Looking for Inspiration

As I start to update the content of the WhyHire.me, I find myself looking for inspiration from a variety of places including students and professors that have used the program, innovative educators, industry experts and my education and marketing instincts.

We’ve done some research in the form of interviews and we are constantly on the look out for new ideas, approaches for teaching and content that should be included to enhance the program.

Right now I think the big changes will include a push to ’sell’ the value of of having an online presence, mind mapping for Dig Deep, and more depth in the area of social media tools in Deploy Your Brand.

One overall inspiration for me is Sir Ken Robinson’s 2010 TED speech.  Students need to be far more engaged in the teaching of WhyHire.me.  They need to be intertwined in it and apart of developing the content.  Enjoy!

Start by Digging Deep – Values, Passions and Strengths

Yesterday, my class of Algonquin PR students and I started the process of digging deep.  Many people think that our program is centered around social media tools.  There is no question that technology is a large part of getting your personal brand online but first you have to develop a clear message.

We start the process of self-discovery by looking into several key issues including; personal values, personality, strengths, achievements, passions, the opinions of others and finally, we take a brief look at weaknesses. To many this seems to be a little far from the original expectations of developing an online presence but you have to start at the heart of the matter.

People don’t give enough thought to what they are all about, what they can offer the world, and what they want to offer the world. We’re all so busy, overworked and overwhelmed to give ourselves the time we deserve. It’s easier to think about stuff, to-do lists, tasks, technology, friends, ….. We all need to take the time to think about what’s important to us, what we have to give to others and how we want to continue to develop and grow.

Do you know what your values, passions and strengths are? I hope my PR students now have a better handle on these big issues and now know what their keywords and phrases are, we will see next class.

READY, SET…..

We’re on the verge of a new academic term which is very exciting for us.  Within days we will have another 500+ users on the Winter 2010 version of WhyHire.me.  More users, more schools and a lot more changes!  A little daunting at times as we have worked into the wee hours but so incredibly exciting as we see our program grow and develop with the help of our users and their institutions.

Our inaugural term was Fall 2009, when we launched 650 users from Algonquin College, Carleton University and Centennial College onto the system.  We experienced a few bumps with provisioning (we were putting students in the right classes until exam time), interface usability issues (they all want the system to be like Facebook – although I am thrilled that we are being compared to a 350 million user system with thousands of staff, they are big shoes to fill and not the same kind of product), and it was obvious it was time to upgrade the blogging component.

Our students created a group called Facebook vs. Whyhire.me which provided us with feedback as well as the Support group that was set up by us.  In addition to the groups, we have had countless in class and online conversations with users about issues to improve and all of our schools did their own research into the use of WhyHire.me.

Overall, we are thrilled with the results and appreciate the feedback.  The Winter 2010 release will include integration of WordPress (Yeah!), a new Zone that will provide the learning tools in a very dynamic environment for users, and dozens of small changes that will make the usability and experience more enjoyable for everyone.  And of course, we have cleaned up the provisioning and we dramatically simplified our pricing model.

We know that all the students want it for free but as an organization we do not want to develop an advertising based model when the product is being delivered in educational institutions. We just don’t think it’s right and will continue to follow the model of student payment based on institutional, and professor endorsement in a class, similar to the textbook model. Students will receive an account to the social network plus their personal URL, an 80 page eBook and interactive learning modules. The pricing for Winter 2010 is $29 for 12 months or $39 for life. We simplified it for all the different programs and uses.

This term Memorial University will be integrating WhyHire.me into a E-Marketing class and the MBA program. The Ted Rogers School of Business Hospitality and Retail programs (Ryerson University) will be using WHM in two separate HR oriented classes. Algonquin’s PR students will be developing online personal brands and well as the 3rd year Business Marketing students, where we piloted the program last year, and lastly, we will have another gang at Centennial jumping into the world of personal branding.

So, we are on the edge of our seats: uploading, testing, teaching and just on the verge of ………GO.

The Debate: The Myth of Digital Literacy

Sarah Ormon pointed me towards this TVO segment on Thursday evening.

It raises some very important points about education, literacy and new ways of learning. The panelists discuss the growing gap between how students can learn versus the age old methods that have been in schools for decades.

Is the gap unbridgeable?  Find out by watching the video.  Some key highlights are as follows:

1. Literacy rates are on the INCREASE amongst youth and adults! Thanks to Harry Potter, Twilight and new media (graphic novels), more people are keen on reading and writing.
2. Reading is more social today since people can connect and share views on what they are reading.
3. Students are writing more than ever, but are they writing better? There is plenty of unseen writing going on. When the writing is more visible, it has the potential to be better.
4. Ideas, knowledge and experience can be expressed beyond the written word through videos, photos and simulations.
5. Connectivity and life experiences need to be incorporated into learning.
6. If you can’t say something in less than 140 characters, its likely not worth saying. If your presentation or point can’t be summarized into 140 characters, perhaps the message is not worth promoting.  This generated considerable viewpoints across the panel.
7. Texting will not kill literacy – it is an accepted practice to shorten one’s message to leverage the medium. Don’t sweat the abbreviations.
8. Spelling and grammar – know when and where it is really important. Language is also changing….the word alot did show up in the New York Times as if it were correct!

The next divide is all about who has the power to create media and get it consumed! This segment truly underlines the importance of embracing new media and incorporate it into learning. Our program was built on this premise of taking action, creating content and being found through search and sustained participation in social media.

Don’t Just Bug Me..Engage Me!

I came across some interesting research on this WhyHire.me story found on Informationexec.ca

“In its recent job search study, AfterCollege found that social media ranked last among respondents (10.9 per cent) asked to gauge the effectiveness of job search methods. At the top of the list were more traditional methods like online job boards (71.9 per cent) and applying directly to the organization (70.7 per cent).”

Students will eventually catch on to the fact that selling themselves requires several “marketing methods” besides job boards and sending emails.  Social media opens up a whole new set of personal selling dimensions that cannot be conveyed in a job board, direct email message or letter.  Students and job seekers should be telling their story and conveying their brand across a web site (such as a WhyHire.me profile), emails, letters, a phone call, printed resume and interviews. Why? Its proven to work.

One can draw a parallel from the real world of sales and marketing in corporate North America. The tried and true salesperson will call and email with some kind of offer, hook or appeal – just like everyone else. After a while, the customer is inundated and all the callers start sounding the same. If the marketing department is cleaver and thinking about their value and the customers requirements, they can change the game with social media.  It can engage the customer over the Internet with authentic content, commentary and other engaging materials. How real is this trend?  Social media spending is forecasted to outgrow traditional advertising over the next five year. Corporations have figured this out – they finally picked up on the Cluetrain Manifesto – a tremendous book I ready seven years ago.

Hiring managers are expect to be emailed, called and given resumes pulled from job boards.  Graduates and students coming out of post-secondary have a tremendous opportunity to leverage social media and truly stand apart and differentiate themselves. They can no longer count on age old methods – the world has changed (again) and new methods will become the norm.

Online personal branding is a huge LATENT need that is awakening. This is why we packaged up our 30 years of marketing, branding and technology experience into an integrated program. In time, it will become conventional wisdom, must like using job-boards and direct email techniques for job search. Passionate channel partners are more then welcome to work with us!

A lesson from industry – think about your objectives before choosing your tools!

For all you soon to be marketers, think about your sales objectives before you launch into what was tried and true in the past. In this case, I refer to a recent spam I got from a prominent social media thought leader.

The Transparent Generation – Educators Take Note!

I have to admit, I do smile whenever I checkout my nephew’s Facebook pages. His entire life is being documented, minute by minute. So much information is being shared, indexed and made available for those that care, or those that have taken an interest in someone.

Today’s high school and post-secondary students are quite comfortable with logging in, sharing photos, texting updates and sharing their views on self-made or external news. They do have a tremendous opportunity to develop an online persona that can track their every movement from Friday afternoon, to very early in the morning on Sunday.

What about their future professional lives? How are they discovering and documenting their interests, passions and interaction with news (self-made, local or global)? Do they have a working framework that can help guide them through the discovery of their career passions? Where can they validate their unique views or new ideas? Where are they documenting and sharing their projects, outcomes and experiences?

Facebook and Myspace are not the place. Linkedin? Its the network where relationships and work experience matter. Tomorrow’s graduates need a clean break from social networks. They need a place to document their potential as they progress through post-secondary education and beyond.

Stay tuned for more on this topic. Whyhire.me is coming.

Let

Social media tools allow people to join together online to discuss, contribute, share, influence and create. The tools that make these functions possible are diverse and changing rapidly.

Most people are aware of Facebook (much more on Facebook in future posts) and MySpace which are social networking tools. Next on the list would be YouTube for video sharing or Flickr for photo sharing. This blog is another form of social media. But more recently we have micrblogging with Twitter or social bookmarking and tagging using a variety of tools including Digg, Technorati or StumbleUpon. The tools keep coming at us and provide us with new ways to connect and affect the world around us. We are no longer the silent masses but individuals that have a voice and the ability to share and promote our thoughts, perspectives and expertise.

The students of tomorrow can take advantage of these tools to market themselves, their ideas, and their differences to potential employers. We want to give them a new platform to develop their professional social media persona but they must also learn to manage their social persona.

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