PLANNING : HOW SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOU IN YOUR JOB SEARCH

Hey Team

This week blog takes a interesting look at social media and how we can utilize it in our job search. Jobs are not easy to come by especially in a dynamic global economy with abundant resources and scarce opportunities. Searching for a job almost becomes a job in itself. It also becomes a stressful task for individuals who are in dire need to support themselves and or there family. Upon reviewing Scott (2013), Ch. 4, Social media and your targeted audience, it is interesting how social media has changed the way we search for jobs as well as how we help potential employers locate us. 

Where Do I start the Job Search:

Typically when trying to find a job you would do what everyone knows is the way to find a job, which is to prepare a resume and obsesses over entry entry to make sure it paints your background in the best possible light ( Scott, 2013). Along with this you begin to network and hope that someone in your circle knows someone and hope to find a job. While this approach may work social media allow a new way to interact and meet potential employers. The old rules of job searching required advertising a product, which was typically you, with direct mail. This required you to interrupt people and let them know you were on the market and that you need help ( Scott, 2013). 




How has Social Media Transformed Job Search ?

Social media has transformed that through collaboration and two way communication via social networking platforms. Smart employers are now looking into social networking to find "pluged- in people that would fit the classification of a job candidate. To find a job on social media you must stop thinking like an advertiser of a product and start thinking like a publisher of information. By creating information that people want and by becoming a presence people want to consume you are improving your job prospectus. The new rules of finding a job require you to share your knowledge and expertise with a world that is looking to see what you have to offer (Scott, 2013). 

Twitter Search

A great example was shared in the chapter of an individual who used social media to get a job. David Murray( @DaveMurr), while doing all the traditional elements of a job search such as updating his resume and calling a bunch of contacts, he realized he had to engage in social media to improve his prospectus. He started to use twitter search to improve his job prospectus and that greatly helped his job hunt. He began inputting things such as " Social Media Jobs", " Hiring Social Media" and began to pull the RSS feeds of these keyword conversations and pull them daily.
 ( Scott, 2013). 


I am used to traditional ways of finding a job and I have recently integrated some social media aspects such as linked in and facebook but Twitter search and the RSS feeds taught me something I learned after reading this chapter. I learned how to utilize key words to help me find trending topics in the related job string. Enjoy watching the video on how to to a twitter search to help with your next Job search.








References:

Scott. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing & PR, 4^th Edition. Hoboken, NJ. John Riley & Sons, Inc.

WEEK 2 BLOG : COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

     Argenti, Howell, and Beck's (2005) characterize communication as part of an organization's overall strategy. I agree with this philosophy and this has been proven by numerous case studies throughout time. In a time where there is an abundance of communications channels and where message consistency plays a pivotal role in the success of a campaign, communications need to be aligned with a company’s overall strategy for it to have an impact. Companies taking a short-term approach to communicating with key constituencies will definitely be impeding there overall corporate strategy in the long run.
      Communications for it to be effective must align with the company’s overall strategy which in turn will enhance its strategic positioning. As the authors state “strategic communications requires an integrated, multilevel approach. Each communication function fulfills specific objectives, is targeted at specific constituencies that are critical to meeting those objectives and is delivered through the channels most appropriate to and effective for those constituencies (Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K, 2005). Dell is a perfect example of aligning communications to the overall corporate strategy as evidenced by their CEO Kevin Rollins who states “Communications are an essential part of what you have to offer to customers and shareholders. Communications has to be in the center to be optimally effective.” (Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K, 2005). In terms of Dell this means functional integration which aligns all communications strategies internally and externally.
     Another great example is FED Ex, as evidenced by their CEO who says “Communication is at the center of everything. You can’t execute strategy if you can’t communicate about it (Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K, 2005). This characterization applies to marketing, advertising, and other elements of IMC and social media as in this highly integrated global market consistent clear communication is the key to a company’s success. Messaging needs to be clear and consistent across all mediums which include social media. Social Media can play a role in organizations overall strategy as it is a medium for two way communication between companies and consumers. With the social media boom of facebook, twitter, pinterest and others, we are continuously seeing these platforms be the home for effective two way communication.
     To align each of the IMC's elements and many social media channels “all communications to all constituencies through all channels must be customized to a given objective, yet consistent both with one another and the corporate strategy” (Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K, 2005). This however shouldn’t be the only thing that needs to take place as any type of strategy needs to be measured and monitored in order to be successful. Currently tools such as Google Analytics helps companies adhere to these objectives.

References:

Argenti, P., Howell, R. and Beck, K. 2005. The Strategic Communication Imperative. Retrieved on February 3, 2014, from: MIT Sloan Management Review: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~opa/communicators/fall08/reading/Sloan_MIT_Strat_Comm_Imp.pdf

Super Bowl

Hey Readers,

The big day is almost here. Looking forward to the superbowl. I am rooting for the seahawks as I really want Russell Wilson to prove his doubters wrong. I wish the Jets and or the Giants were in the Superbowl as this is the first time the metropolitan area is hosting the superbowl. Lets see how the game turns out. Readers whats your bet?