Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

Guest post: You can do something new for your job hunt

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twitterpsych2382680812_34858bec65_mThis is a guest post from Jessica Lewis. Jessica is a job seeker who joined Twitter about a month ago with the intention of using it to help her drive her own career bus. She has been writing a Twitter-for-beginners series on her blog (which you should read!)

You can find Jessica on Twitter @copytailor.

If you’re reading this post, you’re obviously familiar with the concept of sharing information and opinions via blogs. And you’re familiar with the concept of niche blogs, like this one.

Remember back when blogs were a new concept? When they were generalized as boring ramblings from people enamored with themselves? No one I knew had a blog. I would have been embarrassed to write a blog back then because I would have been seen as enamored with myself.

The general perception of blogs back then is not much different from the general perception of Twitter now. It’s humorous when you realize Twitter is classified as microblogging! What’s wrong with the public perception is it’s making you miss out on great experiences and opportunities — two things that, I know from experience, you likely are sorely lacking as a job seeker.

If you’re going to be a sheep, at least be one with a clue.

Let’s say you feel uncomfortable joining Twitter because you think you’ll be one of the sheep. The people you know perceive Twitter in a negative, time-wasting way. And no one you know is on Twitter. These people are all just staying within their comfort zone, doing what they’ve always done, telling you they don’t have time for the silliness of Twitter.

Let me tell you something: You become a sheep anyway for following them.

You have read about Twitter on Keppie Careers. I know from experience that you likely have been turning away from such praise for Twitter — if you ignore it, it’ll go away and you can feel good that you kept doing what you’ve been doing and thinking, “Oh, I’m not falling for that one!”

One thing I’ve learned in my job search: Do not keep doing something if it’s not working. It sounds like common sense, but with you’re dealing with so many unknowns in a job search, it’s easy to fall back on old advice or latch onto one piece of advice you read online or do what other people do because it’s easier to follow than lead. You want to follow the herd you’re familiar with. The problem is that herd isn’t looking out for you.

Stay tuned for more from Jessica tomorrow!

Need help getting your job hunt going? Learn what I offer job seekers!

photo by xotoko

New Media Atlanta – lessons for job seekers mimic those for business owners

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chriseditedDSC00965-800x572It’s always fun to get together with all of my social media friends! Atlanta has a great community of tweeters, bloggers and social media enthusiasts.

Yesterday, I attended the New Media Atlanta, a conference organized by Matt Fagioli and Brad Nix. (In the picture, I pose (from far left) with my friends Stephanie A. Lloyd and Stephanie Frost with key note speaker and social media guru, Chris Brogan.)

Listening to the speakers and panelists, one message came across very clearly to me:

Advice to entrepreneurs and business owners for using social media to improve their prospects parallels the advice I offer job seeking clients.

Below is a recap of my tweets from the conference. (In reverse chronological order.) See if you don’t agree that job seekers can learn a lot from information aimed at business owners!

For non Twitter users, #nmatl is a “hashtag” used for the conference to make it easier for people to follow the conversation on Twitter. If you search that tag on Twitter, you will find the entire stream of tweets about the conference.

MY TWITTER RECAP

. @chrisbrogan talking about “share vs. hoard.” Good for #jobseekers to think about-SHARE. You may be surprised at results

Don’t collect business cards like Pokemon via @chrisbrogan at #nmatl. DO: LISTEN-ASK-RECIPROCATE-COMMENT-COMMENT BACK

Business opportunities come to people who connect ppl to other ppl – via @chrisbrogan #nmatl

.@chrisbrogan reminds us that #jobseekers shouldn’t start looking for a job after they’ve been fired. Manage UR relationships along the way

“Your competitor is doing it.” @chrisbrogan on social media for businesses. SAME for #jobseekers. Find your niche & what you offer. #nmatl

. @chrisbrogan says “Reciprocity is a powerful thing” – YES. #Jobseekers – listen up! #nmatl

Integrate social media with all of your marketing efforts-advice for businesses from #nmatl. Also ++ for #jobseekers. Don’t rely on 1 thing.

Branding advice works for #jobseekers-Simple story, be articulate and intelligent! Take the time to KNOW YOUR STORY! #nmatl

#nmatl – Branding – Find a simple story in product and present it in articulate & intelligent, persuassive way – Bill Bernbach via @tobydiva

Brent Leary says “Listening to customers yields more than asking.” Same idea for #jobseekers-use your ears and mind to connect. #nmatl

Jeff Turner shares useful tool to monitor # convos: http://tweetgrid.com/irc #nmatl

Jeff Turner: “important to take risks.” Lesson for job seekers: Take a chance! Connect w/someone new. What’s worst that’ll happen? #nmatl

Relationships matter in web of interconnections. Key for jobseekers-networking = relationships. No matter what you call it. #nmatl

I posted a blog on the day of the conference that I’ve been holding for a while, but seemed perfect: Job seekers (and business owners) pitch what you offer, not what you WANT. I think this is a good reminder of many of the lessons that speakers shared. A lot of it boils down to a very basic message:

USE YOUR EARS FIRST! Listen, respond, connect.

It’s not rocket science, but clearly not everyone is doing this or doing it well. If you do it well, you can fuel your job hunt and/or entrepreneurial plans. Don’t get left behind!

Since this is all about connecting, here are some people I had a chance to either meet for the first time and/or spend time with again at the event and links to their Twitter accounts:

Stephanie A. Lloyd, Stephanie Frost, Marna Friedman, Taryn Pisaneschi, Robyn Cobb, Marisa Sharpe, Stone Payton, Todd Schnick, Jenny Devaughn, Chad Rothschild, Jeff Turner, Bert Dumars, Victoria Dunmire, Chris Jordan,  Kevin Metzger, Willie Jackson,  Andrea Walker and Sandra Spiller.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get to know some of my new friends and to possible business opportunities in the offing!

If you need help using social networking (Twitter, blogging, LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc.) for your business or job search – I can help! Please learn more about what I can do to help you!

JobShouts co-founder describes tool for job seekers

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jobshoutsWhen I attended ERE Expo earlier this month, I had the chance to meet a lot of terrific people. Two new friends are the co-founders of JobShouts.com, Robin Eads and Michael Quale. JobShouts is a tool that helps connect job seekers with opportunities via social networks. Robin was kind enough to give a brief overview in this video.


To read Job Shouts’ most recent press release, CLICK HERE.
For more about Job Shouts, visit jobshouts.com

Need help getting your job search up and running? Learn how I can help!

Not convinced that social networking can propel your job hunt?

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If there is one thing that I learned at the ERE Expo conference targeted at recruiters and career professionals earlier this month, it is that social networking is a key way that recruiters identify and source candidates. Have you been hesitating to use social media for your job hunt? Maybe you think it is a fad? Take a look at this video from Socialnomics…

A few key points:

Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months! If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest.

80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary way to find employees.

Are you making it easy for people to find you? Watch this if you think social media is not important. It may just change your mind!

Thanks to my friend Andy Drish for sending a link to this video on Twitter!

Let me help you navigate the social networks to propel your job hunt!

Use an email address you "own" when you sign up for LinkedIn

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LinkedInpic_logo_119x32A friend recently contacted me to ask for  help for one of his clients. His dilemma? The client had created a LinkedIn profile, but he didn’t remember the password AND he had used a work email address only to set up the profile. Unfortunately, he was no longer at the job and did not have access to the email account that LinkedIn would use to send him a reset password!

While LinkedIn customer service might be able to help, it is a good reminder to everyone – DON’T use an email address that you won’t always have access to when you sign up for social networks. Instead, set up a Gmail or other “take with you” account as the primary address and add your current work mails as additionals. That way, you’ll never be locked out of your OWN profile!

Need more advice to help you move your job search forward? I can help!