This all goes back to the age old question: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?  To get to the other side (of course).

The answer should have footnote added: “it’s just that some chicken’s do it better than others”.

The same goes in a career search.  Think about your last job search, or maybe you are currently involved in a new search, or maybe you know someone who is actively looking, or re you seeking a career after college?  Whatever the case, how is the search progressing?  How are you differentiating themselves from the competition?

Are you looking hard but only searching on the job boards and are not seeing much of anything?  Have you posted your resume but are only receiving calls and emails from “work at home” or insurance or financial positions?

This kind of talk calls for an intervention!

How are you able to maximize your search time and value if you are doing the bare minimum?  This is the time to create a strategy which will allow you to better target and focus on key positions.  Some ideas to consider and build upon:

1. Take a break from the job boards. You need to get somewhere that more people know you and are willing to talk with you outside of the job application blackhole.  I don’t care how strong of a resume you have, going into a pool of candidates is not your best avenue.
2. Hit Google and Bing. Take a few days to conduct research on your targeted industry(industries) and targeted position(s) within that industry(industries).  This will allow you to focus more on what you want to do and less on let me just get anything.
3. Find the “trusted” contacts in your network. Take some time to examine your network to see who you know in that industry or in a similar position to what you are targeting.  Reach out to them, take them to lunch, tell your story and ask for their story.  Get the insight on how to position yourself for this type of career.
4. Get on social media. Share your story with others.  Get on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and whatever else will help you target positions.  Connect with others.  Gain their insight.  Share your insight.  Let them know you are looking but… DON’T BE PUSHY!
5. Make cold calls and introduction emails. You need to put yourself out there and that means connecting with others.  Use these calls not to focus on YOU but to learn from others.  Ask questions, almost interview them to understand their career path and see what helpful tips you may learn from others in positions you are targeting.

Remember, the goal isn’t to knock down doors but instead to open doors.  Being pushy or rude will get you absolutely nowhere.  When you are nothing but polite, nice and greatly appreciative… you will get much further along your path.

Whomever you connect with in these activities, please Please PLEASE remember to send a thank you note (email) for their time and insight.

Now get your plan into place and make it happen!

As you continually work to improve your personal brand, you are going to consider many social media tools to utilize.  Along this journey, I am sure that Twitter will be one of them.  The reason that Twitter is such a good outlet for you is that Twitter is a means to express both your professional and personal sides.  The professional and personal mixture, of course, being your own unique personal brand.

The problem begins when your personal brand sways more heavily one way over the other.  This is most concerning when the personal emphasis is the heavier of the two.

As Mack Collier tweeted, “Getting on Twitter is NOT a strategy, Twitter is a tactic to execute a social media strategy”.  Such a wise statement.

Twitter is a tool for you to continually work to create and expand upon your personal brand.  Any social networking tool is not a strategy, but instead is a tool (and this cannot be forgotten).  Twitter is searchable by Bing and now by Google which further exposes you and your personal branding message.

Let’s take an example for a moment.  Pretend Katy is an SEO “expert” and she is working to position her personal brand firmly in the SEO field.  Katy wants to be more easily found so she signs up for Twitter.  Katy starts to tweet so that she may spread insight and connect with others on SEO tactics and strategy.  However, over time, she lets her personality enter more and more.  Katy begins to tweet on non-SEO topics and engage in conversations outside of her personal brand and on non-business related subjects.  Katy continues to tweet but the focus is now closer to a 50/50 split on SEO related material versus non-business subjects.

There are two opposing tactics at play in this example.

1. Katy’s personality is coming through, which is not necessarily a bad thing to happen.  This allows her followers to better know her and be able to engage with her on a variety of topics.  However, by taking her message further away from the SEO space, Katy’s personal brand begins to falter in terms of having a consistent message.
2. Because Katy’s tweets are not as consistent as when she started, then the results that appear in a Bing or Google search will not necessarily produce the SEO-based results that she desires.  By keeping SEO as the major theme and sprinkling other topics in on an as needed basis, Katy will continue to increase her personal brand in the SEO space and potentially position her as a leader in the field.As with any personal brand message and social media strategy, you must have a clear picture as to what you would like to convey as your personal brand as well as the selected tools to help create your brand.  This means working to communicate a clear and consistent message of you.

So, to answer the question: “is Twitter a good tool for your personal brand?”  Yes it is a valuable tool.  However, it is only a good tool if you use it in a manner that supports your personal brand and does not dilute the message you are working to communicate.

Make a Twitter plan and execute the strategy.  Your personal brand relies on it!

Are you getting close to graduation?  Do you have any idea what career after college you would like?  There are some lucky college students who have it all figured out and know exactly what they want to do in their career.  Then there are others who think they know what to do after college (but will change later).  And there are those who have no idea what to do in their career after college.

For the lucky few that know exactly what career you are going to pursue, good for you and I wish you nothing but the best of luck after college.  For any others in either the “I think I know” or the “I have no idea” category, then I hope you find this a bit helpful.

Social media and social networking have opened the doors for you to get greater insight to almost any career you choose after college.  You are able to read blogs, review articles, connect with “friends” or follow others on any number of sites.  But here are a few actionable items that may help you better understand your choices for a career after college.

5 ways to become to become more hirable for your career after college

1. Use Twitter to follow people in industries you think you are interested in entering. Follow targeted people to expand and enhance your knowledge and contribute to the conversation.  Interaction can open doors!
2. Use LinkedIn to cold call and do a quick interview of people in companies or positions you find interesting. Find target companies and people within departments of interest to call and introduce yourself.  Do not make it a pressure call, explain your strong interest in the company and you wanted to gain insight as to what makes a great hire for the team.
3. Join Groups and Fan Pages on Facebook to expand your insight to a topic or career. Network, plain and simple.  The more people you connect with and share ideas with, the higher the chance that someone will begin to take an interest in you.
4. Read Wiki’s to see who subject matter experts are in a particular field and gain their knowledge. Add value to wiki’s which will help you to introduce yourself to other subject matter exerts.  Add value to important topics and you will also be able to find out those that are “experts” within the industry.
5. Read blogs on topics of interest. The more you read and find out who is also passionate about a particular topic will allow you to begin to leverage a wider network and reference new points of view in your conversations.

Then, after you have gained some insight to what it is you are either interested in or might be interested in after college, then you may begin to focus on the how of getting into that career.

I will elaborate on the “how” in my next post but hopefully this will provide you with some thoughts to stimulate your thinking on landing that career after college.

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Keith McIlvaine is a Social Media Strategist within HR and Recruiting for a Fortune 500 company.  When he is not focused on leveraging social media and networking, Keith is also a personal branding coach and social media mentor.  He is passionate about his family and is a major soccer fanatic.  The statements I have posted on this site are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

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Brand-Yourself.com is a platform to diagnose, manage and monitor your online reputation for career success. Did you know that 83% of employers use the web to research job applicants? If you’re ready to proactively control your Google results and get hired, rather than cut from the applicant pool, try us for free and start controlling how you’re perceived online. Go ahead. Take our tools for a spin.

Microsoft researcher Gordon Bell said in a CNN interview “By about 2020, our entire life histories will be online and searchable.”

What does that mean?

Everything you do online is archived: on social networks, bulletin boards, websites and Google’s constantly growing collection pages. Sites like WayBackMachine.com actually keep records of old versions of websites, saving information that was supposedly removed.

People will get the first impression about you by what your Google results say. Strong results provide credibility when searched by potential employers or clients.

Think of your activity online as writing in pen, not pencil. Pens are impossible to erase. You are using pens daily for your tweets, for Facebook fan pages comments, for online forum questions, for emails with clients and co-workers, posting family photos on Flickr, etc.

YOU are the one who is leaving a trail behind that everyone will see and judge you on. It’s not late to be careful, deliberate and safe.

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Mohammed Al-Taee, PMP, CCNP, MCITP is a graduate of Alnahrian University and has a Master degree in Computer Engineering. Mohammed is a Career and Personal Branding Strategist for Gen-Y Students and New College Graduates. He is the creator of BrandMyCareer.com and author of BrandingPower Blog. He said “Passion is the Fuel towards Prosperous Career.” Make sure to connect with him on @Twitter