Guest Post Intro: Lauren Sandelin is a senior at Miami University (Ohio), where she currently serves as the PR Director for the university’s PRSSA chapter.  She will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations.  Connect with her on Twitter, LinkedIn, and visit her blog. If you have any opportunities feel free to assist on that end too!

How Social Media Saved My Job Search.

I’m sure you wouldn’t be shocked to hear me say that the job-hunt hasn’t been too easy.  We’ve all been there at least once, and many of us are there right now.  You don’t need me to tell you that today’s economy isn’t exactly conducive to the whole process.

My job search began far before I was technically ready.  I was so excited for the future I had imagined in my head that I started searching last August (yep, that’s right).  I obviously had no intention of applying for any of those jobs at the time, but it’s fair to say that I was ready to get the ball rolling.  When January came, it was finally time to start applying to those jobs.

Wait, what jobs?

All the jobs I had been hoping to apply for were long gone.  Expected?  Of course…but that doesn’t mean I was okay with it.  It’d be fair to say that January was a wash, and February came around soon enough.  Sure, I found a few openings here and there – but I’m sure you wouldn’t be too surprised to hear that most listings used the dreaded, “send your resume into this black hole and chances are slim you’ll actually hear back from us” application process.  Oh yes – you know exactly what I’m talking about.

February ended soon enough and I was still without even a glimmer of hope.  So what’s a girl to do?  Well, I could sit around and mope.  You know, feel sorry for myself, throw pity parties with a whopping guest list of one, and become frustrated with the whole process.  That almost seems productive, right?  Okay…so maybe not.

It didn’t take long for me to throw that idea into the wind and take a good hard look at my approach.  There comes a point when you have to reflect on things and say, “Okay, kiddo…this isn’t working.  What’s next?”

So what was next?  I mean, wasn’t everyone using the same blind approach I was?  What other options were there?

Then I came across this little thing most refer to as “social media.”  Yeah…I know what that is.  Facebook?  Sure, I’ve had an account on there since my senior year of high school.  Whoop-dee-do.  I have a LinkedIn account, but I don’t have a clue what to do with that.  Twitter?  How in the world would telling people what I do every second of the day help me land a job?  C’mon, brain…give me some real ideas here.

It didn’t take long for me to discover the real beauty of social media.  Actually, what I really discovered was the beauty of networking.  As it turns out, social media is just another doorway to networking and connecting.  This doorway, though, opens up into a big ol’ world where (believe it or not) people are not just willing to help, but want to.  When used effectively, you’d be amazed at the results.  I’ve never been concerned about my ability to do a job and convince others that I’m capable, but it’s all a process and step one is getting noticed.  Shortly after, of course, comes the interview.  Unfortunately, getting noticed and getting that interview are always the toughest parts – but networking makes it that much easier.

There certainly isn’t a lack of posts and articles about the benefits of using social media in your job search, so I’m not setting out to explain exactly how or why.  Instead, I just want to serve as living proof that this does work.  Obviously, I’m not condoning that Twitter (or LinkedIn, Facebook, whatever your preference) serve as your only means of networking and job-hunting, but I’d highly recommend you at least add it to your arsenal.

Now hold on just a second – I’m not sitting here with a smug, accomplished grin on my face saying that this just suddenly fixed all my problems.  I still have yet to land a job and we’re now less than a month away from graduation (not that I’m keeping track or anything).  Anyone who knows me could attest to the fact that I started off my senior year bound-and-determined to have a job offer before May.

Truth be told, I’m far from any job offers at this point…but hey, at least I’m finally getting e-mails and phone calls – a definite improvement from where I was just a month ago.  I’ve already gained so much insight on not just the job search process, but also on my chosen career field.  I’ve had the chance to speak with industry professionals, HR geniuses, you name it.  That “black hole” has gotten ten times smaller and this entire process suddenly seems “doable” again.

Feeling ready to give up and call it quits?

Freshen up your approach.  If what you’re doing now isn’t getting the results you want, then what do you really have to lose by trying something else?  Get in there.  Connect with others – ask questions, seek help, don’t be afraid to admit that what you’ve been doing just isn’t working.

When I hear the term Talent Management, I often hear it talked about in the context of recruiting and sourcing. Now I may be completely off, but to me, Talent Management is much more than just finding people for the role. It’s much more than finding the RIGHT people for a company to fill a job. Talent management is more than just recruiting. It is about how you interact, engage and build the people you have, to retain and develop them and even if they leave you, they will want to come back!

One definition I found was this: Talent Management is a holistic approach to optimizing human capital, which enables an organization to drive short- and long-term results by building culture, engagement, capability, and capacity through integrated talent acquisition, development, and deployment processes that are aligned to business goals.

Umm yeah… right. My eyes roll to the back of my head like when I was in my human psychology & anthropology classes’ freshman year.

There are many debates within the circles of HR on how you should Manage Talent. Here is what Talent Management is to me.

Talent Management = Sourcing: All you are doing is finding ways to differentiate you from the competition. Just like a candidate, you are defining and setting up how you will identify, search and contact talent. At the same time, maybe subconsciously you are projecting that beautiful and trendy word called a ‘brand’ that will attract the best, the brightest and help you somehow keep them! At the beginning of hiring, it is a sourcing strategy. You outline responsibilities; define the steps, & plans for contingencies. You also define what success looks like. Your methods become a toolkit that will set your approach and allow you to be flexible. However, this doesn’t mean you should just network or source to fill orders, meet deadlines or be “on to the next one.”

Talent Management = Talent Development: If you get the best and the brightest and ignore their need for development after they arrive, you lose the potential you once had. Talent development happens within performance management and consulting. It works when you help an individual identify and assess their needs in order for them to be prepared in performing their responsibilities to the company. By identifying where they are, where they need to be and the gaps that exist; you will keep them from or allow them to succeed. By identifying the appropriate tools and experiences for that individual, you better position the current talent to reach their full potential and contribute to the value and bottom line. This makes everyone’s job much easier ~ at least in theory.

Talent Management = Succession Planning: This simply means that an organization identifies key roles that need to be filled and the people that need to fill them when the time is right. It is preparing people and positions, getting them ready for a transition and change; not just with the possible change of a person in a position but also within the organization.

I talked to a colleague the other day and I think that there is a lack of this happening. In the current economy you would think that planning for possibility of replacement of key roles would be essential. That you would create opportunities for cross-training, identify people within the company that could fill the pipeline for unforeseen or potential. Yet with budgets dwindling and the focus being on surviving, many are forgetting that they may be surviving now, but when they get out of the trenches, will they thrive?

Talent Management = Saying what you mean, mean what you say: If you boast a great brand. Preach an awesome culture and praise what the organization will do for current and potential employees… and then don’t deliver… you not only hurt the company but also your own reputation. Now is a time where people want and appreciate honesty. Just as you are trying to make a well informed decision from the talent pool you have at your disposal, the candidates are also selecting you based on the promises you keep and the lies you tell.

Talent Management = Leadership: All of leadership, from the hiring manager and recruiter to the department head and CEO need to walk the walk, talk the talk and be ready to show that if need be, they will run with the heard to do the work that needs to be done to help make everyone be successful.

Above all Talent Management = People: In the end, it’s about people. I mean, you’re not managing androids, recruiting machines or training dogs. You are maximizing an individual’s potential to help you and the organization maximizes results! Don’t just be about the money they make for you. Don’t just hire them, forget them and then move On to the Next One…

Jay-Z Featuring Swizz Beatz – On to the next one (click for readers):

Disclaimer: This post was originally on the NAS Recruiting Talent Talk Blog in March of 2010 (without the images and narly video). NAS Recruitment Communications has created and evolved solutions to assist organizations with their recruiting, employment branding and on-boarding/retention efforts. They have not paid me nor nudged me in their direction to advertise them. Check them out.

Guest Post Intro: As a Corporate Trainer, Motivational Speaker and Employee Recognition Strategist; David Kovacovich is always asked what differentiates the great people in the workplace. The best answer he can summon is that they never allowed themselves to give in to their doubt. This is a story of a young man and his belief that he can achieve anything. Feel free to connect with David at his Blog or Twitter.

March Madness is upon us and a friend of mine who does not follow sports asked me why people got so excited about this basketball tournament. The best response I could come up with is that people love to see an upset. When she inquired as to how a mid-major school could beat a national powerhouse I told her, “I guess they didn’t know any different”.

In addition to narrowing the basketball competition to 16 teams this past week, the NCAA wrestling championships were held. To play hoop with 4 other teammates requires a different type of motivation than that of being on the wrestling mat alone. By this measure, the odds of ‘an upset’ in College Wrestling are far more difficult.

Ignoring the Odds
Kyle Dake became the first ‘true freshman’ to win an NCAA Wrestling National Championship in 5 years. Why was Kyle able to rise above the extraordinary pressure of beating 5 people that were more experienced than he was? He didn’t know any different.

You’ll see from this clip that Kyle Dake is incredibly confident….and why not. He put himself in the company of the best in the country because he let his talent speak for itself, didn’t listen to his critics and did not get caught up by those who believe there is no way a Freshman can win the National Championship.

In the work place tenure often comes with entitlement while the unadulterated confidence of young people is met with a raised eye brow. What a shame! The unfortunate thing is that very few people have the self confidence of Kyle Dake. They become a product of their environment and their effort to win gets redirected into water cooler complaints, the navigation of office politics and the promotion of their work beyond the work itself. The biggest tragedy in American Business is our intimidation by the motivation of our employees. If you fit the aforementioned description you should not be in a leadership role. One day that door will swing shut for a final time and your legacy will not be the policy you wrote or programs you implemented but the people you empowered to use their confidence to help the team succeed.

Think about the potential (Don’t ignore talent)

My guess is that Kyle Dake will not pursue a career in the WWE. So when you see him in front of your office four years from now with his resume in his hand: take him in, help him understand how to channel his motivation in an effective manner and let him carry your legacy. Believe me; He is strong enough to carry it!

Guest Post Introduction: My name is Chris Haskins I am a senior at St. Norbert College studying Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources.  Along with my classes I am also an active member of my fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and treasurer/player on SNC’s lacrosse team.

In May I will, sadly, be saying goodbye to SNC to become a “real person”, as my friends and I call people we know who have graduated.  Since graduation is coming up I’ve been doing some thinking about my future.  Where am I going? Where is my intended field going? How am I going to get there? The normal “Holy cow I’m about to graduate” breakdown, but the results have been interesting.

You want to call us to action… show me how?

A lot of the progressions in HR that we’ve covered in the classes I’ve been in have dealt with getting the strategic seat, and confirming that HR isn’t the company’s babysitter anymore.  While this is a great and achievable goal there doesn’t seem to be a lot of material teaching students how to do this.  We know that we have to be able to show how our actions add value to the company, but in all my time spent in the classroom and all the articles I’ve read I’ve yet to understand how to show value other than making a good hire over a bad one.  While I’m glad that HR as a field is moving in a strategic direction it would help to know how this is being done to keep it going.

Small Steps… Growth

Another area that I think is ripe for progression is in small organizations.  Right now it seems like most of the innovations in HR come in large and medium sized companies that have resources to support a larger HR department.  However, those people that are in the HR department all by themselves are still stuck in the babysitter role.  The next innovation I think will be a tool to let these HR professionals become more able to think into the future rather than have to worry about the dress code or company picnic.

Room to be Creative

The other problem I see is that there are only a few positions within HR that really get to be creative.  This may stem from my experience in the small HR department I interned with, but it looks to me like only the head of HR and recruiters really get to use the knowledge that is acquired in the classroom. The rest of the department has their areas of experience and don’t touch anything else.  This is why I think the idea of rotating positions is so great, because everyone gets to experience all the areas of Human Resources.  I don’t want to end up just being the “hiring guy” where all I do is interview, hire, and train employees.

Experience Needed…  Career Path?

The last thing I’ll talk about is what the career path for an HR professional seems to be from a graduate’s perspective.  First off, since starting my job search a few weeks ago I’ve realized how hard it is to break into HR.  It seems like unless you have at least two to three years of experience you’re out of luck.  However, with that said, it seems to me that this is the first generation of graduates that are looking specifically to get into HR.  In the past it most of the professionals were in other business roles that eventually lead to HR, but it wasn’t their first choice.  My ideal path would be starting in a general business position to learn what business is like in the real world then move into an HR position.  From there I’d like to be able to find an organization that allows for a rotating HR department, so I can try everything to see which I like most, and then become a specialist in that area while still learning about other areas in order to reach my overall goal, as of now, to be the head of an HR department.   I do realize that this is probably not going to happen, but it’s at least a starting point.

I’d like to thank Mr. McCall for giving me the opportunity to be a guest blogger for him.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this post.  If you’d like to follow me on Twitter my name is @ChrisHaskins (original I know), and also my normal blog location is at: http://hrlaxer.blogspot.com.  There are only a few blogs there now, but as I dive deeper into HR I will continue to post more and more. Thanks again.

Special Thanks to Matthew Stollack, @AKABruno for asking students for their interest.