Career Centersand

Social Media

Lorenzo Amadei – November 8th, 2012

Why Social Media?Strategy elementsWhat can we do with social media?Potential problemsFocus: Facebook and LinkedIn

Why Social media?

They have definitely revolutionized Web as we knew it beforeMore and more people use them and are already there

They are accessible anywhere/anytime (via phone, computer, tablet, etc.)They are “always on”, regardless of office working hoursThey can also easily connect you to other offices, campuses, and professionals in the field of Career Services

Why Social media?

Low cost (in funds, resources, staff) and, in the majority of cases, freeEasy to manage and update (almost no technology knowledge required)

Strategy elements

1. What social media will we be using?• How to choose them? • How are we going to use them? • Cross-posting?

2. An initial survey of students and alumni may be useful• What social media are they already using?

3. Who will take care of social media in the office?

Strategy elements

4. Create “embassies” in chosen social media with a consistent office brand

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Google+, blog?, …Using the same brand (logo, phrase, etc.) across all sites provides visual recognitionPut hyperlink buttons to social media on your websiteDifferent social media offer a broad range of purposes• Facebook – Social context and largest online community• LinkedIn – Professional purpose, networking opportunities• Twitter – On the spot information and article sharing through micro-

blogging• Youtube – Video production and distribution, job post advertising• Google+ – Latest on the scene, gaining popularity

Strategy elements

5. Connect these networks to become self-sustaining

Provide hyperlinks between the different social media pagesUse cross-posting toolsConsider using a platform like Hootsuite, in order to:• manage all platform “at once”• schedule posting even when the office is closed• get statistical analysis (also from link shortening tools i.e.

bit.ly)

6. Build up a following of students, alumni, staff, faculty, professional organizations and employers

Sending out emails to all students/alumni to inform about office’s Social media initiativeProviding opportunities to draw in followers (raffle opportunities only available to members on particular sites, trivia questions, teasers, etc.)Following other departments/professionals/institutions… and in turn requesting that they follow the Career CenterUsing catchy hashtag trends on Twitter such as #FollowFriday to share other professionals’ tweets, and create a connection with themCreating own trends (i.e. #yourcareer) with tips about careers

Strategy elements

Strategy elements

7. Train staff and studentsProvide staff trainings to give a realm of understanding to everyoneMaintain a person within the office, responsible for all social media, so that office colleagues know who to reach out to if they have a questionProduce introductory articles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Blog) and/or video clips (YouTube) and make links to them available on current Career Center or University homepageProvide workshops for individuals who have questions or want training in the usage of social media

Strategy elements

8. Monitor usage and collect dataUsing statistics collected on social media, monitor how well the new channels have been received, what elements have been most effective and what should be improved insteadThrough the communities collect information on graduates’ employment, careers, experiences...

What can we do with social media?

inform

teach

help

connect

What can we do with social media?

Increase awareness of job and internship opportunities

By posting on social media, we can raise awareness of job and internship postings present in office database, and also share links to opportunities posted online by others (other centers, companies, institutions…)

Improve information service to students and alumniBecause social media do not shut down after business hours, students can gain access and maintain contact with the information posted 24/7

What can we do with social media?

Increase networking opportunitiesCommunities that the office can create can provide students, alumni, and wider community members a chance to network with other individuals they may not meet otherwise

Improve awareness of the importance of social media in today life and in alumni/students’ careers

Students and alumni should learn how to use social media responsibly and effectively for self-promotion, job seeking and career developingHelp them create an online presence (blog, twitter, youtube, slideshare...)

What can we do with social media?

Increase collaboration across departments

Increase access, reputation and marketingThe office can spread its marketing and outreach with a minimal effort, and tap into a wide variety of different social media elements

Potential problems

Website integration is not always possible nor easyTraining less technologically savvy staff, students, and alumni can be difficult, time-expensive, ineffective…Social media settings may changeUniversity breaks and summers

Social media pages/accounts can not be “abandoned” for long breaks. A solution (scheduling posts?) must be found…

Potential problems

Internal resistance Internal staff, professors… may have a negative attitude (I won’t use them, I don’t believe they may help me, they are a waste of time)

Internal obstaclesAccess to social media may be forbidden or limited from inside the University

Focus

Why facebook

Students are already there and using its features to interact, share and commentEasily share information, invite people to events and interact

The strategy

Sharing informationWhere do you find content?Where and how often do you post?

Interact with students/alumni

Public messages and interactionsPrivate messages

The strategy

Get started by creating a Facebook accountPage or personal profile?

• To have a personal account for a career center, you have to “trick the system” and tell Facebook that your career center has a first and last name (i.e. first name: Career | last name: Center)

• The page is a more correct option, and allows for multiple administrators/managers

• Posting as person or as page?

The strategy: posting

On your wall or pageYou can share info, thoughts, videos, links, photos, eventsYou can also ask questionsShare things that should be valuable to students

The strategy: posting

Content:Links to resources at your career center websiteArticles found onlineTake-aways from conversations you have had with studentsHeadlines from career blogs or job posting sitesTips (how to effectively create a CV, how to apply to a job offer, hot to create a blog, tips about job interviews…)

The strategy: posting

Frequency:Average about once a dayBetween 3-10 posts per weekEnough so people know you post new things, but not so much that you clutter people walls and newsfeeds

The strategy: interacting

Wall messages (public messages)

Facebook messaging system and/or page messages (private messages)

Interacting: how

What if someone (i.e. a student) posts something inappropriate on page wall?

Reply? Hide? Delete?

Interacting: frequency

If someone sends you a message, writes on your wall, comments on your status, you will receive an e-mail or an alert

Try respond with immediacy or as soon as you can

The strategy: a timeline

At least once a day (morning or afternoon) update your status with a post, a link, a video, a photo... (1-5 minutes)

As applicable, interact with students/people through posts, messages, comments, etc. These messages need not be long. (5-10 minutes)

Focus

Why LinkedIn

The most important professional social networkMore and more, recruiters and companies use LinkedIn to look for (and evaluate) potential candidatesMore and more often, jobsoffers are posted there

LinkedIn for Career Centers

Create account (not very honest, but…)Build your networkCreate company/university/office pageFollow companies/institutions pagesCreate or join groups

http://careerservices.linkedin.com/

LinkedIn for Career Centers

Build and enhance your own professional brandEnhance the brand and services of your career centerAttract more companies and organizations to recruit your students and alumniFind answers to questions and share resources with colleaguesKeep in contact with former students/alumni

LinkedIn for Alumni/students

Create accountCreate, complete (and keep updated!) personal profileBuild networkUse apps (blog, slideshare…)Join groupsFollow your Career CenterFollow companiesShow and prove your skills

LinkedIn for Alumni/students

Build a professional online presenceBuild a professional online reputationConnect with other alumni and “useful” contactsResearch companies and industriesExplore opportunities with organizations that don’t recruit on campusLearn professional networking etiquette

How LinkedIn Works

Your Friends’ Friends

Your Friends

Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends

Interesting…

careers.unc.edu/students/networking-and-social-mediawww.udel.edu/CSC/socialmedia.htmlmashable.com/2009/04/07/social-media-career-success/www.d.umn.edu/careers/social/index.htmlwww.udel.edu/CSC/socialmedia.htmlwww.impacthiringsolutions.com/careerblog/2010/03/22/how-recruiters-search-using-linkedin-what-we-look-for/

Interesting…

www.slideshare.net/linkedin/linkedin-career-services-webinar-presentation-slideswww.princeton.edu/career/pdfs/Princeton-University-Office-of-Career-Services-Social-Media-Guidelines-Strategy_2011-2012.pdfstudentaffairs.com/vcs/2011entries/TheCollegeOfSaintRose-lamb.pptxwww.brandeis.edu/hiatt/aboutus/socialmedia.htmlwww.brandeis.edu/hiatt/students/networking

Thank you for your attention

Lorenzo Amadeiamadei@iol.it

facebook.com/lorenzo.amadei | @lamadei | www.linkedin.com/in/lorenzoamadei