How Are You Going to Brand Yourself?

I was lucky enough to have found a job while I took this course.  I think it is funny because I used social networking sites to apply and enhance myself, such as LinkedIn and Twitter.  I think social networking sites have given me a leg up to show off who I am, my talent and my personality besides simply sending in my resume.  

I applied through LinkedIn for my job and they immediately contacted me.  Then after I had an interview, I simply tweeted at the company saying Thanks for the interview, and hopefully I can do great things for them and they can do great things for me.  It was a smart move, as I was told by my interviewer, soon-to-be editor.  I'm happy I chose that route to not only keep in contact with them, but show off my personality and it worked.  I would suggest using social media to enhance yourself instead of worrying about what employers may see!

This course provided some great insights into social media and I'm really glad I took it. I do plan to continue blogging, as I enjoy writing and I'v had several people like my blogs. I've also discovered that several of my homework assignments have come up in the top listing when I did a search on the company I did my strategy on, so that was nice. I plan to like more companies on LinkedIn, and I'm still trying to get into the habit of tweeting, still a work in progress...and I need to spend some time talking about my work experiences and passions for education, learning and communication. Lessons learned, it's ok to talk about yourself, you don't have to use every site and some can remain as your personal fun site while some are for professional networking. 

I will fine tune my linked in profile with my career in mind, not just this class and then I'll continue to join professional groups and join conversations.  I've learned about the advantages to posting good comments to discussion forums and engaging in dialgogue.  A compelling comment gets your name out there and encourages people to check your profile.  Next, I'll start brainstorming the best way/platform to present me and my work- maybe switch up my blog or create a "portfolio of past work" or interactive resume.  I'm also going to spend more time choosing/refining keywords for myself (what words do I want associated with me and my work?) and then adjust for SEO across all platforms.    

Of course I felt like I had somewhat of a leg up on the competition with social media, but soon all new people in the job market will have that advantage! However, it is true that we have learned more than just the typical Facebook in this class. I plan on continuing to use social media that I already use and am familiar and comfortable with, but it's good to know there are all sorts of options out there for any niche in the job market.

Personally I will continue to persue the creative side of advertising, and as I hone my skills with various design lessons and programs, I will post my projects on Facebook, my Tumblr, and beyond and I will make sure to keyword and link to my online portfolio as much as I can. I've already have had many views on some of my work just by doing that!