Social Media and the job search

Are you using social media in your job search? If not, why not?

Over 100 million users are on LinkedIn, 700 million users are on Facebook and 175 million users on Twitter. Now assuming that each of those networks only has 80% of those users who are active, that is still a BIG number. Of people using social networking sites, the use breaks down this way: 92% use Facebook, 18% use LinkedIn, 13% use Twitter. [Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project, Social networking sites and our lives, June 16, 2011]

LinkedIn is the biggest source of professional networking. You can follow companies, find jobs, and build your level of expertise. Facebook now has an answer to LinkedIn called Branchout. You can ask your Facebook friends to join you in your professional network and receive recommendations. Twitter has post after post of jobs that you can find even if you don't tweet yourself. Just go to search.twitter.com.

LinkedIn has a search component that will show you who is posting about a particular term like "hiring" that you can drill down and get to your local area. Did you know that more men 63% vs. 37% women use LinkedIn.[Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project, Social networking sites and our lives, June 16, 2011] Women tend to be bigger users of the other social networks.

Remember, you can't just create a profile and let it hang there on the web, you must work at it, as you must with any job search process.  If you need to learn more about using social media, you can visit our website. OR you can sign up for one of our hands-on LinkedIn workshops - check our calendar for the next session.

What are you doing with social media and your job search?

Helicopter Parents

I heard a new term on the radio the other day - it was "helicopter parents".  As defined by wikipedia - Helicopter parent is a colloquial, early 21st-century term for a parent who pays extremely close attention to his or her child's or children's experiences and problems, particularly at educational institutions.  In other words, they aren't letting the child fight their own battles.  I can understand there are times when a parent must step in to defend their child, but the extreme stories that were being discussed made me cringe.

When I heard the description, it made me pause and reflect on how this could impact someone's job search.  I thought back to the episode of "Everybody loves Raymond" where Marie, the matriarch of the family, approached a potential employer that Robbie was scheduled to interview with and nearly lost Robbie the opportunity.  (Lucky Suit, Episode :138 | aired February 4, 2002).

Have you ever had someone think that they were helping you, yet because of their "hovering" they really hindered your job search progress?  If all else fails, make your plan, adjust as needed, and if you need help from someone, ask them specifically for what you need.

Do you have experience with a helicopter situation?

Attitude is Everything

In our continuing series on soft skills or workplace skills our next topic is - work attitude.  Just as the title says - Attitude is Everything.  Attitude is everything no matter whether it is work related, job search related, or related to your personal life.  If you have the proper attitude, everything is all right.

Louis Armstrong made the song "When you're smiling" popular with these lyrics:

When you're smilin'....keep on smilin'The whole world smiles with youAnd when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'The sun comes shinin' through
But when you're cryin'.... you bring on the rainSo stop your frownin'....be happy againCause when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'The whole world smiles with you

It is so true that when you have a positive attitude your outlook and most people around you will have a positive attitude as well.


Your positive attitude effects: 

• the way you communicate with others;
• your mind-set;
• the way you look at the world - that includes your work and personal life; and,
• the way the world looks at you.

To be able to look at things as half full instead of half empty is a learned skill.  You have the power to concentrate on the good news you hear or to find the good in something negative.  To be realistic, you cannot be positive 100% of the time.  It just is impossible, but when something negative does present itself, learning to deal with it rapidly and effectively is part of a winning attitude.

Are you pro-active or reactive?

Can you see a challenge before you, define it and address it before it has the ability to pull you into a mental hole?  Having a positive attitude will help you reject anger, assemble facts, talk to others, determine options and arrive at a best solution.  It also helps you live with a problem that cannot be resolved and neutralize any overall negative feelings. Aren't you more attracted toward someone who always has a solution instead of someone who always finds fault?

Some ways to tell if you need an attitude adjustment is by determining how others view you.  What do you think your current attitude is; what would family, friends, supervisor, co-workers gauge your attitude as; how effective are you; how creative are you; how is your sense of humor; how patient are you; how often do things "bother" you; how many compliments are you receiving; how enthusiastic are you about your job or things in your life?

A couple of ways to adjust your attitude if necessary include: simplify; de-clutter, don't over-commit; balance your career and home life; don't put off the unpleasant tasks to keep them from building up; and, sometimes "release" the negative relationships in your life that are providing that "tug" downward.

Business Etiquette

Behaviors are included in work attitude and often we need to address certain things in our work environment as they relate to proper etiquette for that industry.  In business, there are appropriate ways to conduct yourself in the workplace that include understanding, kindness, courtesy, and common sense.

Other factors included in proper workplace etiquette are:

• appearance
• honoring territories
• honoring working hours and working while on the job
• be friendly
• personal information distribution minimized
• be positive and supportive
• maintain an open mind
• follow through
• communicate and listen effectively
• solve your own problems
• don't be in too big a hurry to advance

Other etiquette that needs to be observed is email, telephone manners, use of social media as it relates to your workplace and any other rules or conventions specific to your company or geographic area.