Friday, April 4, 2014

@Youtern's 60 Day Challenge


After participating in the #InternPro tweetchat two weeks ago, I kept following the main account, @Youtern and noticed they are hosting a 60 day challenge for social media and networking. This challenge is a fun way to try and boost your career and promote yourself in social media and online networks with other people in the challenge.

         The challenge started a little over a week ago, with today being “Day 10: Join 10 LinkedIn Groups”. The Savvy Intern’s blog is where the updates are posted and tweeted from each day to invite people to participate in the challenge.

         For today’s “Join 10 LinkedIn groups” challenge, The Savvy Intern explains that LinkedIn groups are similar to tweetchats but much more intense and the conversation goes on continuously. The groups are similar to tweetchats since they both have categories you can choose from. Most of the categories on LinkedIn are pertaining to career goals, internships, or organizations.



                                              

                                              Photo courtesy of simplymeasured.com

         Some of the groups I’m currently in include: Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connections; Journalism Jobs; The Maybourn School of Journalism; Movies and Marketing; Social Media News; and Niche Jobs.

         They recommend you try to join groups you can share conversation and common ideas with. Clubs, greek life organizations, industry associations, hobbies, any school networks or alumni associations are great examples of group categories you can search through to join.

         When you do join groups, make sure you engage in them and don’t just join them to make your profile seem advance. Introduce yourself in your groups, and communicate with others in the group. One way I stay updated with my groups is through the updates I receive in my email from each group. Once you join make sure and have interactions consistently with members of your group and join in on certain conversation topics.

         The rest of the 60 Day challenge days so far have been: Day 9: Schedule a Twitter Chat, Day 8: Set up three informational Interviews, Day 7: Social media sanity check, Day 6: Make Facebook your career BFF, Day 5: Reboot your Twitter bio, Day 4:LinkedIn headline upgrade, Day 3: Say “Cheese”, Day 2: Stalk new mentors, Day 1: reconnect with current relationships.

         My favorites among these challenges are Days 3, 4, and 5. These are all simple challenges that can help your online profiles and presence a lot.

         Say “Cheese” for Day 3 is great at explaining the importance of your online presence and representing yourself in good light. Anyone can see what you post so make sure you want your future boss approving of what you are posting.

         Day 4 and the LinkedIn headline upgrade is good for your LinkedIn profile and making your title on the sight more appealing. They encourage trying to impress anyone who might glance at your profile and make them want to interview you.

         And last, Day 5 is another great way to clean up your online profile and persona. A lot of Twitter bios today are simple and one worded, or sometimes are just a quote. This is all fun for younger people on social media but when someone is researching you online and find your Twitter (aka your microblog), they want to learn more about you. If your bio is a quote about ‘only living once’ and your tweets are constantly about your fast food runs, chances are your future employer won’t be very impressed.

 

                               


                                     Here’s a screenshot of my own Twitter bio

 

         Even though it’s already day 10, I am trying to take on these challenges in order to boost my online persona. Since I graduate soon these challenges can’t hurt, and I hope if you’re involved in social media you can have the chance to try a few as well. Make sure to follow @Youtern on Twitter and check out the hashtag #60DayChallenge.

 

 

 

 

Sources:



The Savvy Intern by Youtern. 27 March 2014. Web. 4 April 2014. http://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2014/03/27/60day-challenge-day-three-say-cheese/

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