LinkedIn Mondays

LinkedIn Mondays: How Should Students Spend Their Summers?

by Marian Schembari on May 18, 2010

Off to London tomorrow so I realize this week’s LinkedIn Monday is, in fact, on a Tuesday, but whatever. Been busy.

In this week’s Q and A I’m combining a great LinkedIn question with a post I read on Brazen Careerist a week or so ago. I have very strong opinions on this subject, but please keep in mind my GPA at school SUCKED and I never did anything for the sole purpose of padding my resume…

Question

What is the best way for students to spend their summer? Traveling? Internship? Working?

~ Gavin Davis, Resume Writer

My Answer

Travel. Traveltraveltraveltravel. Seriously. Even if you work/intern/party/freelance/drink yourself into a stupor…. at least you’re traveling and that’s where the best experiences come from.

Other responses included:

  • Interning
  • “Do any activities that help develop their people and communication skills.” ~ Clint Cora
  • At the beach. “You won’t get long vacations when you’re working.” ~ Vasco Phillip de Sousa
  • Resume building
  • Part time work
  • Volunteering

Many responders pointed out that it depends on the person, their career goals and/or personal preferences, and I definitely agree. I vote travel because I had an amazing experience traveling and living in Europe, but a close friend of mine has zero desire to leave the States and spent his summers interning and/or goofing off. To each her own and all that.

Stop Stressing

My “strong opinions” stem from my issue with the question (not that it wasn’t a good one): Stop. Effing. Stressing. Seriously. Do whatever you want. If you think having an internship is going to help you land that dream job, by all means, do it. Are you taking that internship because you “should”? Then don’t.

I really hate this whole cram-all-pleasure-during-college-cuz-you’ll-be-miserable-in-the-real-world. Even more than that, I hate the mentality that you have to cram in all the work experience while you’re young so you can beat out all the other competition.

A recent post on the Brazen Careerist network by author Kristen Fisher talked about “getting into the real world mentality.” Fisher writes about getting started on your resume, practice interviewing and “start looking for a job – yesterday.”

While I agree it’s important to think about what you want to do while still in school to minimize stress, doing too much of that can have the exact opposite effect.

My background – cuz I know how much you care…

I went to Davidson College, a super small liberal arts school in the South with an unfortunate notoriety for being one of

Davidson College aka House of Horrors

the hardest schools in the country (without the prestige, naturally). Now, I rarely did my work unless it involved my major (Sociology/Gender Studies), which I loved, but the majority of my friends spent days in the library and one of my roommates would stay up until 4 in the morning getting work done. For what? A high GPA? A great job after school? Most of them are still unemployed or working at jobs that are “okay for now”.

I don’t know if this is because of the economy or what, but I feel like all that stress my friends put up with wasn’t really for anything worthwhile. The things I remember about college aren’t the good grades or time studying or even my classes. I remember the awesome stuff. The trips, the friends, the ridiculous stories. I went to one career center event during my 4 years there. Everything I learned about work came after graduation. So all these adults telling us to spend our last weeks at school preparing for the real world?

Sounds like a waste of time to me.

——

Random note: Every time I read blog posts that scare students about post-graduation plans, this song pops into my head:

http://www.brazencareerist.com/2010/05/02/getting-into-the-real-world-mentality

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LinkedIn Mondays: The Best Way To Use Twitter Hashtags

by Marian Schembari on May 9, 2010

This week’s LinkedIn question caught my attention because I don’t use Twitter hashtags as much as I should. I only use them for one reason and when I said that my answer was chosen as “Best Answer.” Woot woot! The reason I’m posting the response here is because I’d a) like to gloat b) like to share my apparent expertise and c) like to hear from people who actually do use Twitter hashtags. So here we go:

Question

If you use Twitter, do you use hashtags? If so, why or why not? I tend not to use them, not wanting to waste the extra characters. I’m wondering, though, do you tend to search for hashtags and find them of value in drawing people to read your tweets. Maybe I should. What do you think?

~ Ann Tracy Mueller, Senior Communications Analyst

My Answer

Hashtags are amazing in terms of events. I’m an editor for a website that hosts publishing events on a regular basis. During a conference when there were 3 different panels going on at the same time I was able to follow along with the conversations I wasn’t around for.

I don’t usually use hashtags in every day tweets, but I find them invaluable when following along during events and connecting with other people there.

When I use hashtags

Events are really the only time when I use hashtags – most specifically Digital Book World events. I follow along for these reasons:

  • To see who is at the event that I know so I can remember to say hi
  • To see who is at the event that I don’t know so I can introduce myself and have a good excuse for doing so (Hey! I follow you on Twitter!)
  • If it’s a conference with multiple panels I can then follow along to see what’s happening
  • It’s an amazing way to take notes! Since I go to DBW events to cover them for the website, following along with the hashtags reminds me of the snippets of conversation the audience found most important. Can’t tell you how helpful that’s been when looking back on my own notes.

When others use hashtags

Unfortunately, the LinkedIn discussion didn’t lend itself to a ton of hashtag insight. One woman said it’s a great way to get new followers and I agree, if it’s relevant. I recently talked about my new favorite show, Dexter, and used a hashtag. I suddenly had all these people messaging me about Dexter! Very cool, and I always welcome new followers…. but…  but… How much do these new followers really care about what I have to say about publishing or careers? That remains to be seen. However, that being said, the whole point of social media is to connect with people you might not have otherwise, or bond with people about something other than your job. So… who knows? Maybe one of my new Dexter friends will become a valuable resource!

#Dexter stats

From reading the LinkedIn answers it looks like people use hashtags for these reasons:

  • Attracting new followers
  • “I usually just see hashtags used as a way to include amusing asides.” ~ Kirsten Teasdale
  • Participating in Twitter chats or company contests
  • “Think of it as a way to kinda/sorta SEO your post for Twitter followers.” ~ Steven Ford
  • Monitor a brand

Alright ya’ll, this is when I ask my question: How do you use Twitter hashtags? Do you use them? Why? (Honestly, in terms of this post I have no freaking clue because I rarely hashtag [verb?] so suggestions are much appreciated!)

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LinkedIn Mondays: Has networking become impersonal?

by Marian Schembari on May 3, 2010

Consultant John Sanders wrote a really interesting blog post a few days ago as well as posed an even more interesting question on LinkedIn. I wanted to share my answer with you as part of LinkedIn Mondays (in hindsight I really wish I had chosen a catchier name), but also because a lot of the people who answered have this “old fogie” mentality that drives me insane in the membrane. I realize times are a-changin’ and online interactions can seem less personal, but I am a huge advocate for using social media as a networking tool (obviously) and I’d like to share my little love affair with you all. So below is my answer along with the responses I created in my head when reading other people’s thoughts. I’d love to hear yours.

Question

Do you think networking has become too impersonal? I recently wrote an article on how impersonal networking has become. I don’t care if you have 20k connections on your social profile, it does not matter if your email list is uber-long… if you are just a name collector than great. But that is not networking. Networking is getting to know people professionally and personally. And it seems like a lot of people are losing that skill. What do you think?

~ John Sanders, Strategic Talent Acquisition

My answer

It doesn’t matter if you network on places like LinkedIn and Twitter or go to events – networking is what you make of it. I find there are two kinds of networkers:

  1. Those who fling the proverbial business card in your face. You can do this over a punch bowl at a crappy hotel or on Twitter by always shouting ME ME ME ME.
  2. Those who try and make a real connection whether it’s over a love of dogs at a park or engaging them online. These people care about what they can do for you rather than the other way around. They let their professional relationships grow organically.

You can be either one of these people online or in person because ultimately it’s not the method that makes networking impersonal, but the person themselves.

This is how I network.

I realize John wasn’t necessarily talking about social media, but since that’s how many people are networking nowadays, I’m gonna steer the conversation in that direction. John wrote on his blog, “Do you feel that networking has gotten too impersonal with all the technology currently replacing a good old handshake and lunch?” Um. No, no I don’t. In fact, I think networking has gotten more personal because we’re able to easily connect with people outside of our usual circle. And just because the method has changed doesn’t mean you need to get your panties in a bunch. (Keep in mind, I had a brief email exchange with John and he is a lovely man. My annoyance is in NO WAY directed at him because he’s super sweet, but towards people resistant to change and unable to see the good things like Twitter networking can bring us.)

I, for one, love networking online. I’m naturally shy in groups and am one of those people at big events who hides in a corner pretending to “make a call.” However, I also love interacting with people, I just don’t think I make the greatest first impression. Networking online has been hugely successful for me and I know I can help people out as well.

One commenter on LinkedIn hinted at today’s networkers lacking “substance.”

Another said, “I would guess that the younger the person, the more disconnected they are with those they network with, and the older the person, the more appreciation they have for those in their sphere of influence.”

Watch your mouth, boy! I’m 22 (23 on Wednesday, woot woot!) and I’d consider myself pretty connected to the people I network with professionally. I don’t “collect” names or followers. I loved the response from Clare Webster: “Older generations are certainly more personal when it comes to networking outside the web, but as for social media, younger generations were the first to use that media for connecting to friends and have had a taste of that personal use before they ever used it for professional purposes.”

A response I did like, from Vanessa Rottaris: “It is all about learning who people are and being genuinely interested in them.”

I guess it’s a personal decision how you choose to network, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what method you use, but how you use it.

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Introducing LinkedIn Mondays!

by Marian Schembari on April 26, 2010

I‘ve been spending a lot of time on LinkedIn Q and A recently and it’s grown on me enormously (sign up in the sidebar to watch my video on how to maximize this goldmine). Most of the questions I see are kind of silly and can honestly just be Googled, but some of them are really excellent questions. For those of you who don’t really use LinkedIn, you totally should. I understand it’s just another thing to add to your plate though, so each week I’ve decided to take my favorite question and publish it here with my answer.

So to kick off what will hopefully be a weekly session, here we go:

Question: Is it appropriate to contact strangers on LinkedIn, who are in the field you are interested in to receive relevant business information?

I am a student at the University of Northern Colorado and will be graduating soon. I’m unsure which area of marketing I would like to go into and I am seeking more information in different fields of Marketing.

~ Lisa Drew, Sales Operations at Best Buy

Answer: Yes – absolutely yes! Maybe don’t go writing to every single person in HR for every single company, because that’s spammy and desperate. But going groups and answering questions and finding entry level employees at the companies you want to work for and connecting with them – that’s the WHOLE POINT of LinkedIn (and that’s why I totally love it).

The best way to used LinkedIn as a way to find jobs is not to contact random people, but those at companies you want to work for. Looking for an entry-level job at Dell? Go to Dell’s company profile and check out new hires and other people in entry-level positions. Connect with them and in the message portion explain (nicely and honestly) that you’ve always wanted to work for Dell and would love to hear about how they got their job. People usually like to help and giving advice is a nice way to do that. The worst they can do is not respond!

Another great (and less awkward) way to get in touch with people on LinkedIn is to connect after meeting them in person. Send them an email saying it was nice to meet them and if they ever hear of a job that’s up your alley to let you know. If you’re interested in marketing, join all the relevant marketing groups and ask questions. More importantly, ANSWER questions. Become an “expert” and flaunt it!

Finally, use LinkedIn is when you’re writing cover letters. A lot of times when you call HR to ask for the name of the hiring manager companies don’t like to give it. But you can find out names by doing a little sleuthing on LinkedIn. Some people don’t like being contacted for this reason, so just do it to find out their name and not email them directly. The point is to have a personalized cover letter, not to harass the nice HR people online.  LinkedIn is great for that :)

**Have any job hunting or social media/blogging/funsies questions you want answered? Send me an email at maschembari (at) gmail (dot) com

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