With over 147 million users on LinkedIn, and employers actively seeking potential job candidates through social media platforms, it is important to use your LinkedIn profile to your advantage and utilize all of its features wisely. Here are 4 simple ways you can use your LinkedIn profile to it’s full potential and appear more valuable to employers.
By Akanke Small
It’s that time of year again! The temperatures are rising, the trees are blooming, and the days are getting longer – all of which can only mean one thing: Spring is just around the bend! For many college seniors though, the joy normally associated with summer’s arrival is being slowly tempered with the anxieties of entering the “real world” and facing all the other mysteries of post-college life, the most important of which is finding a job.
Facebook went public and e-marketing came along for the ride. In a relatively short time social media has gone from viable tool to integral marketing practice.
By: Elton Silva
When I told my mom that I landed a Buzz Builder position with Likeable Media, she was overcome with elation about my latest endeavor. However, I quickly hit a road block when she then asked what I’d be doing. It’s easy enough to explain, right? No, wrong! My mother is Portuguese. Not the kind of Portuguese that pretend that their Portuguese just because of the last name or because they know how to say a few words. Portuguese in the sense that she lived there and then moved to the United States in 1979 in hopes of finding the “American Dream” (which she subsequently found and is one of the main reasons I’m here today). Oh, and not to mention that if I don’t eat 12 courses with every meal, I was looked at as if I had some sort of eating disorder (well it was more like 9 courses). Anyways, back to the initial point I was trying to make. If you thought learning a different language was a difficult undertaking, try teaching the powers of social media in a language that an individual who is computer illiterate can understand. In this case, that person is my mother; the language, Portuguese.
By: Natasha Kaufman
Person A: Hi! How are you?
Person B: I’m doing good, how are you?
Step One: Introduction/Greeting
Person A: Well its been an okay day, I’m looking forward to the weekend, what about you?
Person B: Yea I totally understand, I feel the same way
Step Two: Decode/Decipher, Show Acknowledgement/Appreciation
Does this dialogue look confusing?
Can you believe it? This is what I would call the underlying code or syntax to a regular conversation.
Now insert modern technology. ( Facebook. Twitter. Linkedin. Foursquare.) Communication is now everywhere and any time. It is not restricted by proximity or location.
Has that conversation changed?
In some ways, no. Facebook Chat and text conversations tend to follow the same basic outline as above.
Sit down at computer. Type in twitter.com. See @mentions asking “how was your day today.” You reply “it was okay…”
Sit down at computer. Type in facebook.co. Look at your messages and wall comments. You see a friend from University of Maryland posted something on your wall. “Haven’t spoken in a while, how are you?”
You comment back “I’m doing good, how is everything over there?”
The only difference is whereas before, during in person or phone conversations one could decipher the meaning behind a pause in a friend’s voice or the casual smile of a friend, now with Facebook Chat and texting a lot of that is gone. In its place there are words like “lol” and “lmao” which try to bring nonverbal communication back to the modern era but it just doesn’t seem to be the same.
While there are some big cons to modern communication there are also huge pros. Now we can send out a mass text, update our Facebook statuses, and tweet to all of our friends and family at the same time. This allows for us to get feedback instantaneously and find out what’s happening with many people we may not have spoken to in a while. Instead of calling each person individually and getting a full picture now we send out an update and get an automatic response!
Get home from work and type in twitter.com. Tweet to everyone who is following about an article that you thought was cool on Aish.com or about how awesome social media is!
Get home from work and type in facebook.com. Update your status that you were delayed ten hours in the airport on your way to Israel. You check back and see a ton of people commenting on your status wishing you an easy journey and how airports are so annoying!
Which way is better?
While I may wish for yesterday’s simplicity I also see the beauty in today’s instantaneous and convenient mode of communication.
I challenge you!
I challenge you to listen more closely next time to a friend when they post something on your Facebook wall or when they text you looking for someone to talk to.
Don’t allow this new way of communicating to take away from deciphering a person’s feelings and mood from the way they speak. Just because we may be further away does not mean we still can’t look for basic social cues in our conversations.
I also challenge you to remember that even if you are on Facebook Chat and have a million pages open, don’t forget that there is a person on the other end who is still waiting for you to respond. Just like people don’t like to be ignored in person they also don’t like it on Facebook, texting or even tweeting as well!
Use Facebook and Twitter to your advantage and convenience but don’t use it to replace a good phone call and a nice long conversation with a friend.
What do you think? How do you communicate? What do you think is the best form of communication? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Although my personal brand image is still in the developmental stage, I am working toward improving it. In doing so, I have learned several useful tips and thought I would share these opinions with others that are in a similar situation as me.
When hearing the question, “Who am I?” I immediately think of Ben Stiller’s character in the popular comedy, Zoolander. He asks this question to his reflection in a puddle and his reflection shrugs and says “I don’t know.” Whether you know it or not, you’ve probably asked yourself this same question at one time or another. It seems like a more relevant question while growing up, as adolescents are trying to “find themselves.” With so many different social media outlets available now, you probably don’t even notice that you are creating a brand for yourself. To explain this, I will use examples on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn, which are all different social media networks that can be used to create a universal brand image for yourself.
Facebook: Your online social club.
Pictures: The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” rings true in this context (and all other social media outlets). Your profile picture should essentially show “who you are,” in one quick look or glance. Think about this as you search through for your profile picture – do you want to be the one drunk in his or her profile picture?
Status updates: Make sure to think about your Facebook status before you post it – what kind of a brand image will this make for you? Recently, we had a contest at Likeable Media to see who could generate the most likes/comments on a status in three hours. I wrote “I JUST ATE SO MANY POOP-FLAVORED CUPCAKES – WHO WANTS SOME?” I did this solely for the purpose of the competition and I would have never written something like this, “in real life” for future employers to see. I ended up winning this competition only because it was the most ridiculously silly status out there. I definitely thought about this before I updated my status, but keep your posts in mind – your updates can seriously affect your brand image.
Connecting with others: Facebook friends and pages “liked” can really say a lot about you. If you choose to connect with employers, that is definitely a big step. This shows that you are comfortable with your current brand image on Facebook and are willing to show it off to your co-workers. Also, you will automatically be connected with more people when you “like” certain pages. Think of this to be like walking into your favorite store – if you come into the store with comments or concerns every day, you will be known for that. This can be related to excessively complaining on pages and commenting on your friends’ activities.
Twitter: Your thoughts, opinions & interests exposed to the public.
About me: When you first create your Twitter account, what do you write in the 160-character biography that appears under your picture? Do you enter your favorite quotation, some sassy opinion you thought of, or do you just completely wing it? Make sure you don’t write anything too personal that your followers (especially if public) shouldn’t know about– write something that accurately captures the essence of you.
Tweets: Since you can tweet whatever you would like, you need to make sure that it is something of interest to your followers. Andi Barton, the Buzz Builder Manager of the Likeable Media Boston office once asked the Buzz Builders, “Would you follow yourself?” Think about it. If you are complaining about the rain outside (that EVERYONE else is experiencing too) try to think of something else to tweet about. Your tweets should try to help create a brand for yourself. I often have a difficult time doing this because I seem to tweet about whatever I am interested in – I don’t see this as a problem, as this is something that takes time.
Connections: If your profile is public, anyone can see who you follow and who follows you. If your profile is private, then who you follow and your followers won’t be visible to someone until you accept them as your follower. Keep in mind that people will look through your connections to follow more people, so you can use this as a way to brand yourself also. If you like Public Relations firms, make sure to follow them! You can follow almost anyone or anything that you are interested in. Also, the greater amount of interactive followers you have, the more your Twitter handle will be “shown” throughout the Twittersphere.
Design: Having a creative design on your Twitter account can really help to show your personality. If you create your own, chances are people will view you as a more creative individual!
LinkedIn: Your way to professionally brand yourself.
Profile picture: Your LinkedIn picture should be different from the pictures on your Facebook or Twitter. It should basically show how you would look if you were walking into an interview. Most times, employers will try to find you on LinkedIn before an interview, so make sure your picture is up-to-date.
Brand image: Underneath your profile picture, there is a section for you to edit “who you are.” This short sentence should try to explain who you are, in a professional sense. If you are a blogger, add that! Don’t just say you are a student. Be more specific and it will help people to understand what type of personal brand image you are forming.
Status updates: Use your status updates to help your network understand what is going on in your professional life. For example, it is great to mention that you are excited for your new job or a new class.
Connections: Keep your connections up –to-date. If you meet people at networking seminars, classes or lunch dates with friends, make sure to connect on LinkedIn and keep in touch. It really shows when people interact with their connections on LinkedIn and can also help to foster future connections.
Now that you have thought about these different ways to personally brand yourself using social media, apply them!
