…of prospective employers use Social Media to screen potential employees.  So, whether you like it or not, recruiters and hiring manager are using social networks to learn more about you!  Check out this video infographic from Reppler.  It sheds some light on how recruiters are using social media today to screen prospective employees.

Source: Infographic: Social Media is Changing Recruitment from Ciphr HR on Vimeo.

Need some assistance?  Join a Compact Series Session.

The name of my panel was “Social Media and your Job Search”.  Luckily, one of the panelists was a dear friend Maggie Mistal that worked with me during my tenure at Martha Stewart Living.  The other panelist was my new friend David Gaspin, Head of Talent Acquisition at The Ladders.com.

When I was first contacted, I thought that the audience would be made up of upcoming and recent graduates of the J School.  I surely made the wrong assumption.  The audience was primarily Baby Boomers looking to engage in social media and learn how to maximize the value in becoming employed.  They were all interested in how to use social media to maximize their career.

The format was numerous questions from the moderator about the value of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook mainly.  One thing that we all agreed was that you have to be engaged in social media.  Each one of these platforms now post jobs and they are all important to you.  At least they should be.

I am somewhat dismayed as I talk to baby boomers and hear about all their perceived fear of social media.  I have had friends tell me that they stay away from Facebook as if it is contagious form of cancer.  They treat Linkedin as a set up an account once, and done. 

Every business today is trying to figure out ways to maximize the value of this new phenomenon.  Marketing is trying to get their hands around it demanding increasing skill set of marketers of the past.  HR is struggling to cope with each platform, as well as, integrate these applications into their company policy & brand. 

IT has a big challenge with guiding the organization through the maze of offerings.  Figuring out what works best within the confines of their structure is no easy task.

Therefore, if an organization is struggling with this transformation, how could you legitimately apply for a job and not understand social media especially in the areas cited such as marketing, IT and HR. 

It was fitting that this panel took place at a Journalism school, because I think this industry has had the greatest fallout.  If magazines are not selling, and they’re not; and newspapers are not selling, and they’re not then precious ad sales that once paid salaried are not there, layoffs are the repercussions. 

Where to begin?

Linkedin

We all agreed that the most valuable platform for professionals was LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is the professionals’ networking website. You must create a profile—this is a non-negotiable.  Imagine someone giving you a full page to describe your accomplishments and your career achievements—free.  How could you not take up someone on that offer?  Linkedin is that full-page ad that tells your story, and that story is Brand You.

We also agreed that close to 85% of all recruiters use this as their first stop in sourcing candidates.  Since LinkedIn is playing an increasingly active role in every step of a job search, it’s important to make sure your profile is accurate, complete, appealing to hiring managers, and can be found by recruiters.  Setting up a Linkedin profile is priority #1.

Facebook

Companies are utilizing Facebook to post employment opportunities.  Is there a company that you would like to work for?  Find them on Facebook and “Like” their page.  In addition, BranchOut is the largest professional networking service on Facebook. BranchOut allows you to expand your career network utilizing Facebook friends. You can search by Company Name to see all your friends that work there or did in the past. It similar to Linkedin but utilizes your personal network to search one of the largest job boards on Facebook with over 3 million jobs and 20,000 internships.  To get started, create a Facebook profile, and then add the BranchOut application.

Twitter

So, what is Twitter—anyway?  Let’s ask Wikipedia: Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets.”  This platform allows you to exchange articles, information, news, updates, and yes even job information.  Employers are “tweeting” their postings.  Companies like AT&T (@attjobs) regularly tweet positions before placing them on other social sites. Want to know who’s tweeting their jobs? Undercover Recruiter has a list of over 140 companies who tweet their jobs on Twitter.

One more thought…

Blogging

If you have a unique perspective whether it is about your industry, your hobby or passions, write a blog about it.  Blogs can be set up at minimal or no cost.  One of the questions that we were asked, “what platform have you used to advance your career?”  My answer was blogging.  It would take a couple of pages to describe the opportunities that I have derived from blogging.  It has been a tremendous asset to me.  In fact, I would not have been on this panel if I were not online in some way.

That said; do not feel compelled to blog if you are not comfortable with it.  However, if there is a passion that you have about something in your life, that could benefit others—share it! 

Your next step is to engage, slowly if you need to, but engage!

That headline appeared in Fast Company.  Click here to read the original article (with commentary).  Here’s my POV.

To begin, let’s define brainstorming…

Brainstorming is a method for gathering lost of ideas in a fast paced and unrestrictive approach.  It enables the group to generate many ideas about possibilities rapidly. 

A skilled facilitator will often use brainstorming because it is an effective process tool.  Brainstorming is most effective when it is used with other process tools to move from gathering possibilities (brainstorming) to defining, sorting, prioritizing, and then to deciding & planning.

I have facilitated many dynamic “brainstorming” strategic meetings for organizations—each one was enormously successful, as judged by the participants.  After the meeting, we generally leave with goals & objectives, decisions & actions items, and next steps—who’s doing what by when.    

Is brainstorming BS? No, not in my opinion.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc has named Rosalind Brewer as CEO of Sam’s Club — the first woman and the first African-American to hold a CEO position at one of the company’s business units.

Brewer, 49, is replacing Brian Cornell, 52, who is leaving the company so he can return to the Northeast for family reasons. He had served in the role since 2009.

Fantastic!

Get the full story: Washington Post

I read Change or Die in May of 2005.  It begins

“What if you were given that choice? (Change or Die.) What if it weren’t just the hyperbolic rhetoric that conflates corporate performance with life and death?  Not the overblown exhortations of a rabid boss, or slick motivational speaker, or self-dramatizing CEO.  We’re talking actual life or death now.  Your own life or death.  What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act?  If you didn’t your time would end soon – a lot sooner than it had to.  Could you change when change really mattered? When it mattered most? “

Interestingly, the scientific answer was most people would die.  Yes, over 80% would die by their actions.  Or, should I say lack-of-action.  That was in 2005.  What about today? Surely, that has changed—well you might be surprised.

 Take a read of the original article (and comments), check out the book and share your thoughts.  This is an Altruistic Leadership recommended read.

Original article – Fast Company

Read it on Amazon

The chief object of education is not to learn to things but to unlearn things. 

 –G. K. Chesterton.

I agree with that statement, partially.  Unlearning is AS important as learning.  Here are a list of questions I asked (and answered) in 2011, and plan to do the same of 2012.  

1. What do I need to unlearn?
2. What new information do I need?
3. How do I increase my personal competence?
4. What new technical skills do I need?
5. How can I stay anchored to my values and spiritual compass?
6. Where are my best learning environments?
7. Who are my “real” teachers, mentors, and coaches?

Many of us do not use learning to our full advantage.  It’s comfortable and easy to stay locked into what we know and learned over the years.  However, the world continues to spin and new paradigms and technological advances continue as well. 

THIN IS IN | THE CLOUD IS EVERYWHERE

Are you familiar with the CES?  If not, you should be.  The Consumer Electronic Show opens today (January 10, 2012) and what gets unveiled there WILL affect your life.  Check out this link from Time Techland for a quick overview of what is to come. Here are a couple of questions for you: where are you on your technology journey?  Where are you on your learning journey?   

 Keys to your future

The key to everyone’s future is the way you stay awake throughout your adult years, getting new tools, and support.  That said, many adults view learning as they did in school, perhaps even in college.  However, adult learning is …

• About discovering, not memorizing
• It is about awakening, not passing test
• Its visceral discovery, not mental school
• It is self-directed, reflective, and action oriented 

Continuous learning keeps you vital, awake, and expectant—in this ever changing, ever demanding environment.  

So,,,,keep learning what you need, when you need it and checkout our offerings, subscribe via RSS feed for the latest, and reach out to us.  We exist to enhance your learning experience.

Enjoy your development!

As I was work out each morning, my Ipod is tuned to gospel music.  Hey it’s works for me.  There was a song by Richard Smallwood, that used that quote (Author of my fate) but in another context.  We have all heard a quote or line that just sticks with us.  Over the next few days, I kept coming back to it.

Become the Director of your life

So my thought was what if we could be the author of our fate, would it be different than what we are doing now.  Would it be so interesting that people would line up to buy it or would the movie be a sellout?  Are you an actor following your script as it unfolds?  Are you a spectator watching from the sidelines and marveling at the other characters in your life?  Remember that you are the director.

This is the perfect thought as we enter a new year.  2012 is in its infancy and there is not a better time to give your life some serious thought. 

I have never been much for resolutions and from what I have noticed over the years, the vast majority of people do not live up to them.  But if you thought over your life to this point and gave it a serious going over, what would be different if you could start from this point and create a new script or just make a adjustment.  Successful people are always tweaking their script.

The Character Called Me

You may be in a position to say that I am on track, the script is guiding me and I am playing the hell out of the character called me.

However, there are folks among us that are just shuffling through.  The lines are lifeless and for that matter the entire script is.  No emotion whatsoever!  Each chapter is different and we jump from one to the other is no structured order.  We move from crisis to crisis, we move from failure to another failure.  It may be time to hit the reset button.

So for 2012, write out a plan to determine where the story about you will end up.  Are the chapters aligned?  Is your script doable?  If you were to pass your story over to your love ones would they get excited about it.  These are all the type questions that you should ask yourself.

Everybody’s life is basically a script that you either make it exciting or you just muddle through.  Each of us has the capacity to be anything we want to be and can accomplish anything that we truly set out to do.  However there is always a price to be paid.  That price has nothing to do with dollars.  That price could equate to a lot of hard work.  That price could equal studying into the night, working through the weekend on a project.

You have to be obsessed with it

The ones that accomplish success will live, eat and breathe it.  The go to sleep with it on their minds, they wake up with it still front and center.  They go through their day with 20/20 vision like a laser beam on that goal, never losing sight.  Sometimes it may get out of focus, but miraculously they sharpen their vision and are back on track.

People that are in this mindset are most always positive.  That is because they know where they are headed.  Most importantly, where they are headed is exciting because they have the steps laid out and they know that they are on the right track.  They can almost reach out and touch it.  Knowing that it is only a matter of time before that great scene in that script is coming up.

So as you enter 2012, take a few minutes to think about the script of your life.  If you want that academy award nomination, you must play the role with all that you have in you.  Otherwise you are a member of the audience watching someone else life unfold.

This study (and others) has proven that the human brain routinely judges a book by its cover.  So, at interview time: cover up & loosen up (those skirts / pants).  While it may seem fashionable, it has its drawbacks.

(AOL article)

Once you’re done, head over to Black Enterprise’s Off My Chest  to read a rebuttal from  Alfred Edmond, Sr. Vice President and Editor-at-Large of Black Enterprise – Enjoy your development!

No matter where you are in your career journey, there must be milestones for review. Some people use an array of dates as reminders to have that conversation with themselves. I normally use my birthday.

Your personal performance review

Unfortunately there are some among us that never have that personal performance review. We not only dread the workplace performance review, but apparently we dread our own.

The journey of a career is a long and tenuous one, there are crooks, turn, detours and about every obstacle that you can name that will pop up from time to time. If you have ever been a jogger, there comes a time when you just want to stop and rest.

That milestone is the point that you should keep moving, because that is where the renewed energy comes into the picture. In the recently run NYC marathon, the runners all spoke about that peak when the energy was about to register empty. But by just keeping up the pace, the tank was full again.

It is what it is

This year may not have been to your choosing, but it could have been a lot worse. Not matter your situation; there is someone in your shoes that is doing worse.

Focus on your trajectory or lack thereof. If you have not planned the journey or at least have some idea as to where you are headed, you could end up anyplace.

There is no such thing as a stress free journey. The vast majority of our time is spent earning a living, so it would be best for all involved to try and find work that we enjoy.

Who are you?? Know thyself.

What are you good at (strengths)? What are you not so good at it (weaknesses). Do you have goals identified that are “YOURS”. The uniqueness’s of you is your competitive edge. This gives you the narrative that makes you the ideal choice for that dream job. If you know who you are, the narrative is authentic.

What are you passionate about?

I always notice when people they talk about something that they enjoy doing. The passion comes through loud and clear. We have all had conversations and have noticed this same reaction with our peers. This is such a big key to success, because when you have to work long hours, weekends or any other schedule that would bore you to tears, you would never mind this if you loved what you are doing.

Enjoy your journey

It will be full of surprises, some good, some not so good. Everyone needs a narrative. Listen or read any biography and they all list and talk about the rough spots in their journey. You can’t get there without it. So as the bumps hit you head on, bundle up and keep heading into the wind. Change the path if you must, but you must keep moving. It may be more or a lattice vs. the ladder. Keep building the narrative.

Help somebody

To reach your goal you must be willing to help someone reach theirs. As we move up always look around to see who needs help. Try and do as much as you can for anyone that comes your way. It is like karma, it will all come back. There is nothing as fulfilling as mentoring someone to reach their goals.

Read, read and read some more

If you are striving to be knowledgeable in your career, you must know what your industry is facing. You should know who the key thought leaders are in the space. Everything that you get your hands about your industry, read it.

I notice so many people that are so fixated on sports to the detriment of their own lives. They live, eat breath and sleep whatever sport is in season. But remember, the people you are watching on the screen, have all paid the price to get to the pinnacle of their career. All they have ever done is practice since they were kids and now they have made it albeit for a brief career window. Know what is happening in the world around you. The more you read the more you shape your personality and you become more interesting to your colleagues.

So as the holiday season gradually comes into focus, spend some time getting your career in focus. Look at it as the gift that will keep on giving.

Happy Holidays