Think LinkedIn is a waste of time?

When you work in Higher Education, it’s tempting to dismiss some of the conventional wisdom about social networking. If you’ve heard (or said) any of the following, then listen to today’s show.

• In higher ed, it’s always about what you know, not who you know.
• I’ve already got tenure (or a great job). I don’t need to worry about networking.
• LinkedIn doesn’t really do anything.
• I don’t need another place to post my CV. IT’s on my website and I can e-mail it to anyone who wants it.
• “I don’t know anyone who uses LinkedIn besides my students, and I don’t see what good connecting with Johnny from my [insert class name here] is going to do me any good.”

In today’s Higher Ed Career Coach podcast, I’m going to tell you why all of the above are nonsense, and clue you in to what LinkedIn is really good for.We’ll also cover some higher ed and employment news, upcoming programs, new coaching packages, and site news.

The show airs at 11 a.m. ET today (Friday May 11). If you have questions or comments on today’s topic, or could use advice on a job search issue, call in to the show! The phone number is (347) 989-0055, or you can click on the Skype “S” click-to-talk button from the episode page.

Congratulations! All the time and energy you spent, and all the venting sessions your friends and family have endured are behind you. You have finally landed that new job! Your first order of business: Take a week to decompress from the job search and to check items off your personal to-do list so that you can begin your new job with a clear mind!

Then, Get to Work!

When you’re a new employee, there’s a lot to take in:

• Campus culture,
• Learning names and faces,
• Figuring out where various offices are on campus,
• Exploring your role in your department and your specific duties (assigned and otherwise), and
• Determining what your supervisor expects from you in the first month or two.

It can be overwhelming at first, especially while coming down from the high of landing the job in the first place. Don’t forget that your interview hasn’t ended; have your elevator speech still at the front of your mind in the beginning, as you will most likely use it again when you continue to meet new people around campus.

Check out the links below to ensure you have a smooth transition into your new role and start off on the right foot.

New Job? How to be an Office Rock Star From Day One – See Debt Run  

How to Get Over New Job Jitters – Darryle Brown, eHow.com

Start Your New Job the Right Way – Career Savvy 101

How to Start Your New Job on the Right Foot – Rob Taub, HRPeople

9 Ways to Start Your New Job Right – Alison Green, US News Money

Take 5 is a regular feature where we present links to some good articles and resources on job search topics. If you have ideas for future topics, send them to Melissa Judy, Content Development Intern at melissa@higheredcareercoach.com.

LinkedIn rolled out a new feature the other day, and somehow I missed it until yesterday, when I was using it on my iPhone. It asked me if I wanted to activate the new calendar feature so I could find out more about the people I’m meeting with this week. This is a great enhancement to the app, and something I hope they integrate into the web version soon.

The move is also the latest proof that we have moved beyond the era of simple social networking and solidly into the era of social network intelligence, where the average user can take advantage of the vast data mines we so happily participate in. I’ve covered “social network intelligence” tools before, with my favorite being Gist, a free social CRM tool that was acquired by Blackberry as part of its efforts to integrate cloud-based features into the lagging Blackberry ecosystem and their related notebooks. I’ve also recently been testing Nimble, which does many of the same things, and have tested Rapportive, as well as Xobni’s Smartr Contacts app on iPhone. GMail also gives users the ability to see more about your contacts by turning on the “people widget” in their mail settings.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) applications have been widely used by sales professionals for years, but the advent of Social CRM apps (especially free ones) brings the possibility of better relationship management to the everyday user.

Some typical features of social CRM apps:

• Calendar and e-mail integration. Inside one app, you can see who you are meeting with, when you’ve met with the person before, and the e-mails you’ve traded. It’s great to be able to pull up e-mails and attachments you’ve traded as you meet with a contact. How many times have you been on a phone or web meeting and had to say, “I don’t know if I received that, let me search my inbox.” No more. It’s all right there.
• Notes. You can make notes about your meeting.
• Tasks. You can create new tasks and set deadlines. In some CRM apps, you can share tasks with colleagues, or assign them to specific team members for follow-up.
• Social network integration. Add a social network profile to follow, and you can read tweets, Facebook posts, and LinkedIn updates from within the contact dashboard.
• Web searches. Many social CRM apps integrate with Google API and will return possible results for the person, company, and industry related to your contact.
• RSS feed integration. Follow a contact’s personal or corporate blogs, podcasts, and anything else with an RSS feed.
• Maps. If you have a physical address for a contact, you can get a map and driving directions from within the CRM application.

LinkedIn’s foray into social CRM is interesting, but at this point, it’s also pretty basic. First, you click on the calendar tab (really a frame of sorts) in the upper right, and it shows your calendar. You’ll see the contact’s LinkedIn photo and name. Within the meeting, you see links to the LinkedIn profile for each person in the meeting (including you) and a pane with notes. If you want more information, you click through to view the  person’s profile.

I’ll be interested to see how many more of the typical social CRM features LinkedIn integrates in the future. With access to so much user data, and its position as “the” professional social network, LinkedIn could bring Social CRM not only into your schedule, but into the mainstream.

Now that you’ve landed that new job, how do you go about figuring out how to pay your bills without falling prey to the trap of “lifestyle inflation?” How do you figure out how to save the extra money you’re making now that you weren’t used to having in your budget before? And how do you update your work wardrobe without breaking the bank?

We’ve gathered some links to answer all of these budgeting questions and then some! 

Creating a Professional Wardrobe for a New Job on a Budget – Emily Harmon, Yahoo Voices

Make the Most of Your Paycheck from Your First Job – Jeremy Vohwinkle, About.com Financial Planning

How to Budget for Clothing When Starting a New Job – Darryle Brown, eHow.com

Seven Steps to Take When Starting a New Job – LifeTuner

7 Money Moves to Make When You Get a New Job – David Ning, Wise Bread

Take 5 is a regular feature where we present links to some good articles and resources on job search topics. If you have ideas for future topics, send them to Melissa Judy, Content Development Intern at melissa@higheredcareercoach.com.