by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jul 25, 2011 | Job Search, job search tools, Social Networking
Greg Meyer (Photo provided.)
With the growing popularity of social media, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to monitor your connections and stay up-to-date with conversations. This need has ushered in a wave of tools that take Client Relationship Management to the next level, by integrating information from social media into the mix.
Gist is one such tool that can help you find out more about the people you know, and develop a more intelligent view of your network. Bought by Research In Motion in February, Gist seems to be a key part of the Blackberry maker’s efforts to include cloud-based services into new phones and tablets.
Greg Meyer is the Customer Experience Manager at Gist. In that role, he interacts with users, takes feedback and gets suggestions for new features, as well as acting as a social media ambassador for the company.
I interviewed him by phone May 25th, and he shared his thoughts on how tools like Gist can be used to find information about people, companies and industries in your network, to monitor your online presence, and to develop a better understanding of how you may be viewed by others, based on the types of information you are making available about yourself through social media.
Part 1: An Introduction to Greg Meyer, Social CRM, and Gist
So can you tell me more about yourself? Who is Greg Meyer, and how did your education, skills and experience lead to where, you are now?
Sure. Absolutely. At this point, I think I am a little bit over-educated. I started out doing undergrad in Fine Arts and History, I thought I wanted to be a a history professor. And then I went to graduate school and found out that the process to become a professor was a lot different from what I wanted to do, which was to read books and organize information.
Then I found myself in the computer field, and then went into a number of small companies. I was with a company called Allaire, which is now part of Adobe, and I was part of some big companies as well.And then I went to graduate school I worked for T-Mobile and Expedia, and as part of that, I discovered that I wasn’t as good at the technology part of the business as I was about seeing systems, and connecting people and information, so I went back to school again and got an MBA from the University of Washington. I actually used those skills to make my current job, because my job is a combination of three things. I’m a customer experience manager, and I do high-touch customer support. I also do some product planning and recommendations for products from the user base, and then I also do some technology work as well as some traditional marketing evangelism and social media.
Could you give the uninitiated a kind of “thumbnail sketch” overview of what Gist is an how it works?
Sure. Gist is a web service that helps you to take all your contacts and keep them in one place. Whether your contacts live in a web email like Gmail or whether you use Microsoft Outlook or whether you’d like to take those contacts and incorporate the contacts on your phone, say your iPhone, Android or Blackberry device, or whether you are interested in connecting to the people you know on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, what Gist does is take into account all of those contacts and we go ahead and look out over 50,000 news sources and 20 million blogs and build the complete social business profile for that person. What that means is that you would see news about them or their company, and you’d also see a history of your interactions, and we do that, and make it all available to you on all those different platforms.
So this is really taking that whole traditional idea of Client Relationship Management or Contact Relationship Management really to that next level, because of the way you aggregate that information from the public stream along with all your back and forth about a client. This may be a really stupid question, but what do you think the value is of that additional functionality to the CRM process?
Well, Sean, for starters, I don’t think there are any stupid questions. But I think that the value in understanding what makes somebody tick and how you can have a better interaction with that person is really, really key. Because if you find out on Twitter that somebody is talking about going on their vacation, that might be a signal that you might not want to talk to that person that day, because maybe they’re out of town, or if you find they are interested in a particular personal interest, like maybe they like baseball, maybe the next time you see them, you’ll want to invite them the a game, and you can use that information to make that interaction better. Now that doesn’t mean that you should use all the information you learn in every interaction, it means that it gives you better tools to make that interaction better.
Next: Knowing Your Network
Article first published as An Interview with Gist’s Greg Meyer: Part 1: The Power of Social CRM on Technorati.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Dec 21, 2010 | Career Skills, Coaching, Higher Education, Job Search, Student Affairs, The Placement Experience
Every year, I start the holiday season with good intentions…making lists, coming up with the perfect ideas for each person on my list, and taking some time to get a good head-start on things.
And like many, I fall short.
I began writing this post the night of the 19th. At that point, I hadn’t begun my Christmas shopping. Yesterday morning I was going to go out, but all the sudden it was nearly 2 p.m. before I was finally heading out the door to do some shopping. I still have a few more things on my list, but they will have to wait. Today is my daughter Susie’s 2nd birthday and we are eating cake, opening presents, and (undoubtedly, because we do this every day) watching Team UmiZoomi about 20 times.
My wife, Sarah, is one of those people who buys ahead and finds all the great deals. So she and I periodically talk about ideas and she buys many of our children’s gifts early. And my siblings, parents and the other adults in our family have moved on to doing a “country gift exchange,” so I don’t really have all that many people to shop for, but the ones I do are pretty important to me.
If you are a last-minute gifter, and you have a higher ed job seeker on your list (or you are one, and hope to give yourself the gift of a new job in the coming year), here are a few ideas for last-minute gifts:
- Buy the person a website to set up a job-seeker blog. If possible, register a .com address and use the person’s name, so they can stake out a “home base” for their personal brand. You can find plenty of good web hosts out there, and it’s really easy on most to set up a blog using WordPress. I use FatCow, which has a lot of nice features and add-ons, and a really affordable annual rate, with unlimited storage and bandwidth, as well as e-mail addresses for your domain. They are running a $4.67/month hosting special right now, which you can get by clicking on the link above or on the ad in the right-hand column. The deal includes hosting for one year, one domain, and a lot of easy-to-use tools. For example, easy set-up of a WordPress.Org blog like this one, photo galleries, forums, Moodle and Joomla sites, even an online store. Users also get ad credits on Google AdWords, Facebook, and Yahoo, which your job-seeker could use to place personal “Job Wanted” Ads.
- If you self-host a WordPress blog, you can install a standard template or get a little fancy. My blogs run the Thesis theme framework, which has some built-in features that help with Search Engine Optimization. You need to have some confidence with technology to get it installed and set up, but once you do, the dashboard is pretty easy to master, and you will enjoy better search results without having to get a certificate in internet marketing.
- Buy your job-seeker some assistance with writing and editing their job search materials (or if your job-seeker is going back to school, with admissions essays). I offer these services as part of my 1-on-1 coaching packages, and would be glad to speak to you or your job-seeker about what I can offer, but I also recently became an affiliate for ResumeEdge and EssayEdge, the leading resume and essay editing and assistance services on the internet, so please check them out as well.
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Screen grab of Module 3 of the Placement Partner Program Moodle Course
Give the gift of coaching. I am opening a job seeker group for spring. I am offering first spots to people on my mailing lists, so sign up here to get information. There will be a limited number of spots for this program, because I want to offer members a quality experience and to give them personal attention, so list members get first crack. If there are available spaces in January, they will be opened up to the general public.There will be three levels of participation:
- Value Edition: Online group with self-paced activities and forum discussions ($180 for 6 months access. You must register for this option to be offered the opportunity to upgrade to either of the other levels. The first five modules of this 26-module program are now live and available for those who are ready to get started with their exploration and planning over the holiday break. The rest will go live in sometime in early January.)
- Standard Edition: Online group, plus free access to webinars and 2 1-on-1 meetings for resume assistance and mock interview practice, and e-mail coaching through the duration of your enrollment($300-with the option of paying for the upgrade all at once or in 6 monthly installments.)
- Personalized Edition: All of the above, plus 6 additional coaching sessions. ($500-with the option to pay for the upgrade all at once or in 6 monthly installments.)
- If you are looking just for 1-on-1 coaching, my rates for one-on-one coaching are reasonable, and depend on the length of the session. If you’re interested in 1-on-1 coaching, visit my public calendar to schedule a free initial consultation. There is no obligation to purchase anything. We’ll talk about what you are looking for in a coach. I will tell you a bit about my coaching methods and business practices, and we’ll discuss the going rates for the services that interest you. If you like, I will even give you a couple of other resources to check out. Every job seeker has different needs and the “fit” between coach and client is just as important as “fit” is to landing the right job. So the consultation will be an opportunity for both of us to assess whether we might be able to work together on your job search.
- Or you can buy a gift certificate (that can be used at my webstore toward any of the programs above, or 1-on-1 coaching, or other products and services to be offered soon, including e-books, webinars, and job-seeker tools and resources.
Whatever you end up getting your friends, your loved ones, or yourself, I wish you the best this holiday season, and good luck in your job search!
by Bryan Koval | May 4, 2010 | Doctoral Study
As the semester is winding down, I am faced with the task of closing the residence halls (my day job) while writing 25 pages for two different final assignments for my doctoral classes. I’m also in the midst of some job searching, want to go to a concert in Pittsburgh this week, and way too preoccupied with play-off hockey games (let’s go Pens!) and fantasy baseball. Sounds familiar to just about anyone working in higher education, right?
I’m a little stressed out, but my current juggling act illustrates the importance of time management and organization if you are going to be a doctoral student from a distance. I felt that I would be easily able to balance all of my responsibilities, but I forgot to take one major factor into account: I am a procrastinator. I get some sick thrill out of pulling a project together at the last minute, but this approach is doomed to failure in the context of grad school and full-time employment. This semester I have decided that in order for me to maintain some balance in life and conquer procrastination, I would need to make some changes.
One of the easiest, and most effective, tools for conquering procrastination that I have utilized is group accountability. A number of people in my cohort have formed a reading group, so we split up readings for class, outline them, and then discuss them. When I know that my procrastination will impact other people, I work ahead and get things done well before deadlines. Our group has taken this same approach for reviewing some of our papers and assignments. Basically, I’m piggybacking on positive study habits of other people. It’s timeliness by osmosis.
I have also become more and more dependent on technology as a way to keep myself on track. I had never been a to-do list maker, but I am now. I use the to-do list feature in Mail (the email app I use on my Mac) for work, life, and academic action items. I try to follow an inbox-zero philosophy so that I am on-top of communication that comes through my email. Our reading group also uses a Google Group to keep our materials organized and as a communication hub. Nothing terribly Earth-shattering here . . . but these have been important changes that have paid off for me in a huge way.
Perhaps the most important strategy for staying on-task is doing academic work that is rewarding, motivating, and interesting. Fortunately this has been the rule, rather than the exception, with my doctoral program thus far. Despite my propensity for procrastination, I am interested in my work and want to do well. At the end of the day, that keeps me going.
Bryan Koval
Bryan Koval holds two degrees from the Pennsylvania State University (B.S. Secondary Education 03, M.Ed. Higher Education 08). He has worked in Residence Life at Penn State for 5 years, and has made meaningful contributions to projects related to living and learning communities, cocurricular learning outcomes, and resident assistant training in the department.
Prior to working in higher education, Bryan taught 7th grade science in Harford County, Maryland. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education administration from the George Washington University. Bryan writes about his experience as a working professional and full-time graduate student for higheredcareercoach.com.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | May 3, 2010 | life purpose
As schools around the country start to close out the academic year, honor their student leaders and organizations with awards, check out students from the residence halls, and prepare for graduation, I can’t help but reflect on the ways my life and career path have changed in a few short months. Last Fall, as I was finishing up summer projects, and preparing for RA training, I was also contemplating some major life changes.
I’d planned to start a doctoral program here at the University of Georgia, but I wasn’t accepted. I’d applied to the program for several reasons: first, it’s a great program; second, it is close to my family (in South Carolina) and Sarah’s family (in Florida) and third, after 14 years in State College, I’d finally reached a point in my career at Penn State at which I’d accomplished what I set out to do. More importantly, I had to admit that I wasn’t motivated by my daily routine, and I found myself more than a little bit discouraged as I faced the prospect of another year of doing the same things.
I’d imagined (and worked quite diligently toward) a return to the classroom. From preparing for the GRE, to writing, fretting over, and re-writing my statement of purpose, I’d been single-minded about getting in to the University of Georgia, so it was kind of a blow to get rejected. Despite what some might expect, though, I won’t say a bad word about U. Ga. or their graduate admissions process, or about Residence Life at Penn State. I have deep respect for, and can honestly say that I learned a lot about myself, from both.
At Penn State, I had many opportunities to learn and grow as a professional, and my work was rewarded by several promotions and many great learning and leadership opportunities. The people there are not just my colleagues or my friends; many of them are family to me, and I will always value the time I spent there and the relationships I forged. And though it would be easy to be bitter about getting rejected from a grad program when you have a generation of experience behind you, good GRE scores and recommendations, etc., I’m not upset with anyone at U.Ga., because I learned something very valuable from the process. It was a simple but powerful realization, and it was this: I don’t love Student Development theory. I think it’s interesting, but my real love is for two things: the people and the process. While I am capable of doctoral-level work, and a Ph.D. would help me get to a logical next step, as a faculty member or senior administrator, I hadn’t really explored my other options enough, and I’d set some aside that were actually important to me (and that I have always wanted to do) because they didn’t fit with what many would consider conventional next steps along a “career path” in Student Affairs.
I’ve known several things about myself for most of my life, but wasn’t giving them a proper place in my personal “scheme of things.” First, I have always been a writer and a story-teller. Some of my earliest memories are of me telling my grandmother fabulous stories. When I was young, people didn’t read me bedtime stories: they asked me to tell them. Second, I’ve always been a “helper” and a “sounding board” for other people, and I like to challenge others to think about what they want to do with their lives. This was apparent in many ways as I grew up, became an RA and eventually moved into full-time work in higher ed. Third, I’ve always been creative and free-spirited, and Fourth, I hate bureaucratic nonsense and as much as possible, I do my own thing, and I seldom apologize for it. My track record on this count is pretty good. I am an original thinker who drives conversations in new directions, experiments, and takes risks. Usually, the results are good. When they aren’t, I explain my rationale, apologize for bad results if necessary, and move on.
Finally, late last summer, as training loomed in the near future, I took a pretty big leap of faith, and registered for a Coach Certification program with the Life Purpose Institute, and began to plan my departure from Penn State. The program was in October and after it, Sarah came down to meet me in Atlanta, and we went to Athens to look at houses for two days. We made an offer on our new house on the second day.
I’d planned to end the semester at Penn State, but finding the house kind of tipped things in a different direction, because it created a new sense of urgency toward unloading our old one and moving on. Pennsylvania winters are notoriously bad for selling houses, so we had to jump right on it. Things started to happen quickly, and before I knew it, the die was cast. After 14 1/2 years in Happy Valley,we were packing up our life, unloading our junk and starting something new.
The strangest part of this, for me, has been how easy it has been to not look back. I don’t have any “might-have-beens” to dwell on. I did what I went there to do, and I know that I made a difference while I was there. These days, I spend my time writing, and discussing life and career issues with people from all over. Through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BrazenCareerist, and the wonderful #sachat community, I’m more connected that I ever have been to others working in Higher Ed.
Since I’m new in business, I spend a lot of time working on ways to bring in clients, do presentations and offer workshops. It’s challenging and very different from working for a large university. I set my schedule, pay for all my benefits, and I generally work alone. I don’t supervise anyone, and I don’t have a boss, but in some ways, I answer to everybody…either I get feedback that my work is helpful, or I work through the silence and keep trying until I find something that is both validating and (hopefully) potentially profitable. I’m not swimming in money by any means. I’ve earned less this year than I earned in a week at my old job, and most of what I’ve earned has gone to pay some of my fabulous guest writers. And let’s not get into what it costs to get certified as a professional coach through a reputable program, or to start a business.
Last August, I only imagined what it would be like to take this leap, and to forge out on my own. I had greater expectations for what the year would bring me, but, like many new graduates heading out into the world, or professionals moving on to their first (or next step), I choose to look back on the year with fondness, to reflect on everything I’ve learned…about business, about careers, about higher ed, and about myself, and to keep moving toward opportunities and experiences around each bend.
I know that I will get where I am meant to go in my career and in my life. I’ve found a purpose that drives me forward, and the realization that I’m doing the driving, so I’m the one who gets to decide where to go next.
It may be the end of the world as I knew it, but I feel fine.
How about you?
- Have you set aside aspects of yourself as you pursue the “next steps” in your career?
- Are there ways to incorporate these aspirations and skills into your current job?
- What risks are you willing to take to create more fulfillment in your life and career?
by Shannon Healy | Apr 15, 2010 | Job Search, The Placement Experience
Welcome to Job Hunt Round 2: Electric Boogaloo!
For the record, I have no idea where that reference came from, nor do I know what an Electric Boogaloo actually is. But it sounds like fun, and I am determined to have fun with reentering the job search process. I’ve done the whole placement conference thing, and experienced the whole multiple rejection thing. Had that soul-crushing moment where two of my top three schools rejected me within the same two hour span. And… now I’m over it.
So now I’m starting the search over again, but it feels like a lot less pressure this time. There’s no cramming 10+ interviews into two days. There’s no rush to schedule, research, pack, travel, interview, et cetera. Although I know that for many positions I’m competing with up to 50 applicants again, I’m not forced to sit in a room with them before my interview and wonder how we compare. And there’s none of that added stress of wondering if you’ll be rejected or not and what it will be like. I’ve been rejected. It’s not fun. But I’ve learned it’s not the end of the world either.
I’ve mostly run out of schools to apply to in my original, admittedly small, geographic preference area. Several supervisors and mentors have shared insights about other places in the US that might fit what I’m looking for in a climate. (That would be no earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes.) So I’ve expanded to truly have a nationwide search, and have found some interesting opportunities that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
As I said in an earlier post, I am lucky to not have anything in life that keeps me tied to a certain area. Though my original search area overwhelmingly rejected me, I still have 47 other states with opportunities. And there are still positions being posted!
So many people tried to tell me that life wasn’t over after placement conferences. That those were not the be-all, end-all of job postings. It was hard to believe that during placement conference season when the Twitter streams, Facebook statuses, and real-life conversations of all my friends revolved around Oshkosh and Chicago. But I have found that although the number of postings has slowed since late February, they have not stopped. Jobs are still opening up, and that is promising as well.
So far I’ve found a couple more jobs that I’m interested in, and am sending out another batch of applications tomorrow. It’s a lot more laid back to be in round two. There’s not as much pressure, there’s not as much stress, and there’s even more support and parking lot pep talks than round one. Besides, if I don’t find a job until August I’ve got all summer to travel, sleep, and learn to surf.
[Editor’s Note: Shannon’s a millennial, so she is too young to really know what the early days of rap and break-dancing were all about. For readers in a similar state of ignorance, “Electric Boogaloo” is a reference to Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, a movie where break-dancing brings enemies together to save their neighborhood from a bunch of “suits.” Apparently boogaloo is also a type of Latin music and a type of lyre or harp, like King David played in the Bible. The things you can learn from the internet!]
[Editor’s note, part 2: Shannon will be a guest on the Higher Ed Career Coach BlogTalkRadio show Friday April 16 at 11 am EST. We’ll be discussing rejection and starting over in your job search. We’ll also be talking to Stacy Oliver about”parking lot pep talks” and other ways to help job seekers stay encouraged. Bryan Koval will be co-hosting, and I will try to sound smart, say practical things, and not make up to much stuff. Listen in and call in with your job search questions or comments, as they relate to rejection and starting over. Here’s the URL: http://tobtr.com/s/1009384 ]
