Tuesday 23 June 2009

Making yourself more valuable to your company....with social media

In an economy like this one, your best career survival tip may be to hold on to the job you've got. If you're working at a company that isn't necessarily closing down but may need to let some people go, then your challenge is to prove yourself too valuable to lose.


Social media (blogs, social networks, forums, online video, etc.) can help with this. Here are a few ideas for how you could use social media to keep the job you have right now:

Grow your personal brand

Having a strong personal brand and having a positive and optimistic way of describing yourself builds your reputation. Use tools such as social media to bring it to life. You may choose to update your busines history on LinkedIn, start a blog, build an online profile on Facebook, or start actively using Twitter. Many companies are now also providing internal online directories where you can showcase your skills Regardless of what you choose, start building brand "you" right now.

Invite testimonials

With most social media, people can interact with you and give you comments based on your service to them. You could get a client posting a comment on your blog, a tweet on Twitter from a customer happy with your service, a recommendation on LinkedIn or a Facebook comment thanking you for special efforts. Find appropriate ways to get visible comments like this and share them with your boss and colleagues to make sure they know you are respected.

Network internally

Many organizations have Facebook pages or LinkedIn groups, and even more have formal and informal gatherings of employees. Find out where the opportunities to network are, and be aware that many other informal opportunities exist too, even over lunch or in the coffee machine queue. Find out what other people are doing and get more knowledge about the challenges elsewhere in the company and how you could help. Connecting with other employees gives you a sense of belonging and purpose and can also create opportunities for you to get involved in more within the company.

Be a person who helps people informally

Go beyond your job. Social media offers you the chance to go beyond what may be described as your job: for example, you can be a champion for your company and its products among your social circle. This helps you add more value to yourself beyond your actual job description.

Today's challenge - start or update your profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and consider how you can regularly use these sites to build your value (make a start by connecting with me: Rhian Pamphilon!).

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