It’s an old story: The college student goes to the company to interview for an internship, only to have the hiring manager pull up their Myspace page and see pictures of the applicant getting drunk and sloppy.
The moral of the story is always, “Beware – Big Brother is watching you.”
The reaction of most, then, is to completely eschew all social media for fear of having some future manager drudge it up just when you’re hoping to work for them.
There again, what kind of life do you lead? Think about what you would post on a Myspace or Facebook page, if you don’t have one already: Picnics with your kids, exchanges with your friends about rebuilding a car, comments on Fan Pages you are interested in. These aren’t the kinds of things that would embarrass or get you in trouble – quite the contrary, it’s just the sort of information that lets a hiring manager see the whole you, and without having to fill out that awkward, “Interests and Hobbies” section on a job application form.
Rather than skipping social media entirely, it actually behooves you to create a full social presence for yourself, and to let people know about it. Create your own brand, just as if you were Coca-cola or Dell – but instead of selling products, you’ll use it to sell yourself.
I won’t go into the particulars of setting up each profile, but there are some key steps you’ll want to take in order to make social media work for you:
1. Your Brand
You will want to register profiles on various social sites using the same name each time. If your real name is available, great – grab it up everywhere. Personally, I know a lot of people have the name, “Eric Reid” so registering my name isn’t always an option. So I created my own on line name, “ciaoenrico.” Now when you do a search for ciaoenrico on Google, I am all that shows up. (Well, sometimes Enrico Berlinguer, but I’m there more than he is.)
You’ll also want to create an avatar – a photo ID on social networks, if you will. This will be what people recognize first when they come to any of your profiles.
This is the avatar for video blogger Robert Scoble on Twitter. The image says it all about him: This is me, happy, with my camera. It’s a simple statement that lets you know a great deal about him before you even read his information.
The consensus is that you should always use a personal headshot, but I disagree. A photo of yourself certainly represents you, rather literally in fact. My own avatar is a cartoon of myself I’ve been drawing since high school.
I think it represents my personality better than a simple photo. (On Linkedin, though, where serious business people congregate, I did go with a photo – because there are times for being a free spirit, and there are times to button down.)
Social media sites require specific image properties for a picture, but if you have a simple headshot you can usually crop it when you create your profile.
2. Your Sites
If you’re already on a few social media sites, great – you’re on your way. If not, though, consider which ones you’re likely to actually use on your own time, and which ones best fit your personality and tastes.
Linkedin is certainly one you’ll want to consider for your professional resume. Twitter and Facebook are certainly popular, but may not be for you – it really depends on if you enjoy using the tools available, and if you find a network of friends to socialize with.
Remember: Social networking always pinions on socializing. You can’t simply create a page, put up some information about yourself, and leave. Doing so shows people that you know it’s important to be using social media in some way, but that you aren’t actually interested. And people who actually like using social media sites can spot that kind of cynical use of it in a finger snap.
Once you’ve found your niche, you should have a list of sites that exemplify who you are and what you do. Keep a list of links to these, and add posts to them as often as you can.
In some cases, posting to one can automatically cross post to the other – for example, if you post something on Twitter, it can then turn up on your Facebook page as well, or a photography posted on Facebook can turn up on Flickr, a photography sharing site. You’ll want to post often to each of your profiles so you stay current, so this is a good tactic to consider if you know you don’t have time for everything.
A last bit on this topic: Don’t try to join everything. It will be difficult to maintain 20 or 30 social networking profiles as much as you will need to, and if you are able to, it could make you look a little creepy.
3. Your Network
Don’t feel you have to follow everyone in site – or even follow everyone who follows you. . The people you know define who you are in the world of social networking. So keep your list tight – co-workers, former co-workers, friends, people working in your industry particularly, and especially those people you don’t know now but want to. (Like the people who work at the company you are applying to, for starters.) Look at the people you are following the way you would your list of e-mail contacts: The people you want to hear from, and keep in contact with, you make connections with.
Social media makes you easier to find on many different channels. You have created several opportunities for people to know more about you, and what you know. The most important thing to remember is being tenacious. Your social media brand will be only as relevant as the last time you posted – so post often. Maintain a blog, or a Twitter account, answer questions posted on Linkedin Answers – find something to contribute every day. What people respond to the most is the value you can give to them. You know you are smart and capable enough to educate others on what you know – social media is your opportunity to do just that.
By Eric Reid (http://ciaoenrico.com)
Eric Reid is an Internet marketer from Tempe, Arizona, specializing in SEO and social media marketing. Currently he writes the blog Ciao Enrico, which is also his nom de plume on Twitter and many other social media sites. He is not married and has no kids, so he stays up late whenever he feels like it.
