How do I know if it’s gone well?

Many times after a seminar attendees stick around and ask questions and I always stay around until they have all been answered.  I look at the evaluations to see how well the content resonated and if there are suggestions for next time. But for me the real feedback comes from what happens in the days and weeks after the presentation.

I feel I have done well when people connect with me and want to stay in touch. I get a lot of technical questions on how to do this or that and I get plenty of requests for one-on-one sessions and people asking to tap into my network. I think that’s fantastic, and it shows the experience met or exceeded their expectations.

So, when Wendy sent me the message in the screenshot today on Facebook it struck me that she didn’t want anything other than to tell me that she realized the importance of what I presented and made a decision to implement the strategy. I offered further support and she wrote back that she wasn’t looking for me to do the work for her but she would let me look at it when she has it up and running. A huge smile came to my face, she got it.

Recreate Wendy and then show the world…

Another mission accomplished.

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…

OK, I think I like it a lot. But how many places can one be logged on and use to communicate?

So, I’m here cozy by the fireplace with my laptop trying to figure out what to use. I’m a little confused where I should update statuses and share links from. I could do it from any of the applications I use… how does one choose???????????

I demand lifestreaming. I want one provider who gives me everything. I don’t want to have a gazillion separate logins with usernames and passwords and a bunch of clients and websites going at the same time. I think the addition of Buzz to the Google line of products is probably way better than Facebook and Twitter and I think I might eventually prefer to just use it and give them up.

But alas, as far as I can see I’ll never be able to do that because not all of my contacts, friends and even my own brother use Gmail. Facebook and Twitter have that one thing in common saving both of them. How do I get everyone in the same place?

I want integration and I want it now!

P.S. I think Wave was a decoy, a crude attempt to not give a way the baby with the bath water during a trial to get feedback about what people do not like and what doesn’t work. Buzz is the real roll out. Those Google people are slick. If I were ever to get a tattoo it might be the Google logo. Just sayin.……

L says there are only 4 people that are allowed to have the kind of instant access that social media provides and that would be the 3 kids and spouse however, it’s via cell phone and text messages not Facebook or Twitter.

L says that there isn’t a spare minute of time as it is to get everything done that needs to be accomplished professionally and personally and any intrusion in the already hectic daily schedule would just be intolerable. L routinely rejects LinkedIn and Facebook invitations to join, scared that doing so would mean giving up pieces a of a perfectly happy orchestrated and organized life.

L asked my opinion. I said why fix something that isn’t broken. Everything isn’t for everyone.

What do you think?

The answer is no, I’m not even on Ibuprofen.

I’m just one of those fortunate individuals who generally has excellent years no matter what happens (I’m not special, I’ve had my share of adverse events too).  It was no different this year. In fact, in 2009 I landed the job of my dreams, made new friends and managed to live each of the 365 days in peace and to the last drop of goodness. What more could I wish for?

My wish is that 2010 is that I can help you, if even in some small way.

No strings attached — nada

I just want you to be as happy as I am and if I can help I want to.

That’s my promise to you, to be here for you if you need me. Recently I was happy to be invited to participate in HR Carnival, hosted this month by Bill Boorman. You can watch me talk about 2010 being your year in the Vlog post I contributed.

So, whether it’s to be someone who will listen non-judgmentally to you, proof-read a document for you, bounce around your ideas with you, connect you personally with someone in my network, help you with your job search, get you some added exposure in your profession, whatever you need — I’m here all year.

You can leave a comment or you can click one of the social networking links on the page. I’m not difficult to get in touch with.

What are you waiting for?

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.

But what if it is your job? What if you are lucky to land a position like this?

Address: Encino, CA, 91316
Date Listed: Aug-27–09

Did you read all those responsibilities and then get wide eyed at the compensation of $9.00 per hour? I did. For it to be done with any semblance of quality how would you get a person to work for that hourly rate that really knows what they are doing to make a worthwhile investment in time, money and resources?

e_man @karla_porter $9 an hour!  That’s a joke.  It should be a LOT more.  IMO.

Paris22 @karla_porter @sarahw79 I have aposting for a Social Media Job all commission but will come out to alot more than $9 per hour.

So I started digging…

Broken down to an hourly rate using the standard of 2080 hours per year, at the low end of the range Payscale.com suggests social media management is valued at $17.97 per hour. At the high end $34.43.

Since the field is so new there are no relevant comp studies to back up these numbers.

Yet.

Conduct a simple Google search with terms like  “social media compensation” and you’ll find it’s starting to be discussed. Most of the grass roots content is found, appropriately enough, on blogs.

Social CRM asked the question, “Are you thinking carefully through your “Compensation Plan” in your social media efforts?” in May of this year.  It’s a thought for meditation.  No one answered.

Jim Durbin, aka @smheadhunter with a blog of the same name and a ning site, Jobs in Social Media (which I joined to get info for this post), has a lot of information posted about these types of jobs. He even has some listed. But.…. I didn’t find what I was looking for, a conversation on salaries.

I got all excited for a minute thinking I found the social media compensation gold mine when after 2 cups of coffee and a dish of vegetarian Chana Masala while searching I came across a post at Online Community Report.  They’re doing research on this topic for the 2nd year and  closed the 2009 survey for the Social Media Compensation Survey Report on August 28th. They partnered with Online Community Research Network for the study. They don’t state when the results will be available. In any event, unless you participate you will be charged for the results. Last year’s price was $295. They do offer a free summary report after a registration.

Key findings from the report:

• The average annual salary for the 145 people surveyed in the US was $84k
• 11 people participated from the UK and the average was $67k
• 10 people responded from Canada for an average of $64k

My eyebrows raised.  I’m not sure how I feel about the survey results. The pool of participants was only 225  and they came up with things like workers over 60 were the highest earners. In social media? Really? IDK, maybe I’m being naive. You might want to take a look to see what you glean from it. Come back to let me know, OK?

If you do SEO or SEM there is a survey going on at Wordstream Internet Marketing Blog through next week. It’s really a poll, not exactly research by Equilar but I give them credit for trying.

In the end, there is such little data available on new media compensation that you either have to be a great negotiator or accept the job for the glory, because there isn’t much to back up what you feel (and know) you’re worth.

Where are all the Compensation Specialists on Labor Day when you need them?

Have you all seen that commercial from Verizon? The one where the kids are making fun of their parents for jumping on the Social Media bandwagon with their kewl new phones?

That is what most of my friends are like as well. Hell, in my [old] office, people didn’t even want to use Instant Messaging programs. I’m not suggesting you hop on every new SocMed website to pop up (I signed up for Plaxo, not really impressed), but you need to branch out and help establish your personal brand. In my case, I was able to get a great new job from it…

Twitter can be used to help get interviews. Simple as that. You obviously cannot approach it the same way you would a typical “job board”, you have to think outside the box. How do a lot of people get hired? They know somebody within a company. Well, Twitter gives you the opportunity to meet people within organizations and build relationships with them. In addition to making new friends, you can share articles (blog or news) and have conversations that help establish your credibility. If you aren’t a social butterfly, you can at the very least get tips on how to accelerate your job search.

Here is my story. A couple weeks ago I came to the realization (I was more or less told this directly) that I was not a candidate for a promotion any time in the foreseeable future. After smoking a few cigarettes, I realized I didn’t even want a promotion – I wanted a fresh start! Becoming a manager at my previous employer meant I would no longer be a recruiter. I would be more of an account manager and have to do 3 hour conference calls and tell people what to do. I’m more hands-on than that. My reqs are my babies – I do the sourcing and calling – I don’t want to just tell people what to do and how to do it without getting my hands dirty!

I decided to call one of the experts in our field for guidance. I reached out to Glen Cathey (you may know him as @BooleanBlackBlt or via his blog), because we have had a ton of great online conversations in the past and I wanted to finally get a chance to talk to him live. I told him about my background and what I did and didn’t want to do in my future. This early in the conversation, I had no real intention of asking for an interview because I still hadn’t done enough homework on his company, K-Force. After hearing what I had to say, he started to tell me about the career path for recruiters at his organization. I was all ears. We then both decided to start talking about the logistics of an interview in the immediate future. Glen had a Director in New England give me a call during my lunch break and the rest is history (had to do a face-to-face interview, fill out an application, etc.). I was extended an offer the day following my in-person interview and it was the best phone call I had received in years.

What do you know? I got a new job without going to Monster or CareerBuilder once. I didn’t send my resume to 100 different employers. I simply had a great conversation with somebody who felt that I would be an asset to his team. I am thrilled to be a part of K-Force and cannot thank Glen, Paul, and Abby enough for their time and support.

So what does this mean to you? If you are a job seeker and struggling to find a new gig, you really need to cut out the status quo. Recruiters are inundated with resumes (believe me, I know) and job fairs and networking events don’t really work for 99% of the attendees (based on my experience with in-person and virtual career fairs as a recruiter – this is an opinion, not a fact by any means).

Start by first figuring out what you want to do. Don’t just go on Twitter and post status updates saying “HIRE ME!” If you know the industry you want to be a part of, start doing searches for key players in that industry. Also, tweet tons of awesome material (either your own or link to other sites) to get ReTweeted. ReTweets are FREE ADVERTISING! Don’t forget to @reply other people to engage them in a 1-on-1 conversation (or invite them to follow you to Direct Message them).

Okay this has already been said and done on a million other blogs – time for some Fieldsy exclusive content.

I love Instant Messaging. If somebody you don’t know @replies you or ReTweets you, reply back and ask if they have a Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, or AIM account. Twitter was never meant to be a chat program, and it certainly isn’t a replacement to Facebook, so use them all together. My latest example is with Jeff Moore, an internal recruiter for Google. Jeff ReTweeted me which obviously showed up in my @mentions column in TweetDeck. I saw that he was a recruiter and seemed really cool judging by his bio and tweets, so I immediately shot him a DM with my email and asked if he had time to GChat. We shared stories about our backgrounds and working in Boston and all that good stuff. I plan on meeting up with him soon since we work a train-ride away.

See? It really is that simple. Now I am obviously not trying to get recruited by Jeff or force-feed referrals down his throat (I know some pretty techy people), but I am looking to meet new people all the time because I love to talk and who knows, these relationships I am building now could lead to future opportunities for me.

I’ve been to TweetUps and networking events. I have over 1000 connections on LinkedIn. None of it really did anything for me. Facebook has been AWESOME for looking at pictures of people I never intend to talk to ever again – but that isn’t really doing much for my career. Twitter works. What more proof do you need?

@Fieldsy4Life Facebook LinkedIn

P.S. Hey, this is Karla. You know I love a success story and today when I congratulated Adam on his new job I  invited him to guest blog to help celebrate. He’s taking some down time to be LAZY and have fun before he starts his new gig. He’s on top of the world and I’m on top of it too, for him.

Nothing gives me goosebumps like some one telling me they got a job they really wanted. A few months ago when an opportunity dropped out of the sky on my head, I quickly assembled a team of amazing coaches.  Craig Fisher was my peer sounding board and coach. I needed one after not having personally interviewed for eight years. He was so supportive, crossed his fingers for me across the miles and sent me interview tips. How did I meet Craig? On Twitter.…..

I did what? Yeah, it was a long time ago and there was no Facebook Fan Page.

I called and spoke with the Philly chapter president who told me there were student memberships and I was welcome to come to a meeting. I not only went to a meeting, I thrived in that group, became the minority chairperson (we didn’t have minority members so I volunteered) and went on to organize the first seminar in the City on marketing to Hispanics. We had to walk 3 miles in the snow to get to that meeting (J/K).

I don’t think we used the word networking at that time yet but it’s what we did. We had meetings at which we organized events at which we socialized after the speakers spoke and exchanged business cards. It’s coming back now, they were business card exchanges. You could read about other people in other chapters in the newsletter that came out quarterly. If you were able to afford it or the company you worked for would pay for it (not likely) you could go to a conference and actually meet other members. Otherwise, you kind of just existed in a silo guessing what others were doing across the country and waiting for industry magazines to come out every month, unless you were a big letter writer with pen pals.

Today I’m tickled pink that I can go on over to Recruitingblogs to see what the Top 100 Influencers are up to, hop into a chat and comment on the opinions of my colleagues. I’m as pleased as punch to be able to board the information autobahn Twitter, where the collective conscience of people I follow, because I want to hear what they have to say, teach me more in one day than I ever learned at the U.

It’s now possible to meet anyone you want without paying the long distance call or the airline ticket. Even as a confirmed introvert I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t talk to people in person. There’s no way I would ever be able to know most of the incredible people I have been able to meet through social networking.

We throw zingers across continents, exchange ideas in chat boxes, read each other’s articles as soon as the publish button is clicked and gather virtually at webinars and in each other’s feeds.

You’re here, and I know I’m probably preaching to the choir but I just have to say it. I love my global band of brothers & sisters.

I might even be convinced by Jerry Albright to go meet some of them in person at RecruitFest 09!