The Fundamentals of Employee Advocacy

The Fundamentals of Employee Advocacy Employee advocacy is a hot topic; its the  form of workforce marketing that really gives the power to the people. Think, straight form the horses mouth as an underlying principle here. Instead of relying solely on official, corporate messages as the means to marketing the business, employee advocacy is all about embracing the individuality of current employees and getting them to promote their company in their own way on social media. Sure, there needs to be guidelines in place, but the idea is to let the people closest to the business sell it passively. To help me delve deeper into the nityy-gritty of the methodology, I’ve spoken to Elizabeth Jurewicz of the the managed cloud computing company that is Rackspace. Have a listen on iTunes, Soundcloud or keep reading for a summary of our  conversation. What is Rackspace and what do you do there? Absolutely, so Rackspace is the number one managed cloud provider and we offer expertise and support across all the worlds leading clouds. Were based on six core values including things like passion for our work and treating others like friends and family.  I always jokingly refer to myself as The Social Enablement Strategist because Im the only one. So I am responsible for our global employee advocacy program. What prompted Rackspace to launch an employee advocacy program and what were the primary goals? There were two initial challenges that we were having on the social team. The first one is that, you know and this is sort of 2013, it was really easy for people to dismiss the social team as just watching Twitter all day. I think there was just a need to sort of educate about the potential and the value that the social team was bringing to the business as a whole. And then the second part of that was as the social team, we were in charge of enforcing social guidelines and policy. And that kind of gave us a bad reputation as the social police. So at the time we did have a social policy but it was a piece of paper that a lot of employees signed on their first day of work, you know, with hundreds of other pieces of paper. And so when it came to actually using social media, there was a lot of, we called them coaching opportunities. So we really thought, gosh, theres an opportunity to really help give some context around the policy and guidelines so that employees not only understand what they mean and why we need to be cautious about them, but also understand what that means when theyre about to hit post or tweet. What problems did you hope employee advocacy would solve for the organisation? What I did is I actually had to take a step back and say, Wait a second. All of our employees really need to have the same foundation before we can kind of get into those specific use cases. One of our challenges that we saw is if I say social media to you and youre thinking about Twitter and somebody else is thinking about LinkedIn, were going be having very different conversations and expectations. And so a lot of what we had to do was just create a baseline of, Hey, the value of social media is the ability to connect, share, get feedback, network in real time. So that was really the strategy that we took and we found it to be working really well as in employees, once they have that foundation, we find them reaching out and making connections across different orgs, you know, thinking more strategically and holistically about social media and really building up into those use cases such as social selling and social recruiting in a much stronger way. What have the benefits of social advocacy been to the company and to employees? One of the interesting pieces that Ive learned from talking with other people that occupy an employee advocacy role in their company is that I actually get to kind of enjoy in the employee engagement piece of this as well because Im not so focused on demand gen or driving content. I think that one of the biggest transformations has been in employees attitudes around social. So, again, the way we built the program out, we were really able to create a positive discussion around how to use social media. Employees really felt that the company supported them in doing this. And so I think that thats one of those unexpected fringe benefits of a program like this is having employees really feel like were helping them put their best foot forward. And I think that its one of those very hard ones to measure and again it wasnt something that we anticipated as part of this program. Do you find that employees in this program are more engaged in their jobs? Yes, absolutely. And Im excited to add an anecdote from this morning. So one of the teams that Im working with right now is one of our technical storage teams, and so intuitively you wouldnt naturally think like, Well, their storage team its very internal, theyre very direct customer focused. You might not instinctively think that social media could have an impact on them but their manager came through training. We had a really fantastic conversation and we started to realize that these storage experts are just a wealth of information that theyre not necessarily documenting and sharing. Whats next for social employee advocacy at Rackspace? Yeah, so I will say that our next step will be to launch an employee advocacy tool. So were already vetting options. And Im honestly really excited at this point because again as I mentioned I think weve really built the foundation and I think its going to be an easier transition. If we had done it the other way, I think it would have been a little bit more challenging, like starting with the tool instead of the training. So Im actually excited to launch this. Then theres  social listening, having those meaningful one-on-one conversations, networking, listening to industry insights, these are all pieces of our social media training that have been there from the beginning. And Im actually starting to hear from other companies that theyre starting to make that shift that as well like they had that initial focus on sharing the content and now they want to kind of expand to a deeper strategy. Follow Elizabeth on Twitter @CreatingLiz. More on this topic at  Employee Advocacy: The Ultimate Handbook.

How to succeed in Freelancing, from a Student Freelancer University of Manchester Careers Blog

How to succeed in Freelancing, from a Student Freelancer University of Manchester Careers Blog Written by Sarah Davison, Phd Student and Freelance Writer Being an undergraduate student comes with the cheerful stereotype that you live in your overdraft, and in 2015, an Endsleigh survey found that up to 77% of UK university students work part-time alongside theirs studies to fund necessities. Unfortunately, the jobs available to students who need flexible work and lenient shift patterns aren’t always great CV builders. This is why, in second year, I decided to branch out. I considered setting up my own business, which is challenging but great if you have an idea and the right mindset, and you can read more about this in Lucy Davis’ blog post. But I knew that I would soon be leaving for my year abroad, so this wasn’t an option for me. Instead, I found my way into freelancing. As a freelancer, you deliver work for clients (not to be confused with employers). Freelance work is often remote, flexible, and a much better addition to your CV than the bartending or leaflet distribution jobs students often end up with. In the course of my undergraduate degree, I went from being a fresher whose only work experience was in a restaurant, to being a freelance translator, writer, researcher, and editor, who had long-term contracts with multiple clients. I was now out of my overdraft, putting savings away, and building a working reputation which clients sought out. Sounds perfect, right? In many ways, freelancing is the ideal fit around studies. I continued to freelance through my MA and now I’m working on my Ph.D. But there are a few things to be aware of if you want to be a successful freelancer. Figure out your strengths, and market them. In the same way, you should emphasise your skill set on a cover letter, you’ll need to know your personal strengths when deciding which freelance services you’ll offer. You’ll need to be able to convince clients that you’re the right fit for them, so you need to market yourself. Know your value. Unfortunately, parts of the freelance job market are saturated by cheap, low-quality workers. Don’t succumb to lowering your rate of pay to compete for a contract. Make sure you’re getting at least minimum wage, and value yourself and your work. Keep track. As a freelancer, you’ll need to submit a self-assessment tax return at the end of the tax year, so you’ll need to keep track of your freelance income and expenses. As a student, you should have a planner. If you don’t have one, get one. You’ll need to stick to deadlines and schedule meetings with clients. Organisation is key. Branch out. You should start out with work you’re familiar with, but once you’re comfortable, don’t be scared to apply for new experiences. Many companies offer training for freelancers, and this is a great chance to build your skill set. Socialise! Starting out as a freelancer can be isolating, especially if you’re working remotely. Try co-working spaces and work with friends, and don’t forget to ask for help if you need it. The Careers Service can help with questions you have about getting started. Careers advice advice freelance my story PhD

10 Ways journalists can use LinkedIn

10 Ways journalists can use LinkedIn A few months ago, I saw Guy Kawasakis blog post, 10 Ways to Use LinkedIn, and it made me realize that you can use LinkedIn for a lot more than just networking. For example, journalists can get value from LinkedIn both as a research tool and as a tool for career development: Here are ten ways for journalists to use LinkedIn: 1. Get noticed for the work you do Ive seen a lot of journalists with pretty sparse profiles. This is a mistake. You dont have to write a novel, but at least put information about your areas of interest so that people know what to contact you for. The text that you include is searchable, so if youre looking for travel-writing gigs, make sure you include this somewhere in your profile. Also, listing your past employers and education makes it easier for old colleagues and classmates to find you. Heres an example of a well crafted profile: David Lidsky, Senior Editor of Fast Company. 2. Build a network without making networking your full-time job To use LinkedIn well, you need at least 20 connections. But, this doesnt mean you should connect to every publicist who sends you an invitation. LinkedIn works best when you connect to your top sources, important industry contacts, coworkers, and people who know you well. These are the people who can help you do your job, find new opportunities and pass on story ideas that are more likely to be of interest to you. 3. Network without suffering the deluge of requests to write about me! Journalists and high-profile bloggers tend to be highly coveted individuals. In fact, TechCrunch blogger, Michael Arrington, is the second most contacted person on LinkedIn (after LinkedIns founder). Control who makes it to your in-box by going to LinkedIns Accounts Settings page to alter your notification preferences. If you find yourself overwhelmed with requests, you can opt to receive notifications once a week or only when you log into the LinkedIn website. 4. Use a connection to get a great assignment. If youre a freelancer or looking for a job, perform a search in the Writing and Editing industry sorted by Degrees away from you to see who might be able to help you in your network. 5. Find an expert fast The advanced search feature is the most powerful tools you can use on LinkedIn. You can search for any combination of keywords, job title, company, location, industry, and you can sort by degrees away from you to find people close to you in your network. This is a great way to find experts in almost any field or subject matter. You can also track down executives at companies. 6. Confirm a rumor One of the best ways to find out the inside scoop on companies is to find former employees who are willing to talk to you. To do this, use LinkedIns advanced search for the companys name and uncheck the Current companies only box. The results will include both current and past employees. 7. Get responses to queries from non-PR types Often, if you send a query to a place like PRLeads, you get mostly public relations people answering you. This works fine in most cases, but sometimes you need something different for example a quote from a type of person who would not typically hire a publicist. LinkedIns Answers service allows you to ask questions to the network and get answers from a wide range of people. Answers are tied to the professional profile of the person who responded so you can quickly assess credibility and determine whether to contact the person. Heres an example of a journalists question on LinkedIn Answers. 8. Get ideas for sources, topics and trends If you dont want to post a question, LinkedIn Answers has a search box that allows you to search the archives. This is a great way to search for sources. A search for keyword Des Moines will likely find you folks in the city who like to talk about it, a search for iPhone will show you some of the buzz around the product. A great way to get ideas for stories is to peruse through the various categories of LinkedIn Answers to find out what people are saying about topics and trends. For example, here are a few of the many categories: career development, personal finance, technology. 9. Qualify pitches If you find yourself getting daily pitches from the hottest new [insert industry buzzword] company, try searching for the company on LinkedIn. Take a look to see if you are connected to any of the employees, check out their profiles, their backgrounds, and their relationships. If theyre really hot, then theyre probably connected to key industry movers and shakers. 10. Promote your book! LinkedIn allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like My Website, My Company, etc. If you select Other you can modify the name of the link. If you have a book, you can create a link to a webpage that promotes it or directly to an Amazon page where people can buy it. You can bet that I was all over this feature: My new book: Brazen Careerist.

Four Tips For Being Confident At Work But Not Catty

Four Tips For Being Confident At Work â€" But Not Catty Women in the workplace are sometimes thought of as a scary group of people. It’s safe to say there’s a stereotype about women â€" their cattiness knows no bounds and instead of coworkers, they’re competitors. And when we’re competing, we play both offense and defense. You’re most aggressive when you’re defensive, so… it makes sense. But it only hurts us. In too many ways, it’s still a man’s world out there. Right now, the average CEO is a 57-year-old white man from the United States who went to Harvard. Doesn’t that sound a little too picture-perfect? Only 25 of the 500 CEOs on the Fortune 500 list are female. 4% of the top CEOs all around the world are women. Clearly, women face enough adversity â€" so why do we fight one another when we can succeed more often? Put it this way. There are all sorts of phrases suggesting women need community; you know, it takes a village to raise a child. Look in the wild. Lady lions are a tight knit community of lionesses who protect their young, hunt for the pride. They provide a lot of value. But the boy lion? He’s over there, eating the antelope Mrs. Lion brought home from her evening hunt. And what did he do all day to get to eat first? Not a whole lot. But there’s really only one male because the others are driven out when they become competition. The point is: women are meant for community. And when we act the stereotype of catty and passive aggressive or cut-throat, we’re preventing ourselves from being able to form that community. So what’s a girl to do? If you stand up for your ideas, you’re “pushy.” At the same time, you’re told to watch your language â€" not to say things like “I’m sorry.” It’s important to choose your words carefully as not to seem weak in comparison to the men you’re working alongside of. At least, it was. The tides of business are changing with women becoming more and more common in every industry. Technology was once a field dominated by men, but according to this analysis of some of the most influential young professionals around the world, women are closing the gap. Ladies: you earn $0.80 to every man’s dollar. It’s time to take matters into your own hands. Here’s how to boost community in your workplace, and your confidence,   by leveling the playing field in the office. Consider ditching the dress code.  If your employer is requiring women to wear heels but men don’t have the same distinction, employees’ gender affects what they’re allowed to wear. And that, ladies, is gender bias. Flats don’t compromise professional capability or deliverable quality. If your workplace has a gender bias within the dress code, consider making a petition to get rid of it. Level the playing field and utilize your fellow female coworkers to help. Watch your language. You shouldn’t have to worry about how you sound as a woman. You shouldn’t have to worry that you’re emotional or that you sound weak because you’re asking questions. Before you apologize, ask yourself: would a man apologize for this? If the answer is no, keep your sorry to yourself. Find a way to equalize your language to command respect from your coworkers â€" male or female â€"  and support female coworkers when they share their opinions on work-related matters. Value unique skill sets. The beauty of individuality is that it enables us to all be so different that we can put our heads together and leverage our collective experience. Just because you aren’t as technically literate as the woman who shares your cube with you doesn’t mean that you don’t have an equally valuable skill to offer. Unique skill sets are what help create diverse, effective teams. Jealousy, ladies, is unbecoming. Two heads are better than one. It’s important to remember, too, that just because someone has something or is doing something you want to be doing, they aren’t a threat to you â€" they’re a resource. Recognizing this enables women in the workplace to mentor one another. Become each other’s role models. Mentors are great, but have you ever seen a woman that you want to give a round of applause to? Stand up and give it. It’s pretty rare women will be outspoken in their approval of one another, but why can’t you be the one to start it? Keep compliments away from just appearance (though please tell your coworker her new haircut is great if it is) and instead focus your praise on achievements like a fantastic presentation or creative problem-solving. Or, take the time to help your junior employee get up to speed when she doesn’t know something instead of rolling your eyes. At the end of the day, being catty means being isolated â€" don’t get yourself into this trap. On the other hand, being a confident, strong, and successful woman in the workplace only becomes easier when you foster a culture of female support at your company. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself (and your female coworkers). This guest post was authored by Maddi Salmon Maddi works in marketing full-time but enjoys writing about careers, personal finance, and food in her free time. She started her career as an accountant in Los Angeles but soon realized she couldnt spend all day staring at a spreadsheet. Now she only spends part of her day doing that. Shes based out of Raleigh, but was born in Southern California and raised in Vermont.

Writing Volunteer Experience on Resume

Writing Volunteer Experience on ResumeYour writing volunteer experience on resume is just like your volunteer experience in the field. It needs to be your best because you are going to use it for recruitment purposes.Teaching children, the elderly, handicapped, the physically and mentally challenged, has always been a challenge. It is one of the most rewarding experiences but it also has its hardships. The people who volunteer to teach never have enough time. There are even times when the children have to be taken care of because the parents cannot attend their work.Volunteering is challenging because you need to handle numerous students in a short span of time. You have to motivate them and help them learn how to face the challenges and triumph over them. There are many problems that arise because you are dealing with children. One problem is that they cannot understand your teaching methods and this might result in loss of interest on their part. Their attention span is very short. Volunteers who are in the school teaching field also come across problems like overcrowding in classrooms. It is important to allot the right space in order to accommodate the students properly. Children are made to sit in the corner and the teachers should realize that space is not available and move the students to other areas.Nursing homes and facilities are always filled up with aging people. Your writing volunteer experience on resume will need to address the issue of proper medical care.There are facilities where the elderly are given proper geriatric care facilities. The staff is trained in handling such people. They are taught how to take care of them. That is why it is better to include in your writing volunteer experience on resume that you are responsible for taking care of the geriatric residents.There are various volunteer groups that help in various social activities. This will allow you to highlight the different skills you have acquired in order to distinguish yourse lf from other applicants.The job of the nursing home manager also involves taking care of the different needs of the elderly. It includes writing reports, preparing schedules, making food and maintaining the rooms. This is why it is better to list in your writing volunteer experience on resume that you are doing various tasks related to the task of elderly care.

3 Tough Management Interview Questions Answers

3 Tough Management Interview Questions Answers If you are attending a management interview then the level of questioning is likely to be tougher than your standard interview. With an above average salary on offer the interview panel will clearly want to see evidence of where you have already proved yourself in a previous management role. It is all well and good having management qualifications; however, if you can’t put it in to practice then you simply won’t get hired. Here, we’re going to take a look at some common interview questions, and in particular, typical management interview questions. These are interview questions for managers: candidates applying for management roles.The Best Way to Answer Management Interview Questions Let’s take a look at a few sample management interview questions and how you can best answer them.1. How would your members of staff describe you? This type of question gives you the opportunity to tell the panel what qualities you possess that are relevant to the management role. Don’t be mo dest when answering these questions. Here’s a great response: “My members of staff would say that I am an effective leader who injects enthusiasm and motivation in to the team. They would also say that I am results driven and that, whilst I am fair, I also expect a hard day’s work from everyone.” 2. What do you think of management in general? This type of question is asked to see how well you understand the responsibilities of being a manager. Here’s a brilliant response to this kind of question: “I strongly believe that managers have a responsibility to manage, to lead and to drive through the organisations goals and missions. They also have a responsibility to implement change within their team. A manager must be a positive role model and should always expect high standards from his or her staff. Although being a manager can be tough at times, it is also highly rewarding if done correctly. It is essential that a team believes in their manager manager’s aspirations an d it is the manager’s responsibility to maintain levels of enthusiasm and motivation. This can be achieved by keeping regular contact with all team members and holding regular briefings and appraisals.”3. How do you define success? The interviewer is looking for you to give an example of when you have recently achieved success in a management position. Here’s a cracking answer to this type of management interview questions: “I believe that success is not only achieving a team’s targets and goals but also exceeding them. It is not, in my opinion, acceptable to simply set out to meet your targets; you should constantly be striving to beat them. For example, in a previous management role I was set the target of achieving 50 new clients for my company within the first quarter of the year. I started out by briefing the team on what was required and the strategy that we would use to beat this target. Everyone in the team knew what they needed to do and we all set about working t ogether to not only achieve the target, but beat it easily. At the end of the quarter we have achieved no fewer than 64 new clients for the company, something which we were all very proud of.” Whenever you attend a management interview you should always answer the questions with EVIDENCE of where you meet the qualities required to be a successful manager. Here’s a list of successful manager qualities for you to use during your preparation:Target driven;A track record of achievement;An ability to implement change within an organisation;Team player;Leader and motivator;Visionary;Ability to inspire and lead teams;Enthusiastic and a belief in end goal;Strategist and planner;Role model.Conclusion Now that we’ve covered three of the toughest management interview questions you might face, you should be more prepared for your management interview. If you want more top tips and advice on passing interviews, check out How to Pass an Interview. This entry was posted in Interviews. Bookma rk the permalink. Richard Sample Interview Questions For A Teacher4 Call Centre Interview Questions How To Answer Them

Black Friday...Need versus Want

Black Friday...Need versus Want My email is swamped with messages titled, Black Friday Deals and it is making me M.A.D. I am not a great consumer. As a matter of fact, I hate shopping and will deliberate for hours over whether or not I should buy the $2.99   toothbrush or the $1.99 one. I am not brand-loyal except when it comes to Diet Coke.   I was raised by two very practical parents and the mantra at our house was Do you need that or do you just want that  Technically, realistically, there is very little I need this Christmas.   I have a roof over my head, food in the refrigerator and loving friends and family. I dont need cheaply made schtuff.   If I do have to buy something, I would rather search to see if I can find it gently used first, especially if it was made in the of natural materials (100% cotton, wood, metalanything but plastic). No, I dont NEED the newest gadgets. Sure, it would be fun to have the new iPhone or an iPad, but I certainly dont NEED one.   Do you? I do need a toilet that will stop running (that requires a new internal mechanism which doesnt cost more than $10). I need a computer (note: just one), that allows reliable connectivity without viruses (Thanks to my friend Wilfred at Microsoft) I need to give and receive love, kindness, empathy, generosity, humility and a host of other important and intangible emotions and values. When it comes right down to it, there really isnt very much I NEED.   And this is why I get so mad at these ads. I dont think anyone needs any of this crap.   I dont believe in consumerism.   I think there are much bigger issues to resolve and buying stuff isnt going to solve them.   As a matter of fact, it may feed the greedy beast. What will you do this season to realistically weigh your Needs versus you Wants?