Job Search in the Digital Age

Job Searchin the Digital Age

Executive Network Group of Greater ChicagoCourtney Shelton Hunt, PhD

August 14, 2014

Session Summary

Copyright © 2014, Courtney Shelton Hunt - all rights reserved2

• Establishing and managing their digital professional brand

• Defining personal and professional boundaries and protecting their privacy

• Leveraging digital tools and technology to achieve goals

• Bridging the physical and digital worlds

As the Digital Era continues to evolve, it is increasingly important for professionals to provide the same level of care and attention to their professional identities in cyberspace as they do to their presence and reputation in the physical world, especially when they are looking for their next career opportunity. This session offers attendees concrete guidance for:

RECRUITING IN THE DIGITAL ERA

http://www.sminorgs.net/2011/11/recruiting-in-the-digital-era-updated-guidance-for-employers-recruiters-and-candidates.html

Copyright © 2014, Courtney Shelton Hunt - all rights reserved

Find.ly

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http://www.findly.com/


allthetopbananas (ATTB)

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http://attbmobile.com/


Beyond.com


TalentCircles

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http://www.talentcircles.com/

http://www.talentcircles.com/


Video Interviewing

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https://www.sparkhire.com/

http://montagetalent.com/

http://new.hirevue.com/

http://maddash.net/end-user/


iRecruit

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http://www.irecruit-software.com/

The Social Recruiting Funnel




LinkUp

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https://secure.linkup.com/employers/why-linkup.php

https://secure.linkup.com/employers/why-linkup.php


Zao

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https://www.zao.com/


InterviewStream

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http://interviewstream.com/


Recruitics

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http://recruitics.com/

MANAGING YOUR DIGITAL BRAND

Food for Thought Everyone has a digital identity –

whether they want one or not Our digital identity and brand may

be more public and powerful than how we’re known and perceived in the physical world

If we can make time to take care of our physical appearance and put our best foot forward on earth, we should also make time to take care of our digital appearance and put our best foot forward in the cloud


Are you willing to make time to do things that are important to you, like get your hair done or go to the gym?

Would you leave the house without any pants on – or in torn/dirty clothes?


Steps in a Digital Make-Over

Step 1: Review and Critique– Conduct internet searches on yourself– Evaluate your public profile on social media

platforms– Get someone else to critique specific

accounts/activity Step 2: Make-Over Step 3: Maintenance



Conduct Internet Searches on Yourself

On major search engines like Google and Bing, use:– Different combinations of your name

and aspects of your professional identity

– Nicknames you may have used when engaging in digital activity

It’s also a good idea to include a spouse/partner’s name and to search on particular aspects of your personal life



What to Look for in Search Results

Publicly available information and activity you thought was private

References to and/or information about you shared by others

Potentially embarrassing or misunderstood images and/or content


Personal activities, affiliations, and perspectives that may impact your professional life (rightly or wrongly)

Potential cases of mistaken identity


Review your Public SM Profiles

Find and review your public profile to see how it appears to people to whom you’re not connected on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and GooglePlus

Other profiles to check include these and more (it’s a potentially long list!):– Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest– Blog(s), Tumblr– YouTube, SlideShare, Quora, Klout– Box.com, VisualCV, about.me

Don’t forget to look at accounts you don’t use anymore too



What to Look for in SM Profiles

Content that is incomplete, out of date, and/or inaccurate

Potentially embarrassing or misunderstood images and/or content, as well as those that could undermine your professional brand


Typos and grammatical errors Broken links Publicly-displayed information

you’d like to keep private



Get Someone Else to Review Too

Ask someone you– Trust to give an honest opinion– Think has a good eye for detail– Could do a quid pro quo exchange with

Identify the platforms/activity to concentrate on based on your digital engagement and sophistication

Have them look for the same things you did - and more!


Step 2: Make-Over Delete risky content when/where you can Board up digital properties you no longer use Lock the doors that need to be locked Make sure your front porches are presentable by

updating your public profiles to fix identified issues


Direct people to the “right” you, and make yourself easy to find by designating a hub or home base


Step 3: Maintenance


Review and update your public profiles

Choose your friends wisely

Think before you tweet, comment, update, blog, etc. Set up internet search alerts at regular intervals Keep a current inventory of your digital properties Review and clean up your digital inventory

periodically

SOCIAL AND DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT

http://www.linkedin.com/

http://www.twitter.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.ning.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS

http://www.wordpress.com/

http://www.netvibes.com/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.flickr.com/

http://www.youtube.com/

http://hootsuite.com/

In the Industrial Era In the Digital Era


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“Real World” vs. “The Cloud”

Define “Real Life”…


Create a Digital Network


http://www.linkedin.com/

http://www.twitter.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

http://www.blogger.com/

http://www.ning.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS

http://www.wordpress.com/

http://www.netvibes.com/

http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.flickr.com/

http://www.youtube.com/

http://hootsuite.com/


Leverage Social Networks

LinkedIn Profile Tips Make sure your profile is public Keep your name simple Include an appropriate picture Customize your public profile url Highlight what you offer, not what you want Add a link to your Twitter account if you want people

to follow you Identify and order your top 10 skills so people can

easily endorse you for them Make it easy for people to get in touch with you Don’t include personal information or activity



Building a LinkedIn Network

Your criteria for deciding which connection invitations you accept depends on your goals and objectives

Your decisions about whom to connect with should also be goal-driven

Connection etiquette– Be wary of inviting everyone from your email contacts– A personal note is good, but not always necessary

Remember that group memberships automatically (and dramatically) expand your potential network



Engaging in Groups Group benefits– Learning– Expanding your network– Practicing and experimenting with ideas

Joining – and leaving – groups– Focus on those that are the most relevant– Decide which ones should appear on your profile– Use the settings to manage activity flows– Try to review your group memberships once a quarter– Don’t hesitate to leave a group if it’s not providing value



Engaging in Dialogue Participate in Groups– Add items– Comment on items added by others (publicly and

privately)– Reach out to individuals in groups

Share status updates– Add your own 1-5 times/week– Comment on the status updates of others

Send/receive messages



Twitter: It’s Not What You Think

Twitter can be viewed as an “information network” rather than a “social network”

Twitter is a powerful listening channel - it’s a great way to receive and screen a high volume of news, information and resources efficiently and effectively

Every professional can benefit from having a Twitter account The best way to determine Twitter’s potential value is to give

it a try– It is perfectly appropriate to open a Twitter account with the intent to

just listen– Focus on using Twitter professionally rather than personally, including

staying current with local, national, and global news



Twitter Guidelines Set up an account

– Establish an appropriate, professional-sounding handle

– Include a professional picture Follow high quality Tweeters

– News groups (e.g., NPRnews)– Professional groups (e.g., @AICPA, @ChicagoHR)– Alumni groups (e.g., @WMAA)– Organizations you want to work for– Thought leaders in your field

Tweet rules– Listen before tweeting– Think before you tweet– Separate the personal and the professional– Don’t publicly tweet private messages– Manage the signal/noise ratio



http://twitter.com/nprnews

http://twitter.com/WMAA

http://twitter.com/attnews

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29796962/

http://www.davidhenderson.com/2009/01/21/key-online-influencer/

http://www.davidhenderson.com/2009/01/21/key-online-influencer/

http://twitter.com/asklizryan

http://twitter.com/SHRM_Research

Facebook Guidelines I Decide on your personal/professional boundaries– What are your “friending” rules?– What aspects of your professional life do you include on

FB? Set your privacy settings to reflect the boundaries

you’ve established– Global settings– Settings by application– Settings by individuals/groups– Settings for individual items



Facebook Guidelines II Decide on some rules/guidelines for

what you share– How much and what type of information

(e.g., photos, videos) will you share?– What groups will you join, what pages will

you like?– What kinds of status updates will you post?

Never take anything for granted– Think about who your friends are– Consider the propriety of your posts and your

comments before you share them– Assume that anything you share privately

could in fact become public



http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/08/10/92301_bizarre-news.html

Google Plus (G+) This platform is still emerging, and it’s hard to gauge what its

ultimate success will be If you feel like you need to have a public, professional

presence on a social network, G+ offers a good alternative to FB (and if you use gmail you automatically have a G+ account anyway!)

Use G+ similar to how you would use LI and Twitter with respect to things like:– How you set up your profile– Who you follow– The kinds of status updates and content you share– How you engage



Communication Principles I Never forget the importance of managing your professional

brand/identity– Listen before commenting– Think before you write– Maintain professionalism at all times

The best way to achieve your goals is to focus on others:– Where is their pain?– What are their challenges, goals, needs?

Be respectful of– Time constraints– Power differentials

Act and speak with integrity



Communication Principles II


And how you say it …– Use proper grammar and check for typos– Don’t ignore the importance of social graces

– even if others do – Communicate in an age- and situationally-

appropriate manner– Convey confidence in positive and genuine

ways; be open and inviting– Make sure your messages are succinct but

complete, and try to leave them wanting more

It’s what you say … Make sure your content– Is high quality and relevant– Demonstrates your unique value whenever possible


Other Ways to Engage Blogging (long or short

form) Sharing white papers,

presentation decks, research reports via Dropbox, SlideShare, etc.

Podcasting and videocasting

Participating in digital communities


Other Platforms: Guidelines

Don’t assume people will want to “listen” just because you feel like you have something to say

Make sure you can maintain the commitment to creating content over time

Establish appropriate, professional-sounding account and blog names Make sure you can consistently add unique value

– Don’t rehash the ideas of others– Don’t plagiarize

Balance openness with a desire to protect your intellectual capital Be prepared to handle negative responses and commentary Take a multi-media approach to sharing your ideas; choose the media that

best fit your message(s) Leverage all available channels to spread the word, build an audience, and

optimize results


If you want to share your own material …


Time and Information Management


Constant change, lightning speed, and high volume are the “new normal”

You’re never going to find the time to develop proficiency – you need to make the time

Large (initial) investments of time are unavoidable Digital engagement is a marathon,

not a sprint It’s impossible to “have it all,” “do

it all,” or “know it all” Technology and tools can help, but

they can’t replace good judgment

Managing Information Flows


http://www.netvibes.com/en

Netvibes Example



Questions?

ABOUT THE DENOVATI GROUP


The Denovati… Pronunciation guide: day-no-VAH-tee Deconstructing the term:– DE = Digital Era– NOV = short for novani, Latin for colonists, immigrants,

new residents– ATI = those who seek knowledge and/or are in the know

The Denovati areDigital Era explorers, pathfinders and pioneers

who seek to understand and effectively leverage social and digital technologies



About The Denovati GroupCourtney Shelton Hunt, PhDCourtney is the Founder and Principal of The Denovati Group and an international consultant, speaker, teacher, and writer. Her background in business development, communications, human capital management, information technology, and academia, combined with her business acumen, enables her to provide a unique holistic perspective and strategic leadership to organizations.

The Denovati Group enhances the success of individuals and organizations in the Digital Era through thought leadership and guidance, research, and consulting and training services. We also facilitate the sharing of information and best practices through an active digital network, including a LinkedIn group of like-minded professionals. These objectives are accomplished primarily through:• SMART Solutions• SMART Resources• SMART Courses

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Visit denovati.comto learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we offer

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cshunt312

http://denovati.com/

Job Search in the Digital Age

Recruiting & HR

Transcript of Job Search in the Digital Age