David Spinks is the Community Manager for Scribnia, where the world's bloggers and columnists are reviewed by their readers. He also blogs at The Spinks Blog about business, careers and professional communities.
Attention young future professionals: If you've heard about this "networking" thing, and dabbled in some social media, it may be time to take your career building efforts to the next level.
Winter break is here, and that extra free time might best be used to solidify your social media presence and start marketing your most important brand: Yourself.
So you have a blog and you're signed up for Twitter and LinkedIn. What's next? Here are some ideas.
1. Find a Mentor
It's never too early to find a mentor. They can be extremely valuable for a young professional. They can provide everything from tips, to networking opportunities, to a friend that you can turn to with professional problems.
Is there a professional that you've been following for a while? If a mentorship isn't developing naturally for you, here's a good strategy.
a. Choose five professionals that you look up to.
b. Follow them on Twitter, read their blog and start to comment on all of their posts with as much value as you can gather.
c. Start to connect. Send them messages on Twitter and anywhere else you follow them. Just be yourself and be friendly.
d. If they're close, ask them if they'd like to grab coffee or lunch. If they agree, continue to build on that relationship and you've got yourself a mentor. If they're not close, send an e-mail. Explain your goals and ask them if they'd be interested in being your mentor.
Some mentors can be more helpful than others depending on the amount of time they have and how strong your relationship is with them. It may take time to build, but the winter break is a good time to plant some seeds.
2. Take Your Blog to the Next Level
I started my blog over the winter break last year, and it's been the single most valuable tool for my career. While I'm not in college anymore, I'm using this winter break to take my blog to next level by moving it from WordPress to a hosted WordPress blog, investing a little money into it, and reevaluating my goals.
Think about what you need to do to bring your blog to the next level. Perhaps you can optimize for SEO or redesign your blog for usability purposes. Maybe you should rethink the way you're producing content and who you're targeting.
A great way to make a name for yourself is to guest post at other blogs. I actually got my job after being recognized by a company who read a guest post I wrote for another blogger.
Most bloggers will welcome guest posts. If for some reason you can't find one to write for, there are sites specifically dedicated to helping young professionals get their name out there.
The Next Great Generation is a new site that aims to give Gen Y a voice. They're always looking for fresh new, and young voices to write for them.
You can also check out Brazen Careerist where your own posts can be featured, or you can write posts specifically for the Brazen community.
3. Review Your Social Media Profiles
Check all the social networks that you've joined. All your information should be up to date. Make sure your LinkedIn account shows your recent activity. Go through your connections and followers and be sure to reconnect with anyone you've been missing.
Some may advise that everything be consistent across your networks. Personally, I think different networks warrant a different presence. If you're looking to make everything consistent though, winter break is a good time to do it.
4. Volunteer
It's time to get some experience under your belt. Find a local charity and offer to help out in any capacity you're looking to build a career in. If your goals lie in social media, this is a great opportunity to build an online presence for a non-profit. You can do it part-time so it won't take up your entire break, and it's a great resume booster.
Most events and conferences are always looking for volunteers to help run the show. You probably won't be working the whole time, which means you can spend the rest of it meeting new people.
5. Host or Attend a Tweetup
When I moved to Philadelphia for a summer, I didn't know many people there. I hosted a tweetup, and asked a couple of my friends and mentors in Philly to help me promote it. It was a great experience that allowed me to meet a lot of new professionals in the area.
Make sure you do it right though. It doesn't have to cost you anything and it can be extremely valuable.
If you're not up to hosting one, you should definitely try to attend some over your break. They're a great way to network in an informal, fun setting.
More social media resources from Mashable:
- 5 Tips for Building Lasting Online Friendships
- Top 5 Must-Read Social Media Books
- Social Media Can Change The World Through Common Ground
- 5 Ways Social Media Is Changing Our Daily Lives
- How Social Media is Taking the News Local
- The Tao of Tweeting
Images courtesy of iStockphoto, Akirastock, Franck-Boston, CREATISTA
Tags: employment, jobs, List, Lists, resume, social media
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