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Thanks for stopping by.
And I don't even have a LinkedIn account yet. Hahaha...!
Thanks for the comment.
As you say, social media networking alone, should never get you a job or ensure you stay in your job.
I would say digital media as whole area rather than social media, is a good industry to be in at the moment and even during a recession it seems to be seeing growth where others are shrinking.
Social media still hasn't reassured many in main stream media agencies and client side marketing teams that it can be successful yet. Digital media however is a tried, tested and quantified market.
During my time as a network manager, I'd meet folk who clearly didn't know what they were doing. The only way they were going to convince me otherwise was by their actions when they were involved in projects I was part of.
Organic growth of business through word of mouth from previously satisfied clients is invaluable when times are tight though, and social media can help with this. However Twittering without value add, serves no purpose, particularly in the hunt for job.
Are you in London, by chance? I'll be there May 14-16. Perhaps I'll see you.
Where I agree is that I'm not going to get the job unless I've got the right follow up and that's the emails and handshakes and phone calls. But social media, if done well can provide the introductions that you may never have otherwise had. I've had short "conversations" with people all over the world in all kinds of industries via social media who I otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to connect with.
Not only that, but your participation online in any kind of discussions can help improve what people find when they search for you. If you're talking about the right topics with the right people, anyone doing a very cursory background check on you on Google will get an instant feel for who you are and what you're interested in.
The biggest piece of advice I'd add is to build your network when you don't think you'd need it. You can do that pretty simply just by participating and engaging with people. You're going to still need to do the hard work when you're out looking for a job, but you should be building the connections along the way. Because who knows when I might need a contact in Louisville?
In about one week, I've had one in-person interview and discussed possible project work with another. The former was created by someone I never met but knew through my social networks. The latter opportunity was through a referral by someone I had worked with and met recently. IN some cases, I know others who are getting called for interviews because of their LinkedIn profiles.
Like everything, I think some methods or combo of them will work for different people. So - are you free for a 10 minute conversation to discuss opportunities =)
I've had some success with networking at industry events too. If possible, it's a good idea to check out who's going to be there ahead of time. Do a little research, and send a note to them beforehand.
Having been laid off for a couple months now, I have been able to go through several interviews (phone and in person) but more to the benefit of my network, a lot of whom I call friends and have met in person. The tools I use and the time it took to build my communities & the relationships within have no doubt benefited me through this and are a great extension to our current networking skills.
The handshake may still mean more, but the networks allow folks to be much better "connected" as Mack's post eludes and as Ryan gets perfect in his comment.
Oh yeah, I'm driving through on the way to Chicago at the end of the month; when are we doing lunch? :-)
Thanks for the comment, too. You're right - the online can lead to the offline. But the real world is full of people who think online is checking email. Better to focus much of one's job searching in the real world as opposed to the social media space.
Let me know when you're coming through.
I liked this post a lot and it definitely made me think a bit more about how I've been going about my job search. I will argue however that how much social media can help you, very much depends on the situation. As a college student in upstate NY (not where I plan on staying) it's hard for me to meet people face to face in NYC or somewhere else I may find a job. Social media has been an amazing tool for me to meet many professionals from all over the country. If you know exactly where you want to work, your method may work better. For someone like myself however, who is less concerned with where I work, I like to stay open to any opportunities, regardless of what city they come from. I'm not going to call every company in every city.
I completely agree that nothing will ever replace face-to-face interaction. In most cases I wouldn't hire anyone that I haven't spoken to in person and wouldn't expect anyone else to. I believe however that social media can, and does provide an invaluable method of establishing connections which can be followed up with an interview or a meeting in person.
Dave
Good luck to you, sir. I'm sure you'll land something soon. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I love how you handle responding to your blog comments. I'll definitely be back.
Dave
Of course, I've been wrong before. Thanks for the push back.
Greetings from Phoenix. As a hospitality PR professional who's been in the industry for 25 years, I couldn't agree more. Thanks for a great article. I've passed it along to many of my co-horts in the tourism/hospitality industry who are currently unemployed and learning about this new wave of social media - when we were all raised in the era of "who you know" - reach out personally, write those thank you's, those intro letters or phone calls. Nice job. It's back to basics in more ways than one this year! Thanks for sharing.
Carol in Phoenix
And, I do agree with the comments above that specifically, the online needs to move offline. I have found Twitter incredibly valuable for making connections, and then I take them offline. For example, I looked up specific social media companies in Boston, found people who worked there, and set up in-person meetings with each of them. I have found that to be an effective way to meet people away from the screen.
I like your comment about "hand shake, a smile and a chat." I couldn't agree more.
So, overall, my message is BALANCE, especially in the current economic situation. You need to cover all your bases (which is why I'm still awake at 1:50am!).
Thanks again for mentioning me!
-Rachel- (@bostonmarketer)
~ Larissa
@LYF108
Thanks for stopping by and continuing the conversation.
It's funny, we were discussing this (ina roundabout kind-of-way) on #Journchat last night, about whether the Twitter pitch is worthwhile. I'd mentioned that I'd been fortunate enough to pick up three clients via Twitter, yet as you say, this wasn't massively indicative of the norm, since they were all tech companies. Or, the typical users of Twitter and social media on the whole, much like media companies and similar.
Sure, we have some great tools to work with, but a voice and eye contact will always beat a virtual relationship, no matter how well you've built it up. At least for now.
Picking up clients via Twitter is do-able. I've done it, in fact. But for the most part, you're right. They wind up being tech companies or inside the social media bubble folks. For the regular CPG and other companies, it's still going to be the old fashioned networking that wins the business. At least for now.
I agree with your assessment about "new media" types not being safe inside organizations. I'm still amazed at how many mainstream companies think social media is hocus pocus or a trend. But there are two issues here.
1. Keeping your current job when you're the new media guy and;
2. Using social media to find a job.
Social media is an excellent way to get work and find clients. It's been helping me greatly to be blogging, Twittering and using social media platforms. Not only does it demonstrate to potential clients that I know of what I speak, it is a great way to be introduced or reintroduced to people you've worked with before. That's the network you really want to tap into when you look for a job.
Of course, in-person networking is best, but making that happen can start online.
Thanks for commenting.
Try it and report back. I bet it does have a good effect.
I agree, that social media won't get you a job, but it sure helps. Here's two examples on how LinkedIn helped me recently. For six months I was trying to find a web partner that really understood social media and could design a world-class web site around my new book. I tried my entire network. I finally remembered... social media! I put a question out on LinkedIn and with an hour, I got 15 qualified leads. This lead to signing an agreement with MediaSauce.
The second time I used LinkedIn was when I needed to get to Mark Kingdon, the CEO of Linden Labs who created Second Life to do an interview with him for my book. My network failed me again. I remembered LinkedIn once more, and found out that a colleague of mine, new someone who went to school with Mark. I sent my colleague my email request and asked him to forward it on. He did and within 30 minutes, I got an email from Mark Kingdon and did a great interview.
Social media doesn't solve all of your problems, no doubt, but I sure would like to have my trusted network by my side when I need a favor. Look at your following... If you needed a favor, would they respond?
Great blog! Keep supporting Social Media! - Lon
My opinion on all this social media is it is creating value for human touch. A handshake will be worth $1,000, a smile $3,500 and a hug; priceless. (Sorry, you can't by your way into scratching me behind the ears, but we can still talk :-) )
On the business side of things, I think we will see a resurgence of the trade show for organizations that can weather this economy. But, since they will have a new-found value, they will not be for the unwashed masses. Will be interesting for trade associations who are on watching all this and on the ball.
You're right that social media is creating greater value for the human touch, but putting a price tag on it is a little weird. Of course, I'm theoretically responding to a dog, so I shouldn't judge, right?
The economy will bounce back. The organizations that have been doing SM right will have members craving for human contact. The ones that do it exceedingly well will have stoked value into the equation and will profit nicely early on.
I just thought I would step in as Michael Litman is a very good friend of mine. In my opinion both social media (whether blogs, Twitter or online communities) can help get a job but offline networking is also useful.
Michael contacted last year via my blog asking me if I could help him get a job in social media. He firstly started freelance as I introduced him to a friend of mine that I met at a netwoking event.
Here we have an offline / online scenario
A few months later one of my Twitter contacts contacted me asking me if I knew anyone who was looking for a job - I referred him to Michael.
Here we have the opposite scenario - online/offline
I think as far as the UK market is concerned, having a social media definitely helps with job hunting and will gradually become more and more important. Out of 5 people in my office and 4 of us blog!
Personally, every job I've ever gotten was because I knew someone on the inside who recommended me...and that's the offline network at work.
I don't agree with Dan that "if you're highly connected online and then lose your job, it wont' be as hard to recover for the experienced professional." Yes, you might have contacts that can help spread your resume around...but those people doing the hiring just aren't in the same space and they treat you like any other candidate that applied. Just my experience.
Chris
Some great points here-
Having said that, since we're also talking about being more creative during this economic slump, why not think outside the box of looking to work for another in the first place?
I'm rather amazed that there are plenty of skill sets that are for whatever reason not "conventional" enough to be taught in schools, but the mastery of which would lead to more autonomy.
Most of us are trained to be employees- nothing wrong with that, but I'm convinced that thinking that way is a kind of tunnel vision that keeps many from learning skills that would allow them to carve out there own path to income.
One of them is as close as the computer in front of you. For the first time in history, we are 3 feet in front of the world, yet few learn how to use it in a way to render 1) value to others and 2)income for themselves.
leavethejobbehind.com
2nd - The average person on facebook has 120 friends on facebook - I just checked my facebook and not one of my ten friends (randomly selected) had less than 450. The only thing that you can judge based on their friends list is whether or not they are an extrovert or an introvert - and even that can be debated. To judge this "excellent" applicant based on 4 words is in my opinion; kind of ridiculous...
If you wanted to judge how much time she spent on facebook simply look at how many wall posts she has - how many links she shares and then.....ask yourself if you're crossing the line.