Best Career Book for Class of 2013

What do the principles of entrepreneurship have to teach you about your career, even if you don't want to start your own business?

Everything. 

That is the message of the incredible book I just finished reading by LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and entrepreneur Ben Casanocha: The Start-up of You.

For the past year I have been living a dream job filled with risk, adventure, and airplanes. If you had asked me when I graduated college if I would have been doing what I'm doing now, I would have just laughed and said that sounds like someone else. 

For the past year almost everyone I meet asks me some form of the question "where do you want to go with your career?"

I'm often caught off guard because, honestly, I don't know what the future holds. I love that, but it also scares me sometimes. 

My answer to that question usually goes something like this: "I don't know what will come next; I could have never known I'd be where I am now. My only plan is to keep doing what I did to get this far -  learn like crazy, meet lots of people who are way cooler than me, and work really hard."

The Start-up of You reinforced that this kind of present-focused, people-focused, and learning-focused "plan" is a good thing (whew - thanks Reid and Ben for making me feel better!).

The truth is, you do want to have some direction, but you must be open to change. If not, opportunities will pass you by. 

We don't know what the jobs of tomorrow will look like, so the best thing you can do for your career is to focus on learning today. 

Every time someone asks you "what's next" (which they will a lot - it's a human-nature kind of question) take that time to think about what you are doing today. 

Are you meeting with an interesting person? Are you reading a new book? Are you applying for a new and challenging learning experience? Are you volunteering for projects that interest you at your current job? 

The best way to guarantee a compelling and exciting career for your future is to learn like crazy and surround yourself with people you admire. 

Also, read The Start-up of You. It will pump you up for your next adventure, and give you the tools you need to get started. 

The adventure (and the learning) has just begun. :)

Disclosure: Unless stated otherwise at the beginning of a post, any book I recommend is because I've read it, loved it, and couldn't keep it to myself. I only share books I think will help you and that I love like crazy. 

Can you be yourself on social media if employers are watching?

A student recently asked me the following question:

I wanted to ask you about incorporating personal branding with social media. I have ALWAYS used social media to vent - but if that makes you less favorable in the eyes of employers, it seems that there is no longer a medium in which we can post semi-inappropriate statuses, or share our actual thoughts in the moment, when Twitter/Facebook is being monitored by employers. What I'm really asking for is advice on finding that balance. How do you do it?

Here is what I said:

This is a GREAT question. Personal branding and your online persona go hand in hand, but you are right: it requires balance.

While it can be hard to figure out how to balance your personal and professional self on social media, the process is actually easier than you think. The key is to be intentional and thoughtful about why you have social media and the results you desire from your posts.

For example, ask yourself: is social media a way for you to A) connect with professionals, network, and find jobs, B) connect with friends, or C) both? 

A) Professionals: If you primarily desire for your social media to be professional, think of all your channels as a LinkedIn, and focus on adding value in your field and remaining positive and helpful. Notice the social media channels of the top professionals in your field and use them as role models. 

B) Friends: If social media is a way for you to vent and be your uninhibited self, you'll want to be very intentional about your privacy settings and who you allow to be your friend on Facebook or who you let follow you on Twitter. 

C) Both: For me, social media is both an important part of my job (I get most of my clients from it), and a vital part of my social life (I love my Facebook friends and Twitter peeps). Since that is the decision I've made, I'm very intentional about remaining positive, fun, and helpful. If I have a horrid day or need to vent, I do that with my close friends, in-person or in a direct message. You can also consider having two separate profiles, a private one just for friends and a public one for networking. 

Again, the key is being intentional. The worst mistakes people make with social media come when they don't think about it at all. Choose your number one social media priority, and then post accordingly. 

Have fun with it and be yourself, but remember to adjust depending on your desired audience, just as you do when you choose how to dress for an interview versus a party. 

Only you can decide your social media priorities, and once you decide, you'll be far ahead of the majority of people who don't even think about it.

5 steps to make the most out of LinkedIn in college

On every Monday night that I can, I join the #InternPro chat with YouTern on Twitter, and last week's topic was: "Not on LinkedIn? Are You F'ing Crazy?" lol. YouTern always makes me laugh. 

The conversation was wonderful, and it helped me realize that a lot of students are intimidated, confused, and unsure about using LinkedIn when they're young. So I wanted to ease your fears and give you five steps to start using LinkedIn in ways that can help you right now!

Note: If this is the first time you're hearing about LinkedIn, it's essentially a Facebook for professionals. It's more about developing job opportunities, less about sharing funny cat meme's (thought feel free to share them with me because I love them).  

1. Build your profile. Have a friend take a nice headshot of you in professional clothing for this profile picture. For your title, list "'student' or, if you know your major, '_____ major' at [insert your college here]. For the rest, visit your college career center and ask them to help you  build a resume, and then use that to build your LinkedIn profile. 
2. Find a mentor in your desired industry and ask him/her to look over your LinkedIn profile and give you advice on how you can tailor your current experiences to be attractive to company's where you'd like to intern. 
3. Use LinkedIn's advanced people search and play around with entering things in the keyword, title, company, and industry boxes that relate to what you are interested in. Do not limit yourself by location initially, and just read the profiles of people who have jobs you might like so you can learn where they got their start, what they majored in, and how their career has progressed. It will teach you a lot about the paths you can take. 
4. Use the advanced people search again and this time look for people in jobs you'd like who live near you. Learn as much as you can about them in a general online search, and then send them a personal request to connect as a friend, telling them briefly why you admire them and that you want to learn from them. You can then follow the steps in the post I wrote about how to find a professional mentor. 
5. Join LinkedIn groups related with your desired industry and get involved in the discussions. Joining these groups sometimes gives you access to message some group members directly (great way to find mentors). Groups will also help you stay up to date on industry news (very impressive for a college student), and learn about job opportunities. The best way to find groups to join is look at the profiles of people who are in jobs you're interested in and scroll down their profile to see which groups they are a part of - then join them!

I'd be happy to be your first LinkedIn connection! Once you've built your profile you can request to connect with me here; just tell me you're a blog reader and I'll accept. 

Happy LinkedIn'ing ;)

How to make the most of social media

Social media is the primary way most of us connect with other people, and despite the proliferation of meme's and pictures of people's pets (which I'll admit, I love), social media can lead to some of the most meaningful connections in your life.

However, the most powerful social media relationships occur when you add the other senses to your interactions (e.g. you need to see them in person, shake their hand or hug them, hear their voice, and...smell them? Ok that'd be weird, but you know what I mean).

There is something chemical that happens when we meet with people in person that will never be replicated online. And the bonds you create with people in person are the ones that will affect your life - both personally and professionally. 

So how do you turn a social media connection into a more meaningful connection? There are two strategies depending on your purpose, for friends or for business:

For Friends

Too often we let social media take the place of in-person hang outs with friends. I call it the social shortcut - and I am so guilty of it. 

Instead of making the effort to invite a friend to coffee or chat on the phone (do people even do that anymore?), the social shortcut allows you to just write something on their wall or send them a message. This works great for most things, but it keeps us from getting really close with people. And as humans, we need to feel that closeness with others in a live community. 

So here's what you can do (don't worry, I'm not going to make you call anyone): instead of just messaging a friend or writing on their wall an open-ended "I miss you" or "we should hang out," look at your calendar, figure out when you're free, and then text or message them an invite to do XYZ on one of your free days. Give them all the times you're available that week and ask them to pick the time that they're free too.

Make the effort. Keep inviting people until someone says yes. Don't get discouraged. Because once you come home after hanging out in person, you will notice you get a feeling that social media just can't touch. 

For Business

There is a lot of hype around how social media can help people in business. Some are skeptical, however, because it's difficult to quantify how social media effects sales or careers.  

I've always been a huge believer that social media can help you find mentors and develop professional connections, and I've recently experienced how valuable those professional connections can be - especially when you translate them to in person meetings.

The third section of my book is all about how to do this, but in short, simply  interact with them as you normally would wherever you "met" them (e.g. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) and get to know them by what they do on social media. Build a casual "internet" relationship first. 

Then, send a direct message or e-mail saying why you admire them and ask to chat on the phone for ten minutes to ask their advice. If they live nearby, ask to meet them in person. Something magical happens when you connect with someone in person. I'm sure this is documented in a sociology book somewhere (and I'm almost sure 'magic' is the scientific term). 

When you make that in-person connection, you become familiar with someone in a deeper way - a way that lends itself much more closely to developing a mutually beneficial relationship where you help each other in your careers, and many times, your lives. 

I owe so much to social media, and some of my most treasured in-person friendships and business opportunities have come from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

And just so we're clear: Don't meet online strangers in dark alleyways. Do make the effort to make your social media connections count. 

Three things to research before your next job interview

It is Three for Thursday, and here are three things for you to research before your next job interview (and I'm not talking about the company website - though yes, def. check that out too). ;) 

1. LinkedIn profiles of company employees.

Researching LinkedIn can help answer a few of the questions that you probably already have for the job that you are interviewing for, such as:

• What paths have the other employees taken to get to this job?
• How long do people usually remain in a position with the company?
• Is this a company that workers seem to stay with?
• What day-to-day responsibilities do the employees at the company have (this can usually be found in responsibilities section of a LinkedIn profile)?

You can also connect with someone who works at that company in order to ask them questions relating to the organization. Pick someone who won’t be directly involved in your interview process at first, and ask simple advice about their experiences thus far, what they like most about their job, and what is most challenging. 

2. The company's social media pages  – including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Most career advisors will tell you to go to the company’s web site (a good idea), but don’t forget to go to the social media pages of the company too.

Social media pages are updated more frequently than a general company page; you can keep up with some of the latest ideas, projects, or announcements that the company has produced.

You can also see the simple mission statement of the company and what it is emphasizing to the public.

Those bits of information are things that you can then thread into your answers at your interview, as well as help you to think about how your past experience relates to some of the initiatives they seem to be featuring to the public. 

Remember, an interview is about showing your value and how that value can be offered to what the company is producing. A great place to see what they are currently prioritizing, at least externally, is social media. 

3. Salary ranges on Glassdoor.

Pay is important. It isn’t the most important aspect of a job, but you should always make sure that the advertised (or if not advertised) pay of a job is in range of what is expected with that position.

If the pay is lower than the average, consider these questions:

• Does experience come into play with the pay you are being offered? Your experience might be the reason that it seems like you are making a little bit less.
• Is this a larger company that hires lots of entry-level positions? If so, expect the pay to be a little bit lower.
• Does the company offer any benefits or perks that equate to salary?

If the pay seems much higher than the average on Glassdoor, make sure that the company is reputable. If something seems too good to be true, make sure it is true. Sadly, we live in a world that requires us to beware of scams. But if it reputable, your location can play into the salary difference as well.

One of the things that I’ve learned about human resources is that an easy way to think about interviews is:

The company is the shopper; you are selling your personal brand.

And if you think about it that way, it makes sense to do some consumer research, just like any brand does before hitting a market. Because the more you know about a customer, the easier it is to see how your brand can fit their needs.

Good luck with any interviews you have coming up! And remember, whether it is full-time, part-time, or an internship, the payoff of the research is always worth the investment.