Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

How to find social media content to share

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Is your number one question about social media, “Where can I find great social media content to share?”  If you’re excited about filling your social media streams with useful news and information, but you’re not sure how to go about finding the information your audience would want to know, leverage these tools and you’ll be off to a great start.

LinkedIn’s Pulse. Find it under the “Interests” tab on your LinkedIn toolbar. It’s a consistent stream of content from famous influencers as well as contributors just like you about all types of topics, and you’re sure to find something here to interest your audience.

Alltop.com. This is an online, virtual “magazine rack” of blogs. There’s an eclectic array of topics and content. Search your favorite key words, and you will identify several new sources of information.

SmartBrief.com. This is of my favorite resources. SmartBrief editors read and parse through important information published about many topics. Then, they send out summaries with links directly to your email! There’s no easier way to find great resources for your audience. Plus, it’s free!

These resources are great tools to start your list of content sources. You’ll also want to tap into all of the traditional media outlets you follow and be sure to watch your social media streams, too. People you follow probably share useful information.

Make the most of social networking tools and you’ll access exponential numbers of new contacts who can make a big difference in your career’s trajectory.

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Read the entire post on Vault.com.

Why you should have a personal website

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http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-people-social-networking-computer-network-concepts-image41603635How can you stand out in a competitive market? Whether you want to look for a job or you’re planning to start your own business, making a good first impression is key. People will turn to Google and online tools to help them form first impressions of you. When you apply for positions or vie for opportunities, it’s likely someone will check you out online before considering to invite you to an interview.

That can be good or bad news, depending on what that person finds! The good news is you can influence what people find when they search for you online. One way is to create a stream of professional content via social media tools, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus. Using these tools is free, does not require a lot of technical skill and, once you understand social media basics, makes it easy to showcase your information.

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One additional strategy many job seekers overlook is building and maintaining a personal website, also known as a “social résumé.” Domain.ME – provider of the “.me” domain extension –  conducted a survey of 600 professionals who own their own websites. Eighty-four percent of respondents reported receiving tangible career benefits from their personal website.

A  Forbes article, when referencing Workfolio, noted that “56 percent of all hiring managers are more impressed by a candidate’s personal website than any other personal branding tool – however, only 7 percent of job seekers actually have a personal website.”

How can having your own website help your career? Predrag Lesic, CEO of Domain.ME, offers these insights:

1. It helps you clarify your brand. Can you think of a brand you respect that does not have a website? Would you hire a service provider who didn’t have a strong online presence?

“Today, a web presence is a measure of credibility and a powerful tool for communicating what you are all about to your target audiences,” Lesic says. “While it may seem unusual to consider yourself a commodity, as a job seeker, you are marketing yourself to meet a need. Like every good brand, your personal brand should live online.”

2. It gets you noticed. In the Domain.Me survey, 70 percent reported believing that employers review their online presence prior to an interview. In fact, a 2014 Jobvite survey of human resources professionals reveals that 93 percent of recruiters will review a candidate’s social media profile before making a decision, and that candidate information found on the Web influences their hiring decisions.

“As employers increasingly turn to the Internet to identify and research potential candidates, you want to be searchable. Your Facebook page may entertain family members and friends, but it isn’t designed to highlight your strengths as a job candidate. Conversely, your LinkedIn profile, while providing professional credentials, can be dry and impersonal,” Lesic says. “Not only is your website a fully customizable platform to showcase your personal brand, the savvy you demonstrate in owning your Web real estate and building a site can impress potential employers.”

Creating this online real estate is not difficult, and there are various ways to accomplish it. One way is via “hosted” sites, such as About.me or Flavors.me, which allow you to design your own landing page on their directories. These options result in an online presence, but the URL will not be in your name only.

If you want to own a memorable, personalized domain, you can purchase an address using any of the major domain registrars. Lesic explains: “With .com availability dwindling, a popular choice for personal websites is the .ME extension.”

Once you own a domain of your choice – ideally, “YourName.com” or YourName.me – you can turn to various tools to populate and publish the site, such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or Jigsy.

3. It’s more than a résumé. In Domain.ME’s survey, respondents were asked which is more important for long-term career success: a personal website or a résumé. The majority (63 percent) favored websites. “A website is interactive, evolving and dynamic,” Lesic says. “Your portfolio, writing samples, testimonials, images and more add color to your professional history. And your site’s design aesthetic and tone of voice help to convey your personal brand.”

4. It networks for you. While in-person networking isn’t going out of style, digital networking can help make the job a lot easier. More than half of survey respondents believe their personal sites help them achieve professional recognition, connect them with a network of like-minded professionals and attract new customers.

“Your website never sleeps or takes a day off,” Lesic says. “It makes you accessible to an enormous audience and invites people to engage with your content and to contact you.”

Originally appeared on U.S. News & World Report.

How social media can help you get a job

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http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-people-social-networking-computer-network-concepts-image41603635In light of research released from Jobvite regarding how employers are using social media tools to source and hire candidates, I thought it would be helpful to provide ideas and insight about how to use the data from the survey directly from a recruiter.

Jackie Hydock is Director, Global Recruiting at App Annie. The organization taps social media tools to recruit, and she made the following suggestions regarding how job seekers can use social media effectively:

Survey data say recruiters appreciate when candidates post content on their own social media sites, but what about what they should post on employer sites? Do candidates ever post on App Annie’s social media pages? If so, what are some things you appreciate seeing or take as a positive sign?

Jackie: Yes. We have created our own recruitment social media pages outside of our corporate social media sites. The corporate sites serve to share our mobile insights reports, corporate news and showcase how we are revolutionizing the mobile analytics space. Our recruitment social media sites focus on the App Annie culture to give followers an inside view of what it’s like to be a part of the team and offer tips on how to become an “App Annier.” We also use our recruitment social sites to highlight open job positions.

We love gaining new candidate followers and appreciate it when followers like, comment, retweet or favorite our #lifeatappannie and App Annie Instagram posts. A couple of candidates have tweeted that they sent in their application to App Annie and couldn’t wait to hear from us! It’s also exciting when followers retweet or favorite specific job openings. Engaging with us through our social media channels is a great way to stand out among the applicant pool. It shows us that candidates have taken the time to learn more about our company’s cultures, values and beliefs, which is an integral part of our recruiting process. If a candidate is already a user of our App Annie products and broadcasts that on social media — that’s another major plus in our eyes.

What kinds of social media engagement do you appreciate seeing? For example, do you appreciate if a candidate follows you, likes a post, makes a comment, etc.

Jackie: Any attention a candidate gives to our corporate or recruiting social sites makes us feel like they are eager to stay connected and that they want to engage with us. We appreciate the candidates who take time to follow us, whether they are interested in working with us today or just hoping to keep us in mind for the future. If a candidate goes the extra mile to share a job opening with their network, it is a great sign that they would be a positive addition to our growing team. It is our commitment to our followers to keep our feeds interesting and filled with fun and unique App Annie content.

What do you like to see on candidates’ social media profiles? When you look on a candidate’s LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook page, what are some things that impress you or make you think favorably of a candidate?

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Jackie: We like to see responsible photos and content from people who take their personal brand image and work seriously. Our recruiting team uses LinkedIn heavily and we believe that it is the best place to judge candidates on who they are and what they’ve done in a public forum. We understand that Facebook and Instagram profiles are typically more personal profiles and we are less likely to take those posts and pictures under consideration.

What we are looking for is good judgment. As we recruit, we keep in mind that every App Annie employee is also an App Annie brand ambassador, and we want to make sure our team is made up of those who will reflect our company in the most positive light everywhere – whether they’re on the conference show floor or in the gym. We don’t invest a lot of time in doing heavy social checks on the more personal social media channels, but rely on more formal background checks to assess a candidate’s ultimate eligibility.

Appeared on AOLJobs.com.

How to Create an Optimized LinkedIn Profile, part I

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Knock KnockSomething most people forget is that change doesn’t happen until you take the first step. If you want to find a new job, but have been procrastinating about optimizing your LinkedIn profile, updating your resume or looking for job descriptions that interest you, it’s unlikely a job is going to come knocking on the door.

On the other hand, if you HAVE created a keyword focused, optimized LinkedIn profile designed to attract the type of people you hope will hire you, it IS possible a job opportunity may come knocking on the door. Seems like a no brainer, doesn’t it?

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Recently, I suggested a few tips to a friend who was between jobs. A few days later, he sent me an astonished message letting me know his profile had moved from page eight to page one for the keyword he was targeting, AND that he had already heard from several local recruiters! That is a win, and it can happen for you, too. Unlike Google search results, which may take a long time, a financial investment and a lot of effort to influence, you can relatively easily improve your LinkedIn search results if they aren’t already optimized.

I thought it would be helpful to create a series of posts with suggestions to improve your LinkedIn profile. If you want to magnetically attract opportunities, you need to build the magnet first!

Tip #1: Optimize Your Headline

The information that appears directly below your name is termed the “headline” for a reason. It’s one of the most important elements of your profile, because it’s what most people will see when your profile comes up in search. Are you listing your current title? That could be helpful if you are looking for a job doing exactly the same thing, but even then, a job title is not a strong headline.

Instead, include keywords — the words people will use to find someone like you — in your headline. And, offer a pitch. In other words, what is your value proposition? What do you offer an organization? What problem do you solve for them?

For example, instead of: “Business Analyst,” you may want to list: “Business Analyst: Develop and implement systems to bridge gaps between HR and IT organizations.” This updated headline includes keywords AND a pitch, which is exactly what can help inspire people to want to learn more about you if they see your profile in a search.

You have 120 characters to use for your headline; make the most of them.

Keep in mind: I am available to transform your LinkedIn profile. Contact me to learn how I can help you position yourself to land the opportunity of your dreams for 2015!

Are recruiters using Facebook?

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file1111243438731Do you know what recruiters like more than anything? Easy access to find quality candidates and few barriers to entry. Do you know one way you can provide this? Use Facebook as a professional platform.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know posting unprofessional information on Facebook can prevent you from landing a job. Employers don’t like profanity, comments about illegal drugs, posts of a sexual nature or excessive misspellings and bad grammar. What they do like, according to Jobvite’s research, is to be able to find you online and to learn about you. If you put time, effort and energy into creating some public information in Facebook, you could find yourself with a new job sooner than you thought.

Recruiters are looking for you.
Recruiters will source new hires where ever they can find them. With the exponential number of people using Facebook and the amount of time they spend there, it isn’t surprising to learn from Undercover Recruiter that 70 percent of recruiters say they connect better with potential jobseekers due to widespread use of Facebook and 85 percent of recruiters using Facebook recommend it as a tool to other recruiters. (Tweet this stat.)

Companies are spending a lot of time, effort and money to connect with you on Facebook. They want you to “like” their career pages, and they hope you’ll post smart messages there. Don’t disappoint them.

Make your information available.
You don’t have to post your vacation photos for everyone to see, but if you want to be found, it’s a good idea to allow certain sections of your Facebook profile to be public, including: Work and Education, Professional Skills and Contact information. Not only will this make it possible for people looking for someone with your skills to find you, it also provides professional information that will help people in your network connect with you when they are in job search mode.

Another benefit of making this data public, it allows you to engage with Glassdoor.com’s“Inside Connections” tool, which provides job seekers access to their Facebook networks to identify people who work at companies with interesting jobs. When people in your network provide public professional data on Facebook, you’ll also be able to access information from friends of friends for networking purposes via this tool. Clearly, making these items public on Facebook helps you be found as well as enhances networking opportunities. Since four in ten job seekers found their favorite or best job through personal connections, don’t ignore this opportunity to tap your online network.

Give them a little something.
Since many recruiters want to know a little something about you beyond what’s on your resume, why not give them a little professional information? Create public updates in your private Facebook page and you have the opportunity to post and share certain items that will be easy for people you do not know to find. This is easy to do.

Follow the link on the top of your Facebook page to check your privacy settings.

Once there, click on the icon that says “Followers” on the left side of the screen. Then, under Who Can Follow Me, select the drop down that says “Everybody.”

This will give you an option to create public updates and for people to “follow” your public updates. Public updates can include links to news about your industry. If you’re in customer service, you can occasionally post a public update about the latest customer service trends. If you are a bank teller, you can post links about your company’s financials.

Answer the key question.
There’s no more important question to answer for job seekers than, “How can I help employers find me?” Facebook could be one way to answer it.

Originally appeared on AOLJobs.com.