'Net'-working in the 21st Century: Opportunity or Challenge?

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‘Net’-working in the 21st Century: Opportunity or Challenge? Helen Pownall University of Manchester, UK

description

Keynote speech delivered at the Nordic Careers Network Conference on 2 June 2010, focussing on web 2.0 technologies and social media and their use and effectiveness in higher education careers work. Relates different technologies to DOTS model and maps their effectiveness for different CDL (career development learning) activities.

Transcript of 'Net'-working in the 21st Century: Opportunity or Challenge?

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‘Net’-working in the 21st Century: Opportunity or Challenge?

Helen Pownall

University of Manchester, UK

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The Internet – Is It a Useful Tool for Our Toolkit?

• The internet, web 2.0 and social media• How the web and social media impact on

careers work• Some of the opportunities presented by

the internet• Some of the challenges and concerns• Is it worth it?• Tips for making it work

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Early Visions of the Internet…

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“The advance of computer and telecommunications technologies holds great promise for individuals and society. From convenience for consumers and efficiency in commerce to improved public health and safety and increased participation in democratic institutions, these technologies can fundamentally transform our lives.”

Bruce Koball, computer technologist and consultant (1992)

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“I had (and still have) a dream that the Web could be less of a television channel and more of an interactive sea of shared knowledge. I imagine it immersing us as a warm, friendly environment made of the things we and our friends have seen, heard, believe or have figured out. I would like it to bring our friends and colleagues closer, in that by working on this knowledge together we can come to better understandings.”

Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the Internet and HTML (1995)

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The Internet - 2010

iPhone

Skype

netbook

Facebook

blogTwitter

LinkedInlive chat

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Opportunities

• Instant information on anything

• Communication with anyone anywhere

• You too can be a publisher

• More things possible

every day

The Reality of Virtual Dangers

• Information overload

• 24/7 ‘always on’ culture and erosion of privacy

• No quality control – hard to assess validity

• Pace of technological advance can overwhelm

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Impact of the Internet on Careers Work

1. ‘Generation Y’ – our core client group

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‘Generation Y’ Web 2.0 UsageGeneral use of Web 2.0 technologies

0

20

40

60

80

100

Per

cen

tag

e o

f to

tal

FrequentlySometimesRarelyNever

Frequently 83 7 12 26 9 1 47

Sometimes 11 11 22 22 22 2 38

Rarely 3 14 26 27 36 6 12

Never 3 67 40 25 33 91 3

Facebook Twitter BlogsInstant

MessagingForums Delicious YouTube

Survey of Use of Online and Interactive ToolsUniversity of Manchester Careers Service, UK (March 2010)

747 students and graduates responded

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Impact of the Internet on Careers Work

1. ‘Generation Y’ – our core client group2. Changes to the graduate job market3. Importance of managing your online profile4. The potential for careers professionals to:

• Do things better (more efficiently or more effectively)

• Solve existing problems• Try completely new things

5. Key role for careers professionals as finders and ‘sense-makers’

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Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0

Immediacy

Permanence

One-wayinformation

Two-waycommunication

WEB 1.0

WEB 2.0Twitter.Virtual

careers fairs

Live chat(IM or video)

RSS feeds BlogFacebook,

Virtual careers fairs

Forum

Social bookmarking

YouTube, podcasts

Traditional website

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Web Tools for Careers Work

• What can we (and our clients) use web tools for?

• ‘Whistle-stop tour’ of UK careers service examples

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Blogs – sharing time-sensitive or highly specific information, less formally

www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/blogs

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Delicious – organising and tagging your favourite resources

(social bookmarking)www.delicious.com/manchestercareers Useful websites

organised by ‘tags’

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RSS Feeds - getting info about the specific jobs your students want

www.netvibes.com/postgradcareers

Jobs feeds from different websites

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Discussion Forums – connecting students, employers, alumni and careers staff

in a non-public spacewww.manchester.ac.uk/careers/forums

IBM discussion thread in our ‘Employer & Alumni Zone’

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Facebook – the friendly face of your Careers Service

www.facebook.com/brunelPCC

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LinkedIn – linking you with employers and other contacts

www.linkedin.com

UK HE Careers Professionals

Group

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Twitter – gathering, sifting and ‘re-tweeting’ information and communicating

with employers and studentswww.manchester.ac.uk/careers/twitter Hootsuite, an

application for managing Twitter

messages

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LiveGuidance – talking to students in a one-to-one IM chat

www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/liveguidance LivePerson ‘operator console’

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How effective are they?

• New technologies appear to us a lot of possibilities in our careers work, but how effective are they for our core work?

• Can we map different web tools against core career development learning tasks?

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Core Career Development Learning Tasks

TRANSITIONS(APPLICATIONS)

SELF OPPORTUNITIES

DECISIONS

DOTS Model

Tony Watts & Bill Law

5 CDL Tasks1. Improving self-awareness

(skills, interests, values, motivations etc)

2. Researching opportunities (types of work)

3. Making career decisions 4. Finding opportunities (e.g. job

search)5. Application process (CVs,

interviews etc)

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Selfawareness

Researchingopportunities

Careerdecisions

Findingopportunities

Applicationprocess

Guidanceinterview ● ● ● ● ●CareersWebsite ○ ● ○ ● ●

RSS feeds○ ●

Live chat ○ ● ○ ○ ●Forum ○ ● ○ ○ ●

Facebook● ○

Twitter● ○

Blog ○ ● ○ ○ ●YouTubevideo orpodcast

○ ● ○ ○ ●Social

bookmarking ○ ● ○ ● ○

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Challenges and Concerns• “I’m not a techie. I don’t understand all this

newfangled technology and social media.”• “There’s so much out there – I don’t know

where to start!”• “I’m worried about my privacy!”• “Gen Y-ers don’t want us in ‘their space’”• “If we offer online services, it’ll make

students (even more) lazy and they won’t bother coming in to see us.”

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Challenges and Concerns – Part 2!

• “I just don’t have time for this!”• “Students won’t use it. They just want to see

someone in person.”• “We could invest a lot of time in [Twitter] and

then in a few months the world will have moved on to something else.”

• “Will we be surplus to requirements in the brave new world of the web? Why do students need a careers adviser when they can just get on Wikijob or tweet a recruiter direct?”

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So Is It Worth It?

YES• Very positive feedback from actual users of our

interactive services• Success stories: e.g. students have obtained

jobs through Twitter and blogs• The future is here and we can’t ignore it!BUT we have learned that…• Raising awareness is challenging – need to be

patient• More time is needed than initially envisaged• Getting staff on board has been as challenging

as getting students on board

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You’re More Likely to BeSuccessful if…

• You know what you’re problem you’re trying to solve and…

• …You don’t start with the technology• You ask employers and students what they want

(and listen to them!)• You do it because you want to, not because you

feel like you have to• You prioritise – don’t try to do everything• An enthusiast drives the project• You train colleagues (and yourself)

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You’re More Likely to BeSuccessful if… (part 2!)

• You’re adaptable and willing to change your approach – learn as you go

• You work out how much time is needed and how you will make it (and then add 50%!)

• You get the support of techie people (either in careers or in the central IT support service)

Friendly note to managers: a technological solution is rarely a less resource-intensive one

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Make technology the servant,

not the master.

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Contact

Helen PownallCareers Consultant, with special responsibility for web and

interactive technologies)MLP, Careers & Employability DivisionUniversity of Manchester, UK

• Email: [email protected] • Phone: +44 161 275 2828 (careers switchboard)• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/helenpownall• Twitter: www.twitter.com/helenpownall • Slides available at: www.slideshare.com/helenpownall