Pinterest is one of the newest social media websites, and it is mainly used by women to save craft and decorating ideas. The site, however, has big potential for both job seekers and talent seekers. When used effectively, Pinterest can help prospective employees find jobs, and companies to determine if a candidate would be a good fit within their company.

Job seekers are using Pinterest to display their portfolio or create a visual resume. Since boards can be made of stand-alone pictures or links to a website or blog, the user can create a board with pins that link to their site, display a picture with a caption or a combination of both. Since all boards on Pinterest are public, a talent seeker can search using related keywords and find potential employees.

By browsing the person’s other boards and pins, the talent seeker can get an idea if the person would be a good fit for the company. A person’s boards say a lot about the person and their personality, so look for items that fit the ideals of the company. Some Columbia, South Carolina schools use Pinterest to provide career advice ranging from writing a good resume to job interview guidelines. A board’s followers are public, so look at the profiles of those who follow the board and read comments on pins to find prospective employees.

If you are advertising for a specific job, invite job seekers to create boards on Pinterest with ideas that relate to a subject. They can tag the business name in the comment section or email a link to the board. This allows the candidates to think outside the box and show what they can create, and it makes it easy for the talent seeker to look at submissions.

More and more students and job seekers are turning to Pinterest to look for jobs, including South University in Novi, MI students. They are familiar with the site, how it works and some even have their resumes and work already posted on the site. Professionals are using the site to showcase their work in many different fields, not just creative fields. For example, teachers can create boards with strategies and ideas they use in the classroom.

If you are looking for new talent, don’t forget to look at Pinterest. Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus are, perhaps, better known for finding talent, but the visual nature of Pinterest makes it ideal for job seekers and talent seekers. You can learn about a candidates ideas, previous work and their personality by browsing their boards and pins.

This Guest Post was contributed by Sam Peters, a blogger who enjoys writing about creative ways in which job seekers use Pinterest to draw attention to themselves during the job search.

A guest post from Rich Gorman.

We like to tell ourselves that we don’t really care what others think of us — but of course, it’s never really true. The fact is, popular perception and public opinion matter a great deal — whether we’re seeking to sell a product, land a job, or simply get a date.

That’s why the online reputation management industry has sprung up — because in the age of Facebook and Google, there’s never any telling what kind of information people are finding about you on the Internet. For major brands and small businesses alike, this information can be potentially devastating; if a Google search reveals nothing but negative reviews and consumer complaints, you can be sure your company’s profits will sink.

It’s not just businesses that need to be concerned about their branding and reputation, however; individuals need to be aware of this issue as well. Who hasn’t done an online search before going on that first date, following up on that prospective hire, or checking up on that new neighbor? It used to be enough to have a clean background — no arrests, no DUIs, no busted credit made for a clean bill of health. Now, one embarrassing photo or unwise Facebook comment can sabotage that first date or cost you that dream job.

But do online reputation management firms offer services for individuals, not just major corporations? The short answer is yes — all the time. Reputation management firms help lawyers and doctors, software engineers and schoolteachers, anyone and everyone remove unwanted photos or undesirable listings from the first few pages of Google, Yahoo, and Bing. They do it all day, everyday.

Your online reputation management situation may not quite call for that, however. For those seeking DIY reputation defense, there are a few basic tips and strategies that are sure to prove effective.

The first step is basic awareness. It’s vital to know what’s out there about you, and the best way to do that is to scour Google — known to many not just as a search engine, but as a reputation engine. Search for all possible variations on your name, as well as your phone number and your street address. Learning what’s out there about you is the first step toward defending your reputation, and combating unwanted listings.

Just searching on Google is not enough, though. As potent at Google may be, there are plenty of sites — including a lot of social media profiles — that are beyond its grasp. Try using a “people search engine,” like Pipl or Spock, to find out whether anyone’s talking smack about you on some long-forgotten MySpace page. These search engines will also determine whether you share a name with, say, a convicted felon or a porn star, both of which might be less than desirable if you’re trying to get a job.

If protecting your good name is the goal, opt out of mailing lists and bulk e-mail groups. Being present on these lists means your information is more accessible to those who might attempt to steal your identity. Removing yourself from these lists (or better yet, declining them in the first place) can really help make sure your identity is as safe as can be.

A great way to defend yourself from bad PR is to build a wall of good PR — which basically means making good use of social media. Populating your Facebook and Twitter accounts with information that presents you in a positive light is the key here. Signing up for those accounts but never using them is only so effective; if you post to them regularly, they’ll rank better on Google, hopefully out-ranking any negative listings you’d rather people not see.

If all else fails, online reputation management firms can provide an invaluable service, clearing your good name and restoring your reputation. However, by following these DIY defense tips, the hope is that you can keep your name clean on your own, and leave yourself with nothing to worry about on that first date or in that job interview.

Rich Gorman is a serial internet entrepreneur with an extensive background in direct marketing, affiliate marketing, and online reputation management. In addition, he helps companies and individuals with brand protection plans that prevent unscrupulous competitors from damaging their brand and reputation.

Recently, Citi and LinkedIn launched a new group for professional women called “Connect: Professional Women’s Network”. Geared towards professional women, the group aims to help women increase their network connections, and provide members with valuable tips and inspirational stories for professional success. Group member are actively sharing interesting articles

Check it out!

And to help you network even more, Citi and LinkedIn provided me with FIVE premium year-long  LinkedIn memberships to giveaway to readers. Each premium membership is worth $600 and provides you with Inmails, the ability to contact people outside your network, add personal notes to profiles so you can remember where you met someone, priority customer service, and more.

Winners will be randomly selected on Monday, May 14th.

To enter the giveaway, first join the  Professional Women’s Network LinkedIn Group. Then make a comment on this blog post with a link to your LinkedIn profile.  Make sure include your email when leaving a comment so I can contact the winners.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Traditionally, we’ve thought of the hiring process as one in which job applicants are judged based on their resumes, cover letters, professional appearances, references, and ultimately face-to-face interviews. With the rise of social media we’re seeing a new factor come into play for prospective employees looking to find a career: social media background checks. We’ve all heard stories about people getting fired for an untoward tweet or Facebook post.

Even before being hired, many applicants are rejected because of negative material found online. In fact, a recent study showed that nearly 70% of employers had refrained from hiring someone because of information found online. This could be in the form of blogs, photos, videos, and social media posts.

Social media background checks are now being packaged into services and employers will have to determine whether they think these services are efficient at choosing the most worthy job applicants. One such service, Social Intelligence, was approved by the FCC last year and has been implemented by a number of different companies.

Social Intelligence essentially mines a person’s social media profiles and creates a comprehensive document that flags and assesses racy material. Instead of focusing on credit scores or criminal backgrounds—though those may be pursued independently—SI paints a portrait of a job candidate based upon their social media activity. Hiring managers can then look at this information and make a determination. They can store this data in their archives for up seven years.

Regardless of how you view this practice ethically, it’s certainly worth both employers and job seekers taking note of the trend. In the near future, resumes and degrees will increasingly being competing with the online reputations created through social media. The implications of this are obvious: job seekers must do their own reputation management—similar to how companies monitor their brand online—to ensure that social media background check companies won’t be able to dredge up damaging material.

Yes, this means not posting pictures of yourself drunk or naked. It also means limiting the vulgarity you use. It is also certainly worth looking into your privacy permissions and making sure your social media accounts are locked to outside observers. That is, unless you want employers to see inside your profiles. If your material is squeaky clean and full of positive posts, this could be beneficial.

Hiring managers will also have to make sure that they are not overvaluing these background checks. Incidents and posts must be contextualized. A job applicant’s sterling job history, educational degrees, and skill sets should not necessarily be trumped by a propensity to post irresponsibly on social media sites. That said, cavalier online behavior is certainly a characteristic worth looking into, especially if your company deals with sensitive or highly classified material.

Photo credit: andercismo

This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.

Working in PR can be stressful. [Case in point: once again, PR made the ‘most stressful jobs’ list.] As PR professionals, we are providing a service to our clients or managers, and like other service providers, our work must cater to these clients. PR work is also opportunistic – meaning we have to stay on our toes, since opportunities can arise at any time.  The folks at MediaBistro’s PRNewser have five more reasons why PR is so darn stressful.

Sometimes the work we do is for a great cause – or our work gives us great satisfaction. However, most PR professionals (like other working professionals) seek “balance” between their work in public relations and other parts of their lives. How do we balance this stressful work with other demands and interests in our lives? Here are several approaches:

Forget the word “balance” – Really, it’s unrealistic to literally balance your time and spend an equal number of hours at work and at personal activities. Instead, experts at WorkLifeBalance.com advocate focusing on achievement and enjoyment. Their definition of Work-Life balance is “meaningful daily achievement and enjoyment in each of the four life quadrants: work, family, friends and self.” Is this attainable? In an online interview, author Aliza Sherman said, “Stop using the word ‘balance.’ My co-author Danielle Smith and I like to say that ‘balance is a mythical bar that we hold over our own heads, and just when we think we’re getting close, someone moves that bar.’” Sherman prefers the word ‘juggle’ and says, “As moms with businesses, we juggle. We can’t be at 100% as a mom or as a business owner at the same time. We have to give ourselves a break, forgive ourselves for not being ‘perfect.’ It isn’t about balance, it isn’t about perfection, it is about doing our best and having the conversations at home to create the system that works for us.”

Just Do It – Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg made headlines (again) when she revealed that she leaves the office at 5:30 pm every day. We know PR is stressful (see above) and it can be tough to carve out personal time when the phone is ringing, but it’s also easier to do if you set a routine and make your schedule a habit.

Listen to your inner Buddha – Lori Deschene who blogs at Tiny Buddha offers these 6 tips for creating work/life balance so that we allow ourselves “sufficient time to create [our dreams] – while also allowing space for relaxation, spontaneity, connection, and the simple act of being.”

Take care of yourself – Exercise can help eliminate the negative effects of stress. It’s also a great way to clear your head for better decision-making. Although it can be tough to get started and/or to make time for regular exercise, investing in your health is truly the most important reason.

Learn from others – Is there someone you know who epitomizes work/life balance and seems to “have it all”? If so, take that person out for a coffee and ask them how they do it. Find a work/life balance mentor and build your own support network in the process.

Set boundaries – We’re really talking about time here, and how we spend our daily 24 hours. In order to reap the most achievement and enjoyment from those hours, we have to learn to say no to some things so that we can focus on and prioritize other activities.

Evaluate your work life balance – Measurement is a favorite topic in PR. Like some PR campaign objectives, our work/life balance goals can be tough to measure. Start by charting your accomplishments; don’t just look at what’s left on your to-do list – be sure to note the successes.

Any other tips for balance PR work with the rest of life?

Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.

You should carefully consider who you ask to write a letter of recommendation. When you do, it’s important that you explain why you have chosen them and what unique relationship you have with that person that will allow them to effectively communicate your skill sets to your next employer.

You should arm your former colleague with the tools she needs to write you a recommendation. It’s time-consuming and inconsiderate to just ask someone to spend lots of time to write something for you from scratch. You don’t need to put words in her mouth, but do give her some direction. She needs to know your specific intents with the letter (is it general, for a specific job, the job description, etc.) and the characteristics and skills you’d like to highlight.  Giving some points of reference or even a draft will help you get a more customized, stronger recommendation letter.

Components of a Recommendation Letter

First paragraph: In the introduction of your letter, provide an explanation of how this person knows you. It might be your previous boss, a professor of a class that relates to the job you’re applying for, or a personal friend who can vouch for your character.

Second paragraph: This is the meat of the reference letter. It should detail about your qualities as they relate to the job description, what you bring to the table, and why this person is writing the letter for you. If necessary, this can be expanded into two paragraphs, but don’t make it too long.

Third paragraph: If there is a specific job description, this is the part where you specific skills for the job should be explained. Remind the person of any examples from your past they could highlight in the letter.

Conclusion: Be sure to summarize your — the job seeker’s — skills and recommend you for the role.

Contact info: The recommendation letter should also provide all contact information for the referrer – name, job title, company, phone number and email.

Keep a Copy
You may need a similar letter for future applications, so make sure you keep copies/scans of your letters in a safe place. You can use the same letter for multiple job applications, although if it was geared towards one job, you’ll obviously need to have it modified another position.

It’s a good idea to keep your references list and your recommendations on hand and current. Scrambling to get references together at the last minute looks disorganized and if getting the job comes down between you and another candidate, the lag time could cost you the job. Some contacts might be a better fit for some jobs than others, so keep a list of more than you need so you can rotate them.

This is a post by PR columnist, Alison Kenney.

Advances in communication technologies, increases in virtual offices and the prevalence of flexible (round-the-clock?) schedules make it possible to balance the work with personal demands in life.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since listening to Sheryl Sandberg’s TED talk about why we have too few women leaders and also since I’ve been approached by more than a couple of younger female PR professionals who want to know how they can prepare for work life when they start a family. (Having just crossed a milestone birthday and with a child in double-digits I guess I’m now a Buddha of sorts when it comes to work-life balance. Yikes.)

Sheryl Sandberg’s argument is compelling, made more so by her delivery and her backstory. (She went from being Larry Summers’ research assistant at the World Bank to being his Chief of Staff at the U.S. Treasury, became vice president at Google and is now COO at Facebook.) In her version of Women’s Lib, our daughters will have a chance not only to succeed but to be admired for having done so. To get to that day, she urges women to “take a seat at the table, make their partner a real partner and to not leave before you leave.”

Her argument is being heard in other industries too. In a NY Times editorial Dr. Karen Sibert argued that women who “want to be doctors should be doctors [and not get enter the profession looking for work-life balance].” Conversely, a colleague, Dr. Suzanne Koven, argues in response that maternity leaves and part-time hours aren’t just women’s issues and believes that Sibert’s “just say yes” approach risks discouraging women from pursuing careers in medicine.

Public Relations is similar to the medical profession in some ways. Our work is service-driven and we often work in response to the needs of our clients, which can include internal corporate clients. PR opportunities and crises can arise at any time. For these reasons, PR work can involve long hours and lots of stress. (Of course, our actions don’t typically result in life or death consequences.) Scaling back on clients or type of projects can make for a friendlier work-life balance, but could harm future career opportunities.

Since roughly 70 percent of PR professionals are women, many of us will or have had to deal with the mommy question. Many moms go on to have very successful careers in PR. Some heed Sandberg’s and Sibert’s advice and go “all in.” Others shape their work around their personal needs and schedules.

The answer, of course, is that there’s no one way to do things. Honestly, there’s no single definition for success either. Personally there are days when I think the answer is to just keep trying.

In that vein, here are a few of my picks for career advice for anyone who is trying to balance a PR career with their role as a parent:

• Make sure you’re in the right place. The NY Times’ Parenting blog featured a woman who switched careers well ahead of parenthood in order to prepare and get established in a self-directed career so she’d have more autonomy when she became a mother.
• Go virtual – working from a home office (surrounded by distractions?) isn’t for everyone, but if your life includes a lot of commitments in and around the home, a long commute may not work for you.
• Consider the pros and cons of part-time work
• Finally, here’s some inspiring career advice from some of the most powerful women in business

What do you think? Is PR a good profession for working parents? What’s your advice for making it work?

Alison Kenney an independent PR practitioner with more than 15 years of PR consulting experience. She is based on Boston’s North Shore and has worked with organizations in the technology, professional services and consumer industries. She writes a bi-monthly PR column on LindsayOlson.com. You can find her at www.kprcommunications.com. Learn more about Alison Kenney.

Times are a’ changing
The average person under 30 changes jobs once a year, while the average American changes jobs once every three years. Gone are the days when we put in a good 20 years at a company and got a pension. The younger the person, the more likely they are to have a changing work history.

Some employers are bothered by short stints (it works the other way – some employers worry if you have worked at the same company for too long!). You may encounter some prejudice if you’re labeled as a job hopper, but it’s up to you to turn the situation around.

How to Spin a Changing Work History
If you’re worried your long list of jobs will impede your ability to get your next job, find a way to show the silver lining. Focus on the benefits you’ve received from working in many positions.

You’ve likely gotten exposure to many different types of companies, which makes you well-equipped to handle a variety of work environments. You’ve learned more skills and have become highly adaptable by proxy of different employers’ requirements.

Honesty is the Best Policy
Don’t play down the fact that you’ve worked at many companies (especially if some of them are well-respected in your field; employers should know you’ve worked at these places and will probably find out by asking and searching around). You can ease some of the initial questioning by not listing the exact months of employment on your resume (employers know this trick). Keep the places of employment that best relate to the current role you’re applying for, and toss the rest, as in your university or immediate post-university jobs that are no longer relevant.

Sometimes it’s not your fault; many people have fallen victim to layoffs and cutbacks, so explain that if it’s the cause of your job hopping.

Employers major concern with job hopping is you’ll get bored and leave their firm after a long, grueling search and significant investment in hiring and training you. They may also question your decision-making process, especially if you have weak responses for your reasons for moving on or you seem to follow typical pattern.

Consider Your Own Reasons
If you feel  you’ve been labeled a “job hopper”, have you considered why are you changing jobs so often? Is there an underlying issue you can prevent?

Do you like what you do? If it’s an issue with your profession, there isn’t an employer in the world who will make you happy if you continue down a career path that makes you miserable. If that’s the case, it’s time to consider a big career shift.

Does it seem like everywhere you go you have personal issues with your boss or colleagues? As hard as it is to admit, it might be time to look at your interpersonal communication in the workplace.

If you constantly seek change or get bored, look to take on new roles and responsibilities at the same company. Even if you move from one position to another, staying with one company shows you’ve taken initiative to be promoted or moved to other areas.

It’s a circular argument: you need experience to get the job, yet you can’t get experience without the job! But these days, it’s perfectly possible to take your portfolio of work into your own hands. Content creation is abound, and if you’re not taking the incentive to gain experience on your own terms, you will be less likely to get hired for the job you want.

1. Write a Blog
It literally takes minutes to set up a blog and start writing. And since blogs are a great way to demonstrate not only your writing skills, but also your ideas, employers can get a great sense of you as a person and employee by reading your blog.

You don’t need to be the industry’s most-read blogger. It’s not your popularity that really even matters. Simply written good content on professional and industry topics and sharing the link in your job application can help hiring managers could give you an edge.

What to write about:

• Your take on your industry
• Opinion pieces on industry news
• Link to other industry blogs and comment on the topics

2. Press Releases
For PR professionals, the press release is the quintessential tool for the trade. But if you only wrote a couple of releases in college for your Comm class, you might feel like you don’t have an adequate hand on writing them.

Reach out to charities and nonprofits and let them know you’re looking to build your portfolio. Offer your services (free of charge) to write press releases for their news. It’s more impressive when you’ve got releases that are found online, so collect links to your press releases for your virtual portfolio.

3. Case Studies
Case studies are a great way to show you’re paying attention to how your industry helps companies. Create a case study from anywhere you’ve worked, interned, volunteered, or attended (school) that demonstrates areas you want to work in. For example, maybe you interned at a PR firm, though you didn’t get to dabble much in the publicity side. You could still create a case study about a client (leave names out of it) who saw an increase in visibility, thanks to the firm’s efforts.

4. Articles
There are literally hundreds — if not thousands — of magazines, newspapers and websites clamoring for content. Sometimes they can’t afford to pay, so they’re perfect for you as a beginner to pitch an article. Get to know the audience, and try for one that has a focus in the industry you want to work in. Come up with a unique story idea and sell it to the editor. Then keep the link or physical cutout for your portfolio.

Whether you write these samples for yourself, volunteer at a nonprofit or intern at a company, they’re a great way to show a potential employer that you take initiative to overcome that circle of no-experience-no-job.

Photo credit: Kunal Patel

LinkedIn Takes the Lead
It should be no surprise that companies recruited the highest number of employees through LinkedIn. Out of all social hires, LinkedIn accounted for 73%, while Facebook lagged behind with 20%, and Twitter 7%.

Surprisingly, though, Facebook beat LinkedIn by 2% (43%) of employee referral hires through social networks. I suppose it makes sense considering people tend to be more interactive on Facebook, and LinkedIn takes more of an effort to interact. Many users seem to use it more as their online professional profile. It’s easy to put up a profile, connect to people and let others come to you rather than really use all of it’s features to its full potential.

Referrals Work
While you know that having a friend refer you for a job gives you a boost toward getting hired, it shows in these results as well. For every 10 applications a company gets, one referral applicant is hired, as opposed to one out of every 100 general applications.

What Industries Turn to Social Media?
Not every industry uses Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to find new hires. These industries ranked highest among those that do:
1. Engineering
2. Sales
3. IT
4. Marketing
5. Customer Service

There are also certain roles that get recruited more online than others, and on different social networks. On LinkedIn, Product Management and IT roles were the highest type shared, while on Facebook, it was Marketing and Customer Support jobs. On Twitter, companies looked for Administrative and Accounting & Finance staff.

Clearly, the way companies look for new employees is changing with social media being an easy way to either amplify a job posting or access talent quicker than more traditional ways of the past.

How Can I Find a Job Through Social Media?
If you’re not already looking for a job through social media, set up a profile, connect with the companies you’re interested in working for, and start sharing posts that illustrate your knowledge in your industry. Share posts and links to content that speaks to your industry, and ask and answer questions. The more complete your online profiles, the higher chance you’ll have of being “shortlisted” by potential employers and recruiters.

But be proactive! Also look out for which accounts post jobs (sometimes a company has multiple accounts, especially on Twitter, and may have a dedicated job profile set up) and act quickly when you see a job you want.

Image credits: Jobvite