Smart Blog on Social Media did a great Q-and-A with with Monica Pons, the head of executive recruitment forNBCUniversal. Pons discussed how the company uses social media and the role it plays in their recruitment.
Social media is a great platform to connect with online communities and mobilize people. Our strategy focuses on creating and executing programs that bridge traditional and new media to engage with candidates and deepen relationships. –Monica Pons
You can read the entire interview here.
Employers are becoming savvier about building an employer brand online. Candidates must become equally assertive about building and managing their employee brand. Today, companies like NBCUniversal are using the social web to discover and engage with potential hires. This makes it critical to be vigilant about having a clear, consistent professional brand on and offline. The days of personal branding being reserved for the trendsetting trailblazers are over. Like it or not you are a brand and it is up to you to define and deliver your brand promise. Below are 3 tips for building and managing your employee brand online.
Profiles with a Purpose
Use your online profiles to convey your brand identity and values. Who are you as a professional and what do you value? What can you offer to an organization? Have a clear vision about who you are and then succinctly convey it in your profiles. Remember that your profile does not have to be dry and boring. Tastefully injecting personality into your profiles will show your humanity and invite people to engage with you.
Monitor your Mentions
If an employer does a Google search for your name, what will they find? In addition to googling your name, and email address it’s a good idea to assess and monitor your mentions. Addictomatic and How Socialable are two free tools that scour the social web for your entered keywords and terms . Both will often find items not captured by Google. Negative information can be as damaging as no information at all. Many companies today place value on a candidate’s ability to navigate the social web. At the very least you should have a presence on LinkedIn.
Master your Message
Take some time to develop your brand message and align your online profiles and content with that message. You can support that message through the information you share online. If you are an expert in technology, share emerging trends, demonstrate that you are a thought leader in your field. You can use your existing profiles such as Facebook and LinkedIn to share information that supports your personal brand. For even more sharing start a blog using WordPress, Tumblr or Posterous Spaces or make use of content curation tools such as Storify and Summify.
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