My Career Weekly
At the end of last school year, Ian McVitty, a colleague of mind at Algonquin College, shared with me and a few other professors how he is using mind mapping to teach marketing in the School of Hospitality and Tourism. Ian’s talk and passion for this simple yet powerful tool was inspiring and awakened the mind mapper in me.
Since that time, I have used mind maps to plan new course designs, communication plans, share roles and responsibilities and even produce todo lists. I am now sold on the power of mind maps to convey information and most importantly allow you to make connections with information. Click to continue
When you are looking for a new job, networking to keep your options open or finding consulting work; you have to be ready to tell your story. Our goal is for our students develop their personal positioning pitch so they can tell their unique story when asked at anytime.
Before developing their pitch they must do some self-reflection that we call Dig Deep. The first module of the WhyHire.me personal branding curriculum is to ask many reflective questions of oneself. As individuals we don’t spend enough time thinking about ourselves. We think about projects, others, world issues and more. But to develop your career you really need to keep asking yourself the big questions.
- What are my personal values and greatest strengths?
- What personalities traits make me unique and stand out?
- Where have I had successes and what do they show about my strengths, personality, and values?
- What do others say about working and dealing with me? Have I really been listening to what others have to say about my performance, strengths and personality?
Our students answer these questions plus complete a variety of activities, worksheets, and online tools to help complete the foundation of there positioning pitch. This is the starting point of their online WhyHire.me profile.
Make no mistake, a huge segment of mobile phone users are jumping all over Foursquare. Its fun, hip and who wouldn’t want to be major of their favorite bar? Say it with me…Norm!
The only challenge with Foursquare and other check-in services and games is they generate chaffe. Chaffe is defined as “Trivial or worthless 
matter.” Other culprits include Farmville, Mob Boss etc…Oh My!
Let me explain. Chaffe is something that clutters your inbox, news or Twitter feed when the update is not relevant at the precise point in time. What do we do? We can set up spam filters, feed filters or simply stop subscribing…begrudgingly.
Now, imagine 100% penetration and uptake of Foursquare by all the mobile users in North America alone. If each of us checked into Starbucks on the way to work, the office, the gym, the local pub, then home….this would generate 1.5 Billion updates per day in North America. Twitter is currently serving 50 Million Tweets per day. They would need to increase their already overloaded capacity by a multiple of 30 just for North America.
Since the average person follows 125 people, this translates into 635 Tweets that are simply chaffe…unless you are mobile and keen for a meet-up at the coffee shop, coming out of the office, the gym or at the pub.
Enter the phrase, context sensitive updates and tweets. Today’s developers should be building out system level preferences that let users accept updates that are in context. For me, this would mean turning on a preference to let trusted applications know I am mobile and keen for a choice meet up. I would also like a custom alert that would literally have my phone poke me, so I don’t miss out. Make no mistake, this would open privacy issues with my mobile provider…but they already know if I am out of my home.
Leave behind a comment and pile on this agenda. If we don’t get context aware applications, the shear volume of inane updates will turn us away.
Many times over, educators ask us how are corporations responding to online personal branding? Why should we consume class time to teach this agenda? How does it help foster career success? This is the first in a multi-part series covering the WHY as it relates to the online personal branding agenda.
Months ago, I spoke to Kirsti Stubbs, a recruiter with Starbucks Canada. You can check out what she has to say about scouting for candidates within the social media spectrum at this link.
This month, I sat down with Eliot Burdett, a partner with Peak Sales Recruiting. Eliot is a Partner and a very active blogger himself. He and his team make extensive use of the Internet to source and learn about prospective candidates they bring to employers. Eliot shares his views on how a candidate can truly differentiate themselves with an online presence. He also offers candid views on common mistakes people make when they interact online and apply for jobs.
Last night, Patti and I dropped into a BobCat concert – our first! We were very keen to check out two hugely talented musicians we had met earlier in their careers. Three years back, both Amanda Rheume and Tara Holloway had just committed to starting their careers as professional musicians.
We were absolutely blown away at the talent we saw last night. Both of these women and the legendary Jeff Logan (lead guitar) simply blew the crowd out of the water. What I found so inspiring was their humility, support for each other and personal commitment to success in what they love doing best – performing!
These three are putting in their time and doing their share of road trips. I have no doubt these musicians will find their place amongst a broader base of audiences. They continue to learn, create and build their respective brands through performing, producing and getting out there amongst us.
Students thinking about their passion core should make sure they follow the path that gives them such passion and unbridled commitment. When you come across someone with such focus and passion, it is not hard to root for them and share their music and stories. Check them out!
A recent study from Edison Research in the US just announced that the level of familiarity of Facebook and Twitter are almost the same at 87% and 86% respectively. The big difference falls in the area of application. Although the majority of those that are familiar with Facebook also know how to use the social network, very few, just 7%, feel that they are actively using Twitter properly.
Given the numbers and the questions we keep being asked by faculty, admin, and students alike, it’s time for another pitch for Twitter.
People’s first reactions include ‘why bother’, ‘I don’t get it’, ‘what’s going on’, and ‘I already using _______’. At the beginning, Twitter is confusing, different, and looks like a big waste of time. But just like exercise, you have to make a commitment to get results.
Twitter can be used;
To learn – The Twitterverse is all about sharing. Once you connect and start to follow people you will start see a constant stream of information from like-minded people and subject matter specialists.
To stay up to date – Twitter is instant information. World events of all sorts will be reported faster on Twitter then any other media.
To promote events – There is a constant stream of events that are being announced, linked to and promoted on Twitter.
To connect with like minds – Connect with people that are talking about the same topics that are of interest to you. You can share information with them, add to conversations, and connect for partnership opportunities.
To communicate – Twitter is a direct communication channel that can be used publicly or privately. The advantage of public chats is that others can chime in and add thoughts, resources, or links that add to the conversation. You can also quickly jump into a private conversation where you can share emails or phone numbers for more detail.
You have to decide what kind of commitment you are going to make to Twitter. It also helps if you start to see the value of it. I have expanded my local network with Twitter, participated in several amazing events, connected and lectured in a class in Nevada, promoted events, have had contacts lecture in my class through video from Toronto, and next week I start sailing, all because of Twitter.
I’m strengthening my Twitter muscle and continue to get results that make the commitment worthwhile. However, it took a commitment upfront to get some momentum and find the value. I strongly suggest you give Twitter some time and attention. It will open up new doors if you take the time to knock on them.
Most recently, Techcrunch highlighted a security hole in Facebook that would enable your chat sessions to be viewed by your friends. Shocker!
For those that believe what you send to friends or post to sections of a web site will stay private…don’t count on it. Fast moving software companies, faulty software components and copying and pasting are surefire causes of your data showing up in the wrong place.
A word of advice?
Assume anything you type, post or share will be viewed by anyone. Counting on Facebook or any software to be 100% secure, is simply a bad idea. Someone could easily copy and paste your post to another blog.
Follow the golden rule – don’t post content that you would NOT say to people on the street, at work or at school. By following this rule, you will be able to sleep at night and NOT miss out on professional or personal opportunities downstream.
As classes finish up for the term, the majority of WhyHire.me users are not graduating this term. Out of the close to 1500 users we have in the system only about 50 are graduating this term.
To the Algonquin College Public Relations and the Business Marketing grads my words of advice would be - ‘Do’. Don’t stop moving forward, touching industry, connecting online and off, sharing your views, updating your profile, and showing initiative. Keep ‘Doing’!
The job market is still a little tough out there so sitting back is not an option. You have to keep sharing your views and making the connections. Actions are required and the learning doesn’t stop when you walk across the stage to get your diploma.
Twitter is an amazing tool that you can use to connect and continue to learn. Your WordPress blog in WhyHire.me is the perfect place to share you perspective on what’s going on in your industry. Document your involvement in events, contract work and in volunteer positions.
There’s a lot you can do to stand out and be noticed. Make the commitment to continue to develop your brand.
The public relations program is piloting WhyHire.me this term. I have been fortunate enough to meet and work with this class of graduating PR professionals. I’d like to introduce you to a few who have chosen to make their WhyHire.me profiles public. Click their names to see their WhyHire.me profiles. There will be more coming soon!
Femi Fasoyinu - Taking a proactive approach to building relationships, Femi makes his teamwork skills an asset to any organization. Femi takes on assignments with enthusiasm to deliver his best work. Being an organized, professional, and energetic communicator, Femi takes on challenges with more than the required effort every time.
Mae McCrae - Mae is a compelling speaker with a passion for positively influencing lives. A former youth leader, she now manages a young marrieds group, drama, and music department for her church. Mae has a flare for giving a project a unique and recognizable stamp. Her way with words and great listening skills will be valuable to any organization.
Ziem Phala – A hardworking and energetic communicator, Ziem has a passion for public relations and fashion. Her drive and creativity have helped her succeed in a team managing musicians and as a self starter . Her background in mass communication and public relations give her a unique outlook on communications and social media and their uses in fashion.
Samantha Dumas – Samantha is a positive, motivating force on every team. She thrives as a collaborative leader and is a confident problem-solver. These qualities allow her to take on big projects such as coordinating urban arts festival, House of Paint. Samantha is both intelligent and intuitive. She has a passion for learning, writing, dancing and singing.
Yael Santo – A love for the written word serves as the driving force behind Yael’s commitment to perfect her writing skills. Her creativity outside the page is found in strategy development, while her commitment to quality work is reflected in her grades. High organizational skills, strong communication skills, and bilingualism make her an asset to any project.
Sarah Shirey – I am a vibrant, forward-looking, and passionate public relations practitioner interested in building a career focused on achieving impressive results for an organization with a bias for action. I have significant, hands-on training in various PR roles, including issues management, event management, project management, and relationship management.
Samantha Hartley – Samantha is an energetic self-starter committed to growth and believes hard work is the path to success. Her thirst for knowledge has transformed her from a small-town girl to a young woman ready to take on the world. A three-year honour student, she’s a natural communicator and believes in maintaining relationships through respect and trust.
Amy Campsall – Amy strives to exceed expectations while creating new opportunities. Her compassion makes her an excellent team player, while her independence and ability to adapt allow her to face challenges with enthusiasm. Amy has experience in event management and social media and is looking to build a career in communications, while continuing to learn.One of our Carleton University students, Desirae Odjick, is a 3rd year Commerce student that was keen on landing a summer job that would 
compliment her career direction. She took an active roll in the WhyHire.me program last fall (2009) and built out a tremendous looking profile as part of her New Tools and Approaches class at Sprott . Desirae also keeps her profile current through the use of Twitter and Social Bookmarks. By doing this, she clearly demonstrates she stays connected to issues tied to her future career goals and professional interests. This is one of the keys to taking an active roll in conveying your brand!
WhyHire.me puts an emphasis on coaching, online marketing and social media tools through the applications of the 4 D’s of Online Personal Branding in a classroom or online learning setting. Thanks to professor Leighann Neilson, the material was conveyed through active and applied discussions, assignments and tasks pulled from the WhyHire.me learning materials. Now that Desirae is an online pro, guess what? Her profile was discovered by an Ottawa based services firm who hired her over email while she was in Sidney Australia for a school term.
How cool is that?
