

August, 2009 - ComScore
70% of internet users visited social networking websites in 2009
Nearly 9 million Australians visited a social networking site in June, 2009
Only 29% in 2008
Popularity Worldwide:
Facebook followed by MySpace, Windows Live, Bebo and Twitter.
Facebook- 6 million visitors and growing 95 % from the previous year.
MySpace Sites -3.5 million visitors, up 5 %
Windows Live Profile with nearly 2 million visitors.
Twitter witnessed the most substantial growth, surging to 8,000,000 visitors in June, 2009
Orkutalso achieved significant growth, up 607 percent.
Talent Bar and yworld are upcoming sites.
Social networking in Australia

World’s largest professional network
48 million members and growing
875,000 members in Australia
Over 1,000 companies using LinkedIn Talent Advantage to hire employees.
Telcos and banks are most likely to take advantage of the business network site
Telstra, IBM, Optus, National Australia Bank and ANZ listed as the top five companies in Australia with the most employees on LinkedIn.
Top five positions for Australians on LinkedIn include: business owner, director, manager, consultant and project manager.
Industries - information technology and services industry, financial services, computer software, telecommunications, marketing and advertising, accounting, education management, human resources, banking and management consulting.
Reference: http://www.smarte-commerce.com/social-networking-usage-in-australia/
Linked In

Preferred option for professional networking
Network - Informational interviews
Integrates blog posts and Twitter
Can join groups to show expertise and interest
Can submit articles to showcase expertise and link to website
Can be useful for researching companies and individuals
Linked In Advantages

Is Social Media Networking helpful in finding a new job?
14% some contact
7% “My career profile is available for public view.”
The Age….

Social Networking Freedoms
In 2003 – 2004, Social Media was BLOCKED
Traditional companies
Problems with Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing
Contemporary companies want someone who
Can promote their brand
Can acquire new business
Social personality usually uses social media!

Ciaran Norris, head of social media at the WPP agency Mindshare, says:
“Last year was definitely a tipping-point for social media. Advertisers can now see it’s not just for kids, it’s not just for geeks – that was the worry before. More clients are asking about what we can do in social media..”
Evening Standard, London, 25th January, 2010
Advertisers take it seriously

Globalisation
Economic changes
Flexible labour practices
Information technology
New techniques
New practices
New strategies
New approaches
World of work

Impacts on job seekers
What we need to tell our clients
Professional practice
The use of social media within our profession
What career practitioners need to know

Employers use search engines and social media to evaluate clients
Internet content = new or lost opportunities
New opportunities – market skills, establish contacts, promote themself
Lost opportunities –photos, comments
Blurred boundaries between public & private
Privacy being tightened on Facebook
1. Impacts on job seekers

Be aware, not naïve
Be consistent
Be respectful
Update regularly
2. What we need to tell our clients

Their use of Social Media
Their level of privacy
Anything on site that is private information
Their level of awareness about privacy
Their “exposure” – How would you feel if your employer or prospective employer looked at your site? Help or hinder your prospects?
Keeping up to date with changes on a site
Questions for clients

Be consistently branded
How often is it updated?
Is the information consistent with your resume?
Professional or social profile?
Shorts and thongs or business suit?
Skills, accomplishments, passions, professional interests – Are they visible anywhere?
Risk minimisation
Profile Savvy

Same Advice, Different Context
Until about 2009
Now
Present yourself well in applications and interviews
Present yourself in a good light to potential employers
Look, act and sound as if you would be a good employee
Utilise your network well
Manage your online profile carefully
Maintain consistency of your personal brand
Does an online search make you seem employable?
Utilise your online and offline networks

Are you networking online?
Are you learning from others online?
Are you using social media to promote your own professional interests or business?
Are you helping your clients to use social networking to their advantage?
3. Professional Practice

Best example I have seen:
Career Success Radio –
Keith Keller and Annemarie Cross
Weekly broadcasts
International
Highly visible on main social media sites
Creating links with many career development organisations and individuals internationally
www.careersuccessradio.com
4. Social media with our profession

Talent Bar
Yworld
Global Career Coaching Alliance
Yahoo Groups – Career coaches
Other sites to explore

To be Career Development Practitioners of the current times, relevant to all generations and aware of the main modes of communication that people are using………
Therefore Social Networking is an essential contemporary career development tool.
Our challenge

Contact: Jenni Proctor
Career Clarity
jenni@careerclarity.com.au
www.careerclarity.com.au

Social Media A Fad Or An Essential Career Tool

by Jenni Proctor on Mar 04, 2010

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