Accelerate Your Search™ Now

There was a time when you could sit on the sidelines and not incorporate social media into your job search with little impact, however many including me believe that time has come and gone.  Social media is a now a mainstream way of connecting and conducting business online.   You do not have to like social media, but you do need to understand that it is part of business and here to stay.

Many businesses are increasing their use of social media for marketing and recruiting.  It may not be your favorite marketing choice or the way you prefer to discover opportunities nor may and you enjoy participating in social media, but it is a facet of the internet that continues to grow, and to become more and more important as a business tool and the way business is done.

Are you still holding out, hoping you will land a job without having to jump into social media or having to learn more than one social media platform?  Ok, I get it. 

But the truth is as the use of social media grows, you should at least consider how you could use it, and create a strategy to become familiar with the different social media platforms.  As you do so, you can decide if and which social media platform is best to use it to achieve your goals.

Here are a few questions to ask:

Could a step into social media to add value to your career?

Would social media create or improve the experience a potential employer would have with you?

How much time are you willing to dedicate to any a social media platform you use now and when you return to work?

Currently there are about 15 million unemployed persons in the US, and there are more than 2 billion product marketers, businesses and consumers that use the internet each and every day. To stand out among that level of competition, you need a plan to succeed. 

What is your plan?

Will you look at what it takes to accelerate your sucess in 2011?  Will you step up, step out and truly shape your world and the perception others have about you, your brand, your career, your business and your industry?  Or will you leave that and your success to others?

If you have decided to be serious about your personal brand and are looking for some solid resources here is a list good list, 50 Excellent Blogs to Help You Build Your Online Brand.

Take a look at your personal brand and how it can help you accelerate your job search, your career and your success in the new year.  If you have questions about how personal branding can help you accelerate your success join my Q & A calls and learn more or read some of the 50 Excellent Blogs to Help You Build Your Online Brand and take action.

Small consistent actions will accelerate your search, build your brand and help you create the success you deserve.   How did you accelerate your search today?

Recently, a former client called to share an experience and ask what I thought.  He was interviewing candidates for a newly created position in his division and called one of his top candidates to clarify some data as he prepared to check references on each candidate.

The candidate had only listed the LinkedIn Public Profile address for each of his references and when called for detailed contact information the candidate responded with “I suggest you go to LinkedIn read all my great recommendations, then if you feel you still need to talk to my references Send InMail and find out if they have time to talk to you, or check with your trusted connections and see you can introduce you to my references.  I look forward to reviewing your offer soon …”, then the call ended was a pleasant good-bye.

Somewhat taken aback by the response from the candidate, my former client had paused to ask himself several questions.   Was he behind the times in how LinkedIn was being used?  Was this candidate just a poor match for the job and the organization with this approach?  Should he invest time in checking the references of this candidate?

What do you think?

How does this differ from your approach?

Are you still attempting to learn the rules of the road on LinkedIn?

On Friday, Andrea J. Stenberg shared a great story in her post,  “LinkedIn Invitations – Why hitting I Don’t Know This Person is a bad idea”. It is a post worth reading and thinking about before you select the “I don’t know this person”.

The rules on of connecting on LinkedIn and the rules of connecting via other social media sites are important and can make or break you in business.  Do you know the “rules of engagement”?

Almost weekly, I see people fail to connect at networking events, social gatherings, or business meetings because they don’t know the rules, don’t understand the nuances of connecting with others or simply don’t think about the consequences of their actions.  Do you need to brush up on these skills?

Play to your strengths, learn the rules and help others learn what you know.   You’ll be surprised at the benefits and the connections you’ll make.

In early December 2009,  Kristin Burnham, Staff Writer for CIO.com in the article 5 Ways to Get More from LinkedIn in 2010 provided tips on how to get more from LinkedIn in 2010.  She noted that using five features could help you gain more from LinkedIn.  Ms. Burnham recommended participating in Groups, finding and connecting via Events, using the Advanced People Search for seeking new connections, discovering relevant trends about companies of interest, and seeking Recommendations to enhance and validate your profile.

All these are solid tips and helpful suggestions, as I talk to those who use LinkedIn and get results I always ask “What do you do and what features to you use?”  I find that the specific features vary from person to person, however the common thread among those who get results is that each person has a specific strategy for using LinkedIn and how much time is spent using, connecting and researching via LinkedIn.

One savvy user,  who has landed four (4) interviews via LinkedIn connections since mid-November told me that it took him about 20 days to figure out the best ways to use LinkedIn.  Then he could connect with those who could hire him and make the most of all the company information available via LinkedIn.

He noted initially he spent a couple hours a day just learning what information was on the site, setting up his profile and inviting connections.  Then he decided on a plan with clear action steps.  Now he uses LinkedIn less than a couple hours a week with great results.

Do you have a plan for using LinkedIn?

What is working for you?

What results are you getting?

When it comes to using social media for business, yes your job search is business, it is important to periodically assess where you are, what you are doing and if your actions are achieving the results you want.

So often when I talk to top talent about social media they are in one of three camps.  Camp one views social media as threat, silly, and a waste of time. Camp two loves social media, uses tons of different social media sites and activities, they “poke”, “tweet”, “friend” hundreds a times a week without a care, thought, plan, or concern for the benefits or consequences to their brand or reputation.  Camp three views social media a big opportunity and realize the value of the tool.  This camp is looking for smart balanced approaches for using social media and managing its challenges.

Which camp are you in?

No matter which camp you are in you need to grow your social media literacy and realize it is a part of a fundamental shift in the way people interact and business gets done.  It is important for you to have a plan and regularly assess how you use (or don’t use) social media to do business, enhance or build relationships in all aspects of your life.

Here are a few tips smart “top talent” and  top organizations employee when using and planning to use social media:

1.    Listen before you talk.

2.    Invest in training and learn to use the technology.

3.    Know how to communicate and what you want to communicate before you engage in goofy social media schemes or online marketing.

4.    Create a plan and policies for using social media.

5.    Understand the appropriate tone, image and use for the various social media channels.

6.    Build real relationships and connections using authentic conversations.

7.    Use caution if you outsource you social media activities.

8.    Understand the benefits and the consequences of failing to have and follow a plan, current practices and policies for using social media.

9.     Routinely review what you do and the results you get from your using social media activities.

What else would you add to the list of tips?

How are you using social media now?

What are your results?

Last week Dan Schawbel captured the just of Google Buzz and provided four simple steps to begin to use Google Buzz, check out his post 4 Step Personal Branding With Google Buzz .  It is important to have a basic understanding of the many tools available to help you assemble your online presence and build relationships.

How are you communicating the value you add to the world and your future employer?

Being visible and helping those you want to reach find you is not only critical in a job search it is a requirement to accelerate your career.

What are the best tools for you to use?