Job Search 2.0
Job Search 2.0
So it’s 2009 and I’ve finally graduated. I’ve got my degree in hand and am eager to tackle the world’s challenges, if only someone would hire me. So what’s a recent grad to do, with nearly 20% of his peers unemployed and student loan payments fast approaching?
In school it was easy. My professors and teachers lectured on the importance of getting internships and real world experience. They told me to build my network and work the system. But as I fine tuned my resume and went through multiple rewrites of my cover letters, I never felt like I was doing enough. Networking may have worked in the past, but these were tough times and I needed a strategic advantage. Besides, if networking is the name of the game, why not exploit the largest network ever created?
My generation has been using the internet to brand ourselves for a long time. Before tweets and status updates, we were carefully crafting away messages on AOL instant messenger. As we looked to college, our Facebook profiles were manicured to give the best possible impression before we ever met our roommates. So as the job search approached it was only natural that many of us turned to the internet to brand ourselves to potential employers.
My particular background in online communications, video production and photography lent itself well to an online portfolio, so I set one up and quickly it became the billboard to which I referred everyone I spoke with. With my resume, portfolio and recommendations all set up in one place, I felt well prepared to rouse interest. I just needed to attract eyeballs. So I turned to social media to get my name out there. I followed potential employers on twitter and turned to LinkedIn to leverage my current relationships into other contacts. I followed the blogs of personal branding gurus like Dan Schawbel and human resources professionals like Brian Batchelder and Heather Huhman.
The all-important Google search also became critical. Even with a relatively uncommon name, I knew how important it was that my website be at the top of any search results. So every time I contacted an employer on twitter I’d link back to my website sans-URL shortener, giving Google more reasons to bring my site to the top of the results.
My efforts didn’t go unseen. Soon I began receiving responses and less than a month after my site launched, it was being featured on several blogs. My friends began asking me to build websites for them. About four months later I heard a telling story from an interviewer who was particularly impressed with my website.
Apparently the interviewer had been speaking with another recent grad and was advising the young woman to put together a similar personal branding site. As she pulled up my homepage as an example, the grad said that although she had never met me or even interacted with me online, she’d already seen the site in a job search seminar, 400 miles away in Washington DC.
There was little doubt that my website was successful. My name was getting out there and everyone I spoke with gave me positive feedback. So why was it that I still didn’t have a job?
The answer lies at the basis of any job search. For all of my focus and attention on pushing myself on the internet, I had let the old-fashioned form of networking fall by the wayside. While I used social media to introduce myself to people I would otherwise have never met, I still wasn’t capitalizing.
Today I’m still looking for a job, but the prospects are better than they’ve ever been before. My site doesn’t get as many views, but the ones it does get are from people who are interested in what I can do for them, rather than from people interested in copying the site itself.
Photo Credit: King Edward
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by mattcad: Check out my article “Job Search 2.0″ on The Next Great Generation! http://bit.ly/16V3Qf #TNGG…
Great article. The job search is crazy, no doubt. The ironic thing is that one random conversation in the subway could lead you to your dream job instead of social media, gpa, or anything else. Great jobs are filled with people who have a reputation, but this is difficult for recent graduates.
There is a lot of hype around social media/ personal branding (rightfully so), but at the end of the day, somebody is going to have to look at you and say “I think this kid can generate revenue for us.”
Matt, Great article! My how things have changed, yet still seem the same. The operative word is “networking” then and now. Keep plugging, for you absolutely never know when what seems to be a meaningless connection could actually become a home run…..go Phillies.
Ralph
Matty,
Great stuff! This is an extremely difficult time for job seekers as you are well aware. My only suggestion is attract and seek as much “face time” as possible. Relentlessly polish your interpersonal communication skills in preparation for that unexpected encounter with a decision maker!
Matt,
Excellent article. It’s all about networking. Continue to bring as many people to your sight as possible. Continue to give them compelling articles to read, and share information about yourself. Although the world is much more technologically advanced than in my day, I couldn’t have gotten to where I am if not for the relationships I had built along the way. Don’t forget to push for those “face to face” meetings. In my opinion, those are still the best. People still want to know who they are doing business with at the end of the day.
Good luck.
Matt,
This is a great article and something everyone in our generation should understand. All of these things go hand in hand. The difficult part about being a recent grad now is that others just four years ahead of you have developed a strong online reputation. If they’ve done their jobs right (and well) websites should be touting their work and they should dominate the top pages of their google search. It’s important and necessary for younger people to gain traction (whether its through a digital portfolio, freelance articles or an online resume) as soon as possible.
On that same note, I’ve seen people network their way into large investments for their company and secure jobs over others equally as qualified. Personal relationships are really what distinguish you from all the other applicants in the market. It stinks, but this is what happens with a diluted job market.
Gret article – can identify with that pic too!
Whenever I think about jobs, I think of competition, best impressions, update with trends… etc. The article really sumed up the job market, it’s no longer about being physically there like at job fairs but being a profile in the computer’s abstract network. Which is a world full of both true and false impressions. I’m a senior in college, and I’ve been looking on search engines for jobs, and it seems like if the job is too easy or if the wage is listed then it is probably a trick. I hope everything works out well for the author and the best advice is to stay honest and keep going.
As important as it is to have LinkedIn profiles, clean Facebook profiles and the like, there are still a lot of us out there that still don’t take full advantage of a blog or website. I know only about 2 friends that run their own blog (and that’s from the majority of my friends that came from our business fraternity in college).
So just having one of those can give you an advantage over your Gen Y competition. I am working to redesign my blog now. This article definitely reaffirms my purpose.
Matt, Great article! My how things have changed, yet still seem the same. The operative word is “networking” then and now. Keep plugging, for you absolutely never know when what seems to be a meaningless connection could actually become a home run…..go Phillies.
Ralph