Browsing Tag

Networking

Personal Branding

How Big Is Your Network?

March 29, 2010

The other day I received a Facebook friend request from someone I didn’t know. While I was surprised at the request, it wasn’t the first time. When I view their profile they had over 3,500+ ‘friends,’ zero of which I knew. While there are those that use Facebook to build quality connections and meet new people, there are those that ‘collect’ friends. Like baseball cards, there are some who boast about the number of friends that they have on Facebook.

Still, this is nothing new. Long before there was LinkedIn, there was business cards, and before that, a simple handshake. For as long as ‘networking’ has been linked with ‘opportunity’ and ‘possibility,’ it seems that the common sentiment is that the larger your network is, the more opportunities you will have. With social media though, ones’ ‘network’ is evolving into more than just ‘opportunities’ and ‘possibilities,’ but ‘relationships.’ Continue Reading…

Social Media

Why You Can’t ‘Dislike’ Facebook

December 14, 2009

When Facebook first started, Mark Zuckerberg intended it to be used as an online simulation of real-life relationships. To his credit, Facebook has become just that. From relationships to catching up with friends, Facebook has taken networking to new levels. Still, Facebook has a ways to go if it intends on being a true online representation of real-life.

The biggest complaint of which is the ability to dislike content on Facebook. Although Facebook allows you to ‘like’ content from your friends, they don’t have an option to ‘dislike’ something. The question then becomes what do you do if you find something so offensive that ‘hide content’ just doesn’t work for you?

Facebook Isn’t MySpace

No matter what the public says, in the end, Facebook will have the final say on how they want their social network to function. With that said, one of the most important things that Facebook considers when they introduce new features, such as their new Facebook privacy policy, is not only how it will affect users, but also their brand. Continue Reading…

Career

Building Your Network During College

March 13, 2009

If you think you don’t know how to network, just take out your cellphone and go to your contacts. You are already networking. Believe it or not, but some students have no idea what networking is or why it is important. In a business sense, networking is like your yellow pages or directory. Whether you need someone who can design you a website or help you get that foot in the door at a job opening, networking is a powerful tool.

I remember reading that power can be judged by the influence of one’s network. If that is the case, then it is imperative that individuals begin working on building up their network as early as possible. One of the first places that you can start building solid relationships is during college. Everyday you meet new people and have plenty of opportunities to find groups and meetings that you can network at. For myself, I made it a point to try and meet new people from different majors who I could keep in touch with after college. The advantage of this is that if I ever needed some assistance with something out of my scope, I could always just dial up a friend and ask them. Even better, I could refer my own clients to others that I trust and have built a good relationship with.

While networking can be thought of as a business tool, it can also be a social tool as well. For example, if you see a girl you are interested in, it is always easier to have your friend who knows her, introduce you to her. As a college student, networking is mainly a social aspect. If you want to look at it in a business sense, college students network with each other so that they can exchange homework or to study for tests. Networking can be broken down into two parts: the social part and the business part. The two main questions that you can categorize your contacts are “how do you know them” and “what do they do.” The first, “how do you know them,” can be thought of as the social aspect of networking. Are they friends from school or a club? Where did you meet them? The social aspect of networking is all about getting to know them. The business part or what I call the “what do they do” aspect is all about knowing how you can help each other out. Several of my friends work in the financial market and I frequently ask them about how the market is doing and what they forecast. In return I help them with some social marketing ideas and also have advised them on how they can use the social media platforms like a blog to brand themselves.

If you are still in college or just about to graduate here are some tips and ways you can start building your network:
Continue Reading…

Career, College

Confidence After Leaving College

February 5, 2009

Graduating from college I can say that I am smarter and wiser than when I first arrived. While I say that I am smarter and wiser, I wouldn’t say that college fully prepared me for the ‘real world’. Instead college taught me about international trade theory and how to write a paper in proper MLA form. What college didn’t teach me, I had to learn on my own. From learning how to write and prepare a resume, to interviewing, I like so many others felt that college did little to prepare me for the ‘real world.’

Talking to others that recently graduated and are currently looking for a job, lack of confidence in themselves is the biggest weakness that many expressed to me. Whether it’s not being qualified enough for a job or not knowing the direction they are headed, many believe that college’s should have spent more time in helping students prepare for post-graduation plans. Perhaps it is only the university I attended, but I feel that while students had an idea of what career path they wanted to go down it was still vague and unclear.

Consider this quote by the famous Albert Einstein:

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school.”

I believe that Einstein’s quote reflects the situation that many of those graduating from college will realize in the future. What you learn after college is worth more than what you learn during it. While I am by no means saying that college hasn’t given me tools to succeed in life, but rather I am saying that college needs to do a better job of giving students realistic preparation. Most students will never use econometrics or advanced invertebrate anatomy, but what most students will remember are time management, organizational behavior, how to write a resume and email etiquette. Unfortunately, the things I just listed are all things that aren’t offered through college courses except through career centers. While the career center is a good place to go for resources, ask students if they have been to their career center and most will tell you no or even ask where it is. This of course is subject to scrutiny as no two career centers are alike. Problems such as students not being unable to go to the career center during there often selective hour should not be reason for a student being prepared for the future. If college courses offered classes that were post-graduation focused such as personal finance and personal development courses with no grade and would have no effect on one’s units then I believe that it would be beneficial and many students would opt for it.

Confidence as I mentioned earlier is an element that some college students wish they had more of. Whether its offering classes that are geared toward practical preparation such as resume help or helping students map out post-grad plans, colleges should strive to not only give us the knowledge of numbers and theorems but also to be able to enter the workforce or any endeavor and feel like we are prepared and ready for anything.

The first project that I worked on at Future Delivery was FD Career. FD Career’s motto was “Career Development Made Fun.” Through exercises/quests and networking opportunities, students and young professionals are able to make themselves more well rounded and thus be better prepared. One of the key elements to being productive at work is believing in your product which in this case was FD Career. As a freshman in college I would have loved to have a website like FD Career around to help prepare me for career paths and help me understand the importance of networking and one’s personal brand.

To students and anyone who is looking for a job or even just looking for a direction and help, I leave you with a few words of inspiration from a doctor:

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss