Fun Fact: You need three recommendations to have a 100% complete profile.

When they are solicited favors from social networking friends you have never conducted business with, they are undeserved, unfounded props that cheapen the value of well earned, bonafide recommendations.

I have seen a lot of it going on lately and it’s unfortunate. I know some feel rules are meant to be broken and guidelines are just that.. but the misuse of a potentially powerful tool like a professional recommendation deserves serious criticism in my book of ethics.

Let colleagues, clients or suppliers speak to your record

I have had several requests for recommendations I felt I just couldn’t provide and then sleep well at night. In the case of my intern who just started and enthusiastically followed my suggestion to create an account now in her sophomore year, so she can build a vast, meaningful network of mentors and subject matter experts to take her through the rest of college and into a career, I simply wrote back and said, “I would be happy to write a recommendation for you once you complete your internship — based on the quality of your work.”

In the case of others who I have never worked or collaborated for or with on any project… I generally just ignore the requests. You see, I can’t recommend someone because I have heard of them, listen to them on an internet radio show, read their blog, or even know of good work they do. It would be like writing a recommendation for Anderson Cooper — I think he does a great job but a recommendation from me is meaningless to his career..

What’s the point?

Search current and former clients, colleagues, managers, professors and college class mates you did real work for and with, link up with them and ask for a real recommendation. If you would like to know more about LinkedIn recommendations here is a short video you’ll find helpful. As always, I welcome your commentary.

My inspiration for this post goes to M.H. I woke up this morning and over morning coffee I checked my email. There was a LinkedIn invitation from her. I haven’t worked with her or spoken with her in 15 months. It wasn’t a fan letter. It talked about projects, teams and and our professional relationship. It was truly very meaningful to me. What did I do? I wrote one back…

It’s been a long time since Max had to look for a job. In fact, last time he did, social networking didn’t yet exist. He is PC savvy and his computer use over the years was mainly work related, Internet searches for information, etc. Max heard networking via LinkedIn could help him so he created an account a year ago and has connected with a dozen or so people he knows. Max joined a couple of local groups and participates in some discussions.

It’s not working…

Here are some of the things I suggested Max could do to improve his LinkedIn-Ability:

1. Be a completer — if you can’t complete your own profile how are you going to complete work?
2. Let people know you are a job seeker in the “profession” field  –> Administrative Assistant Seeking New Opportunity.
3. Sell yourself in your summary — just like employers post job ads you should create a job search ad there
4. Use Google Presentations or Box.net to post your resume, work samples, etc.
5. Join groups, ask and answer questions –> network
6. You can join 50 groups — they’re free — why would you belong to 5? Oh, they all have job boards =)
7. Search companies you are interested in and network with employees.
8. Network with ex-employees — they have nothing to lose so they TALK and they stay in touch with friends so they know what’s going on.
9. Write some sincere recommendations and chances are you’ll receive some.
10. Search jobs and see who your contacts are that have a relationship there.

Are you 10 for 10 in LinedIn-Ability? Share your tips here so others can learn from you!

If you have questions about the presentation don’t hesitate to find me on a social network or just click the G and you’ll be connected to me.. I love it when I rhyme =)

Social Media 4 Older Job Seekers

Hello. I am a fellow open networker and I was wondering if we could connect. I would really appreciate if you could send me an invitation since I am running out. By connecting with me you will gain almost a million 2nd and 3rd degree connections. I also promise you that I won’t send you any spam.

I love LinkedIn — I’m all about helping others too and as a fellow open networker here is the reply I sent. I figured why just let that person see it when it could help others?

I appreciate your interest in becoming one of my LinkedIn contacts, and yes, I am a fellow open networker. Please indulge me by allowing me to share an immensely more etiquette proficient and effective way of engaging potential contacts.

Promising more contacts is not a hook… especially for someone who already has a lot of them. Especially another recruiter. A good recruiter knows how to reach most anyone.

I would be happy to accept you as a contact but not on my own invitation.. You’re asking me to work, to send you an invite — I don’t know you or have reason to. Open networker means I accept invitations not acept invitations to send invitations..

If you would like to be my contact find out how to make that happen through one of the 5 groups we are both members of or wait till next month when you’ll have more invitations to send.

Please don’t take this the wrong way.. Consider it networking skill building free advice.

Karla

Once a year there is another type of event at the Arena that is totally different. It’s an interactive event that can literally change your life. It’s the NEPA Job Fair. Similar events are held in cities across the country every year. So, if you’re lucky enough to have landed here through finding this blog in a Facebook or Twitter post or Google search it’s for you too.

Now of course, you can walk in the Arena doors and on to the floor and weave in and out of the maze of employer booths like a spectator – that’s what most people do. Then you’ll go home and talk about how it was, “OK but nothing special, there are no opportunities around here.”

That’s the big mistake most people make, they treat a job fair as a spectator sport. Find out how to work the job fair over at the NEPA Job Fair blog…

Then, last year I transitioned to a new job with a significantly more visible presence in the community. One of the things I do on the job is manage social media for the organization and several of its projects on Facebook and Twitter. Since Facebook hasn’t bothered to allow for the separation of church and state (your personal account is tied to fan pages you create) one of the side effects of my becoming more virtually “local” is that I have accepted many local businesses as friends or become their fan. I could ignore them but let’s be honest, I’m an open networker and really unless you are inordinately weird I’m very open minded and accept your virtual friendship.

This blog feeds into Networked Blogs on Facebook, and the RSS Feed goes to LinkedIn and most every social media account I have and I will tweet the post too. I’m outwardly hoping it will be read and taken for what it is worth by some of my followers who have businesses and have taken marketing into their own hands. This is a sincere effort on my part to tell them and many others who are doing their own social media marketing that they’re screwing it up, they don’t know what they’re doing and they’re doing more bad than good…

They’re turning me off

I have read many public floggings of companies — outright smack downs. But, that’s not my style. So here are two sanitized examples of local companies turning me off completely and what they could do to try to turn me on. I could contact them privately and offer consulting services but I’m also a realist… it is highly unlikely they would go for it because they think they are doing it right.. Consider this pro bono.

Profile #1 — Therapy Practice (I don’t know what else to call it)

The Facebook Fan Page posts 3rd party articles on why xxx is the key to health. It does not appear to engage members because there are no comments on the wall — at all and there is no steady growth (even slow) of the fan base. The administrator sends messages to fans about specials, discounts and how our health could be optimized, and sends me @ tweets stating Hi, Im Dr. XXX local xxx I see u have disc problems. I can Help Call me 000‑0000. xxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx.com

Wait, what did you say????????

Uhhhh.. You have x-ray eyes doc? You don’t know anything about my body and you’re are spewing “facts” about me that I don’t appreciate at all. This is a huge no no… you publicly stated I have disc problems and you don’t know me from Adam. Yet, a prospective employer could see that and think it is true. Maybe an insurance company I am trying to buy a policy from is checking me out. Maybe I wouldn’t want the PUBLIC to know I have this supposed disc problem. Are you thinking about how you are potentially impacting me? You would think someone who must be familiar with HIPAA would never think of doing this.. The worst thing is you have not only done this to me you have done it to all of your 23 followers in your 227 spammy tweets. Maybe that’s why you have only 23 followers.

My advice for this business is:

• Make your Facebook activity interactive. Stop pumping out blatant ads and be social.
• How about commenting on something I post or visiting my blog and letting me know what you think? Let me know you actually pay attention to me and are not just looking to bill my health care insurance.
• Ask fans if they have questions and post the answers on the fan page.
• Try posting trivia or history of the discipline. Be a person, put up some pics of your vacation or something a little off topic that shows you are a person with a personality, have a little fun!
• Remember it’s got to be reciprocal. I was nice enough to become your fan so don’t say something stupid like “I see you have xxxx problems”. I don’t think you are psychic and it does not make me want to let you touch me.
• Do not use Twitter to tweet the same thing to all 27 followers thinking you’re being swift by personalizing using my name. I’m smarter than that. I just pulled up your tweets and see you are an assembly line tweeter. There are many successful health care providers who post helpful advice and tips, ask and answer questions and engage their followers with great dialog. They “get” social media and know that engagement through soft selling is the best sales tool. They make friends with their followers and become the name on the tips of their tongues when it comes to their profession.

Profile #2 — Service Provider

One of the owners of this business mans the social media and is pervasively visible on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.. probably other places too. Apart from generating sin fin varieties of never to miss deals you will surely die without, this person posts comments and tweets about arguments and problems with the spouse, disdain for another job and painfully complains about just about everything to the point I don’t want to look. Other times there are blissful messages of love and contentment..

My advice for this business is:

• Please note that I have heard from other locals that you appear unbalanced because of the bipolarish Sybilesque inconsistent personal messages you mix with business. Stop — It’s disturbing not only to me but others as well.
• Do a Google search on yourself and then on your business. Pretend you don’t know yourself and read the search results. Look at the personal and professional brands you have created. You have mixed the two so much they are virtually indistinguishable. It doesn’t look so good, does it?
• Think before you post.The worst is when your LinkedIn status messages are utterly unprofessional in your expressions of anger at the world and feelings of being unloved. Ask yourself if you would pay an agency to post the things you post yourself .… or if you would fire them.
• Do not trash your business partner and spouse as if a criminal and louse and then expect people to become a customer and trust their expensive personal possessions with you guys..
• Remember that the words personal and personable have much in common.
• The service you provide is a non-essential one as much as you like to promote it to be as important as the air we breathe. Face it, most people can only afford DIY. You have a niche service and it should be marketed as such.
• Identify the profile of your customer and then post things that are interesting to that demographic. Be engaging and tactful, witty and charming. Show you have knowledge.
• In lieu of the blog you don’t have, use Facebook notes to write authoritative posts on your area of expertise.
• Post tips, trivia and advice.  It seems to me you would have a lot of seasonal advice and reminders to offer that people would really appreciate.

You can do a good job of social media marketing if you use common sense. Think of successful companies and competitors you admire. Study how they use social medial. Don’t copy what they do but emulate the types of messages they deliver and the image they project. After all, they are successful because they are doing things right.

Just for the heck of it, I’m going to watch to see if these guys get the hint…

What are some of the things about social media marketing gone wrong that turn you off?

Johnny, you’re our star Admin Assistant and as part of your “other duties as assigned” I’m giving you a new project. I need to hire an Account Manager and we don’t have a budget to hire an agency to do it for us. You’re always on Facebook and Twitter, do some social networking and find me one…

Here is the job description. I have highlighted the keywords that are important.

Just set up a Facebook Fan Page — stream good stuff about the company, it’s free. Then, create a company Twitter account — tweet about it and search and follow similar people, be friendly and say good things about us, it’s free. Join some LinkedIn groups — post the job in the jobs sections, it’s free. Google free job boards — post it everywhere, they’re free.

Have the resumes sent to you and scan them for the keywords and 3 years of experience. Put the ones that match on my desk. I’ll review them and give the ones I like back to you to set up appointments for an interview.

Do a good job and I’ll take you out for pizza to that place you like down the street.

Does this sound far fetched to you?

The TechCrunch Europe post How free social media beat the recruitment consultants to death gives quite a blow by blow account of how companies are doing it. Though it may sting to read it at first, it brings up an excellent point for discussion.

“I think what the recruitment industry should take away from this is that prospective clients really can beat them at their own game, if they want to make the effort. The recruitment industry needs to recognise this and innovate… find ways of adding value… and justify/rationalise their proposition.”

Get out your value proposition.