Even though there’s one keystroke separating the “H” and the “F”, trust me, this is not a typo! In today’s post, we’ll discuss how to strategically use the blogging and the networking power of social media to guarantee your spot on the hiring manager’s radar, cause let’s face it, if you’re counting solely on your CV, your chances are very slim! A key thing to remember about personal branding is that it’s not about begging, bugging, or buying attention; it’s about earning it!
For the sake of clarity, I will use a hypothetical example:
You’re a Management Consulting graduate that’s passionate about the digital business revolution and your aim is to work for one of the top-consulting firms that cater to that industry.
Step 1 – Ready
Ready your digital presence to showcase your passion. Start off by setting up your profile on the major social media channels. All the channels should be used to direct traffic to your blog, where you get to share your thoughts and point of view pertaining to your passion.
Remember, blogging is about sharing your own experience, observations, and opinions … so don’t concern yourself with excuses like “I don’t have sufficient expertise in management consulting or digital business”. You’re not claiming to be the expert; you’re just sharing an opinion, and educated opinion. Just make sure you support it with logic, references, and facts.
Step 2 – Aim
After setting up your arsenal, it’s time to focus your effort to land you dream job. Here are the steps to follow based on our hypothetical example:
1- Search for top-tier consulting companies that are interested in digital business. Capgemini Consulting has a dedicated blog entitled Digital Transformation Conversations. Logging on to that blog, I have found several posts of interest.
2- Leave a smart comment on some of these posts. Make sure your comments reflect your thought process, which could be in agreement or disagreement! Remember it’s your opinion supported by a proper argument.
3- Share the post on your social networks: LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ …
4- Sometimes your comments might lead you to write your own post reflecting your own opinion on the subject matter. If you do so, make sure to leave a link to that post in the comment and invite the author to review it. Make sure you’re not spamming – your comment should summarize your post and invite further discussion.
5- Connect with the author – look up the author’s name on LinkedIn or Twitter and express you interest in connecting with them. This is how you start building your professional network.
6- Repeat steps 1 through 5
Step 3 – Hire
You have earned the attention your brand deserves and now you’re ready to take the shot! Use the network you built as referrals during your application for the job. There’s somebody in that company that knows what you’re capable of and can vouch for that.
… and like I always say “You Shy, You Die!”
This article was first posted in YOUnique newsletter as part of my monthly column dedicated to help graduates stand out from the crowd and take control of their career legacy.
Hello John,
I really like the post but I guess sometimes fresh graduates face the problem of not knowing exactly what they are passionate about, I mean you can be passionate about Technology, Digital Marketing, Social Media, Start-ups… etc but that’s too wide and broad for a passion.
How do you address this problem of identifying your passion ? and what would you say on narrowing and focusing the attention of fresh graduates so we are not scattered all over the place with many interests in many areas.
Thank you.
Great follow-up question David … You’re absolutely right, unearthing your passion is not as easy as it sounds, however, there a couple of questions that can help you zoom into what you love doing:
– What fascinates you?
– What excites you?
– What gives you a rush?
– What are you willing to do for money as much as you’re willing to do for free?
– What could you go on talking about for hours?
– What would make you get out of bed at 6:00 am?
– What would keep you up all night?
In my case, answering these questions always leads to one answer and that is “empowering other”! It gives me this unequivocal personal satisfaction. Seek that out! It’s beyond an industry, it’s beyond a job, it’s beyond a company … it’s what makes you, YOU!
Let me challenge it a bit more 🙂
how practical can this passion turn to be a Job or a business ?
That’s the whole point David … cashing in on your passion! This is exactly what I’ve done with mine and exactly what I help people unravel in my one-on-one coaching sessions!