Good connections

1 Warmer

Worksheet
Scan the article and answer the questions below.

1. How many social networks or internet platforms are mentioned in the article?
2. What are their names?
3. Do you have an account with any of them? If yes, do you use it for private or professional reasons?
4. How often do you update your proile?

2 Key words
a. Put the letters in the correct order to make key words from the article.
product launches
1. We had two major ______________________________ (tprcuod sechluna) last year at which we
introduced our new services to the public.
enhanced
2. When something is _________________________ (dchenane), it is made better.
degraded
3. When something is _________________________ (rdadgeed), it is made worse.
Workforce
4. _________________________ (cfkwrrooe) is a word used to describe the amount of people who
work.
laid off
5. When you have been _________________________ (dial fof), your employment contract has ended
– often because there’s not enough work available.
exude
6. If you _________________________ (edeux) a particular quality, people notice easily that you have a
lot of it.
public
7. The word _________________________ (ciupbl) is used in the article to mean open, not a secret,
available for anyone to ind out.

b. Match the key words from the article with the deinitions below.

apologize charities do-it-yourself (DIY) employment service

favour recommendations shiftier

1. suggestions and references that someone is especially suitable for a job and good at what they do
recommendations
______________________________
2. organizations to which you give money so that they can give money and help to people who are poor
charities
or ill, or who need advice and support ______________________________
3. the activity of making or repairing things for your home instead of paying someone to do them for you
do-it-yourself (DIY)
______________________________
apologize
4. to say you are sorry ______________________________
shiftier
5. more dishonest ______________________________
6. a business that helps people to ind jobs or companies to ind workers
employment service
______________________________
favour
7. something that you do for someone in order to help them ______________________________

c. Find all 14 key words and expressions in the article to read them in context.
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 Good connections

Worksheet
by Margaret Davis
Good connections

or sell a
Social media can help you to ind a job
riate posts
business idea. But remember: inapprop
RGARET
could also damage your reputation. MA
DAVIS reports.
and Twitter
1 If used properly, social networks like Facebook
Link edIn and XING can
and professional networks such as
and prom ote your
help you ind a job, build useful contacts
socia l-media
business. In fact, some career experts say a
e.
presence is essential in the modern workplac
private
2 While Facebook is often seen as simply Photo Disc / Getty Images
your comments
entertainment, you should be aware that
of friends
may be seen by a wider audience (friends . About half
ple) . And altho ugh Facebook million registered users in 200 countries
and their friends, for exam competitor,
Spri ng revo lutions, of its members are in the US. Its German
may have played a role in the Arab for the
men ts to a XING, has 12 million users. One reason
it might be better to keep political com the mob ile natu re of the US
. popularity of LinkedIn is
minimum to avoid unwelcome attention ly mov ing to new jobs
workforce. With people frequent
of conn ections is
Discussions of religion are also best avoi
ded. As one in different regions, having a variety
3 also changed
of my colleagues likes to say: “Faceboo
k is a cocktail extremely important. The recession has
g to career
party.” Like real-time cocktail parties, Face
book can the way users present themselves, accordin
you have been
be used for the sort of networking that will
help you in experts. Don’t be embarrassed to admit
ind ing your high school laid off, for example.
your career – and not just for
if you run your own
girlfriend. This is especially true med to say
“You exude conidence by not being asha
6
and enco urag e
business. You can link to your website exec utiv e coac h Sandra A.
prod ucts . You that you’re between jobs,”
others to become ‘fans’ and to ‘like’ your er says it is important to
your business VanGilder told Forbes. VanGild
can (and should) post regular updates on inter view ers often
ts such as have a proile on LinkedIn because
as well as invite your fans to attend even le or editing
com pani es offe r their fans the check for them. “In creating a new proi
product launches. Some fact that
and quiz zes. The range your current one, be very public about the
chance to take part in contests
is limi ted only by you’re looking for new opportunities.”
of possible networking activities
you still have to
your imagination – and by the fact that panies and ind 7
or a novel. You can also use LinkedIn to search com
produce the product, whether it’s a hammer surprised who
people you’re connected to – you may be
for fun, I sear ched the BBC
a new they are. For example, just
“We have to think about social media in e mem bers of its
and discovered the proiles of thre
4
of student
strategic way,” says Sree Sreenivasan, dean one of my Link edIn
School staff. I don’t know any of them, but
affairs at the Columbia University Graduate me with an
er som ethin g that we can contacts does. This person could provide
of Journalism. “It is no long mmend that
wish your frien ds happy introduction to the BBC employees or reco
ignore. It is not a place to just
It is a plac e whe re they add me to their professional network.
birthday. It is a place of business.
, depe ndin g on 8
your career will be enhanced or degraded means
It is also useful to ‘follow’ a company; this
your use of these tools and services.” ions that anno unce when
you can get email notiicat
. If this is a job that its
nal networks is someone is leaving a position
Probably the best-known of the professio ce, you will ind out
5 than 150 your qualiications and experien
LinkedIn. Launched in 2003, it has more
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 Good connections

something you

Worksheet
11
banker and What do you do if people react badly to
about it early. American Molly Cain is a say on Twitter or another social netw ork? Apologize,
a care ers and
CEO of the website GlassHeel.com, says author and blogger Julien Smith. “Ful
l disclosure
Cain says
networking site for professional women. and absolute honesty is the only option,”
Smith told
tions your
on
that it is important to have recommenda the Financial Times. “Nothing looks shift
ier than taking
or people you
LinkedIn proile from former employers down a tweet and pretending it never happ
ened. It will
projects
have worked with successfully on business always be archived somewhere.”
go from havi ng none
or charities. But don’t suddenly
be a clea r sign 12
to having 20, Cain warns. This will The video-sharing website YouTube can
also be used
perh aps not the
that you are looking for a new job – to promote products and services . Ima gina tive ways of
sort of information you want your current
emp loye r vide os showing
using this medium include instructional
or colleagues to know. Instead, make sure
that you or inter views.
s to your Link edIn your products in action, video blogging
regularly add recomm enda tion customers to
in your job. In general, You can also ask customers and potential
proile, even if you are happ y ne on your
grad ually , Cain advises. send in questions that you can answer onli
make changes to your proile website or in a conventio nal blog .
called social 13
9 If you run your own business, a new site And what if you want to set up your own
d in 2010 , the ‘online
Pinterest might be useful. Launche website? The Ning platform is usef ul for prof essional
the majo rity of
pinboard’ has about 12 million users, groups such as teachers who wan t to shar e info rmation.
os, with links
them women. Users post photos and vide The American Peace Corps Association
has its own
lar Pint t eres
to their favourite websites. The most popu Ning group to encourage cooperation amo
ng volu nteers
lf (DIY)
categories are food and drink, do-it-yourse worldwide and to provide them with new
s. Fina lly,
perh aps ‘pol itics ’ could soon
projects and clothing, but remember that networki ng shou ld not be one-sided.
ney and Mic helle Obama
be added to the list. Ann Rom You can help yourself by help ing othe rs, according to
husb ands ’ cam paigns at Monster.com,
are using Pinterest to support their Allan Hoffman, an expert on tech jobs
to attra ct you’ re able
for the US presidency. Both are aiming an international employment service. “If
their respective
women, with posts that are managed by to help people, they’ll be more likely to
rem emb er you
, Obama in
campaign staff. Romney joined in February and return the favour,” Hoffman says.
June. They also have Twitter accounts.

MARGARET DAVIS is a Canadian

oblogging
10 Twitter is an online social-media and micr
t messages
network. Members communicate via shor journalist and editor of the Careers
Twi tter you can easily
limited to 140 characters. “On and Global Business sections of
ordi nari ly meet,”
interact with people you wouldn’t Business Spotlight International.
Holl owa y. “You
says personal branding coach Jennifer
CEO a of
might follow and start tweeting with the
On LinkedIn,
company you’re interested in working for. Adapted text from © Business Spotlight,
5/2012
to put you in
look at your contacts’ contacts. Get them www.business-spotlight.de
to get in touch
touch with people you wouldn’t be able
the Fina ncia l Times.
with normally,” Holloway told
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 Good connections

3 Understanding the article

Worksheet
Use information from the article to answer these questions.
1. What are the professional / business beneits of using social media?
2. What are the beneits of becoming a ‘fan’ of a business on Facebook?
3. Why is LinkedIn so popular?
4. Why shouldn’t you be worried about writing that you have lost your job?
5. How might being on a professional social network increase your chances of getting a new job?
6. Why is it better for you to update your LinkedIn proile regularly instead of putting up lots of new
information in a very short time?
7. Why should you look at your contacts’ contacts?
8. What should you do if you write and post something you regret on a social network?

4 Multi-word phrases
Put these words into the correct order to make multi-word phrases from the article, then put them
into sentences which describe the article.
1. audience by seen a wider seen by a wider audience
2. attention unwelcome avoid avoid unwelcome attention
3. avoided are best are best avoided
4. regular updates post post regular updates
5. your imagination only limited by limited only by your imagination
6. touch get with in get in touch with
7. honesty disclosure full absolute and full disclosure and absolute honesty
8. be should one-sided not should not be one-sided
9. by help others helping yourself help yourself by helping others
10. the return favour return the favour

5 Discussion and web task

a. How might these kinds of businesses beneit from the use of social media?
• a restaurant
all these kinds of businesses can make good advertising on social
• an art gallery networks, create their own pages there and write about what services they
• a painter and decorator provide, this can interest many people and attract a large audience
• a language school
• a landscape gardener
• an independent cinema
b. Find real examples of these kinds of businesses on the internet. Find out what social media
they use and how they use it.

6 Planning and presenting a strategy

Your new CEO has made you responsible for improving your company’s online presence.
Work in teams to come up with a plan of action which you should then present to the rest of the
class. Think about costs, time (including working hours), launch dates, updates, continuity, your
target audience and your competitors.
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT / Good connections

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 Good connections

7 Extra reading

Worksheet
Read the interview with a career expert to see what advice she gives about using social media
for professional reasons.

and more
“Your online presence is more
you” by Jennifer Holloway
the way people ind out about
their proiles?
Should baby boomers put their age in
JENNIFER I don’t think it’s a good idea to put your
age anywhere.
CVs thes e days, as it
HOLLOWAY It’s certainly not done on peop le’s
is an executive can create bias.
coach with her own
er?
company, Spark Is a Twitter account good for your care
Personal Branding
, but only
Using Twitter for your career is a good idea
usin g it well . Just
(www.sparkexec.co.uk) if you spend the time and ener gy
you and not takin g
in Yorkshire, England. dipping in and out when it suits
wor k. I know
Before starting her part in the bigger community won’t
with people
business, Holloway
someone who uses Twitter a lot to connect
followed
she wouldn’t normally get in front of. She
spent 15 years working k for and,
the CEO of a company she wanted to wor
in PR and media onli ne relat ions hip with him,
over time, built up an
relations. She is also in thin gs and then addi ng
irst retweeting some of his
demand as a speaker comments, then a few direct mes sage s. She then took
say she’ d love to
and mentor. the step of sending him a message to
oppo rtun ities .
work for him and to ask if there were any
them for a chat
He put her onto his HR person, she met
proile?
How important is it to have a LinkedIn and, within weeks, was wor king ther e.
ence is
It’s incredibly important. Your online pres
people ind
becoming more and more a factor in how Can social networks such as Facebook
or Pinterest
ther to buy
out information about you and decide whe help your career?
edIn is the num ber-one place
into your brand – and Link the network:
g is that it Like Twitter, a lot depends on how you use
for that in business circles. The great thin people you’re
so if peop le search it’s true that people buy people, so if the
ranks highly in Google searches, career, it’s
page , where it forming a network with are relevant to your
for you, it’s likely to appear on the irst tion. For
to get your possible to use them as a source of informa
matters. It’s also an important opportunity that you wou ldn’ t get the
in as much as instance, by asking question s
personal brand out there, so be sure to ill ing out som e insider
have a proile answer to elsewhere, such as ind
you can. In other words, make sure you goin g for an
would if I information on a company that you’re
photo (a professional one that looks as you
) and be sure to ill in not interview with.
were to meet you for business
just the experience but the summar y too.
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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT / Good connections

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Good connections

Vocabulary record: Good connections

Vocabulary record
verb noun adjective adverb
(+ opposite) (+ opposite)

produce

imagination

strategic

publicly

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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT / Good connections

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