Tag Archives: Facebook

Facebook and I are #Frenemies

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Alright, I admit it, I have Facebook stalked myself. I have started at the beginning of my tagged pictures, clicked through all 1,000+, untagged, retagged and reposted the ones I find to be particularly embarrassing or sentimental. While I have admittedly considered deleting my Facebook account on more than one occasion, the fact is that I just love social media too darn much to ever consider living with out it. In fact, I love it so much that I spend hours (sometimes too many) on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, LinkedIn and Instagram daily. And, while reading the entire 1,000-tweet Twitter feed of my long lost pre-school bestie is admittedly a time-suck, I have found that my presence on social media forums has increased my awareness of the world around me and may be an instrumental tool in pursuing a career path.

First, social media allows you to not only stay connected with your close friends, but also see what general acquaintances are up to. It is possible that someone you know either works for or was just hired to work for a company you would love to work for. LinkedIn and Facebook would provide an opportunity to network with people to learn about what it is like to work for a certain company or what their hiring process was like. Additionally, many jobs require some sort of knowledge of current events. This could range from politics to the economy to advances in science. While I do read sites like CNN.com and NYTimes.com practically daily, I find that Facebook and Twitter give me the first overview of what is going on in the world. Finally, it is important to acknowledge that a social media is providing entirely new career opportunities. Companies hire social media gurus as part of their PR division in order to increase their effectiveness online. Therefore, social media can help in all stages of the application and employment process.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from my amateur social media experience, it’s that what you do is just as important as what you don’t do. My very first social media experiences were surrounded with parents and teachers cautioning me about what I should not post online. My ninth grade English class learned about predators, cyberbullying and identity theft through Myspace (yes, Myspace) and Facebook. However, from my own experience, I’ve come to think of social media as a platform that allows me to market myself and convey what I stand for. Having a Facebook page filled with your own commentary on new articles says way more to an employer than the fact that you’re not pictured with a red solo cup. So, by all means, be careful about what you post online, but I hope social networking can also serve as a great opportunity to share your thoughts and opinions with your peers, colleagues and friends.

#ThanksForReading

@Laureljaclyn

Life After Scripps, Version 3.0

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The problem I always have during Life After Scripps week, every year I’ve been here, is that I simply can’t go to all of the events I would like to attend. If you couldn’t tell already, I’m someone who likes to plan ahead and make lists, so a whole week devoted to encouraging students to think ahead to their lives post-Scripps is right up my alley. I’m the kind of person who procrastinates on homework by looking at graduate school programs. When we got the schedules in our mailbox the other week, I immediately marked it up with which events I really wanted to go to, but, no surprise, life and schoolwork got in the way. I only ended up making it to one of the events that I wanted to go to, but, as a friendly CP&R employee reminded me when I complained about a class conflict on Facebook – I can always make an appointment to talk about these things individually. That’s what CP&R is for!

The event I was able to make it to was titled “Crafting Your Identity: Personal Branding and the Post-Scripps Transition.” It was also part of CP&R’s new Emerging Professionals program (more information available here) which I’m excited to watch develop, and hope to participate in next year when I’ll actually be around for the whole year. The workshop was led by Char Booth, the Instruction Services Manager & E-Learning Librarian at Honnold-Mudd Library, and Booth openly admitted that a lot of what she was sharing with us about personal branding were things she had learned through her own life experiences. While a lot of the basics of the session were things I had heard before – don’t post inappropriate photographs all over Facebook, try to be aware of how much information is available about you through controlling your privacy settings across different social media – it was nice to have a whole workshop devoted to it, instead of someone mentioning it in passing. A top thing that Booth mentioned that I have been trying to remember to do regularly is “stalk yourself- but not in a narcissistic way.” Regular Google searches, or even setting up a Google alert on your name, can be quite eye-opening, and give you a better idea of the kinds of things a potential employer might find while trying to make a hiring decision.

Something we should all probably do more often…

Booth also gave a really impassioned explanation of why you 1) shouldn’t be afraid of networking, and 2) shouldn’t be afraid to ask for things from those you have networked with. Overall, the workshop got me thinking about some aspects of my own online presence, and wondering what, if anything, I should change. If you want to look over the presentation, you can do so here, but be aware that parts of it might not make sense unless you were there.

Who else went to Life After Scripps events last week? Which ones? Was anyone else as eager for it all as me and actually managed to get it all in? (And if you did, could I borrow your notes?) Let me know what Life After Scripps was like for you!

LinkedIn (Or, Feeling Like my Mom on Facebook)

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In terms of social networks, I’ve never wandered beyond Facebook. Tumblr seems like a time trap, and I’d rather leave Tweeting for the birds. But it wasn’t until registering for LinkedIn that I doubted my ability to understand them.

I got confused on the second step of registration. Is my home zip code school, or my hometown? And step five completely threw me off: What’s my industry?

I scrolled through the options, and what kept running through my head was… I’m supposed to pick one of these? The last choice, writing and editing, seemed most accurate, but not particularly official. Newspapers was an option, I’ve worked at several, but magazine journalism or online blogs are more my style. Does that make me in Online Media? But oh, I love Libraries, and I haven’t ruled out Marketing… and what exactly does Media Production entail?

It was time to call in the expert.

“Mom?” I said as our Skype call connected. “Remember that time when I taught you what tagging was for on Facebook? It’s time for you to return the favor.”

For the next hour my mom patiently taught me all the tips and tricks of the website. No, you don’t have any friends on LinkedIn– you have connections.  No, the art camp you worked at three years ago isn’t relevant. No, the picture of you in your bikini at the beach isn’t appropriate for your profile. (Okay, that one I figured out on my own.)

Despite the frustration of learning the LinkedIn interface, I came away with not just a better understanding of the website, but also a better understanding of how to market myself. I selected my most important achievements, linked to the articles I’ve written that demonstrate my versatility, and came away satisfied. Satisfied with my profile, and satisfied with all that I’ve achieved so far in my career – things I hadn’t even thought to be proud of until I laid them out for the world to see.

In that spirit, I entered my e-mail into LinkedIn’s search engine to see if there was anyone I wanted to invite to join my network. And then I somehow selected the setting that invited every contact in my address book. Which includes everyone I had ever emailed. My high school gym teacher, a realtor I’d interviewed last summer for an article on the role of Internet in real estate, even the Scripps alum who interviewed me for my Scripps application.

I guess I’m not an expert quite yet. I’ll have to take it one step at a time. And my next step will be searching through the help section to learn how to rescind an invitation.

 

P.S. Thank you, Mom, for being my first friend – er, “connection” – on LinkedIn.

 

Personal branding: it’s not just for athletes.

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Companies are no longer only perusing through resumes, some are after more – they want to see the person beyond the carefully formulated cover letter and resume.  How do they find that person?  According to Dan Schwabel, a leading personal branding expert and creator of StudentBranding.com, 45% of companies conduct background checks on social networks.  Schwabel argues that a person brand can sometimes make or break an opportunity with a potential employer.

You are probably asking yourself, “A personal brand?  Why would I want that?”  Well, clearly it seems to work pretty well for celebrities and star athletes.  Sure athletes have superb physical skills on their side, but without branding, they are just like everyone else.  By capitalizing on talents, athletes, with the help of marketing experts, build a name and a reputation for themselves. Continue reading →

Social Networking Not Just For Your Average Tom, Dick or Harry (Mark or Craig?)

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In this week’s top ten celebrity quotes on People.com (please remember, dear reader, that I am unemployed and have a lot of time on my hands) I came across this gem: “’I would rather have a prostate exam on live television by a guy with very cold hands than have a Facebook page.’ – George Cloony, explaining his aversion to social networking.”

Well what do you know?  George Cloony and I have something in common – we both have an aversion to social networking!  Oh Facebook, I wish I knew how to quit you.

At some point in our lives we’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”  I can only wish that it wasn’t true.  In my opinion, networking is just about the most awkward thing.  Ever.  Many will verify that I’m not a particularly shy person, but when it comes to networking I might as well carry around two walls with me everywhere so I always have a corner to stand in.

Although I feel awkward networking, I know that there are those who do it like it IS their job.  My mom happens to be one of them.  Let’s face it; the woman is a networking machine.  She has no problem what so ever with asking people what they do and then asking if they know of a job for her unemployed daughter.  I’m grateful for her networking prowess and sometimes it works in my favor, but for the most part it makes me want to hide in my build-a-corner.

Recently I found out that it’s not just my mom, but perhaps parents across the nation.  The other day I answered the phone and it was an old friend of my mom whose daughter just graduated specializing in the same thing my mom does.  He wanted to know what my mom knew about the field (re: does she know of a job opening?  Can my daughter work where you work?).  Another friend of mine is working at a company that her dad networked her a position at.  I’m at least glad to know that I’m not alone.

Continue reading →