Hannah Morgan, the Career Sherpa walks through the steps to build your online relationships and influence in a way that puts you in front of the people you want to meet to move forward in your career. Hannah covers the main platforms she uses and recommends, and how they differ in purpose, as well as their similarities. Listen in to learn the secrets of online networking, finding your tribe, and getting closer to the right opportunity for you.
[1:22] Marc welcomes you to Episode 135 of the Repurpose Your Career podcast. Career Pivot is the sponsor of this podcast; CareerPivot.com is one of the very few websites dedicated to those of us in the second half of life and our careers. Check out the blog and the other resources delivered to you, free of charge.
[1:51] If you are enjoying this podcast, please share it with other like-minded souls. Subscribe on CareerPivot.com, iTunes, or any of the other apps that supply podcasts. Share it on social media or just tell your neighbors, and colleagues. The more people Marc reaches, the more people he can help.
[2:11] Marc has released four chapters of the next edition of Repurpose Your Career to the Repurpose Your Career review team. A fifth chapter will be released this week. Sign up to be part of the review team at CareerPivot.com/RYCTeam.
[2:27] You will receive new chapters as they become available. Marc is looking for honest feedback and would love to get an honest review on Amazon.com after the book is released.
[2:39] Marc’s plan is to release the book in late-September and do both a virtual and a real book tour. He will be in Austin, the NYC Area, and D.C. during the months of September and October. Marc would love to meet his readers and listeners.
[2:54] Reach out to Marc at Podcasts@CareerPivot.com if you’d be willing to give him some advice on venues or groups who would be interested in hosting an event.
[3:05] Next week, Marc will interview Diane Mulcahey, author of The Gig Economy: The Complete Guide to Getting Better Work, Taking More Time Off, and Financing the Life You Want.
[3:19] This week, Marc discusses online networking with his good friend and colleague, Hannah Morgan, a.k.a. Career Sherpa. You will find Hannah at CareerSherpa.net.
[3:34] Marc welcomes Hannah to the Repurpose Your Career Podcast.
[4:25] Hannah and Marc met online. They have never met in person.
[5:00] Online networking is networking through social media, blogs, or other online channels. Don’t network when you need something. Network to build mutually beneficial relationships and have some fun with it.
[5:58] Chris Brogan first described online networking in relation to finding your tribe, which is people that have something in common with you, a way of thinking, or a passion about a subject. Hannah says the fun is really in finding your tribe.
[6:46] When Hannah started writing about ‘job search,’ she looked for other people writing about ‘job search.’ She found a couple of people writing blogs on it, before the days of social media. She commented on their blogs and began dialogs with them. She found other people they were affiliated with and made more connections.
[7:21] From these new connections, Hannah learned about new technology and tools. She started a Twitter account. The most important message Hannah has about online networking is to find your tribe, talking about your interests.
[7:41] Marc’s definition of a tribe is those people who would probably say yes if you asked for a favor. Dunbar’s Number says you can maintain about 150 real relationships. Marc has 7,000 LinkedIn connections. That is not his tribe.
[8:18] Marc was doing some unemployment rate research for his book and he asked five people he knew would assist him. They are in is his tribe. He has a relationship with them.
[8:54] Some of Marc’s tribe he has met in person, like Teresa Ferguson of AustinUp and some he only knows online. Marc connects online with even the ones he has met.
[9:52] Networking is like a job search. The first step is to identify your targets. Sarah connects with each member of her tribe on as many social media platforms as possible, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Those are the platforms where Sarah is active and she uses them for different purposes.
[10:49] Sarah creates Twitter lists to keep people organized and to make her experience easier. All her marketing ‘peeps’ are on a marketing list. Her job search ‘peeps’ are on a job search list. Different platforms allow different strategies to keep your tribe top-of-mind. Take the effort to wish them a happy birthday or congratulate them.
[12:44] Make a concerted effort to stay in touch with the people that are in your core tribe. Also, take a relationship to the next level with a phone call, or Skype or Zoom just to catch up.
[13:45] Marc uses Facebook to stay connected with his Austin tribe; he also uses it to stay in touch with his local group, Gringos Ajijic & Lakeside. It works better for Marc than Google because people share their recommendations. Marc uses LinkedIn for personal stuff and Twitter for jobs lists. He posted about Twitter lists and targeted jobs.
[16:08] If you are looking for a job in a targeted city, Hannah suggests starting with a tribe there by joining a local Facebook group. LinkedIn also has some groups by city. Join a group and look for the kind of news that’s being shared relative to your targeted company or field.
[17:28] Hannah is an introvert and seeks information before taking action. She spends time researching and becoming acclimated before she jumps in to do things. Look to see who is most active in your area of interest. Look for great networkers. They want to help you build your network.
[18:35] Marc says MeetUp is a neglected platform. Marc looks at what meetings are going on in Austin and who is attending them. It will give names, which Marc uses to find email addresses on other platforms.
[19:10] Tagging is a great way to stay top-of-mind. Each platform has a different method for tagging. Hannah gives an example of when to use tags in your posts on all three platforms.
[20:57] Marc suggests looking for articles you think specific people would be interested in, and about once a week sharing an article with two or three people tagged in it for their feedback.
[21:09] If you’re looking in a remote location, subscribe to the local business journal. When something happens in that location you want to share, be very surgical about posting it and tagging one or two people you would like to impress at a target company. Don’t tag 100 people. Tag three that could have the biggest impact on your career.
[22:23] Marc walks into networking events with the goal of finding whom he can help, not how many people he can meet. He creates “good karma” by helping people. Similarly, you can find really good content and share it online, with a few to whom it would be really useful. Or use it to start a conversation.
[23:04] Marc responds to LinkedIn connection requests by accepting them and then responding, “Hey, I accepted your connection request. How did you find me?” This starts a conversation. Asking good open-ended questions is a way to get a conversation going, either in person or online.
[23:55] Commenting on posts among your tribe on LinkedIn is helpful, too. Leave a well-thought-out comment and ask an open-ended question. LinkedIn is all about building relationships by engaging with each other and share information.
[25:42] Boomers sometimes have difficulty asking for help. Marc just turned 63. He wants to work into his 70s and he needs to build relationships to help him prepare for the next thing. Things are changing quickly. Hannah adds, this is one of the things we may not like to do, but that our career health requires.
[26:55] Hannah recommends using hashtags to search for content, cities, occupations, and so forth, on LinkedIn. When you share content, use the appropriate hashtag that will let people interested in your content to find it easily.
[28:18] A member of Marc’s online community started searching for her target job title by hashtag and a lot of content popped up for her. Use hashtags both to search and to curate content. LinkedIn can suggest hashtags for your content.
[29:21] The same hashtag that works on LinkedIn will also work on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Marc is not on Instagram! A lot of the Ajijic expats are older than Marc and they resist Facebook but Marc endorses it highly as a valuable resource.
[30:16] Marc refers back to the Susan Joyce episode on personal SEO and privacy. Susan Joyce cautions to be careful what you talk about on Facebook because it will be searched by your target employers when you apply. Don’t mix rants and professional content in the same account.
[30:58] Hannah says it’s okay to lurk on these platforms and check out what other people are saying. You don’t have to share anything. Hannah says a lot of older people are using Instagram to share pictures and keep track of family members.
[31:41] Marc now uses Facebook primarily to share his experiences and what he learns in Ajijic and to share photos. Marc wants to help others with it, and others can keep track of what Marc is doing.
[33:10] Marc will use Facebook to share about his book tour coming up in September and October.
[33:22] Hannah notes that according to Pew Research, the majority of people only log into LinkedIn once or twice a month, so it is unlikely they will see your share. Don’t put all your eggs in the LinkedIn basket? Use a mix of platforms.
[34:16] Marc recommends using the telephone. Gary O’Neal of Austin HR (Now Asure Software) told Marc that if you want to get to a recruiter call them. They get too much email and too much activity on LinkedIn.
[35:08] Like any new routine or habit, it takes time to see the results you’re looking for. Don’t give up. Commit to 30 days to establish more online connections. You will get hooked.
[35:55] You’re digging a bunch of holes and planting seeds. And you don’t know which ones are going to germinate. But you’ve got to give it time. Marc has a client who uses Sales Navigator to surgically identify people and companies who could hire him. He gets a good response rate from his personalized outreach messages.
[37:29] When you have the intent of “good karma” — you’re putting out helpful information and you want to help, and then go back and ask for a favor, you can’t go wrong.
[37:46] Marc thanks Hannah for being on the Repurpose Your Career podcast.
[38:00] Marc hopes you enjoyed this episode. Hannah is a great resource for the whole job-seeking universe. Go to CareerSherpa.net to check out everything she offers.
[38:11] The Career Pivot Membership Community continues to help the approximately 50 members who are participating in the Beta phase of this project to grow and thrive. The community has moved on to the next phase where community members who have experienced success share their successes and teach others.
[38:29] Gene presents to the community how he obtained his first consulting client through LinkedIn Sales Navigator and using the methods described in the book Getting Naked: A Business Fable about Shedding the Three Fears that Sabotage Client Loyalty, by Patrick Lencioni. This is a great book on consultative selling, even for introverts.
[39:03] This is a community where everyone is there to help everyone else out. Marc is recruiting members for the next cohort.
[39:09] If you are interested in the endeavor and would like to be put on the waiting list, please go to CareerPivot.com/Community. When you sign up you’ll receive information about the community as it evolves.
[39:24] Those who are in these initial cohorts set the direction. This is a paid membership community with group coaching and special content. More importantly, it’s a community where you can seek help. Please go to CareerPivot.com/Community to learn more. They are starting a group for bloggers, writers, authors, and publishers.
[39:57] Marc invites you to connect with him on LinkedIn.com/in/mrmiller. Just include in the connection request that you listen to this podcast. You can look for Career Pivot on Facebook, LinkedIn, or @CareerPivot on Twitter.
[40:15] Please come back next week, when Marc will interview Diane Mulcahey, author of The Gig Economy.
[40:21] Marc thanks you for listening to the Repurpose Your Career podcast.
[40:26] You will find the show notes for this episode at CareerPivot.com/episode-135.
[40:34] Please hop over to CareerPivot.com and subscribe to get updates on this podcast and all the other happenings at Career Pivot. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, the Google Podcasts app, Podbean, the Overcast app, or the Spotify app.