Tell the group about yourself here. What do you hope to learn?

Public

Discussion:

Mary,

Welcome! You'll definitely become aware of many different websites and tools but I challenge you not to think of social media as a means to search for jobs in the traditional ways one might think. If networking is the number one way people discover career opportunities, think of social networking as a means to enhance traditional networking. We have access to people we never had access to before and tools that allow us to engage with experts. The question is how do we leverage this access and the relationships/partnerships we are capable of developing if we just invest the time? Pay particular attention to the concept of the PLN and how it relates to professional development and provides us with an ability we never had - to engineer our Personal Learning Networks (PLN).

You said you hope to become more engaged in internet employment searches but rather than searching for employment, social media allows us to search for the people we should be connecting with and this is a very different concept than "employment search." By connecting with the right people, we can enhance our learning (career-readiness), strategically build our networks, and optimize our ability to enter an industry/career field/sector through purposeful networking. This is definitely different than "Employment Search" in the traditional understanding of the phrase and something you will likely find challenging to teach students. Teaching students about how to purposefully use social media is an important part of any Career Center's social media strategy since they must learn as well!

There are certainly ways to establish online communities and manage the content you publish. First just be aware that when you use social media, you are a publisher so one must always be aware of what they share and why they are sharing it. A social media strategy requires a content strategy. For instance, if you decide you would like to build an online community for the purpose of enhancing service to students by having the online community help each other (Which essentially extends your career service department by having students help students), how will what you post encourage the very goal you have established? How can you architect a community through content publishing that fits your stated purpose? One might decide to share tutorials or advice articles and ask the community to share their advice or to post their tips & Tricks strategically designing a community focused on helping one another. This is merely one example of a content strategy. This is the way one needs to think when they build their social media strategies. Check the forum of Case Study Examples at the end of the course for real-world examples of Career Services Department using Social media! Keep asking those questions and let's continue the great dialogue! If there's something you come across where you need further explanation or would like to discuss further, please don't hesitate to ask. I look forward to our continued dialogue!

Robert Starks Jr.

Mary, Welcome! You'll definitely become aware of many different websites and tools but I challenge you not to think of social media as a means to search for jobs in the traditional ways one might think. If networking is the number one way people discover career opportunities, think of social networking as a means to enhance traditional networking. We have access to people we never had access to before and tools that allow us to engage with experts. The question is how do we leverage this access and the relationships/partnerships we are capable of developing if we just invest the time? Pay particular attention to the concept of the PLN and how it relates to professional development and provides us with an ability we never had - to engineer our Personal Learning Networks (PLN). You said you hope to become more engaged in internet employment searches but rather than searching for employment, social media allows us to search for the people we should be connecting with and this is a very different concept than "employment search." By connecting with the right people, we can enhance our learning (career-readiness), strategically build our networks, and optimize our ability to enter an industry/career field/sector through purposeful networking. This is definitely different than "Employment Search" in the traditional understanding of the phrase and something you will likely find challenging to teach students. Teaching students about how to purposefully use social media is an important part of any Career Center's social media strategy since they must learn as well! There are certainly ways to establish online communities and manage the content you publish. First just be aware that when you use social media, you are a publisher so one must always be aware of what they share and why they are sharing it. A social media strategy requires a content strategy. For instance, if you decide you would like to build an online community for the purpose of enhancing service to students by having the online community help each other (Which essentially extends your career service department by having students help students), how will what you post encourage the very goal you have established? How can you architect a community through content publishing that fits your stated purpose? One might decide to share tutorials or advice articles and ask the community to share their advice or to post their tips & Tricks strategically designing a community focused on helping one another. This is merely one example of a content strategy. This is the way one needs to think when they build their social media strategies. Check the forum of Case Study Examples at the end of the course for real-world examples of Career Services Department using Social media! Keep asking those questions and let's continue the great dialogue! If there's something you come across where you need further explanation or would like to discuss further, please don't hesitate to ask. I look forward to our continued dialogue! Robert Starks Jr.