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True Life Tales of Social Media Gone Bad

May 5th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Robin Ferrier

Image: jessicafm / Jessica Merz, Flicker Creative Commons

In the category of “great minds think alike,” Patti Nuttycombe Cochran sent in her post about career ending social media moves as I was contemplating a similar post. But I had a slightly different approach to this topic that actually provides a good follow-up to her post.

You may think her warnings were bluster and overblown cautionary tales that don’t apply to you. Others thought that as well… or just didn’t think, as the stories below will show. So, without further ado, I present: True Life Tales of Social Media Gone Bad… Very, Very Bad

Twitter, Memphis and FedEx: In 2009, a PR rep hopped on a flight to Memphis, Tennessee, to give a presentation about digital media to a large group of FedEx executives and staff. As he was landing, the employee tweeted his unflattering feelings about Memphis. A FedEx employee discovered the tweet and shared it with executives at FedEx and the PR agency for which the rep worked.

The employee was lucky in this case. The client forgave him and he wasn’t fired. But this move could have been a career ender if the circumstances were different — say, if the rep in question was only starting to establish his reputation (like we assume many of our readers are) or if FedEx wasn’t so forgiving and had pulled their business from the PR agency in question. (Read more about this story at Peter Shankman’s blog or ZDNet.)

The moral: Think before you tweet.

Twitter and the CiscoFatty: In 2009, a twitter user received an offer from Cisco. The user responded by sending the following tweet: “Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work.” A “channel partner advocate” for Cisco Alert saw the tweet and responded. And, thus, another internet sensation is born. We’re not sure whether Cisco rescinded the offer or not — we’ve seen it reported both ways — but regardless, the Internet won’t soon forget the CiscoFatty fiasco.

Lesson #1: Put best, perhaps, by Helen A.S. Popkin in her article on MSNBC: “Never post anything you wouldn’t say to your mom, boss and significant other.” (I’ve heard others use “grandma” in place of “mom.” I guess they are assuming grandma isn’t as hip or accepting as mom!)

Lesson #2: You may think what you say won’t get back to your boss because he/she doesn’t follow you. Think again! Viral is the name of the game online, and it doesn’t take much to stir up trouble!

And those are just two that turned high-profile. I’ve heard too many other similar tales from colleagues. Like the one about a person who went to a conference, represented herself as an employee of a company those she was there on her own and not a company rep, got drunk during an official conference event, and tweeted about it. She was fired.

Or the girl who updated her Facebook status to reflect her true feelings about her job and her boss. She, too, was fired.

My point? I’m willing to bet every one of these people thought they were “too smart” to fall victim to social media gone bad. Yet, they all did. And the fact they did so will live on — forever — thanks to the Internet.

So I think a few lessons bear repeating here:

Always be aware of what you’re saying and think before your fingers start flying on the keyboard.
Don’t assume your Facebook status updates won’t go beyond your friends. (Screen grabs are a great – and evil – thing.)
Approach social media with this mantra in mind: Never post anything you wouldn’t say to your mom/grandmom, boss or significant other.

Actually, now that I think about it, these rules probably should apply to not only the social media realm, but also to any (in-person) networking situation as well.

Have your own tales of Social Media Gone Wrong? Share them below.

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group; co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland; and Chair of the PR Committee for the Gaithersburg Book Festival. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Tags: Facebook, networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, Reputation, Robin Ferrier, social media, Twitter
Posted in Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, Robin Ferrier, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Personal Branding and Your Online Persona

May 4th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran

Image: emdot / marya, Flicker Creative Commons

You need to be vigilant 24/7 on all sites where you have a presence, profile… or where you’re adding “interesting commentary or banter” publicly on friends or colleagues’ sites.

I know it’s cool to engage in “exhibitionist-speak” on Facebook or Twitter. You know what I’m talkin’ about: those self-absorbed status updates that completely don’t matter to anyone but the author?? Or posts from those whom I’m sure feel superior or RELIEVED when they’ve just blasted off on someone on some social media platform.

Stop thinking these are private sites where you can have a one-on-one confidential conversation or exchange. Always assume that whatever you post is visible, viewable, usable and confusable by the entire free world! When you operate under this assumption, your posts will be less hip, cool, clever and funny and boomerang-like…

But a lot more acceptable, safe, generic and worry free. With the fabulous internet, things are out there forever — good or bad. There are no make-goods, “ooops-I-didn’t-mean-its”! It’s forever. Always. Undeniable. Attributable.

So, with that annoying fact out in the open, here are a couple examples of career-ending blunder statements that one can’t recover from. I offer these in the spirit of helpfulness. Translation: DON’T MAKE THESE MISTAKES!

Career Ending Social Media Status Updates…

“I hate my client” – Never use the word HATE! Anywhere… but certainly not on a Social Media site! And, HATE and CLIENT in the same sentence???? What are you thinking? Goodbye direct deposit from your paying gig…
“I don’t want to deal with anymore STUPID customers” — Okay, this is only SLIGHTLY less incendiary than the example above! Goodbye direct deposit from that paying gig, AND you’ll never work for any of those clients, either!
“Supposed to be working” — now THIS ONE seems benign, right? I hope you answered No. Yet, Twitter is riddled with this dumb comment! Clients, bosses and others who might be depending on you read this and think, “Wait a minute… we’ve got a project to finish… he/she’s on our dime…”
Updating Facebook when you’re supposedly ill. This one’s particularly stupid, too, when the person has “friended” their Boss on FB! Nice. So all through the day that you’re “illin’”, the boss is watching your updates about the fun stuff you’re doing. Makes the next day at work interesting!

Remember: don’t put your brand AND your relationships at risk. Be extremely self-aware and DEFENSIVE of your image: In the flesh AND online!

Patti Nuttycombe Cochran is Vice President-Client Services Consultant at Right Management, a global provider of Career Transition services and consulting expertise on Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Patti is an avid networker interested in building the region’s business and philanthropic communities.

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Tags: Facebook, first job, job hunt, Job Search, networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, Reputation, social media, Twitter
Posted in Job Search, Life Transition, Networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Should You Go to Grad School?

April 29th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Patrick Madsen

Image: Andrew Magill's Flickrstream, Creative Commons

I had the opportunity to read through an article posted on Yahoo! Finance’s page the other day titled “Valuing Another Degree”. Interesting article and something that is probably at the forefront of a person’s mind as they consider furthering their education or sticking it out in the workforce. I have to say, this is something that has been discussed by students all through my 10 + years of experience in the career counseling profession. This is not a new concern nor something that the recent economic downturn has caused to surface.

Here are my thoughts on the decision of furthering your education or staying in the workforce:

Are you satisfied with your current career path? Most students would say “no” and that the previous education they went for did not pan out like they thought. A graduate degree provides a person with a more specified set of skills, experience, and knowledge that not everyone in the marketplace may have. It is an opportunity to say, “Hey, employer, this is what makes me better than that person over there” or “this is the value that I offer your company to affect your bottom line”.

Did you learn the skills that you need to effectively operate in the workforce? Many employers would say you didn’t. Often times, an undergraduate degree is meant to provide you with an overall education, i.e., you get a little history, social sciences, math, composition, and other transferrable knowledge, but with a few exceptions, you likely didn’t get the specific training needed for a specific industry. Take, for example, a Liberal Arts degrees. I fully believe that students are gaining great experience in research, analysis, and thoughtful discourse, but many times they are not shown how these skills can be marketed to the workforce. So these bright and talented young professionals are stuck having to figure out how to target themselves and prove that they have the skills, experience, and knowledge for many industries. Thus… enter a graduate degree.

Don’t assume that a graduate degree alone will give you a higher salary. The concept of a graduate degree, by itself, was never meant to automatically give you a higher salary. Instead, it was meant to provide you an update in knowledge and practice to help you prove you deserve a higher salary. This is a misconception about graduate programs (and MBA programs especially). A vast majority of students entering these programs believe and expect that once they finish someone will just give them a job and a $100,000 salary right after they grab their diploma. FALSE. The graduate degree is something that helps you show your passion and motivation for a particular area. It helps “open the door” so that you can show the employer all the great experience and practice you have had and how you could apply it to their organization. When it comes down to it, an employer will most likely look to see if candidates have the degree, but then quickly go into their experience and skills to see if they can “do the job”. After that, the interview will help them see if you are actually a “motivated and professional person” that can fit in with their organization.

What does history say? I do not have statistics on this, but I bet they are out there! When you look at the history of jobs and their requirements you start to see an interesting trend. At one point, a high school diploma was the main driver for entrance into the workforce; many jobs asking for a minimum of such educational completion. Over time, you start to notice that the minimum has grown to a bachelor’s degree being the requirement for most jobs out there. I am beginning to see that a master’s degree will become the new minimum requirement for a majority of jobs. This is just something to think about. See if you can find a similar trend for the industry and job function you are looking to enter.

What do I say to students who have been debating this same question over the past 10 years? Simple. What do you see yourself doing with your life? How do you imagine being a part of society?

I want them to see that life is more than just a “job” that they do to earn money, but something that allows them to show the world “this is who I am”. A career is an opportunity to express your values and add substance to the world around you. Do you need a degree to do this? Not necessarily, but often times it helps you get through that door that society puts up to make sure you are motivated, professional, and proven.

Patrick Madsen is the Director of Programs & Education in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. He manages the Programs & Education curriculum to include career advising services, speaker series, brand management training, and other events to help students prepare themselves for the world of work. His background includes a degree in Psychology from North Carolina State University, a masters degree in Counseling from East Carolina University, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership/Student Affairs from Nova Southeastern University.

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Tags: Advanced Degrees, money, Patrick Madsen, salary, Skillset
Posted in Advanced Degrees, Patrick Madsen, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

8 Signs You’re Spending TOO Much Time on Social Media… even if Social Media IS Part of Your Day Job

April 28th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Robin Ferrier

Image: M i x y / Mixy Lorenzo. Flickr Creative Commons.

No one would question that in the current job market, it’s important to understand social media — what it is, how it works, how to use it for business purposes, etc. But recently, Jibber Jobber founder Jason Alba posted the following query to his Jibber Jobber blog:

When is social networking… LinkedIn, Twitter or whatever, TOO much? In other words, how do you manage your time and efforts and have the right balance between what you do online and what you do offline?

In honor of his question, I present my list of 8 Signs You’re Spending TOO Much Time on Social Media… even if Social Media Is Part of Your Day Job

You only know your “friends” by their Twitter IDs. Many of us have twitter IDs that aren’t our name – people like @thejobsguy and @dontgetcaught. I can say I know @dontgetcaught personally and I know her real name. (Hello, Denise Graveline!) But @thejobsguy is someone I follow and occasionally converse with on Twitter. If you don’t know someone’s real name, he or she is a social media colleague/friend, but not a “friend.”
Your boss joins Twitter to communicate with you because you’re more likely to respond to a message on Twitter than you are a phone call or voicemail.
When you’re asked about your last social outing, you discuss a tweet up. (Hint: If you’re sitting at a desk or on a phone and there’s no one else in the room, it’s not a social outing… even if you are conversing with other people.)
When you get engaged, you don’t even think about what your invitations will look like because you plan on inviting all of your friends via a Facebook event invite. (At least, I hope this idea is still considered crazy, even to those members of the “digital native” generation… some traditions should remain traditions!)
When you meet someone new – in real life – you refer to it as “friending” them. (For those of us who grew up before Facebook, we made new friends on the playground, we didn’t “friend” them there.)
You start to speak and think in 140 characters or less. All the time. (Don’t get me wrong… less is often more. But there is a thing as being too brief.)
Your definition of networking is attending TweetUps, conversing in LinkedIn groups, and meeting new people via other social media channels. (Sorry, guys, but face-to-face networking is still key in business.)
You’re engaging in ANY social media activities while at the gym. Ignoring other reasons, let’s just focus on the fact that when you’re using weights or machinery, you should focus on the task at hand. (I wonder if there are any statistics on gym injuries due to cell phone social media use…)

But seriously now…

I think, like everything else in life (including bad-for-you foods and alcohol), it’s all a matter of moderation and balance.

You can’t live so far in the world of social media that you’re ignoring other aspects of your job. But at the same time, you have to be far enough in it that you understand how to use it and, more important, use it effectively.

I try to intersperse my social media activities between my other responsibilities. I know I’m spending too much time in that world if other items on my to-do list aren’t being crossed off. Rudimentary way to measure, maybe. But it works for me. You just need to find what works for you.

But if you start showing any of my 8 signs above, it may be time to admit you’re a social media addict and do something about it!

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Tags: Facebook, LinkedIn, networking, Reputation, Robin Ferrier, Skillset, social media, Twitter
Posted in Robin Ferrier, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

How Are Dating and Interviewing the Same? Part 2

April 26th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Allison Kapner

What's in Your Bag? Know the Company. Know Yourself. http://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/ / CC BY 2.0

How are dating and interviewing the same? Let’s examine Step 3: Prepping for the interview or date, otherwise known as: Doing Your Research!

Research, research, research!!
I cannot stress this enough: Before any interview, do your homework. (I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it still bears repeating. You can’t imagine how many people ignore this advice.)

Know the company inside and out. Look at their press releases. Read their annual reports. Find out who works there. (You can use a little thing called social media/social networking to do this.)

Why is this so important? There are hundreds of applicants for every job, and you have to prove that you did your homework on the company and the position if you want to make it to round two.

Be able to answer the question: Why do you want to work at XYZ Company? If you give a generic answer to this question, you’re done. Focusing on the culture shows that you understand the type of people that work there and that you believe you would be a good fit. As someone who interviews candidates for our team, if someone doesn’t tell me something unique about Carey Business School, and instead says “I want to work here because it’s Johns Hopkins,” they are automatically disqualified in my eyes.

Using LinkedIn and Google can also help you lean about the people with whom you are interviewing. For all you know, you can might share an alma mater with the hiring manager… but you’ll never know that unless you look.

So how does research play into dating?
Well, let’s be honest. In dating, research can be a bit stickier. But if you’re anxious to get a head’s up on the person before you go on a date there is always Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. You’d be lying if you said you never Google-stalked someone before going out or hanging out with them. Here’s a hint for you: Make sure to clear your internet browser history when you’re done, because if things go well, this new special someone may be on your computer before you know it and see you’ve been doing your “research.” (Trust me I learned this the hard way!)

Know yourself
In an earlier post knowing your brand and who you are is stressed. This is 100% true!

Before going on an interview, understand who you are as a person, what you want, what your strengths and weaknesses are and what value proposition you provide to a company. For example, are you someone that will bring energy and enthusiasm to a job? If so, how do you articulate that? It’s not enough to just say you bring energy and enthusiasm. You have to show how. With concrete examples, preferably.

Likewise for dating, know what your goals and objectives are and the type of person with which you could see yourself. (I’m not advising to pick out the person down to their eye color but know what your “must haves” and “can’t stands” are.) Why is this so important? Everyone is in their own unique place in life. Knowing what you are looking for will be a great compass in pointing you in the direction of someone who is looking for the same things, meaning (hopefully) less disappointment.

If you’re unclear of what I mean by this, I’ll give you a personal example. When I was living in NYC and accepted the job offer to come to JHU, I wasn’t going to be leaving New York for a few months. I didn’t actively seek out dates during this time. I had dated someone long distance for a year and didn’t want to get back into that situation again. However, if I met someone cool, I also wasn’t about to turn down dinner! Instead, I would enjoy the time with the person while knowing in my head – and heart – that I wasn’t about to jump into a relationship. On the flip side, now that I’m here and settled, my expectations have shifted and a relationship is the goal.

Bottom line, research yourself and the players and you’ll be successful!

Allison Kapner is a Relationship Manager in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School where she is responsible for building partnerships with employers to ultimately create job and internship opportunities for students and alumni. She also advises and coaches students on job search techniques and brings a unique corporate expertise to assist candidates, as her past experience was as an Executive Recruiter in financial services in New York City.

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Tags: Allison Kapner, Interviewing, Personal Brand, research
Posted in Allison Kapner, Dating, Interviewing, Personal Brand, WhatsNextGenY | 1 Comment »

Outsmarting your competition is easier than you think (but it does require some effort)

April 22nd, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

By Jennifer Nycz-Conner

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pshan427/ / CC BY 2.0

I’ve been out of college for … well, let’s just say longer than I’d like to admit. Plenty has changed since then. Today’s twenty-somethings don’t have to battle the eternal questions surrounding the job application process: how many pages a resume should be, sending it flat versus folded in a regular envelope, to use a staple or paper clip.

But there are still plenty, less tangible, attributes that remain constant. A big one? How to make yourself stand out from the masses. In a good way.

With many years as someone who’s both been hired and done the hiring, I’ll let you in on a secret: It’s not really that hard to do. It will require some effort, however.

Steve Buttry has a fantastic example of this on his blog. As the Director of Community Engagement for Allbritton Communications’ new Washington, D.C. yet-to-be-named Web site, Buttry is on what in this economy could be referred to as a hiring spree, with plenty of qualified candidates from which to choose. But in his latest hiring announcement for a social media producer, candidate Mandy Jenkins popped to the top of the pile:

“Other excellent candidates interviewed before Mandy, though, and I thought of this as a crowded field when she arrived for an interview. I saw good signs even before she reached the office. She checked in from the Metro station nearby about 20 minutes before the interview, then from a nearby coffee shop. When I commented on that as I met her in the lobby of our offices, she told me she was using the beta of check.in, a new service that checks you in on multiple location-based platforms at once. There’s a good interviewing tip for you: If you’re applying for a social media job, start the interview right by telling the prospective boss even before you sit down that you’re using something he’s never heard of.”

That is a classic example of doing your homework, getting into your potential boss’ head and finding a way to use actions, not words to demonstrate why you are the right choice.

Here are some tips to make yourself stand out throughout the entire life cycle of the application process. It sounds like common sense, but many people do not do any of these, let alone all:

Spelling. Yes, this is basic, but you’d be amazed how many people don’t check their spelling. Want to show, not just say, you’re detail oriented? Spell your potential boss’ name correctly.
Do your homework. There is no excuse not to have done research on a potential employer today. It’s too easy not to. Don’t stop at the first two Google links you see. Go on LinkedIn and see where that hiring manager has worked previously. Check the news sites to find out what the company, and more importantly, its competitors, have been grappling with. Looking through social networking sites to find people you may know in common, or people that have worked at that company in the past. Ask them for guidance on what life is like inside the company. All of this is critical to prepare for the dreaded, “So, do you have any questions for me?” question. Which brings me to the next point…
Have a topic — or topics — ready for the dreaded, “So, do you have any questions for me?” question. You know it’s coming. Prepare for it. Better yet, use it as an opportunity to show what you know about the industry, your critical thinking skills, and your ability to add something to the team.
Think like your potential boss. If you were him or her, what kinds of questions would you ask? What kinds of answers would you want to hear?
Outthink your competition. What are your best competitors likely to do? How can you do it better, faster, different?
Follow up. Send the thank you note, and quickly (yes, it matters, says the girl who cringes at the thoughts of the ones I should have sent). Stay in touch, about the job, about the company and particularly with the person.
Be passionate. Anyone can have experience, or be shown how to do a job. Enthusiasm and passion cannot be taught. If you have it, show it.

Jennifer Nycz-Conner is a Senior Staff Reporter and Media Strategy Manager for the Washington Business Journal. You can read more great advice from Jennifer on Working the Room, her blog for the Washington Business Journal.

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Tags: Cover Letters, elevator speech, Interviewing, Jennifer Nycz-Conner, job hunt, Job Search, networking, questions, Resumes, Skillset
Posted in Cover Letters, Interviewing, Jennifer Nycz-Conner, Job Search, Networking, Resumes, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

The Entrepreneurial Mindset — Good and Bad Reasons to Start a Business

April 21st, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Carol Roth

She made a lemonade stand and even though we told her no one would be buying lemonade in November she managed to make $6 in less than an hour on a dead end street. Donald Trump would be proud.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/booleansplit/ / CC BY 2.0

You may wake up one day with an amazing idea for a new business. As the days go by and you realize that you are smarter than your boss, that your co-workers smell like bologna sandwiches and that your desk has gum underneath it circa 1972, you may actually really think about pursuing it.

If you read a magazine or talk to your friends and family members, you may hear some of the hype on entrepreneurship (nobody likes to tell you the dirty little secrets) and you may start to believe one of more of the following:

Your idea will get you rich;
Your idea will get you rich quickly;
You can escape the corporate grind;
You can be your own boss and have the freedom to do what you want, when you want;
You can work shorter hours and have more free time for your hobbies, families and other passions;
You can do more of what you love to do; and/or
You will “do it better”

Unfortunately, most of the reasons that people start businesses are myths based on a gross misunderstanding of what it means or what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

So, what are some good reasons to start your own business?

There’s a customer need! We have more products and services available to us than we would ever want or need, which makes today’s entrepreneurial landscape very different than it was just 50 years ago. If there is a gap in the market that customers are desperate for a solution to and willing to pay for, that’s a darn good reason to start a business. Remember, Ray Kroc didn’t start McDonald’s because he was bored or unfulfilled; he did so to meet a customer need!

You are THE person to meet that need. Having a customer need is great, but why the heck are you qualified to meet those needs for your customers? Maybe you have unparalleled industry experience, knowledge and/or contacts that make you the ultimate candidate to make a difference in this market? If so, bingo – you are on the right track! If you don’t have anything to bring to the table, go get something before showing up for dinner, if you catch my drift.

You want to RUN A BUSINESS. Everyone thinks that if you love to do something, you will get to do more of it when you run a business. Wrong-o. When you run a business, you have to do and oversee so many functions, from marketing to accounting to employees to customer service and more, you actually spend less time doing whatever it is you enjoy doing. Your job as an entrepreneur is not to do one thing, it is to run a business. So, if you love to wear multiple hats and are jazzed by the idea of managing all aspects of a business, plus you think that is a good fit for your skills and experience, you are headed in the right direction.

And finally…Is it worth it? Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should, that you will be successful, or that it is the best choice for you given your goals, circumstances and opportunities. You have to look at the rewards of your opportunity and see if they justify the risks – and I am talking both financial and qualitative risks and rewards here. Far too many people trade their salary and risk their savings for an opportunity where they are making the same or less money, working more hours and have more stress. In the game show world, they call that trade a “zonk”. Don’t get zonked – make sure that the risk/reward tradeoff makes sense for you and that you have the opportunity to significantly improve upon your current situation or do better than other situations that could be available to you.

Carol Roth helps businesses grow and make more money. An investment banker, business strategist and deal maker, she has helped her clients, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational corporations, raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete hundreds of millions of dollars in M&A transactions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals and more. Carol is a frequent media contributor on the topics of business and entrepreneurship, including as recurring/featured guest on Pittsburgh Business Radio’s Women Mean Business show. She blogs about issues affecting entrepreneurs and their businesses from her Unsolicited Business Advice blog and is the author of The Entrepreneur Equation, a book about evaluating the realities, risks and rewards of business ownership, coming out late this year. She holds a BS degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Tags: Carol Roth, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, solopreneur, start a business
Posted in Carol Roth, Entrepreneurship, WhatsNextGenY | 1 Comment »

Your Personal Brand: An Individual Evaluation

April 16th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran

As a result of my recent offer, several courageous readers requested a Personal Brand Evaluation and the process was interesting and happily very positive!

Let’s take the example of Glen Montgomery, a passionate video editor from Ohio who submitted himself and his online persona for a Brand Evaluation. After googling, twittering, yahoo-ing, myspacing, facebooking and Linking-In…here’s my evaluation:

Glen’s image is consistent and passionate. There’s a terrific alignment within his multiple profiles.

His Twitter following is impressive and he incorporates multimedia links which give his profiles depth. His passion for filmmaking, editing and the world of film is palpable on all sites. I came away really admiring his drive, passion and interest in his profession!

His photo image on Google and Yahoo and LinkedIn is a wonderfully happy photo. Facebook, while a different photo image, shows someone fun-loving yet is “safe” from judgment or scrutiny by recruiters or employers. He’s used filters well, so that what he chooses to keep private is kept private. Smart!

A couple thoughts:

Glen’s LinkedIn page was updated one month ago… perhaps more regular updates would keep his name active in LinkedIn’s status updates thereby creating a more prolific impression.
He also describes himself as “trying to find himself in the world of post-production.” This description is wistful, but suggests desperation or someone who’s seeking. A bolder description that claims his ability and passion would be stronger as an overall description.

But, generally, Glen’s done a terrific job of presenting himself to the world as a focused, passionate individual with clear direction.

I hope Glen will stay in touch with us — and perhaps even submit some blog posts for us talking about his quest to “find himself in the world of post-production” so we can see if he’s successful.

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Tags: Facebook, job hunt, Job Search, LinkedIn, networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Reputation, social media, Twitter
Posted in Job Search, Networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Your Job Search: Is it like looking for water in the desert?

April 12th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sidavid/ / CC BY 2.0

Guess what? The world changes constantly. (Big surprise, right?)

It wasn’t that long ago that we were riding high with the many new industries opened up by the introduction of the world wide web and the fascination of what a company could do with computers. Jobs were abundant. Nationwide, headhunters were gathering candidates before graduation. It’s not happening like that today. (But you already know what that. You’ve probably experienced it first hand.) Why, you ask? Well, in case you’ve been living under a rock – and if you have, you’re going to have other problems in your job search – our economy has hit a few road bumps, budgets have failed, and companies have gone under. This can make it very difficult for today’s graduate to locate a job that is worth all the time and money spent in college.

I have had numerous students come into my office with the same complaints: Where are the jobs? Why did I even go to college if there is nothing out there for me?

Let me clue you in: There are jobs out there.

I definitely believe that. It’s just a matter of finding them. And that is the key: Companies are not going to find you anymore… you have to find them! So what does that mean for you, the job seeker? It means you need to learn a few new tools and techniques so you can creative in your job search. And that’s why I’m here. I’m going to teach you how to be assertive and aggressive in your job search by getting to know yourself and your potential and options.

Getting creative means looking for jobs in areas or with techniques previously not used. Did you know that only about 20–30% of jobs are actually published to the general public? (One of my fellow bloggers knows this is true. She wrote about it.) Yet, despite this fact, 80–90% of people looking for jobs concentrate their efforts solely on finding published jobs. So where are the rest of the jobs? They’re centered around an employer’s wish list or they’re just “thoughts,” waiting for the right person to come along and make them a reality.

All employers are thinking about the future: where the company is headed, what projects the company needs to undertake, and who they will need to hire to meet these goals. Many professionals network to find the person to fill positions rather than publicize it to everyone and chance hiring the wrong candidate. This means to you that you need to start digging for jobs rather than searching for them.

Digging entails networking with professionals already working in your desired industry/career field. It means getting to know the people, talking with them and picking their brains for ideas. Networking also may mean interviewing professionals about their career and how they got there (not necessarily just handing them your resume, but rather hinting at your search in progress).

Digging also can mean taking on more volunteer work, part-time work, or internships in the areas you are interested in. This will allow you the chance to get “your foot in the door” and gain contacts in the field. I cannot expect to just jump into the computer industry without first having some experience in computers or by not having any contacts to “back me up”!

Using this train of thought means you need to follow some simple steps:

Get to know your interests: What is it that interests you? You must first learn the product you are going to be selling before you can create a marketing plan!
Market yourself: You must continue to learn new things so that you have opportunity to move to different areas. Learn effective job search strategies from Career Services or from your contacts.
Take away the bumps in the road: If your industry is feeling a pinch in your area, be willing to move somewhere else. I can remember a student who asked me the potential job market in the Greenville area for fashion design. I couldn’t help her much because, let’s face it, Greenville is not the center of the fashion world. Keep this train of thought in the forefront of your mind.
Be positive and energetic: It will be hard in some instances…believe me. But, remember to keep your energy high and your mind positive. The more negative you become, the harder the process gets. Employers pick up the negativity in the interview and this will count against you. No one wants to work with a sour-puss!

So what happens when you do all this and still hit a brick wall in your search? Easy. Back up and find another road to follow. This is where your resources come into play.

Contact your school’s Career Services department. Contact friends who can provide you with an outside view. Contact alumni groups for your university. Contact your parents’ friends and your friends’ parents who work within a relevant field. And read further into this great blog! Anything to keep you moving forward with your job search.

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Tags: elevator speech, job hunt, Job Search, networking, Patrick Madsen
Posted in Job Search, Networking, Patrick Madsen, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

My First Job… or Learning to Appreciate the "Menial" Tasks in Life

April 8th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/valerianasolaris/ / CC BY 2.0

A recent post by blogger Tom Madrecki has generated some conversation — both on the blog and in other outlets — so I thought I’d respond by reflecting on my experience at my first job.

Like Tom, I left college ready to take the world by storm. After all, I had a college degree. What more could I need in order to make my mark on the world, right? Yup, you guessed it. That would be a big, fat WRONG.

I quickly learned that college degree = menial labor when it comes to your first job. And though I wasn’t happy about it, since my parents made it clear that a paycheck was key to my survival, I knew I had no choice. (I grew up in a very practical household. Aspirations were great and all, but first you paid the bills!)

My first job was as a literary assistant at a literary agency. Don’t get me wrong, I got to do some fun things. My favorite was reading the unsolicited queries from authors seeking representation and writing memos as to why I thought the agency should or shouldn’t sign the authors as clients. But that was a small fraction of my time, and it was often done at night or on weekends because the other, menial, have-to-get-done-now tasks took priority during the work day. These were things like inserting my bosses’ fixes to book contracts (using a typewriter!), answering phones, filing, ordering supplies, organizing (read: cleaning) my boss’s office, sending royalty checks and statements to clients… tasks I’d always thought of as “secretarial” — the sort of thing I’d gotten a college degree to AVOID doing.

At the time, I hated those menial tasks. Now, I can appreciate them for what they were: an incredible learning experience.

I learned more about the business by performing what I’d before thought of as “menial tasks” than I ever would have otherwise. One reason was that I decided if I had to do these things, I would do them well. (Not to mention I had a boss who was a stickler for details.)

What I found was that once I proved I could handle those detail-oriented tasks, my boss gave me increasing responsibilities. I was given the opportunity to edit one of the proposals, which was so much fun. And eventually, she asked me to supplement the public relations activities being done for her authors by the publishing houses. It was my chance to shine… and boy did I. It’s the reason I have the career I do today.

So what’s the moral? Or morals?

Those “menial tasks” you may think are beneath you right now present some of the best learning opportunities… if you let them.
Everyone has to work their way up the ladder, and sometimes that means taking a job that isn’t “ideal” just so you get your foot in the door.
Oh, and those “menial tasks” you think are beneath you? Trust me. They aren’t. Those “menial tasks” are often part of some of the most difficult jobs out there, and it takes a special person to be able to do them well and do them gracefully. (Case in point: When my current boss’ assistant goes on vacation, I handle my boss’ calendar. It’s time consuming. It’s challenging. I do it without complaining, despite being 10+ years into my career. And I’m always more than relieved when her assistant returns!)

Now I’m going to call on all of you. Please comment below and share your first job stories — both the good and the bad. I’m sure we’re all learn something from what you have to say.

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Tags: first job, job hunt, Job Search, post-college, Reputation, Robin Ferrier, Skillset, Thomas Madrecki
Posted in Job Search, Robin Ferrier, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

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My First Job… or Learning to Appreciate the "Menial" Tasks in Life