I was shocked.
I was in disbelief.
I gave a presentation on how to use social media for a job search yesterday. I explained HOW it gets you job interviews faster. I explained how 80% of companies use it to find their next employee. I showed why job boards don’t work. And I still got this comment response to my question: Do You Feel this Info Will Help You Find a Job Sooner?
I’m not convinced
That’s fair…if you want to NEVER find a job.
I don’t care how old you are. Social Media is not about that. It’s a shift in the way we are communicating. Are you able and willing to adapt?
Guess what, employers want to hire people who are adaptable.
Using social media demonstrates this very ability.
If you are not convinced you should be using social media as the central hub of your job search, watch this video:
![How To Nail Your Entry-Level Job Search [INFOGRAPHIC]](https://i0.wp.com/careerenlightenment.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Screen-Shot-2013-10-13-at-1.48.00-PM.png?resize=440%2C264&ssl=1)
It is me or was Rob trying to share something about social media in that story?
Josh,
It’s safe to say you know my feelings on all of this. I’m still amazed by people who insist on doing things the old way and then scratch their heads in amazement as to why they’re not doing what they want to do or getting the kind of work they want to get. I hope nobody ever hires me based on my resume again (which reminds me I ow you a guest post).
@skooloflife Yes! You do. Your first post did really well! I want more!!!
Hi Joshua-
This is an awesome video to illustrate to job seekers the impact these tools have on the way we communicate, share and access information, manage our workloads etc… I have been showing it for about two years now in my Social Networking for Job Search workshop, It is extremely impactful, generates excellent conversation and gets the class off to a great start every time.
@ArnitaPdx Arnita, that’s awesome! Any interest in having me come to talk with your group early next year? Email me.
@Greg, yes the big companies are scouring social media web sites ESPECIALLY LinkedIn. I had recruiter from JC Penney cold call me about District Installation manager for Chicago metro area because she saw my profile on LinkedIn.
@Joshua I like the video so much I have it on SlideShare on my LinkedIn profile.
Good points Bruce. I remember getting calls by Cisco’s competition when I worked there. They all found me via LinkedIn.
Hi Joshua,
I’m by no means a Luddite and am plenty active in Facebook and getting into Linkedin. However, for most conventional jobs (ie. major corporations or companies), the hiring process is really done through their websites, campus visits, etc. I really don’t think their HR are scouring social media websites for candidates, at least not for entry level or mid-level positions. Would you agree?
Hi Greg, I actually think that’s a different scenario. Larger companies may already have piles and piles of resumes in their systems already. Their problem isn’t about finding the right talent. In fact, their only problem is having enough headcount to deal with the paperwork.
So let’s look at it from a job seeker’s perspective. Your resume (or online application) is now one of many. How do you stand out in the crowd?
This is where social media comes in handy. Because, if you did you networking right, you’ll have contacts within the organization who think you are outstanding. Employees can flag job applications, have conversations with hiring managers or even refer you.
Lot of people are still used to search job by just job fair, resumes and interviews, that’s old fashion, from this traditional way , employer risk a lot when making hiring decision. Now hiring manager would love to search you on facebook, read your blog post, see what you are and what you do, that’s a real you, not a pretending you. So, social media makes things different and more transparent.
Rob,
You are right that there is so much to know. No one is a guru at any of these new media. We are ALL learning and sharing and helping each other. Hey, I look forward to helping you out. You have an interesting back ground and I’d like to see you land a killer position.
Josh:
I have seen this video before – great choice and very engaging. I can’t believe people made the comments they did – Hum, well “there are followers and leaders – the former need to join the later or get out of the way” not sure the source
There are several caveats here: one does not want to emerge on this new culture in panic and start reacting randomly. Some in your audience might be prone to do this and for those already merged (compulsive twitters, face-book-ers, etc) overconfidence or arrogance and a know it all attitude is a bad idea too. There is so much to know and do in this new culture one has to have a plan, particular if the uses are professional and commercial – not purely personal and recreational (but a plan is a good idea hear also). So the first step for most people should be to educate themselves so they can use this new culture effectively – think of it – it is somewhat like moving to a new country and becoming integrated with the host culture. It does not happen overnight and you may want to give some thought to how you integrate.
Finally education and listening are the way to start and that does not mean try to learn all the new stuff. Suggest newbies early on id one media or application and learn it to get the experience and then based on the strategy you move out and learn and deploy others.
Remember folks no one should or could be expert in all of this, as it is technology and detailed based.
Josh – this is the marvelous thing about what you are doing. Your are helping folks get started – testing the water so to speak. You learn to swim so much faster if you have a few lessons.
Cheers
Rob
PS: looking forward to meeting with you on Wednesday
Rob,
You are right that there is so much to know. No one is a guru at any of these new media. We are ALL learning and sharing and helping each other. Hey, I look forward to helping you out. You have an interesting back ground and I’d like to see you land a killer position.
Josh:
very impressed with how you do your blog. Remember Jewish Pirate, Jean Lafitte
Thought you might like this given your eclectic academic background
This recent article is about the most famous Jewish Pirate, Jean Lafitte.
It was written by a former professor from Temple University , Professor
Bernard Glick:
Many of the pirates of the Caribbean were Sephardic Jews who turned to
piracy to get revenge on the Spanish Catholics who expelled them from Spain
in 1492, murdered their families and stole their property. Six of
Barbarossa’s chief officers were Jewish! This article sheds light on one of
the most famous Jewish Pirates: Jean Lafitte the Jewish Pirate. One of the
things I do since I retired from Philadelphia’s Temple University is lecture
on cruise ships. My signature talk is the 50-century old history of piracy
whose practitioners I call the Seafaring Gangsters of the World. A few weeks
before my first gig, I sent a draft of the talk to my history buff sister,
Phyllis. She liked it, but was very unhappy that I had not mentioned Jean
Lafitte. I told her I didn’t include him because I intended to deal with the
economics, the sociology, and the politics of piracy. She said I simply had
to talk about Lafitte because he was unique. He was a Sephardic Jew.
In his prime, Lafitte ran not just one pirate sloop but a whole fleet of
them simultaneously. He even bought a blacksmith shop in New Orleans , which
he used as a front for fencing pirate loot. And he was one of the few
buccaneers who didn’t die in battle, in prison, or on the gallows. Though I
didn’t lecture about Lafitte at first, a circumstance of serendipity has
made me do so ever since. I was flying to Norfolk , Virginia . The man in
the seat next to me wore a skullcap and he began chatting with me in
Gaelic-accented English. Though born in France , the friendly passenger now
lives in Switzerland . We quickly established that we were both Jewish and
that both of us had taught in Israel .
Then we had the following conversation: What are you doing on this plane? I
asked.
I’m a mathematician. I work for an American company and I’m flying to
Norfolk today because it has the US Navy’s largest naval base and my company
is trying to get a Navy contract. Now, what are you doing on this plane?
My wife and I are picking up a cruise ship in Norfolk
Taking a vacation?
Not entirely. I’ll be giving lectures on the ship…as many, in fact, as
there are full days at sea.
What do you lecture about?
Since cruise lines frown on controversial topics I have talked about Israel
once or twice, but I usually talk about Latin America, which is my second
specialty, or the Panama Canal or Mexico ‘s Isthmus of Tehantepec, or the
voyages of Captain Cook to the South Pacific. But I always begin a cruise
with a lecture on pirates. The kids love it and the old folks like it too.
Are you going to talk about Jean Lafitte?
No. And I repeated what my sister had told me.
He pulled out his wallet and handed me a business card. It had Melvyn J.
Lafitte written on it.
Then he said, I am a direct descendent of Jean Lafitte. Your sister,
Phyllis, is absolutely right. Our family, originally named Lefitto, lived in
the Iberian Peninsula for centuries. When Ferdinand and Isabella
re-conquered Spain and expelled the Jews in 1492, most of the Jews fled to
North Africa . Others went to the Balkans or to Greece and Turkey . But some
Sephardic Jews, my ancestors among them, crossed the Pyrenees and settled in
France , where Jean was born in about 1780. He moved to French Santo Domingo
during the Napoleonic period. However, a slave rebellion forced him to flee
to New Orleans . Eventually he became a pirate, but he always called himself
a privateer because that label has a more legal ring to it.
In 1814, the British sought his aid in their pending attack on New Orleans .
However, he passed their plans to the Americans and helped General Andrew
Jackson beat them in 1815. A grateful Jackson , not yet President, saw to it
that Lafitte and his family became American citizens. And, by the way, did
you know that there is a town of Jean Lafitte , as well as a Jean Lafitte
National Historical Park in Southwestern Louisiana ?
I was flabbergasted, not so much by the saga of Jean Lafitte as retold by a
proud descendant, but by the fact that the two of us had met so
coincidentally in the skies over Georgia . Melvyn Lafitte lives in Geneva
and I live in Portland, Oregon . These cities are 5,377 miles apart. Unlike
him, I am mathematically challenged, so I dont know what the statistical
probability is that a descendant of the Franco-Jewish-American pirate Jean
Lafitte would board an airplane and sit next to me as I was agonizing over
whether to mention his famous ancestor in my forthcoming talk.
Jewish history is replete with vivid coloring and so are many other histories.
Hope you enjoyed !
Rob