Using Social Media in Your Job Search

Here are some tips I provided for an article published by the LA Weekly on how to incorporate social media into a job search.

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First-off Daniel, please identify yourself to our readers: your name and position at San Jose State:

 Daniel Newell is the Job Development and Marketing Specialist for San Jose State University, Career Center. Mr. Newell develops job opportunities for all seven colleges that make up SJSU and coordinates the business-to-business social media marketing communications to its 11k+ employers.

So, let’s start with your overview of the place of social networking media in job hunting.  Is it useful in this context and, if so, why?

Social media networking can heighten anyone’s job search and can serve as a bridge to the hidden job market. A serious job seeker should be active and engaged with several social media channels such as networks (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Meetup, etc.)  groups, listserves (Yahoo!, Google, etc.) , forums, and so forth. A job seeker is not expected to be active on all channels, but should incorporate a few of these outlets into their job search to help increase their presence and to access job opportunities that may not necessarily be advertised. It is very common for recruiters, HR managers, employment specialists, and job developers to promote available jobs to various online networks in an attempt to identify qualified candidates instead of posting a job and making it available to the general public.

Does the value of social networking media in this context vary widely from candidate-to-candidate and from profession-to-profession?  If so, what factors impact this disparity?

No matter the occupation, incorporation of social media into the job search will increase the job seeker’s chance of being made aware of job opportunities as well as increase the probability of being referred by someone you know on/off-line.

Let’s take the service industry for example; a cashier position at a local café may not be highly marketed via social media and due to high foot-traffic, the café may already receive an abundance of applicants. Typically someone may not view social media as helpful in helping them get their foot in the door. However, a job seeker who “follows” their favorite cafes on Twitter or “Likes” them on Facebook will then be privy to tweets and FB status updates that the café may post announcing that they are “now hiring.” Moreover, a “follower” or “Fan” of a business who actively engages with the business’s social media channels by re-tweeting, responding to posts, tagging the company in comments, etc. will make themselves more visible to the company and overtime, may develop contacts who can help them obtain employment.

Now let’s look at a professional position within a major corporation. The value of utilizing social media is the same and can be just as important as the cashier of the local café. A job seeker searching for a professional career position must position themselves wisely in social media and be just as active. This type of job seeker wants to join several LinkedIn groups and engage in various relevant listserves via Yahoo! and Google. Joining LinkedIn groups that are populated by recruiters can help a job seeker in being made aware of job opportunities. Follow the company’s recruiting department on Twitter, join related groups, and participate in online discussions.

For the job-hunter, which social networking websites are the most valuable, and why?

Identifying the most valuable social networking sites is tough because every job posting is different and some sites may be more appropriate than others; at the same time, postings and social media marketing is done by people, and recruiters and hiring managers may have personal preferences of one social media channel versus another not because one is necessarily better, but because they are more active and familiar with a particular site.

If I was to narrow them down, my opinion is that the most effective job search will utilize the following five social media channels in addition to job boards and hiring events: LinkedIn, Yahoo!/Google Groups (listsevres), Twitter, Facebook, and Meetup.com because these channels will help make a job seeker aware of available jobs, engage with hiring representatives, and increase their presence and knowledge of hiring practices within their selected fields.

Are there any statistics supporting the value of social networking sites (either overall and/or individually) to job seekers?

The next generation workforce is Generation Y. This generation is a generation of immediacy, they were raised using the internet, they made friends and stayed connected with family over social networking sites, and they listen to their favorite song or watch their favorite music video at-will. Many employers understand this and are quickly harnessing the power of online social networking to find the right job candidate. A survey released in 2011 by Universum, an employer branding company, compiled the responses from over 70,000 students from 200+ colleges from throughout the United States. The survey showed that employers who use various channels for recruiting, such as social media, are more likely to induce job seekers to engage with and apply for employment with their companies. This generation prefers and requires several channels to employment and appreciates or values the opportunity of access. They are used to having access to most things online; the job search is no different.

And please give our job-seeking readers some pointers on how the major sites – including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest – can be best used in this regard.

LinkedIn: Keep your profile current, join and participate in groups and follow employers of interest. Post professional status updates and begin and respond to conversations within groups. This helps establish your credibility and it keeps you in the attention of your current and potential connections – remember, “out of sight out of mind” holds true to employers and recruiters too.

Twitter: A job seeker should follow their favorite employers to be made aware of job openings and should also search for and follow actual recruiters themselves. Recruiters often Tweet from their personal accounts about job opportunities they are trying to fill. Do a LinkedIn search for recruiters within the companies and industries of interest and see if they have a link on their profiles to their Twitter accounts, if so, follow them.

Facebook: Job seekers should become fans of their favorite employers to keep up with possible job openings, industry trends, and news. A job seeker can develop a presence by responding to comments and engaging the company in a dialogue.

Yahoo!/Google Groups (Listserves): Join recruitment/job lead groups. These are lists that some recruiters and employment professionals such as job develops join to share developed and created jobs with other employment professionals and job seekers. Many of these groups consist of an active job seeker base who share leads among themselves. Participate, if you learn of a job lead that is not of interest to you, share it with the group, someone will appreciate the lead; a job that is not right for you, may prove to be the perfect job for someone else – this is how I learned of the job I have today.

Meetup: Meetup is a great way to identify various groups of interest. Join groups related to your industry of choice. Consider recruiter and various professional networking groups. Meetup should be used to access live events. Through this channel, you should comment on events, engage in conversations and attend meet-ups. Do NOT attend the meet-up with the intent to ask for a job (don’t even bring a resume) – attend the event with the objective of getting to know people to make contacts. Over time, you will develop a professional network and learn of job leads.

And I’m assuming that social media sites should be just some of the many tools used by a job-hunter, rather than the sole focus of their search - correct?  How should the use of social media networking intersect with more “traditional” approaches like “actual” networking, online job boards, and “conventional” applications etc.?

Social media job searching compliments traditional job searching. A job seeker should still attend job fairs, look through classifieds, attend mixers, and connect with friends and family to let them know that you are in the job market. To save time, utilize job search engines in addition to job board. Job search engines search countless job boards for open positions. I recommend Simply Hired (www.simplyhired.com) and Indeed (www.indeed.com). For part-time and hourly work, I’ve had the greatest success with Snag A Job (www.snagajob.com). If you’re a college student or alumni, check to see if the college Career Center has a job board. SJSU uses SpartaJobs to help connect students and alumni to employers.

Finally, if someone reading my article is now convinced that social media networking could be invaluable to their job search, what are the crucial “dos” and “don’ts” of using social media sites to this end?  How could use of social media make or break your job search?

Dos:

-          Be professional

-          Engage in conversations

-          Post relevant information, resources, and events to forums and groups

-          Utilize multiple channels/networks

-          Maintain profiles

-          Experts/seasoned professionals should consider hosting a blog and posting topics from time to time related to their area of expertise – attach these blogs to your LinkedIn. Doing this will help establish your credibility.

Don’ts:

-          Don’t be too personal unless you know the individuals you’re connecting with for correspondence

-          Don’t over post – if you over post through some channels, you may come off as a pest. However, some channels are compatible and appropriate for several posts, such as Twitter.

-          Learn the culture of the sites you are utilizing. This is very important. The way you conduct yourself on Facebook is not the same way you conduct yourself on LinkedIn. Familiarize yourself with these channels and the culture.

-          Don’t forget if you “connect” channels/profiles to one another. For example, I knew a job seeker who forgot that she had connected her personal Twitter account to her LinkedIn profile. She was wondering why no one was contacting her for nursing jobs despite her professional LinkedIn profile. I mentioned to her that it may be because her LinkedIn profile has multiple status updates from her Twitter account commenting on a girl’s thong in the club.

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Last Minute Tips for Completing an Online Seasonal Job Application

With the holiday season approaching around the corner, you may be looking for a job to make some extra cash. Seasonal employment is always a great way to make a few extra bucks so that you can buy holiday gifts for those who are special to you or perhaps you just need some extra cash because of all the social events that occur around that time. Either way, being prepared to apply for a job is a must.  If you have applied for a seasonal job recently, you may have noticed that a lot of businesses will require you to complete a job application online. Online applications can be challenging and knowing how to answer the questions they ask is critical. Here are some basic tips to know before you complete your next online application.

1) Have all your personal information handy

2) Do not take too long when answering questions, sometimes you're being timed

3) Use a common browser such as Internet Explorer or FireFox 

4) Try to complete your application in one siting 

5) When answering multiple choice questions that ask you to rate your level of agreement, try to side with the "Strongly Agree or Strongly Disagree" choices instead of agree or disagree when possible

Keeping these tips in mind will help you in completing online job applications. Keep applying and may you have a great holiday season! 

Silicon Valley's Entry-level Skilled Workers Are In Demand

By Daniel Newell

Through my efforts, the San Jose State University Career Center released its annual job development report last month and made it public for the first time. The report analyzes job availability and job development efforts as it pertain to current and recent college students.

In regard to full-time career positions, the SJSU Career Center’s job database, SpartaJobs identified the College of Business as having the greatest share of job opportunities with 27.72% of the pie, the College of Engineering came in second with 22.46%, followed by the College of Science at 12.04%.

When analyzing part-time, internship, seasonal, and temporary opportunities, roles which are often used for on-boarding to full-time career positions, the break down was different. The College of Business still leads in being the college in greatest demand by employers by having the most job opportunities with 19.80%, in second, three colleges came very close with less than ½ a percent difference from each other, the College of Social Science at 15.98%, the College of Applied Science and Arts 15.61%, and the College of Engineering 15.26%.

The SJSU Career Center has experienced increases in almost all areas of employer connection and recruitment events. Job postings and attendance at job fairs have increased significantly. The SJSU Career Center reports that approximately 13,000 part-time, internship, seasonal, or temporary opportunities were developed with an estimated available income of approximately $140,000,000.00.

In closing, the outlook for job opportunities as it pertains to entry-level skilled workers looks bright. There are several job opportunities made available to current and recent college students. Silicon Valley’s job growth seems to be on the incline. If this momentum keeps up, we will see many of these positions become permanent full-time career positions that can result in a more stable and healthier local economy.

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SJSU's Career Center Releases Local Employment Stats

This is a copy of an article I wrote for the Official SJSU blog at http://blogs.sjsu.edu/today/

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San Jose State University's Career Center Releases Local Employment Stats

San Jose State University’s Career Center would like to report its most recent employment figures as they pertain to the local job market. The future employment outlook is bright and promising for all levels of job seekers and it continues to show signs of improvement for college hiring.

72 employers attended Spring '11 Job Fair (April) - 38% increase over Spring '10
100 employers attended EXPO '11 Job Fair (March) - 23% above EXPO '10
SJSU’s student job board, SpartaJobs postings for Q3 at - 59% above this time last year
Year-to-date SpartaJobs postings at - 13% above entire 09/10 academic year
Part-time positions for Q3 increased up 6% over Q3 ;10

Summer/Seasonal for Q3 increased up 33% over Q3 '10

Full-time positions for Q3 increased over 80% over Q3 '10
Internship postings up 55% for same period

PT, FT, internship, and seasonal employment opportunities are all up from this time last year.

Businesses interested in recruiting SJSU students and alumni and being a part of SJSU’s statistical analysis as it pertains to the local job market must use SJSU’s free job posting service SpartaJobs at https://sjsu-csm.symplicity.com/employers to promote opportunities. SJSU also collects salary information that can be used to assist businesses in identifying salary trends.

To be added to SJSU Career Center’s email list of statistical information, please email the Job Development and Marketing Specialist, Daniel Newell atdaniel.newell@sjsu.edu

5 Tips to Obtaining PT and Seasonal Employment

This is the blog article I wrote for SJSU. The original article can be found: HERE

 Summer is right around the corner and you may be asking yourself what you can do to prepare for the summer job market. Seasonal employment is a great way to obtain your first job and it provides an opportunity to learn new skills. The Service industry (retail, restaurants, cafes, amusement parks, etc) often recruits in large numbers for seasonal help and can serve as an excellent career ladder.

Follow these FIVE tips for best results to obtaining part time and seasonal employment:

1) Open your availability

· A major requirement for seasonal employment is open or flexible availability

· You MUST be available when the employer needs you

In the service industry, this means weekends, holidays, and evenings

2)  Apply Early!

If you are applying for jobs in the service industry, for best results, apply the last week of April and first two weeks of May for summer employment and apply the last two weeks of October and beginning of November for holiday/winter employment.

3)  Be prepared to complete an online/electronic application

· Have all of your personal information handy

· Try and complete your application in one sitting

· Use common browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox

Online applications/assessments are typically timed; try not to take longer than 60—90 minutes

4) Your resume should list a summary of skills, experiences and qualifications that are practical to the employer, such as:

· “Available weekends/holidays”

· “Open availability/flexible schedule”

· “Three months experience working with the general public”

· “Six months experience of working in a fast-paced environment”

5) Your appearance matters.

· You should appear to look clean and well groomed

· The environment in which you choose to work will determine how you should dress

· In some cases, dressing in professional attire is appropriate while in others, it may be too dressy

· Look at current employees, your attire should be a notch up from theirs during the hiring process

Try to obtain a position that relates to your long-term career goals if possible, make the position your own and align it with personal interests. Networking is always a great idea to expand your number of contacts; another option is to create your own position, such as babysitting, dog walking, or helping out at a small business. Follow these five short rules for best results to obtaining your PT or seasonal job! Have fun, learn, and be confident, good luck!

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Job Growth/Loss by Major Sector -- Past 12 months

The above industry chart shows how major industries have been impacted since March of 2010. It is clear that the sector hit the greatest is government, with 356,000 jobs having been lost in a 12 month period. The government sector was harder hit than even construction, financial activities and information combined. The March 2010 figures are approximately one year after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) or “stimulus package” was signed into law. If we remember correctly, it took some time for the funding to be released and to catch speed. ARRA was applied to infrastructure projects such as roads/transportation, education, healthcare, loans, grants, and workforce development programs. ARRA also provided 288 billion dollars worth of tax incentives to both businesses and working families.

It is clear that job growth is on the rise, with the decreased national unemployment rate and the newly decreased CA unemployment rate, the economy looks to be slowly coming back on track. According tot he Department of Labor, the sectors with the highest growth in the past twelve months are professional and business services, health and educational services, and manufacturing. It is clear that the private sector is experiencing the bulk of the job growth, not the public sector.

The outlook for employment looks promising, Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis is expected to provide a more detailed analysis of this report, no release date of such an analysis was provided. 

Daniel Newell

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California Unemployment Figures - March 2011

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after 12 months of a 12.4% or greater unemployment rate, for the first time in one year, CA has experienced a decline of .2%. The new unemployment rate in CA is 12.2%. This figure is high, but a decline after 12 solid months of being at or above 12.4% is a sign of relief.  

The only state with a higher unemployment rate than CA is Nevada, at 13.6%, the lowest is North Dakota at 3.7%, followed by Nebraska at 4.3%. 

The national unemployment rate is 8.9%.

- Daniel Newell

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Industry Forecast: at-a-glance - Health/Fitness

On March 17^th, 2011, I visited the International Health, Racquet and Sports club Association (IHRSA) convention; a network of business and professionals in the health industry. The conference was hosted in San Francisco, CA at the Mascone Convention center. I attended to conduct labor analysis to gain a better understanding of the labor market in this industry to identify possible sectors of growth and decline. I spoke with approximately 30 businesses in health/fitness software, equipment and facilities. From this sample, I collected a general summary of trends, forecasts and opinions of business owners and representatives.

There seemed to be a general consensus that within the past two years, this industry has experienced a slow-down in employment. The recession has affected employment of high level positions. Although the market within this industry has been fairly slow-growing, the majority of the professionals stated that the outlook of this industry appears to be promising with an immediate growth in marketing, sales, and management. The industry is currently in the beginning phases of growth. Like any industry, when this begins, marketing, business and sales professionals are necessary to promote and manage service and product availability in an attempt to increase general revenues.

Many of the businesses had stated that they have begun to incorporate software and digital technology into their services and equipment. Due to the ongoing technology crave, many businesses are now incorporating software technology into their products, such as body fat estimators, heart rate measurement systems, and even music entertainment products to enjoy while exercising. The general consensus was that software engineers are now being recruited to the health/fitness industry to develop the next cutting edge software advancements that can work in collaboration with exercise equipment designed by mechanical engineers. These software advancements incorporate music, videos, health information/measurements, and sports club management systems. The majority of representatives predicted a growth in hiring of both mechanical and software engineers within one to two years.

I attended a marketing training at the event which included approximately 150 businesses and fitness professionals. The emphasis was on social media marketing which in my opinion, was encouraged over more traditional forms of marketing, such as flyers, magazine/newspaper ads and so forth. The panel of businesses leaders provided information and resources in marketing and branding, again, another sign that marketing professionals are on the rise.

From the businesses I surveyed, the majority of their products were in large part designed and manufactured in the U.S. which may hint that fitness and exercise companies in the U.S tend to stay fairly local.

One business in particular stated significant growth in employment. This business was an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant company. Apparently recent ADA revisions have had an impact on this sector due to accessibility requirements, specifically pools, to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

Overall, the businesses surveyed except for one, have not experienced layoffs but have experienced a slowdown and are now beginning to taper off and are hiring again. One business provided a five year forecast that expressed a possible employment growth of up to 30% within the industry as a whole.

In my opinion, to summarize my experience, I would suggest that marketing, business, sales, and physical therapist professionals will be on the rise in this industry immediately with a possible growth in software and mechanical engineers in the next one to two years. Ultimately the industry seemed vibrant and optimistic.

On a side note, Zumba seemed to be an exciting and engaging subsector which includes fashion designers who create the unique and animated attire for this exercise routine.

- Daniel Newell

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How to Research a Hiring Manager Before an Interview - On Careers (usnews.com)

How to Research a Hiring Manager Before an Interview - On Careers (usnews.com)


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Weak Summer Job Market Means Teens Should Look Early - US News and World Report

 

Weak Summer Job Market Means Teens Should Look Early - US News and World Report


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Daniel Newell's Bio

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Daniel Newell’s and do not represent the opinions of  any agency, institution, or other person.

Daniel Newell is the Job Development and Marketing Specialist for San Jose State University where he assists employers in meeting their recruitment needs; he does this through marketing and branding opportunities. Daniel is responsible for developing job opportunities for students in all seven colleges that make up SJSU, these colleges are: Applied Science & Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities & the Arts, Science, and Social Science. Daniel develops and maintains employer relationships and markets SJSU Career Center services to businesses.

Daniel has over eleven years’ experience in the employment industry. He has served in management and HR roles where he designed recruitment strategies and coordinated employment outreach/marketing plans. He was a job developer and employment specialist for TransAccess for seven years; he provided career counseling and job placement services to job seekers. Daniel is experienced in working with all populations, including individuals with disabilities and youth.

In 2004, Daniel was voted to board member to the Bay Area Coalition for Employment Development (BACED), where he served as co-chair for over four years. Under his leadership, he expanded the network of the coalition by over 50 miles and increased its membership by 600%. The coalition consists of employment professionals in job development, career counseling, job coaching, and vocational rehabilitation; its network encompasses the areas of San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and Marin.

Daniel is the founder of the Workforce Development Summit (WDS), formerly referred to as the UinI conference, an annual summit committed to sharing best practices to get people to work. The conference promotes workforce development strategies, information on employment trends, industry panels, and resources for services providers and job seekers.

In December, 2008, Daniel was appointed by City of San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and the city council to commissioner. In this role, he provided expertise and resources to the city and advocated for the community in regard to disability issues, with an emphasis in employment. In July, 2010, Daniel was nominated and elected to chair of the commission where he oversees numerous information gathering committees composed of district representative commissioners whose work is aimed to influence areas such as employment, outreach, events/special projects, housing, city council relations, boards/commissions relations, therapeutic services, and emergency preparedness.

Daniel has provided presentations on job development, marketing,  employment and transition at numerous conferences for institutions such as: the California Career Resource Network (CalCRN), WorkAbility I (WAI), Job Accommodation Network (JAN), UCSF, SJSU, EmploymentAccess (Microsoft), Gavilan College, East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD), Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD), Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD), San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD), the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), JobCorps, San Jose, Gilroy, and Sunnyvale Workforce Investment Boards (WIB), and more.



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