LinkedIn and Branding:The Resume of the Future

Jobs aren't everywhere like they used to be. Not too long ago companies were starving to hire people, and you were basically guaranteed a good job if you just went to school. Now, companies are getting picky. Of course they only want to hire the best people for the job, which means that all of us searching for a good job are going to have a much tougher time. Everyone wants a job, and just about everyone has the same qualifications. You have a degree, that's great, get in line with the other 33% of America. So the real question is how can you show that you are above the competition.

Have you ever heard of the saying, 'It's not what you know but who you know'?

Well, welcome to the 21st century where that is abundantly true. An estimated 80% of mid-to-senior level job offers are the result of networking. As the saying goes: Your network is your net worth. So we need to get out there and expand our network, but we also need to be sure we invest in branding our-self to stand out while doing it.

You have to start thinking of yourself more as a business then a person. For example, by going to college you are investing money into bettering your brand. The better you can brand yourself and promote that brand-- the better you will do in getting the best of the job market. 

So the real question is how should we brand ourselves now, in the age of social media. There are a lot of resources out there, but the one ranked the highest would have to be LinkedIn. Imagine that you took Facebook, and instead of posting about how your day has been, you post about

your work experience, past employment, skills, and everything else you normally put onto a paper resume. On LinkedIn your "friends list" is your new business network. You can connect to prospective employers, past employees and anyone else that you might find worthy. It has truly become the new generation of resume, especially considering that most employers will check your LinkedIn to learn more about you. In fact 93% of job recruiters tap into LinkedIn to find qualified candidates.

http://www.recruitingblogs.com/profiles/blogs/80-of-today-s-jobs-are-landed-through-networking
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57469282-93/heads-up-linkedin-users-93-of-recruiters-are-looking-at-you/

QR Codes: Bar-codes of the Future

This week we are going to talk about the exciting topic of QR codes. QR codes, short for Quick Response Codes, are essentially two dimensional bar codes. They were originally created in 1994 by an automotive company to quickly scan parts for use on the cars. Since then people have found a very wide variety of uses for them. They can be used to store a url, text message, or even phone numbers. One of the best features of QR codes is how durable they are. When created they can be made with up to 30% error correct ability. Meaning you could damage up to 30% of the code, and it would still be able to read it.

QR codes are surprisingly simple to create. There are plenty of websites out there that you can input your desired text, url, or whatever information you want, and they will spit out the code for you right there. One of the sites that I found most useful for creating my code was http://goqr.me/.  They allowed me to customize just about everything from what I wanted linked within the code, to the size of the code, all the way to what level of error correction I wanted within it. Companies can even get fancy while making their codes by putting images in the background, splashing different colors through the code, or even putting their logo right on top of the code itself. This part was a little tricky so I suggest you get yourself a copy of Photoshop, and YouTube instructions to help you out.

If you were anything like I was then you knew of QR codes and saw them around, but you never really saw any purpose to them. It seemed like a lot of work to have to download a scanner app and take a picture of it just to get to someone's Facebook page, or get a coupon that they would probably just let you use if you asked nicely without actually getting it. It wasn't until I got this assignment to research QR codes and design one of my own that I really started to understand how great they could be.

The main use of QR codes so far has been to link people to their company website, or Facebook page to like the company. However people are coming up with some great uses for them that will make it almost common practice for everyone to have and use QR codes everywhere. Some of my favorite uses I found were companies like Google are experimenting using them on websites as a form of secure login. only if they are scanned by a approved mobile device will the person be logged into the terminal. Libraries are experimenting using them inside their books so you could scan them and extend the time you are checking them out.

 In fact after reading all these ideas I came up with my own. The public library here on campus at SJSU has rooms on all the floors that you can reserve for study groups. It would be a fantastic idea if they could put personalized QR codes by the door of each of them linking you to a website that shows you when the room is reserved by who, and allowing you to reserve it right there through the code instead of searching for it online.

Social Networking and Promoting your Brand

Social media is just about everywhere out there now. An average of 172 million people visit Facebook alone each day. There's also an average of 40 million people that visit twitter, 22 million that go on LinkedIn, and over 860,000 hours of videos uploaded across the web each day. Not to mention all the millions of us that blog daily too. It has changed the way we interact as humans. The biggest thing that it has changed is the way we find the products we buy. 

Companies everywhere are catching on the the fact that they can reach customers far faster, and better in most ways through taking advantage of social media. They make Facebook pages, have LinkedIn accounts to find employees, make a twitter account to post about the new releases they have. And its working. Putting your brand out there on social media in front of the eyes of millions is a fantastic strategy to help promote your brand. However, it is also a great way to ruin your reputation if you do it improperly. 

What risks could there be in doing something simple as making a Facebook page for my company?

It's a great question that we should all make sure we answer before just barging in and making one. The biggest things to worry about would be leaking of confidential information. Whether by accident through an employees post, on purpose by a spiteful employee, or through an outsider hacking into the account and fishing for it. This could be easily solved though by either hiring someone specific, or delegating it to one specific person to manage the page. We also have to make sure that the page stays relevant and professional. For example if someone makes a personal attack on the Facebook page, to either remove the post quickly to prevent negative impact, or addressing it in a professional manor. the biggest thing that could drag the company image down would be a long drawn out personal feud in the comments on your page. 

Its not just Facebook either, companies use all sorts of social media out there. Be sure that you are using them properly for what they are like. For example if I liked a company page on facebook, I don't want to come home at the end of the day seeing five new notices about whats going on with them through out the day; however, if it was their twitter account that might be appropriate to be getting those tweets through the day updating the customers.

There are plenty more things that one should think through before jumping on the waves of social media, but don't be afraid of them. As long as you arm yourself and are prepared for the risks then you will do great, and the company will do even greater. 

Here is a great reference for people that want to read more in depth before starting.
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Protecting_and_strengthening_your_brand_Social_media_governance_and_strategy/$FILE/Insights_on_IT_risk_Social_media.pdf