Workshop delivered at Nordic Careers Network Conference on 2 June 2010 focussing on the use of social media and web 2.0 technologies by higher education careers professionals and careers services. Examples of UK higher education careers use of Twitter, Linkedin, blogs, live chat for careers guidance, social bookmarking, online forums etc, and lots of useful links.

1. Harnessing the Power of Social Media Helen Pownall University of Manchester, UK

2. Workshop Plan Describe and demo some web technologies and possible careers uses for you, your service and your students Discussion: what you are doing and what you’d like to do [If time] short ‘open mic’ for demoing current projects

3. Networking in a new era Internet and social media offer unprecedented opportunities for us and our clients to network Global reach Dynamic and expandable networks Niche - easy to find and create specialist networks Self-promotion - more opportunity to raise your profile online For us – easier to network with employers and other professionals in our areas of interest For job-seekers – increasingly a ‘must’ rather than a ‘nice to have’

4. Social Networking Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Ning MySpace Club Penguin (average user age ~8!)

5. Social media in Google search rankings Twitter profile LinkedIn profile

6. LinkedIn Professional networking site – no ‘pokes’, ‘likes’ or embarrassing photos from parties Over 65 million members in 200 countries Recruiters headhunt and jobseekers network Students can connect with recruiters and alumni and research organisations… Groups are excellent for links with business, especially by location or sector You could start your own alumni-careers group or post to the general alumni group for your institution www.linkedin.com/in/helenpownall

7. LinkedIn – get started Set up your profile (like an online CV) Don’t forget to consider your privacy settings Develop your network of contacts Degrees of separation Join groups for your areas of interest Communicate Ask and answer questions Tell people what you’re working on Start and contribute to discussions Share news

8. LinkedIn - an example Networking objective: Find a speaker for a ‘careers in events management’ talk Use people search – advanced settings Make contact by asking someone in your network to make the ‘introduction’ or send a message

9. LinkedIn – useful links Careers Services group, link to http://careerservices.linkedin.com LinkedIn webinars for careers professionals:http://careerservices.linkedin.com/webinar15th June and 20th July 2010 (10pm European Summer Time)!) If you don’t have time, the slides are at:http://careerservices.linkedin.com/LinkedIn-Career-Services-Webinar-2010.pdf Refer students and graduates to:http://grads.linkedin.com (guide and video)

10. Linkedin – useful groups UK HE Careers Professionals Group (408 members) - also has ICT in Careers Work Sub Groupwww.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1948481 Graduate recruiters groupse.g. AGR Group (944 members): www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1951518&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr Note: You will need to be logged in to LinkedIn to access these groups.

11. Twitter – what is it? A ‘micro-blogging site’ – communicate your thoughts and what you’re doing in ‘tweets’ of 140 characters or less Join in a massive online conversation! Used more professionally than Facebook People form loose connections around common interests Follow people who interest you Follow topics that interest you and join in the conversation, e.g. #careers People find jobs and headhunt through Twitter

12. Twitter for you… Use Twitter individually to: Keep up to date with latest developments Make connections across your areas of interest “Poll” your contacts or get advice/info (For students) Find out about jobs Tip: Try using Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to organise your tweets

13. Twitter for your Careers Service Set up a careers service Twitter account to communicate up-to-the-minute news, events, jobs, top tips etc:http://twitter.com/manunicareershttp://twitter.com/londongradfair List of careers services on Twitter:http://twitter.com/helenpownall/careers-services(18 in Sept 09 – now 51!)

14. Twitter – get started (1) Set up your Twitter profile Don’t forget privacy settings if you want them Tell the world what you’re thinking/doing in your first tweets Tweet a few times a day Think “what can I say of interest to my ‘followers’?” Share articles, blog posts, what you’re working on, what you’re thinking, ask questions http://twitter.com/helenpownall

15. Twitter – get started (2) Look for interesting people to follow Use Twitter search and directories See who your contacts are following and use that to expand your network Use Mr Tweet to get recommendations on who to follow Students: follow recruiters and others in companies you’re interested in working for

16. Blogs How are they different from website content? Blog Website Relevant nowLonger shelf life Informal/personalMore formal/standardised Specific/targetedMore general General blogs, themed or audience-specific blogs, student-led blogs

17. Blogs – some examples University of Manchester undergraduate careers blog http://manchesterundergradcareers.wordpress.com London School of Economics law careers blog http://lselawcareers.wordpress.com University of Salford PhD careers bloghttp://www.careers.salford.ac.uk/students/phd/blog

19. Tapping into the wealth of knowledge in the student body

20. Accessible way to venture into ‘careers stuff’

21. ‘Safe place’ to ask stupid questions?

22. Doomed to failure because targeted group fragmented?

23. 3rd party careers forums, e.g.

24. www.wikijob.co.uk/forum, www.prospects.ac.uk

25. www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=201

26. Many are actively used

28. One-to-One Live Chat – IM, video etc Examples: Skype for video chat (webcams required) LivePerson for instant messaging (text) chat Possible careers use: Off campus students/grads Busy timetables Reluctant to use face-to-face services www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/liveguidance Better than e-guidance? Immediacy and opportunity to quickly overcome misunderstandings?

29. Group web chats Web chats – usually refers to live group chat with expert(s) answering questionsExamples: Prospects Careers Chat Live KPMG - www.kpmgcareers.co.uk/Graduates In-house web chat systemswww.manchester.ac.uk/careers/webchats

30. ‘Virtual fairs’ ‘Virtual fairs’ – can include online employer profiles, scheduled group chats or webinars, individual contact by instant messaging or email Examples: BBC careers fair http://events.unisfair.com/index.jsp?eid=417&seid=29 KPMG careers fair in Second Life recently attracted several thousand people

31. The next thing…? Linking GPS and social networking(geo-location social networking applications)Times article from May 2008: http://tinyurl.com/ls7gl4 A couple of possible uses: Meet new people at a party who may be ‘friends of friends’ For headhunters at a business networking event – could do a keyword search of CVs of people in the room Buddy Beacon, iPhone compatible, tracks your friends’ locations Blip, for Blackberry

32. Individually, write on post-its… What you or your careers service are already doing with web technologies What you would like to dowith web technologies [add a ‘X’ to this one] Add a large * if you are happy to help others Circlethe * if you have something you could briefly demo

33. In groups of 5 or 6… Share your ‘doings’ and ‘would like to dos’ Pick 1 or ‘doing’s and 1 or 2 ‘would like to do’s share with the wider group Discuss Challenges and how you’ve overcome them/might overcome them Opportunities - “what problems does it solve?” Prepare to feed back to the wider group

34. Reach me on… LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/helenpownall Twitter: www.twitter.com/helenpownall Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/helenpownall Helen Pownall Careers Consultant (with special responsibility for web andinteractive technologies) MLP, Careers & Employability Division University of Manchester, UK