Social Media Use

Public

Discussion:

Thomas,

Thank you for the thorough description of how you currently use social media. You say you let graduates know the different ways to "stay connected." To some, "staying connected" means "being in the loop" and receiving outbound messages whereas, to others, it means building a sense of community through shared affinity. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "staying connected" and why it is important for your department and the school? Although it may seem obvious, I think it is helpful/important to articulate how you define "connection" and why this is an important strategy because it provides insight on the motives that prompted your use of social media and what your short and long-term goals are using social media as a tool.

Twitter is a tool that can be used in multiple ways that could be beneficial. I believe the very best career advisors are capable of educating their clients (students) on how to leverage multiple tools to maximize their career development and to achieve their career goals. That being said, there are endless tools yet there is limited time you have with students. Thus, you must prioritize what you teach them (resume-writing, cover letters, interviewing, job search strategies, and yes....perhaps Twitter). Because Twitter is such a widely-used tool, it makes sense you'd like to address its professional use with students. You've already discovered that it isn't the best platform for your goals of "connecting" with students but it can be used in many ways. Thus, if it isn't working for this intended purpose with as large of an audience as you'd like, don't worry - there are other ways in which it can be used.

Twitter is a micro-blog platform. Thus, it was designed to allow people to quickly document and share their thoughts. With millions of users micro-blogging, Twitter has become a platform that is best used to listen and monitor filtering through all the noise for relevance and value. One powerful way the course suggests to use social media is for designing Personal Learning Networks (PLNs). By surrounding yourself with experts and listening/monitoring what they publish, you create value by enhancing your professional development through the relevant, educational content shared by the experts you follow. Imagine all the things learned by reading shared articles from experts, reading their insights, bookmarking newly-discovered resources and seeing their answers to questions through the course of a month, then a year, then 2 years. As time goes by, the small increments of valuable content enriches one's learning and professional development. When being intentional about who you follow on Twitter and how you engage, you can build good relationships as well. These targeted relationships can help students in many ways - gaining informational interviews, learning of new resources, getting career advice from professionals, learning more about their craft/industry, and perhaps learning of opportunities. Basically, it allows students to leverage the knowledge of the community in which they engage to enhance their professional development. I think most students don't see Twitter or other social networks in this way and one of the best things Career Advisors can do is teach them how to be intentional using various tools.

However, Twitter can also be used for job searching. We typically become aware of unadvertised jobs via word-of-mouth. Because Twitter documents conversations and Google indexes them, they become searchable. This means, we can actually monitor conversations for job leads passed down through word-of-mouth. The course lists resources at the end that can be used to monitor what is published on Twitter. For instance, I can set automatic alerts using TweetBeep or Twilerts to monitor #Phoenix #GraphicDesign #job #jobs to see if I learn of job opportunities. This is merely one example of how I could mine for data and leverage Twitter to search for job leads.

Twitter can also be used for personal branding allowing one to use it as part of a variety of tools to build an online, professional digital footprint. Additionally, Twitter can allow students to demonstrate their expertise if they are strategic about sharing relevant, insightful, helpful content that demonstrates their expertise/passion for their career field. This enhances their brand but also may get attention from recruiters. Recruiters do recruit on the Twitter platform and they do so by monitoring and searching hashtags and keywords so students can get found on this platform.

You asked a big question - should you encourage students to use social networks to their advantage and you specifically asked about Twitter. The short answer is YES! You must decide how to prioritize what you'll teach them. I say focus on intent and purpose vs. tools. Why? As you'll notice, a concept such as strategically building a PLN is universal - you can choose any tool for this you want. Thus, the fundamental concept is to be the architect of your own personal learning network vs. "use Twitter." The concept of data mining can be used to search for jobs, internships, events, and to strategically engage with people by identifying common interests. You can use many social media tools to do this. Thus, focus on the overall strategies and not so much on the tools.

Does that thoroughly answer your question? Please - continue asking!

Robert Starks Jr.

Thomas, Thank you for the thorough description of how you currently use social media. You say you let graduates know the different ways to "stay connected." To some, "staying connected" means "being in the loop" and receiving outbound messages whereas, to others, it means building a sense of community through shared affinity. Can you elaborate on what you mean by "staying connected" and why it is important for your department and the school? Although it may seem obvious, I think it is helpful/important to articulate how you define "connection" and why this is an important strategy because it provides insight on the motives that prompted your use of social media and what your short and long-term goals are using social media as a tool. Twitter is a tool that can be used in multiple ways that could be beneficial. I believe the very best career advisors are capable of educating their clients (students) on how to leverage multiple tools to maximize their career development and to achieve their career goals. That being said, there are endless tools yet there is limited time you have with students. Thus, you must prioritize what you teach them (resume-writing, cover letters, interviewing, job search strategies, and yes....perhaps Twitter). Because Twitter is such a widely-used tool, it makes sense you'd like to address its professional use with students. You've already discovered that it isn't the best platform for your goals of "connecting" with students but it can be used in many ways. Thus, if it isn't working for this intended purpose with as large of an audience as you'd like, don't worry - there are other ways in which it can be used. Twitter is a micro-blog platform. Thus, it was designed to allow people to quickly document and share their thoughts. With millions of users micro-blogging, Twitter has become a platform that is best used to listen and monitor filtering through all the noise for relevance and value. One powerful way the course suggests to use social media is for designing Personal Learning Networks (PLNs). By surrounding yourself with experts and listening/monitoring what they publish, you create value by enhancing your professional development through the relevant, educational content shared by the experts you follow. Imagine all the things learned by reading shared articles from experts, reading their insights, bookmarking newly-discovered resources and seeing their answers to questions through the course of a month, then a year, then 2 years. As time goes by, the small increments of valuable content enriches one's learning and professional development. When being intentional about who you follow on Twitter and how you engage, you can build good relationships as well. These targeted relationships can help students in many ways - gaining informational interviews, learning of new resources, getting career advice from professionals, learning more about their craft/industry, and perhaps learning of opportunities. Basically, it allows students to leverage the knowledge of the community in which they engage to enhance their professional development. I think most students don't see Twitter or other social networks in this way and one of the best things Career Advisors can do is teach them how to be intentional using various tools. However, Twitter can also be used for job searching. We typically become aware of unadvertised jobs via word-of-mouth. Because Twitter documents conversations and Google indexes them, they become searchable. This means, we can actually monitor conversations for job leads passed down through word-of-mouth. The course lists resources at the end that can be used to monitor what is published on Twitter. For instance, I can set automatic alerts using TweetBeep or Twilerts to monitor #Phoenix #GraphicDesign #job #jobs to see if I learn of job opportunities. This is merely one example of how I could mine for data and leverage Twitter to search for job leads. Twitter can also be used for personal branding allowing one to use it as part of a variety of tools to build an online, professional digital footprint. Additionally, Twitter can allow students to demonstrate their expertise if they are strategic about sharing relevant, insightful, helpful content that demonstrates their expertise/passion for their career field. This enhances their brand but also may get attention from recruiters. Recruiters do recruit on the Twitter platform and they do so by monitoring and searching hashtags and keywords so students can get found on this platform. You asked a big question - should you encourage students to use social networks to their advantage and you specifically asked about Twitter. The short answer is YES! You must decide how to prioritize what you'll teach them. I say focus on intent and purpose vs. tools. Why? As you'll notice, a concept such as strategically building a PLN is universal - you can choose any tool for this you want. Thus, the fundamental concept is to be the architect of your own personal learning network vs. "use Twitter." The concept of data mining can be used to search for jobs, internships, events, and to strategically engage with people by identifying common interests. You can use many social media tools to do this. Thus, focus on the overall strategies and not so much on the tools. Does that thoroughly answer your question? Please - continue asking! Robert Starks Jr.