You’ll stumble around for a little while until you find a profile that catches your eye. At this point, you’ll probably decide to reach out, test the waters, and see whether this candidate is interested in your open position.

Going Fishing – Landing a Job

In the small- and medium-size business market, this scenario probably happens more times than you think. Essentially, as a job seeker, you are the fisherman, and the hiring people are the fish.

So how do you catch a big fish, i.e. how do you get an interested hiring manager to choose yours over all the other profiles? Yep, ergo the title of this post: you develop a better hook.

Look at the roots of where social media comes from. Social media functions just like traditional media, by providing a publisher with channels to distribute a message. The difference is that in traditional media, if your message doesn’t have a compelling hook, no one would distribute it for you.

In social media, we are our own distribution, and this means most people are lazy when it comes to the formulation of their hook. They just blah blah blah all day long on their profiles and status updates without realizing that their message is having an impact. Every off-message post dilutes your personal brand.

Someone asked me today, “If you, the author of Job Searching With Social Media For Dummies, were looking for a job right now, what would you do?”

First, I need a hook.

For me, I’m really good at generating buzz. I get people to talk – about any product or service. In my case, it was my book. For clients, it was their dog food and their kettlebells.

What is your hook? What is that one thing you are the best at, that people will want to hire you for? If you can’t tell me that instantly, then you have some work to do. And I don’t want you to touch social media until that work is done.

Next, I need bait.

I need to translate that hook into a compelling brand experience. Put bait on the hook so that fish will want to bite.

This means my picture should reflect my message. For me, if I’m good at buzz, then perhaps I’d lean forward in my picture, have my hands gesturing, or be in the middle of a sentence.

Then, there’s the headline or bio. No, it’s not “I’m good at generating buzz.” The headline is not about you. It’s about them. When writing a For Dummies book, one editorial trick we used for all of the section titles was the gerundive form – a verbal adjective. This means using the –ing form of the verb, for example, “Getting customers to talk about your brand” or “Creating an unstoppable surge of buzz about your company.”

What is your headline or bio going to sound like? What are the elements you need your online images to have?

Finally, connecting with the fish (target companies). Social media is all about relationship building. Cast your hook out there by starting conversations with companies that interest you. If I were a job seeker, the most important step would be following all of my target companies on all big three networks – Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Each of these networks offers a unique way to engage. On Facebook, that’s probably going to look like commenting on a company’s posts. For LinkedIn, that could be inMails or asking for introductions. On Twitter, that might look like retweeting, replying, and Direct Messaging.

The key to engagement is to be interesting by being interested. Show that you are listening to what your target companies are saying. After a short while, you’ll find your chance to interject, interrupt, or contribute.

So to beat my fishing metaphor to death:

• Get a hook: know what makes you different and memorable.
• Put bait on it: communicate a strong and compelling message online.
• Cast it into the water: reach out to the companies you want to work for.

About the author…

Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is a recognized expert on Social Media Career Advancement.  Joshua Waldman is also a speaker and trainer specializing in helping people re-gain control of their careers in today’s economic and technology climate.Connect with Joshua on his website CareerEnlightenment.com, and on social media through Twitter (@JoshuaWaldman), LinkedIn, Facebook, and his Career Enlightenment Channel on YouTube.

The post Developing a Better Hook So You Can Land a Job appeared first on Job-Hunt.

If that’s where employerss are looking for employees, then that’s where job seekers need to be, right?

Find Your Next Job Here what job title, keywords where city, state, zip jobs by Employers! Post your jobs on Indeed, and get a $50 Sponsored Job credit!

If you haven’t made social media the central part of your job search yet, then you may be guilty of one of the following four misunderstandings about using social media.

1. Social media is for kids on cellphones.

Au contraire! Ok, I’m sure this is probably true. After all, roughly half of all emails are read on mobile devices. And some young people can type faster on their phone than my 90 words per minute on the keyboard.

However, not every social media tool is easily used on cellphones, and each has a desktop interface.

More to the point, just because younger folks use social media doesn’t mean it’s a passing trend or exclusive to them.

As a matter of fact, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is people 55 and older, and the average age of a Twitter user is 35.

Every Fortune 500 company has executives with profiles on LinkedIn.

2. Showing my picture will hurt my chances of finding a job.

Look. I’m not going to stand here and pretend that ageism, racism, or sexism aren’t real problems. They are. And it’s too bad that in the 21st century people still have to deal with this.

But by not showing a picture on your profiles, you can do a lot of damage to your chances. It’s like a profile on a dating site that says, “tall, dark and handsome” with no picture. Yeah right!

Many recruiters I’ve spoken with concur on this point. Image-less profiles wind up in the “maybe” pile pretty quickly.

3. I’m not comfortable sharing so much about myself; privacy is important to me.

Privacy has completely changed over the last few years. It’s harder and harder to be disconnected or stay invisible. The more you try, the more you alienate yourself from possibilities and opportunities.

Rather than running away and losing control, it’s much better to feed people the information you want them to know about you.

Remember, there is a far greater chance of having your identity stolen from postal mail than from an online profile. Use some caution and never publish your social security number, date of birth, or mother’s maiden name online. But don’t let fear eliminate your opportunities!

4. I don’t have a lot of time, and I don’t need another distraction.

When email came out, did you also say that you preferred paying for stamps or waiting for inter-office mail? Realize that time management is 100 percent your issue – it’s not the tools you use. When used strategically, your social media profiles and connections will be your most powerful assets throughout your career.

If you are new to using social media, then I would suggest starting off by reading the great LinkedIn articles here on Job-Hunt. LinkedIn is by far the highest leverage tool you have at your disposal. Good luck on your journey to learning all about social media for your career!

About the author…

Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is a recognized expert on Social Media Career Advancement.  Joshua Waldman is also a speaker and trainer specializing in helping people re-gain control of their careers in today’s economic and technology climate.Connect with Joshua on his website CareerEnlightenment.com, and on social media through Twitter (@JoshuaWaldman), LinkedIn, Facebook, and his Career Enlightenment Channel on YouTube.

The post 4 Misunderstandings Job Seekers Have About Social Media appeared first on Job-Hunt.

The Common Cross-Generational Acceptance Process

In fact, from recent grads to the almost-retired, job seekers go through a similar 6-step emotional cycle:

1. Total denial of the importance of social media.  Then…
2. An acceptance that social is somewhat useful. Then…
3. Realization of the complete and utter adoption of social by hiring professionals today, and a fear that they are missing out. Then…
4. Frustration at the total lack of instruction on what to do about it. Then…
5. Anger that their non-strategic and inconsistent use of social is not producing any of the promised results.  And finally…
6. Determination to figure out social media and seek expert advice.

My father is 70+ years old. He was the one who initiated my interest in social media. Meanwhile, I’ve spoken with hundreds of recent grads, and entire audiences have expressed fear and trepidation around social media.

Here are some of the struggles each generation must face when using social media in their job search.

Gen Y Issues With Social Media

This generation may be tech-savvy, but they aren’t born social media experts either. From early on, they’ve texted and Facebooked their way through life. And in many ways, they are way more aware of the real-life consequences of online behavior. After all, what they said on Facebook might get them beaten up or ridiculed at school the next day.

And because their use of technology has been for play, by the time they face college graduation, they fear what those past rumpus messages might do to their employability.

Gen Yers must focus on two key areas when adopting social media:

• Clean up any “digital dirt.”

  You had your fun in high-school. Now it’s time to brush off the dirt, and put on some nice clothes. Revisit those privacy policies, and delete what you can.

• Adopt LinkedIn, and shift your mindset to the intention behind a professional network.

  Consequences of your online behavior will now have financial consequences, not just social ones. Learn what a good LinkedIn profile requires.

Gen X Issues With Social Media

We didn’t get email until our senior year at college or shortly after. When we grew up, we were still mailing our thank-you notes to grandma, and hoping we didn’t die in nuclear holocaust.

I needed prodding from an ex-girlfriend even to look at Facebook because I had already invested my time in Friendster and didn’t want to fill out another dang profile.

Those of us lucky enough to have signed up for the right social networks label ourselves “early adopters” and glean over the 100 other social networks that failed miserably. We approach new technologies with small amounts of weariness. “Oh, another one.” But often our curiosity gets the better of us and we fill out a new profile.

Gen Xers must focus on these areas when adopting social media

• Leverage the proven networks.

  Yes, you may have spent countless hours filling out profiles on networks that don’t exist any more, but LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are no joke. These networks have proven themselves to be the largest and highest leverage tools to advancing your career. Take your time and write your profiles with your brand in mind.

• Understand Facebook privacy.

  Bear in mind that Facebook will probably usurp LinkedIn as a professional network in the next two to three years (my opinion), so don’t wait to understand your privacy settings. Force yourself to spend a half-hour in Facebook’s privacy area. It will pay off.

• Manage your public message.

  Remember that you are publishers when you use social media. The consequences of getting off topic or off brand in your public facing networks could be disastrous. Many Gen Xers were fired for careless Facebook and Twitter posts. Focus on staying on message.

Baby Boomer Issues With Social Media

Since Boomers often look at the younger generations and assume social media is easy for them, they set themselves up for failure. “Oh, those kids text and play X-box. This stuff is easy for them. But I’m older and don’t get technology.”

And with this thought, every learning curve becomes ten times more frustrating. This is what psychologists call a false schema, also known as a self-fulfilling prophesy.

The truth is, every generation has their hurdles when using social media,and there are many advantages to being a Boomer in the social media world.

First, you are uniquely qualified to recognize the impact social media has had in the world of hiring. You have seen the rise of many new technologies and you know the power they have in transforming our world. You saw color television emerge, you saw FM change from talk to music, and you saw computers shrink from the size of buildings to the size of fists.

Second, you are less likely to screw up with social media than other generations. You approach technologies cautiously because you’ve had computers that would break if you pushed the wrong button.

These are some areas of focus for baby boomers when using social media to find work.

• Use online training and help.

  Don’t be overly cautious, sometimes you need to just bite the bullet, and fill out that Twitter profile, even though you don’t know if you are going to screw it up. Job-Hunt has several articles on using social media for job search you can read.  And, plenty of other training and Youtube videos will help you through it.

• Be yourself (within reason).

  Don’t be afraid to show a little more personality online then what you are used to. Your job search paradigm is very formal. All of your resumes are written in third person, and you have been trained to be “professional.” Know that, these days, fit and personality may outweigh capability. Let your hair down a little bit when using social media. For you, this will probably feel uncomfortable, but will be seen as refreshing.

• Leverage your knowledge and experience.

  You understand strategy. You have 20+ years of professional experience and know how to take your time, watch, and make important decisions. Apply some of that strategic thinking to your social media presence. Know who you are targeting in your job search, and then approach them with a plan to add value. You know how to do this!

Bottom Line

Overall, each generation must face their own unique hurdles when adopting social media. So never fall into the trap of thinking that “those other people have an advantage over me”. With social media, the playing field is level, and those millions of Americans winning their jobs with it are the ones willing to go through the stages of adoption and take their time to educate themselves on something new.

About the author…

Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is a recognized expert on Social Media Career Advancement.  Joshua Waldman is also a speaker and trainer specializing in helping people re-gain control of their careers in today’s economic and technology climate.Connect with Joshua on his website CareerEnlightenment.com, and on social media through Twitter (@JoshuaWaldman), LinkedIn, Facebook, and his Career Enlightenment Channel on YouTube.

The post Every Generation Struggles with Social Media appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Where Your Online Presence Really Comes From

People are often unhappy with what they find about themselves in Google’s search results, so that wasn’t a surprise.  But I wasn’t prepared for what he told me next.

After he saw his search results, he said that he called Google and asked to speak with Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman and former CEO. When his call wasn’t connected (no surprise there), he then sent three certified letters to Google demanding they take the content down.

His approach is utterly absurd.

First, Google is not a publisher of content. There is no way they can be held responsible for the content they index and deliver in search results. And if Youtube is any indication, Google can’t be touched for copyright violation either.

Second, calling and demanding to speak with the CEO of one of the largest tech companies in the world in order to take care of removing some internet content is ridiculous. The CEO probably can’t even help you, and, even if he could, since Google doesn’t take money from users, he would have no incentive. Google makes money from selling advertisements.

Google was not the source of the problem.  Google was just making the problem visible through what was cataloged and displayed in the search results.  And search results are controlled by an algorithm, largely independent of human intervention.

Bury The Dead

If you find an article or image you don’t want, you can always email the source making it available on the web to see if they will take it down.  In most cases, websites that publish content about you aren’t going to be amenable to taking it down.

But, often an effective approach is to simply publish more – and more positive – content about yourself. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to go out and write a bunch of articles, although that wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

The best way to bury the content you don’t want is to publish more, thus pushing the old stuff down.

And what better way to publish than to repurpose your old stuff. Check out this list, surely you have something that would work:

• Old presentations from school or work (nonproprietary of course)
• Old photos of you looking nice and professional
• Video footage of you giving a presentation or talk
• Reports, papers, or articles you’ve worked on or been quoted in

Once you dig some of this content up, it’s time to dust off the cobwebs. With a fresh pair of eyes, see if you can freshen it up. Can you make the slides stand on their own? Can you update the article?

It’s important to make sure your name appears in each of these documents somewhere, either in the content, or the file name.

These old documents can now be distributed to Google-friendly or Google-owned content distribution communities:

• Slides can get posted on Slideshare.com.
• Photos can get posted on Picasa.
• Articles can get posted on Scribd.com.
• Videos can get posted on Youtube.com.

Link to these from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media.  After a few weeks, you should start to see some of these new documents on Google’s first page, pushing the bad stuff out of site, or at least, off the first page of Google’s search results.

Bottom Line

If you are concerned about your online presence, leave Google out of it.  Your best option is to follow the tips above to clean things up.

About the author…

Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies, is a recognized expert on Social Media Career Advancement.  Joshua Waldman is also a speaker and trainer specializing in helping people re-gain control of their careers in today’s economic and technology climate.Connect with Joshua on his website CareerEnlightenment.com, and on social media through Twitter (@JoshuaWaldman), LinkedIn, Facebook, and his Career Enlightenment Channel on YouTube.

The post Repairing Your Online Reputation Using Social Media appeared first on Job-Hunt.