Social Networking

1
Social Networking Your Job Search

• SI Career Services
• Practical Engagement Program
• Tuesday, September 30, 20081200 - 100 PM
• 311 West Hall

2
Activity

• Make a list of ten people you know that you
  consider to be in your network (classmates,
  professors, staff, colleagues, supervisors,
  mentors, etc)
• Find another person who has listed one of the
  same person as you on their list
• Have that person find someone else that has
  another person that is also on their list
• Everyone should eventually be linked
• If not, those that arent should talk with those
  that are linked and discover someone in common
  that is

3
Facts About Social Networking

• Women are Younger Men are Older
• Bebo and Xanga have the youngest social
  networkers
• MySpace is still the largest social network
  (184.1M active profiles)
• European, Asians and South American social
  networkers are getting younger
• There are more women on MySpace and more Men on
  Hi5
• Source http//pipl.com/statistics/social-networks
  /5-facts/

4
Just Who Are You Networking With?

• 26 across the markets surveyed are members of
  social networking sites
• Netherlands at 49
• United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 46
• Canada at 44
• The US at 40 (though keep in mind that's 40 of
  a huge population)
• At the end of 2007, Toronto claimed more Facebook
  members than any city in the world and they were
  not all young students.
• Source http//www.synovate.com/insights/infact/is
  sues/200808/article2.shtml?emailemail

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What about not interacting with People?
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FACT

• Online communication is as meaningful as
  face-to-face communication.
• Not surprisingly, when you look at the results
  for people who are members of social networking
  sites versus those who are not, you get big
  differences. Forty percent of people who engage
  in social networking agree that online
  communication can be just as meaningful, versus
  26 of people who are not members of any of these
  sites.
• Source http//www.synovate.com/insights/infact/is
  sues/200808/article5.shtml?emailemail

7
FACT

• Online social networking is better than not
  interacting at all.
• Members of social networking sites are far more
  likely to agree (75) than non-members at 51.
  Highest agrees among social networkers are France
  (86), Indonesia (84) and the US and Russia
  (both 83).
• Source http//www.synovate.com/insights/infact/is
  sues/200808/article5.shtml?emailemail

8
Social Networking Paranoia

• Just over half of respondents who are members of
  social networking sites (51) agreed that online
  social networking has its dangers
• Most Nervous -- Brazilians (79)
• The US (69)
• Poland (62)
• Least concerned are Indians at 19
• Source http//www.synovate.com/insights/infact/is
  sues/200808/article4.shtml?emailemail

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Is the Fear Warranted in the US?

• It depends on what you have to lose

10
FACT

• A Kaplan survey of 320 admissions officers from
  the nation's top colleges and universities
  revealed that one out of ten admissions officers
  has visited an applicant's social networking Web
  site as part of the admissions decision-making
  process.
• Source http//www.kaplan.com/aboutkaplan/pressrel
  eases/KaplanCAOSurveyResults.htm

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FACT

• A quarter of those who report viewing applicants'
  sites say that these viewings have generally had
  a positive impact on their evaluation.
• The bad news a greater percentage (38 percent)
  report that applicants' social networking sites
  have generally had a negative impact on their
  admissions evaluation.
• Source http//www.kaplan.com/aboutkaplan/pressrel
  eases/KaplanCAOSurveyResults.htm

12
FACT

• Members of social networking sites have a
  balanced on- and offline existence.
• "Most people online, regardless of culture, have
  a very strong appreciation of being in the real
  world. Their attitudes and behaviour show us that
  the virtual world of social networking can
  complement relationships, but not replace them.
  There is no substitute for real life, real
  friends and real relationships. (Steve Garton,
  Global Head of Media Research, Synovate)
• Source http//www.synovate.com/insights/infact/i
  ssues/200808/article5.shtml?emailemail

13
FACT

• The Society for Human Resource Management
  recently compiled responses from 571 of their
  members about how they use the Internet to fill
  jobs.
• It found that recruiters use social networking
  sites 23 percent more now than they did in 2006
  to fill vacancies, verify résumés and screen
  applicants. Even more interesting, negative
  information on an applicants profile, like
  personal views or values contradictory to the
  hiring organization or excessive alcohol abuse,
  have a greater impact on hiring decisions than
  positive information, the survey found.
• Source http//www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/business/
  yourmoney/27shortcuts.html?pagewanted2emadxnnlx
  1222884270-FgGszi7tuCnmHJamH20CpFg

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Lets Talk About Specific Sites
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Social Networks to Consider

• All of the following can be used effectively to
  help you get a job.
• LinkedIn
• Doostang
• MySpace
• XING
• Ryze
• Facebook (Yes, its true!)
• Others?
• Be warned it can also work against you

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A Selection of Networking Sites
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LinkedIn
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Join the LinkedIn SI Group
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(Interesting) FACT

• Michelle Robinovitz, who has been a recruiter for
  15 years and now is director of recruiting for an
  accounting firm in Atlanta, said she had stopped
  using job sites altogether and relied almost
  completely on LinkedIn.
• I feel like theyre a waste of time and money,
  she said of job search sites. Ive seen a
  decline over the past two years of qualified
  candidates. It used to be that we would get 300
  résumés. Now you are lucky to get one. I think
  qualified people are much more savvy.
• Ms. Robinovitz said her firm paid 200 a month to
  directly e-mail up to 50 people on LinkedIn.
  Often, its not the people she contacts who want
  the job, but rather friends of those contacts who
  end up getting the job.
• For those (yes, like me) who dont know how to
  make the best use of such social networking
  sites, several books out there can lead you by
  the hand.
• Source http//www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/business
  /yourmoney/27shortcuts.html?pagewanted1em

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Where Else Can You Network Online?

• Listservs
• A A Listserv
• CHI-JOBs
• Blogs
• Wikis as a content generator
• Where Else?

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Ive got the info How do I make this work for
me?

• Now were going to talk about eNetworking

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Lets Start with Regular, Ole, Networking

• You are networking when you
• attend professional or trade association meetings
  
• talk to other parents when attending your child's
  sporting or music events
• volunteer for a local park "clean-up" day
• visit with other members of your social clubs or
  religious groups
• talk to your neighbors
• strike up a conversation with someone else
  waiting at the veterinarian's office
• talk to sales persons who are visiting your
  office
• post messages on mailing lists or in chat rooms

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Whats the Difference between Online Social
Professional or e-Networking?

• Social Networkings Purpose
• Social Networking is to get a date, expand your
  circle of friends, find people with similar
  hobbies, reconnect with old friends

• eNetworking has a different purpose
• To connect you with contacts who can help you
  land a new or better job
• These contacts include current and former
  colleagues, former bosses and coworkers, and even
  recruiters
• The interaction has a social component, and you
  should treat these individuals with the same
  courtesy and respect you would like to receive --
  but its goal is employment, pure and simple

24
How to eNetwork Effectively

• E-networking requires active participation
• The quality of your effort determines the return
  you get from your investment of time.
• The key to success in employment networking
  (whether it's done online or off) is giving as
  good as you get
• You have to share your knowledge, information,
  and job contacts if you want others to share
  theirs
• Sharing must be done regularly so that it builds
  familiarity and trust among those with whom you
  network
• Sharing friends on a social networking site isn't
  particularly risky but putting someone in touch
  with a business contact is
• Adapted from ATT Hot Jobs Will Social
  Networking Get You a Job? by Peter D. Weddle

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7 Tips for Your Networking

• Choose Your Flavor
• Understand Site Culture and Rules
• Hone Your Profile
• Don't Be Pushy
• Do What You Say You Will
• Prepare for Face-to-Face Introductions
• Help Yourself by Helping Others
• Adapted from Monster.com Seven Tips for Social
  Networking Online by Allan Hoffman

26
Your Online Presence Online Dos

• Use Smart Subject Lines in Emails (Ex "Kudos to
  your team" is a far preferable subject line to
  "great" on a congratulatory email to a former
  colleague.
• Use a Signature File If well-constructed, this
  can be a terrific calling card -- a way to
  highlight your job title, company and contact
  info. If you have a Web site, a "sig file," as
  it's often called, lets you direct people to it.
• Think Before You Hit Send Job prospects have
  been torpedoed by sending incomplete, in-progress
  emails. Don't hit send until you're sure you're
  ready.
• Be Careful When Posting to Online Forums Blogs,
  message boards, forums and other online venues
  provide great ways to connect. Just watch what
  you say, as your words will likely be there
  forever.
• Keep Your Personal Information Fresh If you have
  a personal Web site or blog or other personal
  information stored at publicly accessible places
  online, be sure to keep it up-to-date.

Taken from Monster.com Refine Your Online Image
Ten E-Savvy Tips for Career Survival by Allan
Hoffman
27
Social Networking Your Brand

• Create a Marketing Plan or Brand about yourself
• You can use your Marketing Plan/Brand in all of
  your social networking
• Add a brief one line summary to your email
  signature
• Use it on your online profiles

28
Social Networking in Employment

• A recent study found that employment recruiters
  are constantly searching social networks in an
  effort to expand their candidate profiles.
  According to the executive search firm ExecuNet,
  about four out of five recruiters regularly run
  web searches to screen job applicants. This means
  that many job candidates can expect their
  application to undergo an Internet screening.
  About one in three job seekers have been
  eliminated from consideration based on
  information the hiring company has discovered on
  social networking websites.
• So if sic you think you are cool by posting
  your drinking exploits or sexual conquests, think
  again. A potential employer might be searching
  for that very information. It might make you
  popular with all your friends, but none of them
  will be corporate recruiters. This practice is
  fast becoming an additional tool used to make a
  choice between several prospective applicants.
  Once an employer finds your social network
  profile postings, the damage is done. Negative
  information is viewed with a cold shoulder no
  matter how well qualified you might be in other
  areas.
• From Associated Content Social Networking Can Be
  Perilous to Your Employment

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Check Your Profile
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Have you Googled Yourself Lately?
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Consider Your Connections

• Look beyond your own profile
• Look at your friends profiles
• Are they professional?
• Do they look like someone that an employee should
  be associated with?
• What other factors could work against you in a
  social networking profile?

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And Now for the Online Don'ts

• Be Too Familiar Email may seem informal by
  nature, but that doesn't mean you should address
  hiring managers by their first names. And
  whatever you do, don't write in all lowercase ("i
  really think i'm right for this job") just
  because that's your style when emailing friends.
• Build Junk You may want your own blog, Web page
  or online photo album, but think before you
  build. You don't want to show off your tattoos,
  rant and rave about every topic under the sun or
  otherwise create sites that might embarrass you
  when a potential employer Googles your name.
• Instant-Message When You Should Call
• Bad-Mouth Your Employer
• Use Stupid, Pornographic or Otherwise Immature
  Email Addresses
• What else???

Taken from Monster.com Refine Your Online Image
Ten E-Savvy Tips for Career Survival by Allan
Hoffman
33
FACT

• Networking is the number one way to get a job
  no matter how you do it

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Questions? Thoughts?

• Thank you!