I see two new opportunities with regard to career management and social network participation emerging. One could hurt your career. The other could help.
The story unfolds in an email exchange between two of my colleagues below (names and job opening removed to protect those who shared!).
To jump to the chase, here are the two new ways:
THE HURT:
Even in Web 2.0 savvy companies, too much Tweeting is not a good thing.Today was the second instance I've heard of managers being freaked out by people with tsunami-esque tweeting habits.
Of course, you could argue, it should all boil down to whether the person can get the day job done well. That said, voluminous tweeting sends signals to your manager -- or a peer of yours who feels s/he's working harder than you are. The message you're sending to these people could be: "not enough to do."
You might find this totally stupid, and having no indication on your ability to do your job. Just thought you should know: your Tweeting habits, if extreme, could make or break an opportunity for you.
TIP: When Tweeting during prime time for most of the workforce, consider the content of your tweets (95%+ professional and/or helpful to other professionals), the value of your tweets to your company (are they helping to build your company's brand while presumably building your own?), and the volume of your tweets (don't push it.)
THE HELP:
Pay career-minded attention to the internal profile you fill out about yourself. By now, most of us have written a LinkedIn profile. At EMC, a profile that registers us to use an internal collaboration/social network, is starting to be used, unofficially, in internal talent search.
As the story unfolds below, this little task of filling out your profile could be very strategic for your career. Savvy managers are using such networks to search key words with the hope of finding key talent. Are you making it easy or hard for opportunities inside of your company to find you?
TIP: Spend a bit of time on your internal profile. Consider key words that summarize your skills and your passions (you never know, interests such as photography, music, or languages spoken could be relevant to a particular position). Be sure to add a photo! Visuals communicate and help connect. Don't miss the opportunity photos represent.
-- I'll fall on my sword on this tip -- until I got the email below, I too have ignored the "internal LinkedIn" profile opportunity. --
From:
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 1:53 PM
To:
Subject: story
_____________________________________________________________________
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 2:05 PM
To:
Subject: RE: story
From:
Sent: Monday,
November 16, 2009 2:43 PM
To:
Subject: RE: story
"do you need something more to do at work if you have all that free time?"
jeez.
------------------------- Talk Back ----------------------------
If external social networks can help present new opportunities, can you see the same potential with internal networks?
If external social networks can help boost your career search, can you see also how they could hurt your career ... without your even knowing it? It likely won't be your manager who notices all your Tweets and Facebook updates during the day -- it will probably be someone else, someone who makes mention of it to your manager. That mention could make your manager feel as though he/she isn't doing a good enough job managing you. .... oooohhhh. At that point, pain and embarrassment start rolling down hill (in your direction!)
- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
ShareThis
