Jennifer,
Thanks for sharing your experience with using social media in your career center. Beyond communication and research to discover what graduates are up to, I am wondering if you use social media as a part of your strategy for other goals such as employer outreach, increased student participation in career services, etc. Anything to share in this regard perhaps on what specific campaigns you may have done or metrics you use to measure success as it correlates to your social strategies?
Robert Starks Jr.
I have used Facebook to keep in touch with older graduates and keep tabs on new graduate activity. This has proved most beneficial, since many will post pictures of their business cards, practice space, & menu of services to prove they are, in fact, working in the field of training received at this institution.
Also, LinkedIn has been wonderful to connect with potential employers for current students. This way, I have a list of professional specializing in branches of the vocation a student is looking to investigate right at my fingertips!
I completely agree. I find that medical professionals are more apt to post jobs on craigslist, than with social media, or even our career services website. I thought it was just a New Englander mindset. Thanks, Paul!
In our Career Center we use Social Media very frequently:
We track and often mine for data through Face book, Twitter and LinkedIn.
We use it as an opportunity to build relationships, or to find common interests with the graduates to illicit conversations that often get past the "wall" that they have built.
It is also an amazing way just to communicate and keep students and graduates up to date on the activities that are occurring on campus for career services.
I actually had the benefit of attending a learning session of social media when I first started working and many of the tactics discussed work.
Amber,
Thanks so much for sharing your excellent examples of how you use social media. "Build relationships, or to find common interest with the graduates to illicit conversations that often get past the 'wall'"...This is strategic use of social tools! The unique insight that can be gained from your audience with these tools and how you can transform that insight into actionable strategy is clearly demonstrated through your examples. Might you be able to share some practical real-world examples of how you have done this for others to learn what you mean by "finding common interests to illicit conversations" or how you have built & strengthen relationships using social media?
Robert Starks Jr.
I feel that the information we just covered on the first section is very valuable, and will allow me to use social media more effectively.
We have a Facebook page, I used it to post job leads, events, continuing education and articles related to the massage and skin care Industry. Also is a great tool to keep in communication with students and graduates. I feel that the information we just covered on the first section is very valuable, and will allow me to use social media more effectively.
Leticia,
I'm curious if you might be able to share a bit more about what specifically you took away that will help you use social media more effectively and with strategic intent. Can you explain how you felt about social media prior to enrolling and what might be standing out to you personally that makes you feel you will approach your usage with a greater sense of purpose to help you accomplish goals?
Thank you for sharing.
Robert Starks Jr.
We have a Facebook page that we use to connect with the students and graduates with. When I find relevant articles on interviewing or the job search I will repost to FB for reading.
I'll leave it running in the background and oftentimes have students/grads message me with questions about licensure or some aspect of the job search.
I use it to promote Graduates in their businesses and also 'like' employers who hire our grads. In return, students/grads will go to my page and see which employers & businesses I've interacted with and use that as a starting point for their job search.
Hello,
We currently use Facebook and Twitter in our department to stay engaged with our graduate population. Our use of Facebook is important in our department, because before our students graduate, we let them know the different ways to stay connected with their careers department.
As we all know, Facebook is something that mostly everyone is connected through. So in our career center, we utilize this as a way to keep our graduates in the know of upcoming campus events, continuing education courses, job opportunities, licensing requirements for their chosen profession(or any changes that may arise in laws and regulations), fun facts and for open discussion on industry trends. The instant messenger on Facebook is of great use to us as well. When a graduate has a quick question to ask, they can send us a message and their question will be answered immediately or within a short time frame. We've gotten a great deal of positive responses through Facebook and about how it's inter-active and how it keeps our graduates engaged.
As for Twitter, we rarely use this to reach out to our graduates. We have a very low number count for followers and it seems to me that Twitter is useful only if the student/graduate already has an existing account. If not, I feel they will never get one or get "it". This is the feedback from my students about Twitter. What or how would you suggest Twitter to a student or graduate that really doesn't want one or get it? Should I just continue to encourage them to stay connected through Facebook? Or encourage them to learn and utilize these social networks to their advantage?
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.
I would have to agree with Leticia, This first section has really opened my eyes on the impact that social media can have if used wisely. I haven't been in my role or with my organization to really identify how this is used..but it has made me curious.
At our school we have a Facebook account, LinkedIn account, and a Twitter account. We have leads for each of these, but also work together, suggesting content etc. On our social media pages, we have been good at putting up alumni success stories, interesting articles/tips/suggestions on how to be successful after College, and we have posted job postings. After reading more on Social Media, I feel there are still much more we can do, such as have groups, and create hype with contests etc.
Aliza,
Does your career services department have a Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter account or are these accounts for your school in general? How do you use each channel differently and can you identify what your primary goal(s) are for each channel? What it is you are wanting to accomplish and how have you been able to determine progress/achievement of goals?
Robert Starks Jr.
Our school is very small, and in fact, i am the entire career services department, so it is all tied together.
Our Twitter account is run by our marketing team as the goal for Twitter is to enroll more students.
On the Twitter account, the team talks mostly about events coming up, Graduation ceremonies, success stories of students, etc.
Our Facebook account is for current students and Alumni, led by our marketing team (and I help with it as well). Here we have discussions about certain topics, invites to events, and articles/tips that are useful in being successful after your program at the college. Our goal is to help current students and alumni feel apart of the community, that they are not alone. They are helped by each other, and by us, to reach their goals. Building a relationship with them.
Our LinkedIn account is for Graduates. Our goal here is to help them network with people in their field. We have groups for different industries. I send out job ads here as well.
Aliza,
When you say your Facebook is targeting current students and alumni to help current students and alumni feel a part of the community, I am wondering if you can share your methodology for measuring the achievement of this goal. What are some key indicators for you that help you monitor your progress?
Robert Starks Jr.
We use social media to stay in contact with graduates. it allows us to cultivate our alumni network as well as communicate wht them regarding employment
Hi Jason,
The course differentiates social media from traditional communication channels. When considering these differences, although you use social media to "stay in contact" with graduates and cultivate your alumni network, one can also use a telephone or email for these purposes. With this context, could you describe how your strategies are uniquely different using social media vs. traditional channels of communication to stay in contact, cultivate your alumni network and communicate regarding employment? In other words, what has social media enabled you to do differently than traditional channels and how are you taking advantage of these differences? Might you reflect a bit on the differences in your strategies and share both what you are doing as well as why you are doing it considering the unique characteristics of social media tools?
Robert Starks Jr.
As of yet, I use facebook as a tool for 'skip tracing' students. We also have a page dedicated to past alumni where I do consistent stories of our succesful students....I post the students picture, where they were before they came to us and how our program has changed their lives. I also have a personal linked in page, but have to admit that it is very underutilized. I am really interested in this class because I consider it a weak point in my career services tools.
Hi Linda,
I'm glad to have you as a course participant. This course is very focused on strategy and things to consider when implementing strategies using social tools to support achieving career services objectives. As you go through it, I encourage you to ask as many questions as you want and engage in dialogue to get the most out of it. I'm hear to help you any way I can and look forward to our interactions. Make sure to read through the forums - there have been many great discussions and I am confident you'll learn a great deal just from observing the dialogue of others.
Take care!
Robert Starks Jr.
