Archive for 'social networking'

Delete Facebook: A Quick Tip

September 2 was the last day of the 14 day waiting period before my account got deleted off Facebook. I must tell you, I unintentionally deleted my account in a not so graceful way.

Because I knew that it would take 14 days of no activity or logging in to Facebook to delete my account, I posted a status update saying goodbye to my Facebook friends, and that it has been fun, and where they can find me online. I got a couple of quick responses from people who wanted to know why I was leaving. I responded by saying I felt herded around by Facebook leadership and that their unethical way of defaulting new features to on was irritating me. I also provided a link on how to delete your Facebook account without having to run the gauntlet

Little did I know that although there’s a 14 day waiting period, my Facebook profile was instantly withdrawn from view of my connections. So basically, to them it could look I “unfriended” them. Yikes! That was not my intention at all. I realize many, if not most, of my connections will not notice but it feels like bad etiquette anyway.

So if you decide to delete your Facebook account, you may want to consider leaving a goodbye in a status update, or sending it in a Facebook note, or otherwise mentioning it to friends off Facebook to fill them a few days or a week before you actually schedule your account for deletion.

Get A Snazzy Electronic Portfolio

words http and browser bar in 3dI gotta tell you, I’m very pleased with Flavors.me for putting an electronic portfolio together. It was easy, it’s pretty, and you can get it on your own domain with a little extra work. Take a look at mine for an example, SteviePuckett.com. Other than just the front page, it is bringing in content that I have already created with my blogs and social media…wowza! It makes a nice impression for hiring managers and networking, don’t you think?

If you decide to put one together, please Tweet Me the link. I’d love to take a look and give you a pat on the back. Go for it!

Build an Online Presence

1. Ego Surfing – Search for your name to see what information comes up.

2. Social Networking – Begin building online profiles using some of the following sites.

3. Blogging – Consider starting a blog about your industry and how you participate in an innovative way.

4. Automated Research – Set your searches up to be delivered to your email inbox or set up an RSS reader for sites you frequently visit.

Web 2.0 changes everything

In job interviews of the past, potential employers saw only the papers handed to them and the impression that was made when a person entered the interview room combined with what others said about the interviewee beforehand. Now potential employers can and do get an even more accurate sense of personality, skills, and history based on an online presence before a person is invited to an interview.

Social networking websites strive to bring people of similar interests together in a “meeting place” online. I like to say that it is almost as good as attending a convention in person without the costs of travel or vacation time. Of course, meeting in person is ideal, but with the multimedia capabilities of today you can establish new, and even deepen existing relationships with a little online savvy. With social networking online it becomes easier to visualize your personal and/or professional networks. You can also connect people you know with other people you know quite easily using online introductions—a powerful networking strategy.

Social media is powerful and it is here to stay. There is potential for competitive advantage by having a presence online, but you have to manage your online identity in a way that positively serves you. By using social networking technology, you provide proof of your technology and communication skills (or lack thereof) depending upon how carefully you utilize the medium. And, by the way, the absence of an online presence is becoming a detriment to successful networking and job search too.

Ego Surfing and Your Online Presence Part 2

The other possibility when you begin ego surfing is that negative information comes up within the first three pages or so of search results. In this case, you have a couple of options. One is to contact the source of the negative information and ask for that information to be removed. The answer may be “no,” but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Beyond that, it is time to get to work creating more favorable footprints on the internet so that the negative gets pushed back on search results to beyond the fifth page or so. To do that, get busy creating new profiles and presentations of yourself online. Get on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo. Then move beyond those to additional social networking sites such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com. Remember, keep those presentations professional because you want positive stuff coming up about you on the first few pages of search results for your name.

A superb way to quickly bury negative search results is to create a blog or vlog. Blogs are simple websites that are used for written comments on a particular topic. Vlogs provide video commentary over the web in much the same way and are becoming popular, too. Here is a recent post I made that includes info on how to get started blogging.

Ego Surfing and Your Online Presence Part 1

To ego surf means to search the internet for your own name to see what information comes up. Begin the search at Pipl.com then follow up with a search at Google.com. Next, add one of the meta-search engines. Meta-search engines gather search results from many search engines at one time pulling the results together for review. Try Mamma.com, Dogpile.com, or Metasearch.com.

On a side note, a variation of meta-search that you may find useful is Chimby.com which is specifically for searching career advice-related articles. Additionally, meta-searching job openings can be achieved through SimplyHired.com and Indeed.com.

Back to ego surfing…there are a couple of possibilities you might learn about your online presence. One is that nothing comes up about you and the other is that negative info comes up.

If nothing comes up then it is time to embark upon a web presence campaign! A simple way to begin is with Twitter.com which is a mini-blogging platform. It is called a mini-blog because users are limited to posting messages of only 140 characters in length at a time. People simply sign up for a user name, then they begin posting messages–or “tweeting.” For career advancement purposes, remember to post tweets that reveal your specialized knowledge and skills, AND that showcase your personality.

Keep in mind, Twitter is a double edged sword. The downside is that it is very easy to send off scathing or sarcastic one-liners that do not demonstrate the best a you have to offer. The upside is that with very little, but consistent, effort you can build a web presence and begin fruitful dialog with others.

Another easy way to get started is to create a LinkedIn.com and/or Plaxo.com profile. LinkedIn is a key professional networking website. Recruiters and human resources professionals are getting quite accustomed to checking LinkedIn to find talent and to vet individual applicants before beginning an in-person dialog. LinkedIn also offers a question and answer area that is a great place to network.

Plaxo is also very good, but for different reasons. Most useful is that Plaxo enables people to automatically see what you are posting on the net via your “pulse stream.” So if you post an update to your blog or submit a new bookmark to your favorite bookmarking site, it will show up on your pulse stream which members of your Plaxo network will see. Plaxo also features the ability to make a business side of your profile and a personal side of your profile so that you may divide up who gets to see what. Plaxo started out as a web-based contact manager to keep address and information up-to-date, so it does that very well, too.

Creating LinkedIn and Plaxo profiles will be somewhat familiar because they resemble a resume format. One big difference is the ability to post a picture with a profile. You may want to have professional photos taken or otherwise use a suitable digital photo for upload. Adequate photo editing for online resizing of digital photos can be done for free at ShrinkPictures.com. I suggest the “create avatar” tool for use with Twitter, LinkedIn, and Plaxo profiles. This tool will shrink the photo down to a perfect size for posting online with just one click so you do not have to worry about defining dimensions or file size. By the way, avatar is an image, symbol, or graphic that represents a person online. You can get very creative with your avatars, but remember for career advancement purposes you will need to maintain a professional image.

For info on what to do when negative info comes up when ego surfing, check back here Friday or better yet click the blue RSS button at the upper left of the page. Thanks!

Social Networking Websites

These sites strive to bring people of similar interests together in a “meeting place” online. Once a member of a social networking site, you are able to search the member directory, participate in discussions online, and share information and files. Joining is often free for a basic membership with upgrades of service costing an optional monthly charge.

With social networking online, it becomes easier to visualize your personal network. You can also connect people you know with other people you know by online introductions.

It is wise to exercise caution with any online profiles you create on social networking sites just as you would with writing and sending email. Info you put out there can be used against you.

Examples of social networking sites include www.plaxo.com, www.twitter.com, www.myspace.com, www.facebook.com, www.linkedin.com, and www.xing.com.

One Year Blogiversary

I have been blogging for a year and it has been a roller coaster ride. I began with a less than enthusiastic attitude because I was not sure about the process and there were tough decisions and commitments to make.  But now I am so happy that I tackled the learning curve because starting the blog helped me find my personal brand and gave me a reason to learn more about internet technology. Now as my first year of blogging comes to a close I have my arms up and I am screaming and laughing down the roller coaster’s big hill! It has been a worthwhile endeavor.

Blogging does not have to be a huge time commitment either. Heck, you can even use Twitter.com for micro blogging to begin building an online presence in a little by little kind of way that will add up after a few months (btw, I would be honored if you follow me on Twitter).

Examples of easy and popular software used for creating blogs include WordPress.com, Blogger.com, and TypePad.com. WordPress and Blogger offer ways to get started in blogging for free with just a couple of clicks. Blogger is an easy way for a non-techie person to get started within minutes. WordPress has more options that may be needed as a blogger becomes more experienced. It also offers excellent search engine optimization but it has a slower learning curve for the inexperienced.

An easy way to have your blog hosted on a domain name of your choice is to go with a hosting company that includes blog set up. I can highly recommend my hosting company www.hosting.com where you can set up a dedicated domain name for your blog for $45 per year. They have excellent customer service and you should feel free to call them with even the most basic questions about your new blog.

I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but blogging really is a cutting-edge way of being involved in your industry and providing proof of knowledge and technology savvy. The best thing that happens when you start blogging is that whole new relevant and deep discussions take place and new networking relationships and industry connections are made.

Reverse Mentoring

Chris Brogan’s post on using social media in the classroom prompted my thoughts on this one. Thanks Chris!

There is an opportunity for “reverse mentoring” with technology. Reverse mentoring means a younger person can guide and teach someone older than they are.

Of course, we all know there are many skills and ideas the older generation can teach the younger generation, but think of how the younger generation can give back through technology which they tend to be so comfortable with. This could be crucial because one of the integral ideas for career success that young people need to learn is reciprocity in networking. This type of mentoring can open the door to dialogue and both sides benefit as in the traditional mentoring relationship. Not to mention the increases in self-confidence and time saved that will be gained as both parties get up to speed, one with technology and the other with networking.

Three Interviewing Tips

Tip 1 – It is best to think of an interview as a two-way discussion. Yes, often a stressful discussion but remember not only are they checking you out, you are checking them out. In fact, one of the most important actions you can take to prepare for an upcoming interview is to research the company. It is easier than ever to get on the internet, enter a search word and come up with relevant information. In fact most companies have a web page of their own where you can read up on company history and recent press releases. Be thinking about questions you can ask during the interview as well. Make relevant observations about what is going on with the company and ask your interviewer to comment. You may also want to consider asking some questions like the following.

  • Is this a newly created position?
  • What do you think is the most important thing for a new hire to understand about this position? This company? Or this department?
  • Why did the previous person leave this position?
  • What do you think will be the biggest challenge for the new hire?

Tip 2 – Another good way to prepare for the interview is to put together 3-5 well thought out power stories and a couple lessons learned stories. I use the term power stories to define your stories that tell of times you solved problems on the job. These stories are very important to think about in advance of the interview for responses to behavioral interviewing questions which are used very often by skilled interviewers. These types of questions ask for you to describe times in the past when you solved this or that type of problem. A good format for the stories is to describe the problem, describe the action you took, then describe the result. This is called the PAR technique for Problem, Action, Result. Once you write these stories out, list in the margin the characteristics these stories demonstrate. Then you have ready answers for some questions like “Tell me about a time when _____?” or “What is your biggest strength and why?” Don’t forget to rehearse your answers out loud. It is best to have someone ask you the questions to make the practice more realistic.

Tip 3 – One often overlooked key to good interviewing to have clear starts and stops to your questions and answers. This helps to set a good rhythm for the discussion. It also demonstrates your ability to be concise and listen to others. Don’t be afraid of a few seconds of silence after you finish your answer. A good interviewer will use silence as a tool to get you to rattle on about stuff you did not intend to reveal. Also, silence is an important tool for you to learn use as well, especially come negotiation time.