Week 9- What Color is Your Parachute Chapter 7

Everybody wants to know the best way to get a job. Though many strategies have been discussed in this blog, none has had better results than the Self-Inventory strategy.

The Self-Inventory strategy is described in the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles. In the book, Bolles states that if the Self-Inventory strategy is followed, “[it] works 86% of the time” (111). That is a very high turn out when comparing it to other strategies discussed in earlier chapters.

The knock for this strategy and one of the biggest reasons most job-hunters don’t follow it, is because it has many steps and could be considered “busy” work. However, anybody who wants to succeed in landing a job should follow the strategy to a T because it has shown so much success in the past.

The Self-Inventory strategy is completed in six steps:

1. Mental Preparation- The process of breaking down who you are, at the bare minimum, as a job-hunter. What skills/experiences/assets do you provide a company?
2. One Sheet of Paper- Write every single significant thing you know about yourself on a single sheet of paper. This creates the beginning of your Flower Diagram which I will discuss in my blog next week.
3. A Number of Worksheets- These are your Flower’s “Petals”. These are the sheets you may use to organize your ideas to get to the final single sheet of paper. Make sure they are disposable.
4. Some Kind of Graphic or Picture- Pictures and Diagrams are significant to the learning process of humans. Be sure to have a drawing, picture or diagram on your single sheet of paper to help retain the most information as possible.
5. A Prioritizing Instrument or Grid- Creating a Grid or some way to identify what parts of the job take highest priority. This can be any part of a job from the people you want to work with to the tasks you do not want to have to do. Prioritize to find what you’d be willing to sacrifice for a specific job.
6. Prioritizing the Petals- Simply which part of the job should take priority? What order should they go in? Then from there, find the job that fits most closely to your desires.

Some of the steps are more complex and take longer than others, but all must be completed in the correct order to ensure the 86% success rate.

The Self-Inventory strategy may be a time consuming and redundant effort, but it will pay dividends in the end, so start making that flower and prioritize what you want.

Week 9- Using Hootsuite

Last week, I discussed the social networking application, Hootsuite, which allows the user to be able to post and manage multiple social media pages on one easy to use platform. Now, I will quickly run through how you will connect Hootsuite to your social networking sites and how to make your first post.

The first thing you want to do is go to the Hootsuite dashboard by logging into your Hootsuite account. Once there, you will want to click on the “profile picture” icon in the top right corner which will open a drop down menu (Pictured below). In the drop down menu, select manage social networks.

Once selected, Hootsuite will take you to the member page where it will show you the details of your membership and a section that allows you to add a private social network (as pictured below. Your page will not look exactly the same as mine already has my existing networks showing, but once you add social networks they will show in the same way).

To add a private social network, click on the tab that has a green “+” sign and private network. This will take you to a menu screen (pictured below) that will show you all of the social network options you may choose including: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others. SImply click on the one you’d like to add, put in your profile credentials and accept Hootsuite’s terms and agreements for each page and you will be connected!

The next step is to make a post. Once you are returned to the member page you will want to click on the “Send To” bar above your main credentials and select the networks you would like to post your message to (shown below).

Once the networks are selected, you can make your post. Type the message you want to post to your selected social networks by typing it into the “Compose Message” bar to the right of the “Send To” bar. For this test, I am simply going to put “Testing Hootsuite” (as shown below).

By clicking the “Send Now” button, your post will be published to the social networks that you have selected. You can see my posts below:

Twitter:

Facebook:

LinkedIn:

Now you will be able to successfully use Hootsuite to make a social media post on multiple social networking sites. Good luck and happy networking!

Week 8- What Color is Your Parachute Chapter 6

The grind of a job hunt can be a very difficult one. With many of the attempts not going the way that one would hope, it would seem like giving up may be the better option. But giving up should never be an option, when the search gets tough you must keep pushing to get the job that you need and want.

In the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, the author discusses the difficulty of getting a job and how easy it may feel to give up on the job hunt. As Bolles describes the three most important rules for job-hunters, “1. Never Give Up 2. Never give up 3. Never give up” (99). Once you rebuild your confidence and keep driving toward a job, success will come.

Bolles continues the chapter by discussing how successful different job hunting strategies are for people looking for a job. Most of these ideas are not as successful such as looking for employers’ job postings on the Internet, posting or mailing out your resume and answering local newspaper ads which have a success rate between 4% and 30%. Though those are not as successful for job-hunters other strategies discussed such as job clubs, using the Yellow Pages to contact companies and knocking on the door of a company have had success rates 47% and 84%.

The job hunting process may seem hopeless at times and it may seem like you may never get the job you want, but this is only the time you need to push harder. Change your approach to job hunting: use the Yellow Pages, approach companies looking to apply for jobs, use as many resources as possible including friends and family. Never give up, keep pushing and success will find you.  

Week 8- Hootsuite

With the rising use of social media by companies, it has become more important for these companies not only to have many different social media pages on different sites, but also to keep them uniform to the company’s central idea. The website Hootsuite allows company’s to do just that.

Hootsuite allows a profile user to connect and control multiple social media pages from different social media websites and put it in one platform. This allows the user to be able to make the same post across all their social media pages at the same time and allows them to manage how their company is doing on social media and how the consumers are reacting to the social media posts. This makes it much easier for the company then to have to go through each one of the different websites and making separate posts.

Hootsuite allows both free and paid options which is nice if a company does not have the budget for monthly payments. Hootsuite also allows you to schedule posts at certain times so if there is a sale or a special post a company wants to make for a certain time, Hootsuite can help them with that. Social media may be one of the most significant parts of business in the modern world and Hootsuite is making the task of social media management easier for everyone.

Week 7- What Color is Your Parachute Chapter 5

Salary negotiation is something that should happen during every interview process and most times should occur after the job has been offered and the job-hunter is willing to accept it. Should is the key word here because, in most cases, job-hunters skip over or ignore this part entirely. This will not make for a successful finish to obtaining a job, at least not as successful as it could be.

In the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, Bolles describes the significance of salary negotiation and also the typical reaction most job-hunters have towards it, “Negotiation. There’s no word that strikes terror into the hearts of most job-hunters or career-changers. Why do we have to negotiate?” Salary negotiation can be a daunting task for anyone, in most cases the job-hunter is just ecstatic to be getting a job, but it is a crucial part to having the most successful job hunting experience.

The most significant part of salary negotiation is to know what number you are looking for with the job as well as understanding what salary the employer is looking to give you. This can be done through some simple research of the field and of the company. Understanding how much the average employee makes in a similar position in a different company can give you a good start of your salary “range”. Also, looking into other employees in the company with similar duties in the company can make your range more accurate for yourself and the employer.

The key of a successful salary negotiation is to understand both what they are looking for and what you are looking for. Another idea is to go into a negotiation not with a salary in mind, but a salary range. This range will allow you to get at least what you’re looking for while also being able to get more.

Just remember at the end of the day if they offered you the job they do want you. If they want to discuss salary then it is up to you to be prepared for that and be able to give them an accurate response, but there is no need to give a solid number. If you have done your research and have a salary range set in your mind, you will be able to find the most success. Just don’t be afraid of the word “negotiation”, it is not as scary as you think.

Week 7- Facebook Insights

Facebook can be seen as one of the most popular social media websites that the Internet can provide. With its high level of popularity and recognition, it is no wonder that more and more companies are creating Facebook pages to further engage their customers. Facebook is very helpful with the layout of their Facebook pages and even provide statistics for the page creators with a thing called Facebook Insights.

Facebook Insights allow the creator of a Facebook page to see the kind of traffic their page is receiving, this includes statistics of views, page likes, reach and page followers. Below is an example of the a Facebook Insights page for a page called JobLife:

The Insights page is very user friendly as evidenced by its simple page design and clear labels for the page. It also allows the page creator to see how their page is doing over time in certain areas which allows them to better strategize their online communications. JobLife seems to be having a successful month currently with a boost in both page views and page likes, but may need to increase their reach.

Another helpful tool that Facebook Insights can provide is breaking down the people who view the page into many different categories like age, gender, location or even language. This allows the creator of the page to see how they should organize their posts, who they should target and the best way to do so. Below is how JobLife’s fans are broken down:

The JobLife fans seem to break down in a rather simple way with most of the viewers being between ages 18-34. It also appears that there are a few more women who look at the page than men and most of the views come from South Africa. These statistics could provide the creator a simpler way to connect to their fanbase.

Facebook pages are becoming more crucial to a company’s social media success in recent years. Luckily for new or inexperienced users, Facebook has provided a simple and user-friendly way to understand how to get the most out of their page with Facebook Insights. Once one gets an understanding of Facebook Insights, they will be able to see their page (and in turn their company) gain a bigger following.

Week 6- What Color is Your Parachute Chapter 4

Every job hunter knows how important an interview is to their ability to getting a job. For many, this is the most intimidating part of the job-hunting process and many will stress, prepare and rehearse for the interview with the understanding that this process is the most significant part of them landing a job. Of course the interview carries the most weight when it comes to landing a job, but how a person reacts after the interview is just as significant.

In the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, he talks about the significance of a thank you letter is to employers.

“Every expert on interviewing will tell you two things,” Bolles says, “1. Thank-you notes must be sent after every interview, by every job-hunter and 2. Most job-hunters ignore this advice”

The significance of thank you notes cannot be stressed enough. Although many people are told to take this advice, many do not so this can be the difference between you standing out or just being another face in the crowd. Another positive is that it can sum up the interview and remind those who you interviewed with of what you have to offer.

Besides the fact that the thank you note reminds them of who you are, the interview can also help you reflect that you work well with people and gives you a chance to correct any wrong impressions you made during the interview.

At the end of the day if the interview did not go well or if your interest in the company has waned, the thank you note allows you to wrap up the job hunt with this company. This allows you to still seem presentable without the awkwardness of leaving an interview feeling unfinished.

The significance of the job hunt does not all lie in the interview. Be prepared for the interview and do not let it stress you too much. Just remember to always send that thank you note when you have finished your interview.

Week 6- Social Monitoring

With the rise of social media, businesses have never had a more direct access to the views of the people. When making social media posts about businesses or people, there are ways for those companies to be able to see what people are saying about them. This process is called Social Monitoring, which is defined by Brandwatch.com as “the act of using a tool to listen to what is being said across the internet; monitoring media not just from traditional publishers, but on millions of social sites too.”

Social monitoring has helped give businesses an advantage on not only knowing what people are saying about their company, but also how they can use this information to adjust their business to best fit the consumer’s wants or needs.With this, a company can know when it is best for them to do certain ad campaigns, adjust their customer service or what times of year the consumers are talking about their company for advertising.

There are many different Social Monitoring websites that companies can use, but I will only discuss the free sites that I used during class, Google Trends and Social Mention. I will use a company that I previously worked for, The Kane County Cougars baseball team, to give you an example of how these sights work.

With Google Trends, it monitors the amount of Google searches are done about the certain topic or company you want to see and puts the “trending” on a 0-100 point scale with 100 being the most times the term has been searched. Looking at the Kane County Cougars trend over the past year, it becomes clear that in the heart of their season, about mid-July, the term has its highest search total. Its lowest search total comes in the middle of their offseason, about mid-November. These trends make sense as the term follows the team’s season, so it may be good for the company to put their best ad campaigns during the turn from low to high searches (beginning of April).

As for Social Mention, it does not monitor all of the most well known social media sites but it does have Twitter, Reddit and Wordpress among others. For the Kane County Cougars, the posts are not very recent, but that is not surprising with their season ending about a month ago. What the website does help you see is the actual post people are making regarding the company which is a helpful tool for a business. It also allows you to see the reaction that people have toward your business by ranking the posts positively, negatively or neutral which is another helpful way to hear what people are saying.

So if you are working for a company and they would like to know how the company is doing on social media, these websites will help you to find what the customers are saying. Social monitoring is definitely an important skill that you should utilize for the future.