I'm beyond excited to share that I've been named a "Top Voice" on LinkedIn. I've been blogging for a number of years now, both on this website as well as on the LinkedIn platform, and I've found the process to be an incredibly rewarding one. The LinkedIn platform, in particular, provides an excellent low-barrier-to-entry opportunity for... Continue Reading →
When I present to higher education professionals on college students and social media, I often begin by providing some basic statistics on social media platform use and adoption. My reason for sharing these statistics is to set the stage for our subsequent discussions. Age is by far the biggest determinant of overall social media use.... Continue Reading →
LinkedIn is increasingly becoming an essential tool for maintaining professional relationships and networking. When I taught a course on the higher education job search, I tried to find a simple, comprehensive guide to creating a successful LinkedIn profile. There are a lot of them out there, but many are lacking in one area or another.... Continue Reading →
Recently, I was selected by LinkedIn to be a "featured follow" on their new app for my work in higher education and technology. As a result of this selection, I have been exploring and engaging on LinkedIn more than ever before. Although I have always been a big fan of the site, I don't... Continue Reading →
When speaking about digital and social technology and the importance of leveraging it for career success, I often share this statistic that comes from John Bennett: 80% of jobs are landed through networking and personal relationships. Although I cannot vouch for the research behind it, it's not a statistic I find surprising. As I have... Continue Reading →
If you aren't following the NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) blog, I highly encourage you to do so. You don't even need to work in Career Services to benefit. There are great tips here for your own job search or general work with students. Check out the following post about writing LinkedIn summaries.... Continue Reading →
When I'm speaking and consulting, I frequently get asked by clients what the most platforms are and which one's they should be on. The question is actually more complex than just finding the most popular platforms. In part, your question should be: What do you want to do and what is the best social media... Continue Reading →
You might think of LinkedIn as just a tool that you use to create a profile, network, and search for jobs. LinkedIn, however, is making a big push into higher education using its treasure trove of data to help institutions engage with prospective students and alumni. Want to know how many people working for Google... Continue Reading →
A really great and useful piece by Josie Ahlquist on how to clean up your digital presence for a job search and then how to leverage it. Josie does some amazing research on college students and social media use. Her entire site is definitely worth a look.
LMU Graduation. Photo Credit: Anthony Garrison-Engbrecht
I write this post to the class of 2014 college graduates. Putting in four years to earn your undergraduate (or five…or six) I’m sure ready to go put that degree to work! You have the grades, the extracurriculars, internships, and even great references. But in todays fiercely competitive economy there is no guarantee that you’ll even get an interview.
Nope, many of those times I listed above are given. The leadership roles, high GPA, service projects, etc. Still nothing.
I have watched recent alumni take jobs at coffee shops after graduation, as I wonder if they can afford their student loan payments. Yes watch out, those payments kick in six months after walking across that stage.
Okay deep breaths, hope is not lost. You got this! Social media isn’t just for Instagramming your bling’d out graduation cap or staying in touch with your fellow…
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Last week I started an experiment called the “6 Degrees of Esther Lloyd-Jones Project,” a play on Six Degrees of Separation and the popular “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game. I was motivated by the desire to see how small the student affairs profession is and discover the power of crowdsourcing on the internet. It’s... Continue Reading →
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