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Slide Notes

Social media has been the hot topic for several years now, but how can we use it for our professional lives, especially when emerging into the job market?

You may be thinking, I don't need that. Social media is a time waster or, worse, a detractor if someone comes across an incriminating photograph.

It doesn't have to be, though. Like all tools, we can use social media to perform a task that would be more difficult without it. In this case, that means creating a picture of ourselves as individuals who will positively impact organizations and the global research landscape.




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Google Me

Published on Nov 19, 2015

Effectively use social media to establish a professional profile

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Google Me

Creating a Professional Digital Presence Using 'Unprofessional' Tools
Social media has been the hot topic for several years now, but how can we use it for our professional lives, especially when emerging into the job market?

You may be thinking, I don't need that. Social media is a time waster or, worse, a detractor if someone comes across an incriminating photograph.

It doesn't have to be, though. Like all tools, we can use social media to perform a task that would be more difficult without it. In this case, that means creating a picture of ourselves as individuals who will positively impact organizations and the global research landscape.




why should i?

Why should you care about this? You’ve been on Facebook since you had to have a .edu to subscribe. You’ve used Gmail since it was by invite only. Or you’re reticent to use any media out of privacy or other concerns.

The fact remains that in this world, while it’s debatable whether you need a digital presence, you already have one.

Don't believe me?





Photo by Scott McLeod

look it up

Go ahead. Google yourself.

Or even better: use a cross-search engine.

Each one has a different way of ordering your results.

no, really...

Go ahead. Take out your favorite device and get to searching. Put your name in quotation marks. Use your middle name. Use the name of your university, your major, your employer, your occupation, your current city, your hometown. Keep searching while I keep talking.


Here are some tips:

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/how-to-google-yourself-effectivelywha...
Photo by kevin dooley

What are you painting?

From your search, what’s the picture being painted of you?
Photo by ecstaticist

reflect yourself

If there isn’t a lot available about you, or if you’re not projecting the image of yourself you want the world to see, change it. If you’re finding pieces of your individuality, bring them together in a platform. This doesn’t need to be a time-consuming process if you employ a strategy.
Photo by Arry_B

Presenting: yourself

There are three steps to this process: Establishment, Exploration, and Emendation.

Establishment means creating your identity.

Exploration consists of exploring other people and other techniques.

Emendation means making revisions based on changes in your life and your research.

establish: content

Determine your identity.
First step: establish yourself. This has steps, too, and like any good marketing campaign, establishment begins with determining your content. In this case, that means your identity.
Photo by wallygrom

who are you?

As the Caterpillar says to Alice, Whoooo are yoooou?

Take a minute to think on this before we continue.

When you think of your professional self, who do you see? A student? A faculty member? An established researcher?

Think of who you want to become.


Photo by Smath.

are you unique?

What makes you You?

Are you David Bowie or are you a married person wearing an identical shirt and holding a David Bowie album cover as your mask?

Bowie is a master of rebranding himself. You can be, too, but first you have to determine what sets you apart from other people.

Here, the model has set himself apart by doing the sleeveface.
Photo by tim caynes

Establish: strategy

Why do people want you?
The second step in Establishment is determining a strategy based on your identity. Qualifications, skills, and talents are important here.

Ask yourself: why do people want you? What can you offer them?
Photo by Giuss95

what can you do?

If that seems overwhelming, make a list of your skills. What do you have to offer the world?
Photo by aussiegall

be unique

Showcase your talents.
Sometimes resumes and vitas can get bogged down in job-specific skills. This is mostly due to making your application eye-catching and pointed. The Internet offers you a place to expand your identity. This can mean a way to showcase your talents.

Establish: design

The third step of Establishment is design. This means communicating effectively and being accessible.
Photo by jetheriot

communicate

Communication involves more than one person. In order to be a good communicator, you need to encourage discourse. Twitter is a great place for this.
Photo by id-iom

be accessible

Communication also means being accessible, or allowing people to contact you. It’s not enough to have a profile. People want to connect with you. Make it so they can.

different presentations

Design also involves choosing an appropriate package. Determine your tool based on your audiences. If you want to talk to only other people interested in toxicology, or present your research only to an academic community, or share your music with only other musicians, you will need to determine an appropriate platform for taking to these people. Such groups are sometimes called “micropublics”: smaller communities within the general public. Different sites will answer different needs.
Photo by jon madison

Establish: technique

The fourth part of Establishment is knowing your technique. In this case, your technology.
Photo by dieselbug2007

know your tools.

You may not need to know how exactly these tools work, but you do need to know what they can do for you and what they will take from you. Are they sharing your data? Can people freely download your presentations, papers, or photos? How can you make yourself more searchable using these tools?
Photo by Origamiancy

privacy

Knowing your tools is especially important in regard to privacy. All of us want to share certain things with certain micropublics. For example, I want to share my creative recordings with a different group than I do my academic presentations. I want my loved ones to see different photos than I want a potential donor to view. Therefore, I use different tools or privacy controls within those for each set of personal data.
Photo by mueritz

quit!

If you find something you don’t like about a tool you are using, stop using it. It may be difficult to deactivate your Facebook (and some of that material may float around the Internet forever, making the board millions), but if your social networking tool is not working for you, quit.
Photo by weisunc

Explore other strategies.

It’s important to stay abreast of what’s out there and what other people are using. Remember, what they use may not work for you, but it’s worth seeing what’s available and learning more about what other people – especially other people in your field – are doing.

Keep updated.

The third step in establishing your professional online presence is emendation.

You do this by learning from other people and seeing what is being presented about you.

ALTMETRICS

Altmetrics help determine the impact of things – not only articles, but also hashtags, citations, and mentions. Paying attention to them can help you be better searchable or help you understand who’s looking at you.

google alerts

Set up a Google alert for yourself and see when new things are posted about you (or someone with your name) and your research.

outdated material

Remove outdated material. It may be fun to keep your first online profile, but if it’s no longer serving your needs – and more importantly, being ranked higher in searches than something more useful – it’s time to consider deleting it.
Photo by jurvetson

revise.

Once you know what's out there, revise your profile and your strategy. Input new research, presentations, or other accomplishments. Rewrite your bio to reflect your new goals or research interests. Use new keywords or hashtags to describe yourself.

compliment...

People use the Internet. People use search engines. People want to get to know you.
You can control your identity and use it to leverage yourself in a competitive landscape.
Use social media as a place to network, share, and stimulate discourse about topics that interest you. This is outreach and it’s an important part of any grant you will receive.

But recognize that these social media tools, and your online presence, should be a compliment for your professional profile…
Photo by Nouhailler

...not replacement.

Not a replacement for your resume or vita.

People may not Google you during recruitment, but they will definitely want to know what you've done.
Photo by echo0101

pick your tools

& use them effectively
Do your research, pick your tools, and use them effectively to showcase yourself.
Photo by mkhmarketing

find your place

Find the place you want to go and contact them. Follow your ideal workplace or the researcher you want to emulate.
Photo by swishphotos

get your spot.

And get your spot.
Photo by challiyan

Untitled Slide

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or try new social media sites as they become available. You really can ask websites to remove material – and you really can ask your librarian any questions. 
Photo by Auntie P