Social Media for Job Search: What Every College Student Must Know

The Need for A Digital Presence -
Social Media for Job Search:
What Every College Student Must know
TERI THOMPSON
Author, Social Media and Marketing Strategist, Adjunct Professor
Rocky Peak Enterprises, LLC
805-527-3745
September 2012

Digital Presence- What does it mean?

Placing yourself on targeted social media platforms
that will increase search engine optimization when
headhunters, recruiters, hiring agents, potential employers
are looking for someone with your skills and attributes.

This will increase the probability of being found and hired.

Snapshot: Personal Branding using Social Media

3

Digital Brand Presence is Essential

Consider:
 LinkedIn IF you are a student ready
 Twitter to graduate, you need to
 Facebook put yourself on social
 YouTube media platforms that
 Slideshare match your goals.
 LinkedFA
 Pinterest
 Blog
 BranchOut
 Quora
 Social Media News Releases

4

Social Media Career Building
Strategy - Digital Presence
I

GOALS:
 Increase your own Search Engine
Optimization
 Control the information about yourself
 Be found!

5

Digital Presence First Steps
Step #1 Define your career goals

Step #2 Fully develop your LinkedIn personal profile
 -Start adding Connections from your inner circle then
work outward:
University
Clubs
Associations
Interest Groups
Volunteer organizations
 -Upload Projects, Portfolios, Content
6

Digital Presence First Steps

Step #3 Create a Twitter account
 Start by following inner circle same as LinkedIn
 Create and launch free social media press releases
about yourself and put links in Twitter posts
 Assess other social sites to determine where it makes
sense
Step #4 Clean up your Facebook timeline!
– Remove any unflattering photos or suggest
immature behavior

Snapshot: Employers are looking at LinkedIn for skill, Facebook
for character and making hiring decisions on what they discover
7

Why Should I Care About
Social Media?

•100,000 people a day are joining a community somewhere
around the world

•People are relying on each other for buying decisions…
“Reviews are the New Advertising”
“Conversation is Currency”

…and hiring decisions - And referrals for jobs!

•Be aware of how to harness these platforms for personal
branding and career development

• Educate yourself about the impact and use of social media to
stay relevant and marketable

Department of Labor

http://bit.ly/bM4IsR

What is Social Media? Defined

 Free digital platforms
that support conversation
within a community

 Media that is Social

 New Tools

 Instead of one-to-one
it is one-to-many

What is Social Media? Reach

United States -Popular
 Facebook 1 Billion
 Twitter 478 Million +
 LinkedIn 175 Million+
 YouTube 2 Billion videos per/day
 Flickr
International
 QQ, Qzone, Weibo Sina, Kaixin,
– Ren Ren
 Orkut (Google)
 Hi 5 (Microsoft)
 StudiVZ , V Kontakte
Odnoklassniki

Why Now?

Why is social media
everywhere?

12

Digital Natives
•Digital Natives*, Generation Y, Generation Net
Global “YOUTH BULDGE” around the world connect on social
media
•Males /Females under 35 years of age
•In U.S. 90 million - outnumber Baby Boomers 70 million

• Mark Prensky – Harvard University coined the term Digital Natives
• Beck, John C., Wade, Mitchell. “Got Game: How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business
Forever.” Boston, Harvard Business School Press, 2004. 1-2.

13

Social Media - Why Now?
The Perfect Storm Has Hit

Free
Technology

Communications
Shift

Digital Global
Natives Recession

Industries Impacted by Social Media =
Job Opportunities
 Businesses - all sizes & categories
 Law Enforcement
 Government
 Entertainment
 Non-Profit, Fundraising
 Healthcare
 Auto
 Sports
 Retail
 Travel & Leisure
Everyone!

Brand: YOU

Consider Your Objects:

1. What are your attributes?
2. What brand are you trying to build?
3. Why?
4. Do you want to be perceived as
an expert?
5. Do you want to establish your
• Own name
• Your own company
6. Go niche

17

Orange County Transportation Authority
OCTA – Example of personal branding on
Twitter

@TEDNUYGEN
Public Relations Director,
OCTA

Multiple Twitter Handles
@OCTA parks
@OCTAyouth
@91fwy

Twitter = Microblogging Tool

• 140 character fire hose
• Follow companies where you want to work
• They post job openings. Hear about them first!

19

Web + Log = Blogs
•22% of the Fortune 500’s companies blog
•45% of the Inc 500′s and about 80% of non-profits
•Technology companies blog the most

Blogging Benefits:
•Problem solving
•Community building
•Loyalty
•New product development and engagement
•Thought leadership
•Brand awareness
•Customer engagement
•Use blogs to enhance corporate image and
integrate with traditional media
Bill Marriott , Executive Blogger
http://socialmediatoday.com/markwschaefer/258359/10-best-corporate-blogs-world

People = Profiles

Brands = Pages

 Friend reviews
-"Reviews (and likes) are the new advertising"
-Find the influencers

Example: Page for a Professional

Example: Profile for a Professional

The Basics

Social Media community for Professionals & Decision Makers
Approx. 170 million members in over 200 countries
Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members
Over 85% -95% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find talent
 Free & Fee based services

25

LinkedIn Demographics

Typical profile

26

LinkedIn “Connections”

 Extend a “digital handshake”
 Make “Connections” with those you know and don’t
know
 Interact with industry professionals

27

Benefits of LinkedIn for Career
Management

 Research People, Companies and Organizations
who you want to meet and where you want to work
 Job Search & Recruiting
 Grow Your Network
 Arrange Face-to-Face Meetings
 Organize and Extend Groups
 Business Development
 Market your skills
 Event Awareness
 Increase SEO for your name
 Manage the information that’s publicly available
about you as a professional

28

Personal Professional Profile

www.Linkedin.com
Enter professional information
in a simple form

Don’t be afraid to edit

Refresh, rearrange as needed

29

Example: Woodbury University Student
LinkedIn Digital Presence

Example: Graduate Student California
Lutheran University

Company Page

Helps other learn about your company’s:
Products
Services
Work Culture
Job Opportunities

32

Company Page - Discover Connections

Find out if anyone
of your connections
works at the company
you are targeting

33

LinkedIn Search – Power Tool

Use Search to gain
business intelligence

Find potential:
Companies where you
want to work
Hiring agents &
headhunters
Business partners
Competitive
Information
 Clients
34

LinkedIn Groups

1. Group search – First invite Connections from:
– College alumni
– Industry
– Professional Associations
2. Free introductions among Group members
3. Groups are
1. Open- anyone can join
2. Private (approved by Admin)
4. Start a Group and discussion topic
5. Comment on other Group
discussions>connections> prospects & leads

35

Groups = Free Message Work-Around

Free – “Message” to people in your Groups

Teri
Free
Groups

37

Recommendations - Endorsements

1. Ask for recommendations only:
– From people you know
– With whom you have worked

2. Craft personalized and customized requests

38

Free Social Media News Releases
Increase Your SEO - Write them about yourself

 http://pressitt.com/

Strategy - Rule #1
Keep the same personal branding -
name & graphics/color
across all social media platforms
for brand consistency
&
Link them!

41

Strategy - Rule #2
Develop a “persona” as your voice/image
on social media

42

Strategy - Rule #3
Develop content YOU would like to receive.
Put this shareable content in the hands of
influencers, potential hiring agents,
and businesses where you want to work

43

Strategy - Rule #4
Commit, assess & adjust along the way

44

Thank You

 Embrace The Future
 Empower Brand “You"
 Lead the Way

Teri Thompson
@TeriThompson1
FB: Teri.Thompson1
LinkedIn: TeriThompson1
terithompson@sbcglobal.net
m 805-558-5340
o 805-527-3745

Social Media for Job Search: What Every College Student Must Know

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