Jobhunting in the 21st CenturyIf you care to comment, email me at bradley@wogsland.org with "Political Vloggery" in the Subject line. All links are good on the day of posting, but you know how some tend to die after a while. |
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22 September 2009
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On my brother Packie's first day at his new job, he told me this was the background on his desktop. It's him, age 4, at King's Dominion riding his favorite Tigger ride - a picture taken from my page about him on my genealogy website. Everyone uses the internet, including potential employers. To be successful you need to own your brand online. Here are 7 steps to success:
(1) Google Yourself - your name, your nickname, etc. Employers will see all this. Hopefully you don't have the same name as a criminal or porn star. (2) If you really want to own your identity, get a website like Wogsland.org or some sensable nickname or variant. This can house your resume and link your online spaces - linkedin, slideshare, blog, etc. - it serves as a nexus for your online persona. It is great because you can also put a website on a business card. (3) Start a blog. Write about intellectual topics of interest to you. Post presentations you've done. Give intelligent commentary on current events. Post a video. Whatever. Basically you want to impress potential employers. Never underestimate the value of good writing. My resume got me a phone interview with my current employer, but my blog and YouTube videos got me hired. Wordpress templates are not that hard and look more professional than the old school style ones I write. You can put it on your web page. (4) Join LinkedIn.com, a social networking site for business people. Connect to that manager you really impressed 3 jobs ago. Connect to the speaker you met at a conference last spring. This is online embodiment of your resume and social network. Employers can see you work experience, education, and network. Oh, and make sure you ignore you drinking buddies requests to connect. (5) Post your best presentations on SlideShare and embed them on LinkedIn. If you have a blog, you can embed them there too. (6) Facebook is a time sink and impresses almost no one. I wouldn't bother unless you get invited to important networking events that RSVP via facebook. Or you want to find old friends you've lost contact with to network with - but googling them will also often yield pretty good results. (7) Careerbuilder.com and other websites that just let you post a resume are worthless. If a site doesn't actively let you build a network then all you will get from it is email spam.
Here are some older guys who have mentored me developing my brand online:
Kevin Nalty - recently quit his day job to consult video marketing full time.
Tom Guarriello - consultant & entreprenuar
Ken Goldstein - Non-profit consultant Of course, I've gone long cyberspace. You needn't do all that. All of the things I've listed above add value to your brand, but how much depends on the company. At the end of the day, you have been handed an incredible opportunity. Now is your chance to choose exactly what you want to do! Manage. Teach. Consult. Write the next business philosophy bestseller. Move to New York and join a big firm. Buy a farm in Idaho and practice your survivalist skills. Think of every possible path you can and write out all the pluses and minuses. Explore the seemingly impossible and follow your dreams. Then choose the path which seems best to you.
Good luck, |