Social Snapshots: A Candidate’s Personal Brand

 

Personal branding is how we market ourselves to others. It’s a timeless concept. The two reasons why branding has always existed on a personal level is that we always have to sell ourselves in various situations, whether trying to convince our friend to see a movie or trying to impress a hiring manager at an interview – your personal brand is constantly being taken into consideration.

 

People judge us, especially on first impressions, and when we’re looking for work these days our first impressions can occur online with a simple Google search – before you even meet someone. In this day and age it has become common practice to Google something or in regards to candidates – someone. For some ‘googling’ people has now become second nature and just something frequently performed. But why is this?

Because as individuals we are active online and we produce content. Times have changed and with the explosion of social media networks, individuals have become content creators, networkers and spectators – a lot of people are guilty of this – and we end up spending hours online in networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus, creating and digesting content.
Did you know? If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. Social media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the web. One out of eight couples married in the U.S. met via social media. Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears have more Twitter followers than the entire populations of countries like Sweden, Israel and Switzerland. See more facts about the social media revolution in this video:

But what does this mean in to pre-employment community? Companies and recruiters have caught on and started using social media in order to learn more about prospective candidates – some will ‘google’ you or browse Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn attempting to dig up more information about who you are. This information was once difficult to obtain pre social media. So what are they looking for?
Fit and suitability. This really resonated with me recently when a friend shared that they were laid off because they were not a “cultural fit.” This person had all of the skills to get the job done and then some, but at the end of the day they did not fit within that company’s ecosystem or work culture. Knowing this person had invested the last six months with this company, and vice versa, I wondered why neither party went to greater lengths to better evaluate this relationship from the very beginning.
Proper hiring or placement is a challenge. Let’s face it, no one enjoys having to look for work and the employment process can be draining and cost all parties time and money. Better assessment upfront can help both job seekers and employers ensure a proper FIT and reduce time spent “in limbo.”
The future of the resume is a social snapshots to showcase a candidate’s personal brand – an expression of who the is their world of social networks. This leads to the question, what do your social networks say about you?
At CrewRevu, we feel there are five C’s to look for when viewing social network information: Community, Content, Context, Communication, and Consistency.

1. Community. Your community reflects where you spend your time and can show your interests, hobbies and who you surround yourself with.
2. Content. Content is king; it is the king of your character and shows potential employers what you’re about, what you are talking about, what you are saying and what you are doing within these networks.
3. Context. Context tells a story about how you are living your life and can give an indication on how professional you are.
4. Communication. This shows how you engage with audiences within your communities – how you talk with your friends, family and your peers online.
5. Consistency. In direct relation to content, context and communication – what consistency do you exhibit across your social networks? This can reflect behavior, validate how you represent yourself or indicate your authenticity, and that you are who you say you are. In this day and age you cannot make stuff up!

Employers are looking for people to fit in with ‘their crowd’ or ‘their team’ – they’re assessing your cultural FIT. Social snapshots transform and streamline the hiring process, allowing for a better connection with employers and add value to all parties involved in the hiring process by increasing the ability to better assess an individual’s cultural and professional fit.
What does your social snapshot say about you?

Don Fried is part of the development team who created and launched CrewRevu social snapshots for the hiring community. The essence of CrewRevu is to be socially seen, to stand out and to be recognized in the hiring process. Photo Credit fansided.
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Holiday Hunting: Use the Holiday Slowdown to Your Advantage

There is a big misconception that companies stop hiring during the holidays. Definitely not true!  While the holidays do result in somewhat of a slowdown, employers are still interviewing and hiring – some trying to use budget allocations before year-end, others getting new hires in place for January 1 when new budget dollars kick in. Keeping your job search active will not only get you to the front of the line for these openings, but because other job seekers believe the “no-hire-in December” myth and are slacking off, you will have less competition.

Here are a few more reasons why this is an ideal time to be job hunting and strategies to implement.

1. Multitude of networking/volunteer opportunities

Holiday gatherings provide a relaxed, festive setting for networking. From local business and chamber of commerce events and trade association meetings to neighborhood gatherings, childrens’ school events, church functions, and family parties, the possibilities are endless. Look at your invitations and prioritize according to who could be in attendance – instead of attending the same events that you’ve been to over the past six months, try something different where there is potential to meet new people who could be sources of job leads.

Also, many nonprofits need additional help so get out there and volunteer. Not only will it boost your self-esteem, you never know who you might meet. Remember, givers always receive … give your time and the rewards will follow!

When attending any event/activity be prepared with a 30-second sound byte that articulates the ideal position for you, your best “feature” as a candidate, and end by telling the person how they can help (i.e., “who do they know” not “do you know of any jobs”). And finally, be upbeat and positive!  This is not the time to complain about how long you’ve been out of work or how grim Christmas morning will be for your kids. Your message needs to be you are excited by new possibilities and the opportunity to utilize your skills to benefit your next employer.

2. Take advantage of the holiday spirit

From networking to interviewing, everyone seems to be in a good mood around the holidays, plus the topic of the holidays is a great icebreaker. At an interview, chit-chat about the holiday crowds or the “busi-ness” of the season are natural topics that can ease you past those awkward first few moments. Same holds true at networking events, plus people seem more open and generous this time of year, so job leads and suggestions may flow more readily.

3. Connect or reconnect through holiday greetings

The holidays are a great excuse to reach out to former clients, vendors, co-workers, bosses, mentors, or college buddies. Send a card by snail mail or email and in addition to wishing them a good holiday or happy New Year, update them on your job search. You can also reconnect with recruiters or hiring managers that you interacted with earlier in the year to remind them you are still available.

If you don’t have a job offer by the end of December, by staying active you will be positioned ahead of the competition who will be first launching their search in January. The relationships you build while spreading holiday cheer can mean a new position in 2014!

Kathy Keshemberg is a Nationally Certified Resume Writer and Certified Career Management Coach. Since 1983, she has created thousands of interview-winning resumes and related job-search materials for satisfied clients around the world. Need assistance with your career? We’re here to help! www.acareeradvantage.com

Original article can be located here: http://www.cpgjobs.com/use-holiday-slowdown-advantage/

What is the True Role of Social Media in Recruitment?

While social media makes it easy to find a thousand, dare I say it, mediocre candidates in one day, locating the perfect match for your unique business needs is still a job best left to a professional, specialist recruitment agency.

Besides the size and quality of the applicant pool, what has changed in recent years is the way people advertise their skills and the way they network with potential employers and other industry professionals. Building a career and job hunting are now a lot more complex than sending the same resume to prospective employers via snail mail, or even via email. For example, LinkedIn, the social media channel developed specifically for professional networking, now has over 200 million members from all over the globe.

While LinkedIn is leading the way in professional communication and business development, other social media giants like Facebook and Twitter are not far behind. In fact, back in November of 2012 Facebook launched a new US based job board feature that gives recruiters the ability to connect to users who are looking for work in their local area. While Twitter is less conducive to professional networking since it restricts posts to a limiting 140 characters, it can still be tremendously useful for locating local talent. By advertising open positions to followers and searching the user database with keywords that are related to your business, Twitter can be the perfect tool for supplementing other social media channels.

RELATED: How Many Companies Use Social Media to Recruit?

In the practical sense, that means any recruiter can use a searchable database to pull hundreds of candidates with resumes and skills that seem ideal for any open position within your company. But, what reads perfectly on paper doesn’t always translate the same way when you meet and interview the candidate. The difference between recruiters who use social media to locate active candidates, and independent professional recruiters, is that the latter are trained to find passive candidates who not only have the background you are looking for, but who also have the most potential to grow within your company and fit in with your employee culture and team dynamic.

While it seems like a no-brainer in today’s economic climate, there is an inherent problem with relying on social media and the Internet in general to find your perfect candidates quickly. It’s simply not a sustainable strategy in terms of future growth as the pool of highly-skilled, professional and specialist candidates will inevitably shrink as domestic and international economies rebound further, jobless rates will fall meaning more vacant roles become available, making finding the best possible employee be a lot tougher than throwing a few keywords into a social media search engine.

To secure and retain the quality of your employee team in the future, it’s important to maintain a good relationship with a truly specialist recruitment business who is well networked across your sector. This recruitment partner will have the capability to utilise a variety of traditional recruitment methodologies, combined with all available social media channels to help you handpick the perfect candidates for your business in any economy.

Author: Paul Simms is an executive recruiter with 15 years of experience across the Australian and UK markets. He is the founder of Wright Executive, a specialist business within the Accounting and Professional Services sector.

Original Article can be located: http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/social-media-role-hiring/