Using our unique six-step system that combines social media and good old-fashioned networking, we empower students, recent grads and college career counselors to initiate attention-getting campaigns that result in landing career-launching jobs.

1. We empower
college students
and recent grads
to leverage the
power of social
media in the job
search

2. We teach
a 6-step,
social-media-
based job
search system

3. Our system enables
students to:
•Stand out from the crowd
•Showcase their skills
•Demonstrate industry
knowledge
•Connect with key industry
players
•Land the career-launching
job of their dreams

4. I developed the 6-step process after
working with 300 students over 5
years

5. The 6 steps:
1. A scrubbed and robust digital
footprint
2. Two resumes: 1) ATS-friendly; 2)
interactive
3. A “Me” Site as a digital portfolio
4. A “Passion Blog” about a niche in
their field
5. A social media marketing campaign
of themselves
6. An informational interview campaign

6. A scrubbed and
robust digital footprint1.
Ninety percent of companies
check candidates out on the web
Seventy percent have rejected
candidates based on what they
find, but 70% have hired based
partially on what they find

7. We show students how to
scrub their digital footprint
• pipl.com (finds mentions of you in lots of place
• Facewash (now SImpleWash) (scours Facebook)
• socioclean.com (being rebuilt but best when it returns)
• Reppler (scans Facebook profile for bad stuff)
• BrandYourself (helps you make sure the results for a
search of your name are good results)
• Social Mention (searches social media for mentions)
• BackTweets (searches for mentions of you on Twitter)
• Reputation.com (searches for mentions of you
everywhere and grades them)
• Tin Eye (searches for your IMAGES everywhere!)

8. After their digital
footprint is clean,
we help them
make it robust
on LinkedIn
and other major
platforms

9. Here are
two of my
students to
illustrate
how it
works
John Otterbein
URI grad, 2012
Marketing Assoc.
Environmental nonprofit
Sae Cho
BU grad, 2011
Sr. Accnt. Exec.
Social House, LA

10. A “Me” Site2.
A digital portfolio, putting all their
great work (including resume and
references) in one place, helping
create a positive digital footprint,
and using a powerful, professional
photo to fix the student in the
mind of the employer in the role
THEY want to be in.

11. Sae’s ‘Me’ Site
http://www.saeyoungcho.com/

12. John’s ‘Me’ Site:
http://www.about.me/johnotterbein

13. • Re.vu
• About.me
• Flavors.me
• Snackwebsites.com
• Zerply.com
• BrandYourself.com
• Follr.com
• Visualize.me
• Wordpress
• Tumblr
“Me” Site
platforms

14. Two resumes:2.
1. “Anti-Black-Hole” resume
(ATS-friendly resume)
2. A multimedia resume

15. ATS Resume2A.
1. Proper keywords in right places
2. Proper placement of skills
3. Proper order of elements
4. Absence of fancy stuff

16. Interactive Resume2B.
1. QR Code at top linking to
intro video of student
2. QR Code at bottom linking
to video of best reference

17. John and Sae’s “Before” Resumes

18. John and Sae’s “After” Resumes

19. Introductory
videos
Introductory videos
instantly convey a
student’s energy,
passion and
personality, converting
a dull paper resume
into a dynamic,
memorable
experience and
helping answer the
“cultural fit” question

20. QR Codes
bring references to life
John’s Reference Video

21. A “Passion” blog4.
1. Showcases students’ skills
2. Demonstrates industry knowledge
3. Raises profile in their field
4. Puts them in touch with key players
as a professional not a supplicant

22. Sae’s Passion Blog

23. John’s Passion Blog

24. Social Media
Marketing Campaign5.
Regular activity on the primary
social media platforms puts students
on the radar screens of key players,
impressing those players with the
student’s knowledge, analytic ability,
creativity and thoughtfulness. This
contact paves the way for the
informational interviews.

25. How to find key people: Twitter Lists
Listorius, WeFollow, Twellow

26. Informational
interviews6.
Building on the student’s list of key
players, get interviews that will:
•Fix the student in the minds of people
who can make a difference in their lives
•Plug them in to “the hidden job market,”
and
•Result in new contacts after each
interview to add to their network

27. John has gone from
sending out 76 resumes and
getting no answers to
landing his dream job as a
content creator for an
environmental advocacy
nonprofit
Sae went from sending
out 26 resumes and getting
no responses to being
hired as the web mistress
for WeekendLA and was
recruited away last month
by a social media agency
serving major media clients
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO SAE AND JOHN?

28. Other success stories:
Degrees2Dreams “graduates” are:
The asst. casting director of “America’s Next Top Model”
Teacher in a STEM program in the Providence, RI schools
Web Producer at NECN; then one of first hired at bostonglobe.com
Paid Music blogger, Professional music site, Boston
The editor-in-chief of The Next Great Generation
Reporters with Patch
Editor-in-chief of weekly online/print paper
Paid intern at HubSpot (one of 200 applicants)
Producer at NPR in Washington
Writer/Photographer, Shanghai Daily News
Inbound marketing producer, NYC marketing co.
Asst. to director, Los Angeles music video company
Social media mgr. Doyles Pubs; now social media mgr. brewing
company.
Winners of two paid internships, Boston marketing co.
Paid intern, Mullen Adv. (one of 1200 applicants for 30 jobs)
Community manager, social media marketing co.
Webmistress, Weekend LA
Communications Coordinator, City Year

29. Sam Clarke, Emerson ’11,
Production Asst., “Modern Family,”
formerly Asst. Casting Director, “America’s Next Top
Model”

30. WE OFFER:
• 90-minute crash courses
• Half-day courses
• Full-day courses
• Weekend boot camps

31. Thank
you!
john@degrees2dreams.com