Say what you want about Social Media… it’s narcissistic, voyeuristic, self-indulgent and so on. Quite often, it’s all about me, right? What I’m doing, where I’m going, when I’m hanging with the cool kids, when I’ve just left a job…
But, with all the self centeredness of it all, there are times when social media should be all about you. Especially if you’re trying to be findable in your job hunt, whether it’s an active, “I need a new job now hunt” or “I’m just checking to see what’s out there hunt”. I’ve been watching .me domains for several months now which, interestingly enough, I actually got turned on to because of my 16 year old. Some boy offered to start driving her home and I, of course, had to background him. Sorry, that’s just me. Turns out he’s a great kid, but he had a link on his Facebook profile to “flavors.me” which got me hooked on .me sites.
I’ve always been a fan of Google profiles – they are a great place to use as an online homebase, catch all your online profile links and tell a little about yourself. But darn it, .me sites are just so pretty and customizable and really give you an opportunity to showcase who you are and provide various ways for you to link or embed your resume, your online profiles, contact information and so on.
Want a great example for a jobseeker? Check out Laurie DesAutels About.me page. It’s great, detailed without being overwhelming and has links to all of her social media sites and email. She’s made herself accessible, on her terms.
And for recruiters and sourcers? It’s so easy to find people. Start with your basic old school Boolean and then x-ray search the domain. Here’s a starter string:
site:.me (java OR jdbc OR j2e) developer
That’s going to bring you a ridiculous amount of results, and some are job postings. So narrow it like this (I’m using Google as my search engine in this example):
site:.me (java OR jdbc OR j2e) developer (intext:resume OR intext:linkedin)
And if you want to be even more focused, you can restrict your searching to a particular site, like About.me where Laurie’s set up her profile. Try this search string:
site:about.me (java OR jdbc OR j2e) developer (intext:resume OR intext:linkedin)
Now these .me sites can literally be a Pandora’s box – no doubt when you start to explore, you are going to find more sites to target in your research. Often digging here is best for national searches (i.e. your client or company is open to relo or virtual) because the location identification is up to the user creating the profile and who knows what they’re going to put… but it’s definitely a destination to explore.
So bottom line? As a jobseeker, get there and get linked. And as a recruiter, start searching.
Love this–
And Kelly—any Boolean help makes you my hero—
great insight and information
I wish I could agree with your opening, particularly in light of how Fistful of Talent leverages social media to share thoughts.
Despite your opinion of social media manipulation, your points about LEVERAGING social media to tap into the power of network is sound, but, again lost in your opening slam of social media.
Ultimately, the quality of your social media experience comes if you use social media or leverage social media. If you are using people in real encounters I guess you have the perspective of using social media the same way. Whether at a networking event or LinkedIn.
Social media’s “best” is sharing insight and moving the dialogue forward by adding value, not manipulating the conversation to your end: just like any transparent networking in genuine interactions.
Good networking is as much about the content you provide, but if you are bored with people telling you where they are going or when you are hanging with the cool kids, perhaps it is all about you.
Dawn – anytime
Chris – Thanks…
Toby….I’m pretty impressed that those three sentences distracted you so. I’m not delivering a slam of social media, I’m reiterating the complaints I’ve seen about it online and I think I was delivering an accurate assessment of how Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, etc. put either ourselves or our brand front and center, and we make the conscious decision to become involved and broadcast everything. I do it too – and use different mediums for different reasons. I think the gist of this item was to get across the point that .me sites are a great place to visually display who you are and how you’re reachable. For some of the opportunities I’ve recently had for marketing and recruiting professionals, it has been preferred that they have a social media presence, and what a great way to create a personalized hub and be findable.
If you’ve read of my items, been in a training class, or met with me online you’d know that I view Twitter, Facebook, etc as a virtual watercooler. Particularly in light of the fact that I’ve been a virtual worker for the last 13 years. I’m pretty familiar with engagement, and am a fan of the real time venue as a whole, one of my favorite events where the guru’s gather and refuse to profess guru status is The Realtime Report. http://therealtimereport.com/?redirected_from=twtrcon.com
Good luck to you as you continue to find your way..
Kelly