Becoming a Purple Squirrel: Using Social Media as a Teacher

Leadership Tool

Tracy BrissonFounder & CEOThe Opportunities Project

The Opportunities Project is a mission-driven talent development, career coaching and recruitment consulting company. Over the last two years, we have helped over 1,000 individuals get closer to their professional goals and assisted organizations hire over 900 employees in the education industry.

Our vision is that through coaching and education, everyone can develop the skills, behaviors and attitudes they need to create their own opportunities.

About The Opportunities Project

Tracy Brisson is the Founder and CEO of The Opportunities Project, a national talent development, coaching and recruitment consulting agency.

She is a former Director of Teacher Recruitment for all of New York City’s public schools. Over her career, Tracy has reviewed 20,000+ educator resumes and hired thousands of applicants into teaching positions.

Tracy is available to talk about topics related to the teacher workforce, educational recruitment, school or district hiring policies, and teacher career management, among other topics.

Author Tracy Brisson is a recognized career and recruitment expert with in-depth knowledge of the

education industry.

http://confessionsofateacherrecruiter.com

Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter is a platform where teachers and recruiters can both get pragmatic advice on how to better match with each other.

Our resume book, Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter: How to Create an Extraordinary Resume and Hook Your Dream Job, has been featured on the top 25 resume booklist on Amazon.com since its summer 2013 launch.

Schools and districts can distribute their jobs to teachers signed up for our newsletter list for free.

About Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter

Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter is available as an ebook and in paperback.

http://confessionsofateacherrecruiter.com

“I thought finding a teaching position would be easy after I graduated. Not the case… I had applied for over 75 jobs in my area and never even got the interview.

I read the first few chapters of this book, tweaked my resume the next day, and got hired within a week after sending out my resume to a new batch of districts…” -A. Ross, Washington Teacher via Amazon.com

Confessions of a Teacher Recruiter has been well reviewed by readers across the country.

http://confessionsofateacherrecruiter.com

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA MATTERS FOR YOUR CAREER

What Do We Mean by Social Media?

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Social Recruiting in Other Sectors

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“Social media is a historical game changer, and as a result of it, for the first time in history it is now possible for a savvy recruiter using social media to identify and build a relationship with nearly every professional in the developed world.” ― Dr. John Sullivan, CEO at DJS Consulting

“Three years ago we said you’d have to think long and hard about hiring a recruiter with less than a couple of hundred LinkedIn connections. Now the same holds true for candidates in general.” ― Kris Dunn, Chief Human Resources Officer at Kinetix

Social Media in the Recruiting Process

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Social Media Can Predict Performance

“Researchers evaluated the Facebook profiles of 56 users according to the so-called Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism).

Six months later, the researchers compared the evaluations of the users' work supervisors and found a strong correlation for intellectual curiosity, agreeability and conscientiousness.”

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Finding Your Social Media Profiles

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A Final Recruiting Social Media Story…

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“The principal panicked and called to tell me she wanted to rescind the job offer for this teacher on the spot…”

WHY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP MATTERS FOR YOUR CAREER NOW

• More women than men have graduated from college since 1980

• Half of startups are launched by women

We hear about the gender divide in STEM…

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• 27% of computer industry jobs are held by women

• 25% of STEM jobs are held by women

And the leadership gap…

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• 23% is the average percentage women are paid less than men

• 20% of congress are women

• 4% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women

76% of women are teachers, but less than 50% are principals.

Fewer than 20% of non-profits are led by women.

Why?

How do the 50% succeed?

But what about our own backyard?

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Will you commit to these best practices?- Pursue your career with rigor

- Applaud your abilities

- Brand yourself and your accomplishments

- Don’t pull back when you should lean in

Lean In Model for Career Success (Sheryl Sandberg)

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Model for Career Influence

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Mindset

Presence

LearningConnecting

Influencing

“Stop thinking the world is a ‘just’ place.”

Jeffrey Pfeffer, Power

Working on You: Mindset

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Purple Squirrel: Leslie Knope

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• Authentic and confident

• Single, core message

• What differentiates you from your peers?

Innovator Indispensable

Do-Gooder

Working on You: Develop a “Personal Brand”

What’s Your Word?

1. I am a _______________ (professional role)

2. I currently ____________ (seek)

3. I specialize in (how I solve problems)

4. I am the best (my results)

5. I do it because

6. I want you to… and I will in return…

Working on You: Practice Your “Elevator” Pitch

• Have a complete profile using Profile Completer

• Join education groups and participate in discussions

• Connect with relevant people

Presence: LinkedIn Hints

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LinkedIn Profile Example

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Presence: Digital Portfolios

Presence: Digital Portfolios

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Digital Portfolio & Blogging Tools

• Follow relevant people in education using Twitter search

• Participate in chats using #hashtags

• Share interesting content and be seen as “intellectually curious”

Learning & Connecting: Twitter

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#edchat

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Popular Education Twitter Hashtags

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Tip:

Check if there is a chat for your state- e.g., #caedchat for California or #nyedchat for New York!

• Let your friends know what is going on with your job search

• Check your privacy settings

• Like the Facebook pages of schools and districts who you are interested in

Learning & Connecting: Facebook

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Facebook Pages

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Manage Your Network

Sending relevant updates

Adding Value

1. Share compassion

2. Share contacts

3. Share information

Expand Your Network

GO OUT!

Connecting & Learning: Google Plus

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Instagram and Pinterest

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FINAL ADVICE…

Social Media Tough Love

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1. Remember privacy does not prevent stupidity

2. Have a personality- it’s okay!

3. Appear ambitious and lean in (a.k.a. the “math is hard” and “beer is good” problem)

Social Media Tough Love

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4. Thing about your future you when writing your public bios (a.k.a. you’re already a grown-up) 5. Don’t threaten the real housewives on Twitter

6. Be found… somewhere

Social Media Tough Love

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7. Dedicate some focus on learning

8. Share generously- be social!

9. Don’t post pictures of students without permission

Wrap-up: Model for Career Influence

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Mindset

Presence

LearningConnecting

Influencing

How are you a purple squirrel?

How can you BECOME a purple squirrel?

Influence: Next Actions

Contact Information

Website: http://confessionsofateacherrecruiter.com

Download our free toolkit featuring teacher resume samples5 Steps for Constructing Amazing Resume Bullets

Email: info [at] oppsproject.com

Phone: (347) 987-1490

http://twitter.com/teacherrecruitr

http://facebook.com/confessionsofateacherrecruiter

http://linkedin.com/in/tlbrisson

Tracy BrissonAuthor, Career Coach, Recruitment Consultant

Founder of The Opportunities Project