One aspect of career planning that is sometimes overlooked is the importance of networking, both in the real world and online. Statistically, only a fraction of available higher education positions are publicly advertised, so it is critical to cast a wide net in your job search. Online networking can help job seekers connect to advocates and decision-makers.
Here are some great tips to help you put your name and credentials out there and land the right job!
Start with those who know you best, but don’t be afraid to branch out. The people who can help you most are those who know you best. Let your friends, family, and professional colleagues know you’re on the hunt. Not only can they provide you with valuable leads, they can introduce you to others and help you expand your network. Online networking is a great way to keep in contact with former coworkers, employers, and classmates, and enlist their assistance.
Learn to use social media effectively. Social media is a great tool for network building if you learn to use it right. Join professional outlets such as LinkedIn and actively engage other social outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. This is a good way to reach out to other professionals in your industry, reestablish contact with former associates, keep your network informed, and stay current on trends in your industry. It is also a good idea to do routine checks of your online presence.Google yourself on a regular basis to look for inconsistencies and false or unflattering information. Prospective employers are turning to web searches more often to check out job candidates ahead of time. Remember that what you do and say online can come back to haunt you.
Reciprocity is key. Networking is a give and take relationship, not a one way street. Share ideas and information with your network. Actively engage in forums, blogs, and other online communities. Add benefit to your interactions with others in your network, but do so with sincerity and integrity.
Narrow your focus and follow up. Know exactly what you’re looking for before you look to your network for help and information. Monitor your social media time as well. Remember that these sites are great online networking tools and don’t get caught up in the social aspect of the medium. While these sites are fun and interesting, they are sometimes also a drain on your time and productivity. Make sure to follow up any leads from your network with diligence. Information is only helpful if you use it, and it helps you to maintain credibility. People are less willing to recommend someone who lacks commitment and follow through.
Network for the long term. Networking should never considered be a quick solution to job placement, but a means of building ongoing professional relationships.
Online networking isn’t about applying pressure or asking for favors.Networking is an excellent way to make contacts and establish professional relationships that are fulfilling and mutually beneficial. Extending your professional network to cyberspace is an excellent way to expand your contact base beyond your immediate geographic location and increase your exposure in the job market.
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.
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.
LinkedIn is the largest professional network on the internet, with more than 150 million members in over 200 countries and territories, and it adds 2 new users every second. Using the network effectively is a hot topic in business circles, but in my work with clients in higher ed, I get some interesting responses when I encourage them to look into ways to use LinkedIn effectively.
Five things I’ve heard from clients and colleagues recently:
“In Higher Ed, it’s always about what you know, not who you know.”
“I’ve already got tenure. 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 might need 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.”
If you’ve said any of the above, or have trouble convincing your colleagues to dive into LinkedIn, this infographic might help. I’ve written it to sum up some of my thoughts, in response to the questions above.
Look for more articles and resources on how to use LinkedIn soon! If you really want to really dive in and learn how to use LinkedIn like a pro, check out Lewis Howes’ LinkedInfluence course. (affiliate link). I bought it and found it well worth the money. It gives a great overview of the LinkedIn profile and how to optimize it, and best ways to use groups, applications and other features.
I also offer LinkedIn coaching and profile writing packages, if you are looking for a little one-on-one help. Contact me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com for more information.
Do you have any great LinkedIn tips? Share them in the comment section.
We here at HigherEdCareerCoach really like infographics. They’re colorful, fun, and they present a lot of information visually, meaning you can pack that much more awesome stuff into a neater package. Here’s a great one that we found on Business2Community, How to Harness the Power of LinkedIn:
Keeping track of your applications and all the related communications between yourself and potential employers is one of the biggest challenges of the job search. Some people use paper lists, some use Excel sheets, and for papers, mail, and important documents, some people use folders and pocket portfolios.
All of that is well and good, and you should definitely use whatever works for you. But there are so many tools available for free on the internet that will make it easier for you to keep track of information. One category of tools, called Social CRM tools, can help you track your communication, follow up with your contacts, and get more information about your contact or your target employer, so you can develop a more comprehensive profile.
I use one of these CRM (Customer Relationship Management or Contact Relationship Management systems) to keep track of information and learn more about my contacts: Gist. (Available at Gist.Com) Gist aggregrates information from your e-mail, calendar and social media interactions and searches the internet for public information to give you a better view of a person or company in your network. In the video, I provide an overview of how Gist works and some ideas about how you can use it to keep track of your job search.
If you like this video, please like it, leave a comment here, and share it with your networks. You can also subscribe to the higheredcareercoach channel to get new videos as I publish them.
Looking for a job in Student Affairs?
Join me and Laura McGivern from theSASearch.Org at 11:30 am ET today (Wednesday) for the #sasearch hashtag chat. We’re talking about keeping track of your job applications and following up with employers about your status. Use the hashtag #sasearch and join in, or use TweetChat or a similar tool to follow the chat.
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
One aspect of career planning that is sometimes overlooked is the importance of networking, both in the real world and online. Statistically, only a fraction of available higher education positions are publicly advertised, so it is critical to cast a wide net in your job search. Online networking can help job seekers connect to advocates and decision-makers.
