Transcript How to Use Social Networking to Help Job

How to Use Social Networking to
Help Job Seekers
By:
Wendy Jo Moyer, WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA
and
Candace Moody, WorkSource
Goals
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What’s in it for job seekers
What’s in it for your workforce board
Where do you start?
How to do social media well and keep it up
Top social media resources for job seekers
What’s in it for job seekers?
• Social media resources are new communication
tools and are now mainstream.
• Jobseekers who aren’t active on social networks
are missing out on valuable resources and
connections.
• Allows job seekers to broaden their pool of
contacts with people they may or may not know.
• Status updates offer a forum to update contacts
about a job search and skill set.
What’s in it for job seekers?
• Company searches allow job seekers to seek out
and connect with organizations that interest them.
• Job postings are listed frequently by employers and
employees.
• Network and connect with those who share
interests and work in a field.
• Allows job seekers to brand themselves as experts.
What’s in it for your workforce board?
• 25 percent of search results for the world’s top 20 brands
are links to user-generated content (Marketing Vox and Nielson BuzzMetrics
SES Magazine, June 8)
• 90 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations (Nielson
Global Online Consumer Survey, July 2009)
• The consumer is now in control of your brand
• You must have a presence where your customers are
• Social media is not just about publishing content. It’s about
listening to your customers and creating relationships
What’s in it for your workforce board?
• Workforce boards can:
– Excerpt their web pages and bring out content that’s important or new
– Increase awareness of services:
• Announce events, speakers and preview content
– Link to resources and articles of interest
– Monitor what’s being said about the organization
• Get feedback, testimonials and highlight issues that customers are asking about
– Increase website hits by linking back to site
– Identify influencers in the workforce industry for research on hot
workforce topics
– Increase customer loyalty
Where do you start?
• Determine your goals and create a plan
• Create a social media policy that outlines guidelines for
staff to help protect and strengthen the organization’s
brand
– Guidelines designed to represent your organization in a positive
manner
– Includes reminder that all staff members are representing their
organization online, even in personal accounts
– Explain that all staff members are personally responsible for the
content they publish online
– Ask employees to respect confidential information and to follow laws
such as copyright and plagiarism
Where do you start?
• Jump in and start exploring social media sites such
as:
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Facebook
Linked In
Company Blog
Twitter
YouTube
• Set up monitoring of what’s being said online about
your organization
Monitoring
• Google Alerts: E-mail updates on a topic of
your choice
– www.google.com/alerts?hl=en
• Twitter
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twitteralerts.net
tweetlarm.com
TweetBeep.com
Twilert.com
How to do social media well and keep it up
• Make it a part of one staff member’s daily
routine
• Once all social media outlets are set up,
allow about 30 minutes a day
• As easy as checking e-mails and voicemails
• Responding quickly is important
Top Social Media Resources for Job Seekers
• Facebook
– www.Facebook.com
• LinkedIn
– www.LinkedIn.com
• Twitter
– www.Twitter.com
What is Facebook?
• The largest social networking site in the
world with more than 500 million members
• If Facebook was a country, it would be the
world’s 4th largest between the U.S. and
Indonesia
• Widely regarded as a personal social
networking site
Why Use Facebook?
• The most popular social media site
• Vast networking opportunities in a more
casual online atmosphere
• Members connect with family, friends and
business associates
• Association and career groups
• Company profiles, i.e. Wyndham Careers
WorkSource
WCF Hot Jobs
WCF HR Network
What is LinkedIn?
• LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals
to make them more productive and
successful
• More than 65 million members in more than
200 countries
• Executives from all Fortune 500 companies
are LinkedIn members
• Employers gravitate toward it when recruiting
Why Use LinkedIn?
• Stay informed about your contacts and
industry
• Control your professional identity online
• Post your resume
• Research companies within your industry
• Recruiters are using LinkedIn
• Find the people and knowledge to achieve
your goals
Why Use LinkedIn?
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Obtain recommendations from past colleagues
Participate in Answers
Search for people, companies, etc.
Search for jobs
Join groups
LinkedIn now gives you the ability to link to a
blog post on your profile. Every time you post
to your blog it updates your profile.
Update status
WorkSource Professional Network
What is Twitter?
• A real-time short messaging service that
allows users to read and share messages of
140 characters or less with their contacts
• Bits of information that allow you to link to
other places (like your website)
• More challenging than other social media
sites to master
Why Use Twitter?
• Unlike LinkedIn and Facebook, where requesting
connections with someone you don’t know is
discouraged, on Twitter it is acceptable.
• Networking
• Job Postings
• Company information
• Personal branding
Why Use Twitter?
• Industry knowledge
• New ideas
• The “retweet” allows your message to spread
organically
• Access to thousands of job resources and experts
for research
@WCFHotJobs
@WCF_HR_Network
@WorkSource_Jax
Conclusion
• Social media is here to stay, and it’s important that
we understand and master it to remain relevant to
our jobseekers.
• The more you use social media, the easier it will be
to decide what content will have the most impact.
You’ll also reach new jobseekers who may not
connect with you any other way.
• If you provide valuable information through your
tweets, recommendations, etc. your networks will
grow and stay connected longer.