Put your job search on steroids. The non-cynics guide to social proofing your career.

One of the things I am still constantly asked to justify is why I have put myself out there in social media career wise.

Sometimes that questioning is not overt.

It often comes in the form of expert commentary about the lack of benefits of being on LinkedIn, from people who have not filled out their profile, or who have less than 500 connections.

Sometimes it comes with a little bit of a cynical raised eyebrow.

If you’re from the UK or Australia you’ll know how this goes.

You’ll hear a loaded statement something like this.

“You seem to be all over LinkedIn, KB every time I look, you’ve put another article up.”

OK, so maybe I am being a little paranoid about this.

But it does frustrate me that I still need to have this conversation with people.

For anyone who is remotely curious, here are some of the benefits, (anticipated or otherwise) I have found over the last four years of putting myself out there in social land.

A global network.

In Australia’s that’s had huge benefits as we are such a distant and small (ish) pond.

Am I smarter than the average duck? I think not.

However, being visible and being prepared to share and support ideas that are out there, has meant that people seek me out when they come into town or land on our shores.

I get invited to speak at the odd conference. I get asked to present at workshops. Media ask for my opinion. People want to connect with me as they know who I am, what I do and what I think.

Optimism.

For me, social media has been optimism on steroids.

When I’ve shared ideas, when I have been on the receiving end of ideas, when other people have shared my stuff I get a boost of energy.

But more than that, I no longer think inwardly about any problems or issues trying to solve them myself. I can always see a way forward based on what other people have made work.

And, I am never left short of ideas good, bad or ugly 😉

Unexpected opportunities.

I have found that ideas for working partnerships have found me, not the other way around. Someone has seen what I talk on, or how I may benefit them, and have approached me.

It’s been more of a challenge to pick the right idea at the right time.

I can source a crowd with one blog post.

The last webinar I ran was on helping skilled migrants find work without local experience.

I know this is a huge problem for many people. So I connected with an expert who had designed a course around it.

I promoted two free webinars aimed at helping skilled migrants navigate our market. My primary source for promotion of this was my blog.

This attracted almost 400 people, many of whom enrolled in a course at the end.

No hard sell.

No mailing list required.

No agonising cold calling.

That kind of result has to be a bucket load of YAY for anyone who’s been involved in selling.

A google cache of credibility.

People talk about the idea of social proof all the time.

It’s a great insurance policy for your career. If you share things that benefit people, other people reference them. Your name becomes associated with being generous and being credible in your expression of knowledge.

There are “undercover recruiters” employed by large corporates nowadays, specifically tasked to source hidden talent.

Being visible on Google makes their job so much easier.

I could go on, but that’s enough about me.

I’m totally sick of the cynics. (Just by the by as well, I am also totally sick of being asked how I make a living from a blog.)

So, I’d love to hear about the boost social media has had for your career.

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