5 Things Careers Professionals Can Do With Social Media: #5thingscareers

5 things careers professionals can do with social media #5thingscareers
Tristram Hooley
iCeGS
iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs
Disclosure/Disclaimer
Im going to ask you to do a number of things in public as part of this session.
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You will be posting some things to the web.

I wont make you do anything embarrassing. You dont have to do anything that you dont feel comfortable with. You can take down things that you dont feel happy with after the session.
What is social media?

Internet services where the online content is generated by the users of the service.
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Why should careers people be interested in it?
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5 things
1. Help clients to develop digital literacy 2. Build their own professional network using Twitter 3. Understand how to manage online information for themselves and their clients using RSS. 4. Engage clients and market their services using Facebook. 5. Create online career learning opportunities using blogs.
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#1 Developing digital literacy

Digital literacy is important to career development. Careers advisers should be interested and working with clients around this issue. Use/adapt/rework these slides and activities as a resource to help your clients.
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Digital literacy
Digital literacy is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, especially with those who possess the same knowledge and skills.
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_literacy)
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As professionals where would you go for careers information, advice and guidance?
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What websites/online resources would you use?
Where do young people go?
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How do they decide what is good/bad, useful/useless etc. ?

What does the research suggest?

Most people struggle to name any organisations that provide career support. In general terms such as guidance and IAG serve to further confuse people. Consumers are more likely to seek advice on education and training than job seeking or promotion within a current role. People tend to seek support on career decisions from the internet or their friends and family before they seek out a professional.
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Our research with adults

Interviews and computer exercises with 38 people. All but 3 said that they would use the internet to find career information. The main strategy used was Google-based searching. Typically people used very crude searches e.g. What decorating jobs or construction jobs are there in Derby. Some evidence that more educated users looked at more sites than less educated ones.
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Behaviour on websites
Generally only visited 1-3 pages on each site. Did not distinguish between different types of sites. Little interest in the provenance of the information. This pattern is generally substantiated by research on information use in other fields.
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Googling better
search for an exact phrase
Assessing the usefulness of sites

Is this site any good?
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Is it trustworthy? Who built it? Why is it there?

What can it answer?
What cant it answer?
What tools/sites do you use to help manage this?
Social media vs Search
Using social media is a career management skill

If people are going to navigate through their career they will need to use technology. The ability to evaluate the usefulness of new technologies and engage with them can therefore be seen as a career management skill. Social media are particularly important as they enable people to develop social capital (networks). If we are going to advise our clients to develop these skills we need to have them ourselves.
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Who are you connected to?
Your personal brand

Your personal brand is made of all of your digital assets which can have both economic and sentimental value. Economically valuable digital assets have real monetary value and include domain names, blogs, business documents, contacts lists and ebooks.
Nathan Lustig (1st November 2010) Personal Branding Blog, http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/your-online-activity-and-personal-brandare-your-digital-assets/
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Yourself
This is the start of your online brand
Who are you connected to?
Digital literacy for career building
Assessing
Is this site any good? Is it trustworthy? What can it answer? What cant it answer?
Exploring
How can I find what Im looking for? How can I find what Im not looking for?
Connecting
Who can I connect with? How can I connect safely? How can I connect productively?
Presenting
How do I present my self online? Who is noticing me? When and why are they noticing me?
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#2 Building a professional network

A critical element of any profession is the ability of members of the profession to learn from each other, share information and communicate. Social media makes that easier and opens up a huge number of possibilities. We are going to focus on using Twitter for this purpose today.
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Reasons to tweet
I work in a team of one most of the time at school and rarely have people around me with whom I can bounce ideas around or ask questions and this can prove to be an isolating experience Twitter enables direct access to careers professionals working across the UK and beyond opening up opportunities for continuing professional development. Many twitter profiles link to websites and blogs with a wealth of news, academic comment and insight into developments in education policy, career theory etc.
Andrea Shieber (@CEIAG)
Twitter
Create a Twitter account http://twitter.com/ Post #5thingscareers Follow @ reply Search
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What is a network?
people you know (and maybe the people who they know) people who know you (and maybe the people who know them) a way of accessing help and advice a way of providing help and advice based on the idea of reciprocity
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Reciprocity
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a state or relationship in which there is mutual action, influence, giving and taking, correspondence, etc., between two parties or things OED
Why are networks important

Where trust and social networks flourish, individuals, firms, neighbourhoods and even nations prosper. Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone People who transact with friends and relatives report greater satisfaction with the results than do those who transact with strangers. Dimaggio and Louch, Socially Embedded Consumer Transactions
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How do networks work?
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Not like this
How do networks work?
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Lessons from network theory

You dont need to know everyone. Knowing who the connectors are is important Be aware of what networks you are in and what ones you are not in Being part of a network takes time and energy you cant be part of everything.
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What do you want from a network?

Diversity Independence De-centralisation (Surowiecki, 2004) Also People who share your interests People to have fun/sociability with
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Weak links and long tails

People who are outside of your core network (weak links) can often help you more than those inside. They are less likely to be like you and therefore less likely to be competing for the same opportunities. Having lots of contacts is likely to lead to more opportunities than having a few. Even if the few are very important or active. Lots of people who can help you a bit (the long tail) is better than a few people who can help you a lot.
But there are limits

Dunbars number = 150 If your network gets too big or noisy you will need to manage it: lose some people organise into sub-networks find other techniques for sifting
Make 150 new friends

Good starting points Search The hash tag for today #5thingscareers Lists curated by careers professionals http://twitter.com/#!/Russell_George/careers-guidance http://twitter.com/#!/pigironjoe/careers http://twitter.com/#!/BethSpooner/career-development http://twitter.com/#!/helencurry/careerspeople Look at who interesting people are following and being followed by. Tweet about who you are, what you are finding and what you would like to find.
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#3 Keeping track of your network (and other stuff)

A lot of careers work is about being able to source, manage and know about information, opportunities and sources of support. Social media can increase your ability to do this. But.
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Identify useful information sources

Select from what you are sent Read/use the information
File it
Retrieve it
RSS feeds
RSS is a key technology for managing online information of a variety of kinds.
How can they help my work?

They help you stay up-to-date with current conversations/discussions in your area Make it easier to keep track of multiple sites and bring all that information into one place Help you mange your information Help you expand your network and contribute to scholarly debate
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How do you know a site has an RSS feed?
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Subscribing
Paste a feed url into the subscription box in your RSS reader Click the
Create a Google Reader
How can we manage this information?
Portals
Bringing things together into the same place
Aggregators
Creating a single stream of information from many different ones
Create an iGoogle page
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#4 Engaging users and marketing through social media

It seems likely that social media offers a good way to publicise your services and engage people in what you have to offer. However, it probably isnt as easy as it looks.
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Rule 1: Youve got to be in it to win it

You wont engage people through social media unless you are there. Where should you be?
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Take your pick

There are no rules but how about:
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Twitter for professionals Facebook for clients LinkedIn for employers
Facebook
Mainly used as a social tool. Be careful about invading peoples social space by friending them. But Facebook offers more neutral spaces to interact such as pages.
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Rule 2: Tell people you are there

If no one knows, no one will come. Use Your website Email lists Post messages in forums Use your network
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Rule 3: Content is king

People wont come and look at an empty page. What are you going to put there for people to look at/respond to/engage with. What are you going to put there if they come back tomorrow.
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What content can you post?

Comments Questions Links Photos Job opportunities Stuff that you are creating for other purposes etc etc
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Rule 4: Conversation trumps content

Giving people stuff to look at is OK. But talking to them is better. If you want to engage people you need to present information to them in a way that they will want to engage with. Youll also need to respond to them when they engage.
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Rule 4: People talk to people not organisations

Who would you rather talk to?
A person
A brand
Social presence
Online interactions rob us of many of the social cues that we rely on in normal conversation. We need to work hard to replace them. E.g. Photos Names Information about ourselves
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#5 Providing career support online

People go to the web to access services. They dont just go to access information about services. Social media is where they are and therefore might provide a good opportunity to engage with them and develop their career management skills. Learning can happen when interacting online as well as when interacting face to face.
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How do we get in here?
And here?
We need to create sparks for career learning

Content that engages and informs
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Opportunities to ask questions and interact

Places where networks can be built
Things that are probably important to online learning

An idea about who the audience is Good (but not perfect) content A call to engagement or action An opportunity to interact with peers as well as experts
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Blogs provide a really good opportunity for all of this!

What is a blog: key ideas

A website with Changing front moment Content displayed in reverse chronological order Opportunities for comments and interactions Usually maintained by an individual or small group.
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http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/
Social presence
A blog is the centre of a network
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A blog is a communication tool
Different types of blogs

Personal career blog Career support blog Careers work blog
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http://www.iwantajobatpixar.com/
http://www.positionignition.com/blog/
http://careersintheory.wordpress.com/
What do career support bloggers write about

LMI Recruitment and job search Well-being Work Transition and career change Enterprise News Events Networking and building relationships Personal development Work/life balance Miscellaneous Learning choices Personal brand Promotion and advancement Vacancies Etc, etc
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How
Some blogging tools Posterous https://posterous.com/ Blogger http://www.blogger.com Wordpress http://wordpress.org/
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The technical bit is easy. E.g. with Posterous you create posts by sending an email.
Post something
Either on your blog or as a comment on mine under the #5thingscareers post
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What have you learnt today? What have you got to share about careers? What is the most common query you get? Just a paragraph but do it and then share on Twitter.
Writing a blog
Decide what kind of blog you are writing Remember the perfect is the enemy of the good Social presence is important make it sound like a person is talking Write for participation. Encourage others to comment using questions and posts designed to provoke a reaction. Use materials/content that you generate for other purposes. e.g. post presentations. Dont be afraid to include short posts and links.
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Getting people to read your blog

Keep writing. There are lots of blogs with only one post. Tell people what you are doing. Link it to other social media (twitter, facebook etc) Create some posts based on current events, celebrities etc Look at what posts are most popular and write more like that.
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Most importantly why?

Creates a repository of your work/advice/stuff for you and your clients. Makes your resources available to other practitioners and builds your reputation. Extends your reach beyond those people you can physically see/meet. It offers a new way of delivering career guidance. It is a practitioner-centred technology that provides a vehicle for your expertise. It is creative and fun.
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Blogs: A tool for reflective practice?

Do something Respond and re-articulate
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Think about it
Think some more Feedback from others
Write about it
Other blogs
Im gradually building up a list of career related blogs on my blog http://adventuresincareerdevelopment.posterous.co m/pages/other-sites-you-might-like Please let me know if you start one or find any other good ones and Ill list it here.
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So what have we learnt?
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If you walk away with one thing

Social media isnt about technology. It is about people.
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ICG Social media

ICG Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Institute-ofCareer-Guidance/136859746325621 ICG on Twitter http://twitter.com/ICGUK ICG on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gi d=1163157
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My contact details
t.hooley@derby.ac.uk @pigironjoe http://adventuresincareerdevelopment.com Just Google me
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5 things careers professionals can do with social media #5thingscareers

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

You will be posting some things to the web.

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

What is social media?

Why should careers people be interested in it?

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

#1 Developing digital literacy

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

What websites/online resources would you use?

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Where do young people go?

How do they decide what is good/bad, useful/useless etc. ?

What does the research suggest?

Our research with adults

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Assessing the usefulness of sites

Is it trustworthy? Who built it? Why is it there?

What cant it answer?

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

What tools/sites do you use to help manage this?

Social media vs Search

Using social media is a career management skill

What tools/sites do you use to help manage this?

Who are you connected to?

Your personal brand

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

This is the start of your online brand

What tools/sites do you use to help manage this?

Who are you connected to?

Digital literacy for career building

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

#2 Building a professional network

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Andrea Shieber (@CEIAG)

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Why are networks important

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

How do networks work?

Not like this

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

How do networks work?

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Lessons from network theory

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

What do you want from a network?

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Weak links and long tails

But there are limits

Make 150 new friends

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

#3 Keeping track of your network (and other stuff)

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

Identify useful information sources

How can they help my work?

iCeGS: Creative Solutions for the Careers Sector www.derby.ac.uk/icegs

How do you know a site has an RSS feed?