The Social Executive

@TheCareer100 Must-Follow Mavens on Twitter

Ryon Harms — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:47:02 +0000

On my last post, I offered 9 tips to get you started on Twitter. If you took my advise you’re probably reaching the, “So now what?” phase of your Twitter experience. A critical step beyond that all too common initial bewilderment is to quickly identify those powerful voices that can help you convert the overwhelming amounts of information on Twitter into a career-changing competitive advantage.

To that end, I’m please to announce the launch of @TheCareer100, a hand-picked collection of the 100 most influential personal branding gurus, power networkers, resume and interview experts, job boards and fellow executives on Twitter. If you’re new to Twitter, I hope you’ll find this list an invaluable resource for quickly getting up to speed on the who’s who of career management. I expect that even veteran Twiter’ers will find some undiscovered gems.

@TheCareer100 is a dynamic directory, meaning that as new voices emerge they will replace existing members. In fact, moving forward I’ll be looking to all of you for recommendations on who to add next. To submit recommendations simply email them to thecareer100@gmail.com. New additions will be announced via tweets through @TheCareer100 along with monthly member highlights and retweets, so be sure to follow us too.

As the name suggests, @TheCareer100 will never follow more than 100 people. Capping the list will help keep it fresh and dynamic for years to come. Listing them on Twitter, rather than on this static blog post, also makes it easier to click “follow” straight down the list. I recommend following everybody and then filtering folks out if they aren’t relevant to your career goals.

If you still haven’t joined Twitter, this is your opportunity. Knowing who to follow is half the battle. Following this list of 100 career mavens will allow you to listen in on some of the masters before you decide to join the conversation. Click here to get started: www.twitter.com/thecareer100.

P.S. It’s been a month since my last blog post. In that time I’ve added a few tools to make it easier to share this blog with your friends and colleagues. I also spent quite a bit of time doing my due diligence on these 100 career mavens. I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait.

9 Tips to Get Executives Started on Twitter

Ryon Harms — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:30:29 +0000

If you’re like me, you’re weary of joining yet another social network. You’re on LinkedIn and maybe even Facebook, that should be enough. Wrong. Bottom line, if you’re not micro-blogging on Twitter you are missing out on one of the most powerful and easy to use, not to mention fun social media tools today. I took a quick look and saw that only 10% of my professional network is on Twitter (and most of them are not active). It’s time for everybody to step it up.

Twitter has an unprofessional name, but as you’ll see it has the potential to amplify your networking, business development, job search and relationship building at unprecedented speed.

Let’s talk about some basics:

1. Brevity is the soul of Twitter. Your messages (known as “Tweets”) need to be less than 140 characters. As you’ll see this is more liberating than constricting.

2. Creating a Twitter account could not be easier, but you have a very limited amount of space to create a profile, so make it count.

3. Twitter was originally created with SMS in mind. This means that the majority of your messages can easily be written from your Blackberry or iPhone, or any phone for that matter.

4. Keep in mind that everything you write in Twitter is tracked by the search engines. Always assume that everything you write will be read by everyone.

Networking

If you use the “What are you working on?” feature on LinkedIn, or the “What are you thinking?” feature on Facebook you have an idea about how Twitter works. Now imagine a massive social river of these bite-sized updates streaming past your screen. You’d be able to set up instant networking meetings, know who’s meeting where, which jobs just hit the market and which articles are being read by the people you respect and follow, among other timely information.

Job Searching

I find that posting job leads on group discussion boards is clumsy and not at all effective. If you subscribe to email alerts from these job boards you’re likely inundated with job leads that simply don’t interest you. On Twitter, everyone can post these same job leads in real time without flooding everyone else’s inbox. Beyond seeing leads posted by your personal network, HR professionals are increasingly posting jobs on Twitter before they ever hit the job boards. If you want to learn more about the nuances of job searching on Twitter click HERE.

Relationship Building

Twitter is a collective stream of consciousness. That means that everyone downloads their thoughts, both professional and personal, into a central shared space. Over time you start to see who’s a fisherman, a skier or a yogi. All of this contributes to building stronger interpersonal networks of executives that can connect and build meaningful relationships on more than one level. If you want to see what other executives are writing about check out www.exectweets.com.

ExecTweets aggregates executive messages on Twitter. This is a great place to see how some of the world's most respected CEOs are using Twitter to build company and personal brands.

There are many nuances native to Twitter that you’ll learn over time. Here are five you should know off the bat:

1. Twitter asks “What are you doing?”, but don’t let that limit what you write about. You can also answer, “What are you thinking?”, “What are you reading?”, “Which jobs are you applying to?”, etc. It’s really up to you.

2. Unlike “Contacts” on LinkedIn, the people you “Follow” on Twitter do not automatically follow you back. However, many will follow you back out of courtesy. Thus, the more people you follow the more people might follow you. Was that confusing?

3. The Twitter search engine isn’t user friendly. I recommend using www.search.twitter.com when searching for people or specific topics.

4. If you want to post an article you found online you’ll need to shorten the URL so that it doesn’t use up all 140 characters. To shorten URLs visit www.tinyurl.com. It’s a cinch.

5. When you reply to somebody else’s message your tweet shows up on that person’s timeline. This is a great way to get exposure and gain new followers if your response was relevant and adds to the conversation.

Most of all, don’t forget to have fun. I highly recommend starting an account today. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get the hang of it right away. You might say Twitter is an acquired taste. Once you’re on find me at www.twitter.com/thesocialexec. Follow me and I’ll be sure to keep the Twitter tips coming.

I suggest you continue reading about Twitter. Here are some articles to get you started:

3 Ways to Get More Out of LinkedIn Groups

Ryon Harms — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:30:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I started a LinkedIn group for the Pacific Executive Network (PEN) and immediately realized that Yahoo! and others offer superior group sites with greater functionality. Having said that, LinkedIn groups offer some unique benefits that I believe many of us should be taking advantage of but probably are not. Here are the top three followed by instructions.

1. Job Postings—A good job lead is a terrible thing to waste. Rather than post job leads as discussions on your LinkedIn groups (a common mistake) or send them out as an email, post them in the appropriate Jobs tab from your LinkedIn groups.

How to do it: At the top of your LinkedIn group page you’ll see seven different tabs, starting with “Overview.” The fourth tab is Jobs. Click there and you’ll see a list of all jobs posted by fellow group members. On the right column you’ll see several options that allow you to filter job postings by Recent Activity, Most Comments and My Followed Jobs. At the top of that list is a link to Post a job+. Follow the instructions from there. Trust me, your fellow members will appreciate it.

2. Search Group—This feature is often underutilized but it can be a very powerful filter. It is useful for identifying fellow members that may:

have connections at one of your target companies;
be a great fit for a job lead that you have to offer;
want to connect with you because they work in a related field;
be a potential customer, partner or employee.

How to do it: When you click the Members tab at the top of your group’s page you’ll see a comprehensive list of group members. Towards the top, on the right column of that page you’ll see the “Search Group” field box. You can type in the names of people, companies and industry topics, as well as any relevant keywords that help narrow down your search.

3. Article Postings—Many of the interesting articles that you read online relate to all of us executives—both working and in transition. Why not share those articles with your LinkedIn groups and create an additional impression with fellow members.

How to do it: Many publications online (including The New York Times) allow you to post articles directly to your LinkedIn groups. Simply look for the social bookmark icons near the “email this to a friend” link. If you use other social bookmarking services like Digg you already know where these reside. If you don’t, look for the LinkedIn or “ShareThis” icons (usually towards the top or bottom of the page you want to share). When you click on the icon a small window pops up that lets you easily post the article to one of your LinkedIn groups. You can repeat this process if you’d like to share the article with more than one group. If you don’t see the icons, you can also click on the News tab at the top of your groups page and insert the article manually.

Utilizing these functions is vital to accelerating your networking activities on LinkedIn. Each one gives you an opportunity to contribute, keep your name top of mind and make an impression with fellow networkers and group members. You’ll be surprised to see how many opportunities can shake out simply by participating.

How I Got the Job—Part I

Ryon Harms — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:30:28 +0000

We embark on this long strange trip called transition on our own terms. And even though my trip was unique, I learned a few things along the way that I’d like to share with you, the friends and fellow networkers that propelled me towards this ultimate goal. I split this blog post into three parts to be released over the next few weeks: Part I discusses my overall strategy; Part II covers the technology that I used to accelerate my strategy; and Part III details how I used that strategy and technology to cultivate a thriving network.

Part I—The Farmer Strategy

“Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow.”—Einstein

For me, finding a position came down to one thing—never stop planting seeds. That means finding every possible way to tell your story to every possible person that will listen. In the end, I interacted with more than four hundred senior executives. One of the greatest lessons I learned from all of those people is that the best opportunities come from the most unlikely places.

The experts say that having a killer resume, a compelling cover letter and a refined elevator pitch are the keys to finding your dream job. I’m not so convinced. In the end, no matter how pithy your pitch may be, I believe the difference maker will be the sheer number of personal connections you make along the way.

For the past three months I averaged about four networking calls and 10 email communications per day. I attended dozens of networking events from the San Fernando Valley to the Conejo Valley, West Los Angeles and all the way down to San Diego through Newport, Irvine and Laguna Niguel. One thing I learned from those mixers is that you might as well stay home unless you’re committed to following up with every single person you meet.

At a minimum, I did three things after making a connection at an event:

1. Send an email requesting a follow up conversation.

2. Talk on the phone or meet for coffee soon after the event.

3. Follow up with an invitation on LinkedIn.

If you want to be more aggressive and have access to a comprehensive list of attendees, you can reach out to folks you didn’t have time to meet at the event. They were there to network, so why not take the initiative?

There were times when all my networking felt like a constructive waste of time. I communicated with so many executives that occasionally I felt overwhelmed. I think the most embarrassing was when I called the same person twice in one day and didn’t even realize it! But despite the missteps, I now see that every new relationship got me one important step closer to my ultimate goal.

Getting your own personal message out there is actually the easy part. Absorbing and taking action on everybody else’s message is where things tend to get messy. How do you internalize more than 400 names, let alone that many elevator pitches? Since I’m not Rain Man, I looked to technology to make sense of the information overload.

In a later post I’ll cover the three technologies I integrated into my search: CRM, Social Networks and Blogs.

Introducing the Pacific Executive Network (PEN)

Ryon Harms — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:46:54 +0000

I am pleased to announce the formation of The Pacific Executive Network (PEN). Like this blog, PEN is focused on helping senior executives better utilize technology to grow their networks and create more meaningful professional relationships.

PEN was formed a couple of weeks ago by a group of 10 likeminded executives at the DBM offices in San Diego. We saw an opportunity to mix in-person meetings and social media, together with a limited number of members to create a healthy and productive networking environment. We believe this will allow members to make recommendations, introductions and share information with a higher level of confidence.

PEN is a private group comprised of senior executives from diverse backgrounds. At the moment, we offer biweekly meetings, online presentations and an innovative social media community. To ensure membership you must be recommended by an existing member, otherwise we encourage senior executives to apply through PEN’s LinkedIn group for consideration. The criteria for membership are to have held positions at the Director level or above and residence in Sothern California. All industries are welcomed and encouraged to participate.

If you’re interested in learning more and meet the criteria, I’d like to invite you apply through our LinkedIn group HERE.

The Social Executive

Ryon Harms — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:30:23 +0000

FOREWORD–NEW NAME!

I have been humbled by all the support and interest in my fledgling blog over the past few weeks. During that time, I’ve also started to find my voice and focus the scope of my coverage. As a result I think the time is right to rename this blog and clearly define its mission. The new name will be The Social Executive (TSE), which I believe crystallizes the blog’s mission: help senior executives better utilize technology and social media to grow their networks and create more meaningful professional relationships. To read my new About page click HERE.

Also, please note that starting tomorrow this blog will have its own URL: www.thesocialexec.com.

BLOG POST

Applying on job boards is like prospecting. You can spend hours filling out applications and customizing cover letters and still only pull out the occasional nugget of opportunity. “You only need one,” the old saying goes so we all do it even though we know that the chances of landing a job that way are small and shrinking. Here are a couple of reasons why.

Many job descriptions are written with enough qualifications to fill four or five positions hoping to snare someone willing to jump into a five for the price of one level of responsibility. Other postings are written by recruiters looking to buff up their databases of job candidates, knowing full well that no such positions exist. And even if your name is in that database those recruiters likely won’t consider you until they have tried and failed to fill the position with all other means available to them from within.

Having said that, I found both of my previous positions (jobs that I really enjoyed) on the Craigslist job board back when Craigslist was just getting off the ground. This time around, Craigslist isn’t exactly a secret and so the demand now far outweighs the supply. The trick is, I think, to stay away from the large super market-style job boards and stick with a few niche regional and industry job boards where the supply is more in line with demand.

I’ve compiled a list of such job boards on a new blog page to help you get started. You’ve likely already visited most of these, but hopefully there’s at least one undiscovered gem. Visit my new Job Boards page HERE.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

JOHN HAZLIN

Last Title: President

Last Company: MyNutritionStore.com

Located: Orange County, CA

Seeking: John Hazlin is a senior level executive who can assist start-ups to medium-sized companies in raising capital, creating business plans, team-building, corporate strategy, financial planning, web design & development, sales, advertising and marketing. John is looking for networking opportunities to consumer packaged goods companies or organizations offering private equity or venture capital.

Top Targets: Hansen Natural Corp, Metagenics, NBTY

Email: jhazliniii@aol.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhazlin

Be sure to contact John directly if you have any leads for him!

The Hunted–Week 3

Ryon Harms — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:30:48 +0000

Sothern California has no shortage of executive networks. There are dozens if not scores of groups clamoring for your attention and participation. Some are free, some charge modest fees, while others cost thousands of dollars per year. We all know that networking in transition is job one, but with diminishing resources how is one to pick and choose? I figure that the best way to have the cream rise to the top is to put it to a vote by asking all of you one simple question…

Like I said, there are too many executive networks in So Cal to keep up with. So to help make sense of it all, I’ve added a new page to this blog called “Executive Networks” (located up in the navigation bar). I’ve posted more than 40 different networks, but I’m counting on you to name the rest so that eventually this page can be a comprehensive resource for all of us. Simply write in the name of the network I missed in the comments box at the bottom of the page and I’ll add it to the list.

On a side note, you all probably know that I find social media fascinating. If you’re like me, you might want to check out the upcoming Gravity Summit at UCLA on February 25th. The topic of discussion will be “Social Media Marketing for Business.” I think this event will be chock full of ideas for us to shorten our time in transition. Read about it at www.gravitysummit.com. The conference costs $349 per admission, but if you visit the link below and use the promo code you can save $60.

http://tinyurl.com/cffao8
Code: PROMO2

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Brett Briskin

Last Title: Director, IT Operations Development
Last Company: 99 Cents Only Stores

Located: Commerce, CA

Seeking: Seeking: IT Director/Program Manager position in one of three areas for a mid to large-sized company: Major application/program implementations in the media, retail or supply chain industries; Privacy and PCI Compliance; or PMO/Project Governance in defining and standardizing IT processes.

Top Targets: NBC/Universal, Union Bank and Sony

Email: bbrisk@aol.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/bbriskin

Be sure to contact Brett directly if you have any leads for him.

WEEKLY WIKI

(This section now appears as a feed on the right column of this blog.)

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Happy Hunting!

The Hunted–Week 2

Ryon Harms — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:30:36 +0000

For all of you power networkers trying to cope with information overload, I may have found the most useful online networking application yet. Gist.com, still in private beta, scrubs information from the web (press releases, blogs, etc.) and then integrates it with Outlook, LinkedIn, and Gmail to pull in relevant contact info, calendar events, email attachments, links, and company information. The result is a dynamic dashboard that includes all news on your contacts, as well as a sidebar with appointments (if you use Outlook), email attachments, and links. For all of you early adopters I recommend that you try to sign up and let me know what you think.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT GIST.COM.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Alex Gerwer

Last Title: Healthcare Solutions Business Development

Last Company: Siemens

Located: Long Beach, CA

Seeking: I am seeking a position in strategic planning, business development, or marketing with a company in either the medical products, information technology, or telecommunications industry.

Email: asg_akn@yahoo.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/1/264/32b

Feel free to contact Alex to see if he can help you or you him.

WEEKLY WIKI (Recent posting from The Hunted: Wiki)

(Note: You must be a member to see names and contacts. To register or sign in visit The Hunted: Wiki)

Video Products Group

This company has had a position for a Technical Product Manager listed for at least a couple of months. It is also being worked by several contingent fee recruiters. I submitted online with no result, recently sent in a resume via an introduction to the VP of Engineering, —— ——. They are also looking for FPGA designers.

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Be sure to keep those wikis coming and feel free to invite others that might benefit from our work here…

Happy Hunting!

The Hunted—Week 1

Ryon Harms — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:30:00 +0000

I came across this blog that I think you guys should read. There are some great tips here to help you build the ultimate social media resume: http: Social Media Resume. I think these tips will help make all of us more distinctive while accelerating our job search.

Also this week, I’ve added three sections to this blog/newsletter: Member Spotlight, Did you know?, and Weekly Wiki. With Member Spotlight I hope to single out a member so that all of you can keep your ears open this week for any opportunities that you think can help that member in transition. Did you know? is meant to point out a specific function to make your use of The Hunted wiki more useful. And finally, Weekly Wiki highlights one of your entries for everyone to see.

Thanks again for all of your participation. The wiki now have more than 20 active members. Just another 30 to reach our goal of 50 by March 1!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Al Lewis

Last Title: Director of Product Strategy

Last Company: Sabeus

Located: Los Angeles, CA

Seeking: Director of Marketing / Vice President of Marketing (Marketing Product Management) at small to medium sized high tech firm in Southern California. Background includes application software, Internet and eCommerce, telecommunications, wireless (WIFI in LAN environments, wireless Internet and carrier cellular applications), integrated hardware and software platforms, and complex IT solutions.

Email: awlewis@attglobal.net

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/alwlewis

WEEKLY WIKI

SPOT RUNNER

(Note: You must be a member to see names and contacts. To register visit The Hunted: Wiki)

Spot Runner is a very interesting company but they seem to be laying people off almost monthly. The person that I spoke to inside was —— ——– at ——@spotrunner.com. I had a few interviews with him over the phone but he maintains that the company is in a hiring freeze at the moment and may be rethinking its business model.

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Be sure to keep those wikis coming and feel free to invite others that might benefit from our work here…

Happy Hunting!