Thursday, April 8, 2010

PR+SM Summit - Tactics for finding a job through social media


Today I'm spending a chilly Wisconsin day at Marquette University at the PR+SM Summit put on by Comet Branding and Marquette University. I'm attempting to post multiple times throughout the day to give people a quick run down of presentations I find interesting.

Jeff Carrigan from Big Shoes Network presented, "Gettting a job: social media know-how is good, but mom's advice is even better," here's a run down of that presentation:

According to Carrigan, jobs postings are up about 50 percent compared to the same time period last year and the hottest jobs are entry- to mid-level positions in digital, interactive marketing and social media.

How to go about searching?
  • Eight places to search for jobs online: specific company Web sites, Universities, recruiters, industry resources (Ad Age magazine, PR week, etc.), job boards, profesional organizations (PRSA), social networking sites and staffing firms.
Carrigan dabbled into four of these categories, giving specific tips in each:
  1. Agencies/Corporate (specific companies): make a list of 50-100 companies you are interested in, visit their site once per week and monitor their job postings on a regular basis. Most job posting are exposed interanlly first and might only be posted externally for a short time. The quicker you get on it, the better chance you have of getting an interview
  2. Job Boards: There are three types of boards. [1] National (monster.com, hotjobs.com); [2] Local or regional (milwaukeejobs.com, chicagojobs.com); [3] Niche (bigshoesnetwork.com, creativehotlist.com). Monitor these sites on a weekly basis and apply for job postings within 5-7 business days for best results.
  3. Social Networking: Facebook is a great place to gather intelligence about companies for job searching and learn about company culture. Navigate the group directory on LinkedIn.com and engage with members of niche groups related to the field you're interested in. Meetup.com also offers opportunities to network and find people who may be useful connections for you.
  4. Twitter: This could go in social networking but there's more here so it's in a seperate category. There are four types of accounts on Twitter you should be aware of: [1] Corporate HR; [2] Executive Recruiters; [3] Companies; [4] Job Feeds. Here are a few good handles to follow:
  • @aconnjob @jtrantowski ,@AtrceIQ, @judiwunderlich, @cooljobsAtLC, @FullHouseLive, @GetPubRelatJobs, @PRSAJobCenter, @TMJ_Chi_Adv, @TwitJobSearch (investigate on your own to find out who/what these accounts are about)
Main takeaways
  • Social media in job searching should be used to elevate your visibility
  • Social media is a way to demonstrate your expertise
  • Use social media to build and cultivate your network
Stay tuned for more posts today!