This is a true story as told to DiversityJobs, where you can find career interviews for the job you've been looking at and available positions in your desired field.
I've been in the social media manager business for two years now and have varied clients ranging from car dealerships to graphic designers to businesses seeking a strong web presence.
My goals as a social media expert is to provide my clients with website design tips, blogging and above all getting them to utilize social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
The hardest part of being a social media manager is convincing clients the need social media attention in the first place!
Most businesses who are not Internet savvy feel the best way to reach their customers is via newspaper ads, radio and television spots but in reality, today’s savvy customer turn to the Web to find the products and services they seek.
At times, this convincing alone can take up a lot of my time so this part of the job is about a four on a scale of ten; but once they are convinced, the rest of my job is an absolute ten on the satisfaction scale.
One of the largest things independent social media experts face is dealing with firms offering services at ridiculous prices. These firms are hard to compete with but usually the end-user isn’t satisfied and will turn to me to fix mistakes. It would be nice if they’d understand a good social media manager may cost them as much as $2,000 to $3,000 per month depending on the size of their business and the services I provide.
Though social media seems like an easy vocation, sometimes it’s not! You will have customers who want change after change so make sure you nail down the amount of changes they can make in a formal contract agreement.
My desire to learn more about the Internet was all I needed to get a jump start on becoming a social media manager. From there, a few online classes and some optimization of my own website and a little HTML coding experience was all I needed.
As I look back, I might have focused a little more on Google and what their algorithms do and how they can change—very fast meaning the social media efforts you offer your clients start to slow down and require immediate attention.
While online SEO and social media training did help me, I've learned larger companies want experts who have a full bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field. Because I’m void of a bachelor’s degree, sometimes it makes it difficult in convincing clients I can do the job.
A funny thing that happened to me with one client when I asked if he would be willing to share his screen with me via an Internet sharing tool. Once he agreed and I sent him the link so we could connect, I was able to see his screen right away and let’s just say the websites he was browsing were of the adult type! He was very embarrassed!
One advantage of being a social media manager is you do get to perform most of you job at home. While I do meet with clients from time to time, the telecommuting offers me a chance to follow another passion I have—fostering dogs from shelters until they can be adopted!
On the other side of that coin, if a client wants you ASAP, you need to be prepared to leave in a flash so you really can’t work in your pajamas all day long.
I’ve never felt too stressed being a social media manager unless I have a horrible and demanding client. I have, however, turned down some clients just from analyzing them in our initial meeting—sometimes you can tell right off if a client will be good or bad.
I still recommend those wanting to break into the social media manager world should obtain bachelor’s degree, as I wish I had. I think I would have landed more clients right off instead of contacting client after client and proving myself.
So far, I can happily say I’m making between $30,000 to $40,000 a year but this is working 24/7 and being there when my clients need me.
If you think helping any organization gain clients via the Internet sounds like a great job, a social media manager may be the right profession for you. Some of my friends are a little jealous they must follow a 9-5 schedule that is strictly regimented where I can set my own hours.
Five years from now I’d like to have my own company, hire some social media managers and take a vacation!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
This is a true story as told to DiversityJobs, where you can find career interviews for the job you've been looking at and available positions in your desired field.
I've been in the social media manager business for two years now and have varied clients ranging from car dealerships to graphic designers to businesses seeking a strong web presence.
My goals as a social media expert is to provide my clients with website design tips, blogging and above all getting them to utilize social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
The hardest part of being a social media manager is convincing clients the need social media attention in the first place!
Most businesses who are not Internet savvy feel the best way to reach their customers is via newspaper ads, radio and television spots but in reality, today’s savvy customer turn to the Web to find the products and services they seek.
At times, this convincing alone can take up a lot of my time so this part of the job is about a four on a scale of ten; but once they are convinced, the rest of my job is an absolute ten on the satisfaction scale.
One of the largest things independent social media experts face is dealing with firms offering services at ridiculous prices. These firms are hard to compete with but usually the end-user isn’t satisfied and will turn to me to fix mistakes. It would be nice if they’d understand a good social media manager may cost them as much as $2,000 to $3,000 per month depending on the size of their business and the services I provide.
Though social media seems like an easy vocation, sometimes it’s not! You will have customers who want change after change so make sure you nail down the amount of changes they can make in a formal contract agreement.
My desire to learn more about the Internet was all I needed to get a jump start on becoming a social media manager. From there, a few online classes and some optimization of my own website and a little HTML coding experience was all I needed.
As I look back, I might have focused a little more on Google and what their algorithms do and how they can change—very fast meaning the social media efforts you offer your clients start to slow down and require immediate attention.
While online SEO and social media training did help me, I've learned larger companies want experts who have a full bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field. Because I’m void of a bachelor’s degree, sometimes it makes it difficult in convincing clients I can do the job.
A funny thing that happened to me with one client when I asked if he would be willing to share his screen with me via an Internet sharing tool. Once he agreed and I sent him the link so we could connect, I was able to see his screen right away and let’s just say the websites he was browsing were of the adult type! He was very embarrassed!
One advantage of being a social media manager is you do get to perform most of you job at home. While I do meet with clients from time to time, the telecommuting offers me a chance to follow another passion I have—fostering dogs from shelters until they can be adopted!
On the other side of that coin, if a client wants you ASAP, you need to be prepared to leave in a flash so you really can’t work in your pajamas all day long.
I’ve never felt too stressed being a social media manager unless I have a horrible and demanding client. I have, however, turned down some clients just from analyzing them in our initial meeting—sometimes you can tell right off if a client will be good or bad.
I still recommend those wanting to break into the social media manager world should obtain bachelor’s degree, as I wish I had. I think I would have landed more clients right off instead of contacting client after client and proving myself.
So far, I can happily say I’m making between $30,000 to $40,000 a year but this is working 24/7 and being there when my clients need me.
If you think helping any organization gain clients via the Internet sounds like a great job, a social media manager may be the right profession for you. Some of my friends are a little jealous they must follow a 9-5 schedule that is strictly regimented where I can set my own hours.
Five years from now I’d like to have my own company, hire some social media managers and take a vacation!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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