Hi there ThinkTalkers! My name is Connie and I am currently a senior Media Studies Major at CUA. During my time here at ThinkTalk, I will be blogging about my experiences and lessons learned in the work place in order to give you guys some tips and advice on what to expect and prepare for at your own internships.

Addicted to Facebook? Need to find ways to use your obsession for good? Read through the following tips on how to use your Facebook account to accomplish networking with possible employers and businesses.

When Facebook first became popular, I had no interest in the site especially since I was still all about my MySpace page. After being convinced by a friend to cross over into the Facebook realm, I was immediately addicted. The social networking site helped me keep in contact with all of my high school friends that I had to leave behind when college began, and also helped me meet new friends my new school.

Ever since the school year ended, I have been debating whether or not to delete my page. I kept thinking that I really do not need any extra distractions and after hearing horror stories of people not being hired based on potential employers searching for them on Facebook, I really thought it was time to say goodbye to Facebook. However, I recently came across an article at WebWorkDaily which quickly changed my mind on deleting my page. The article goes through 23 changes you can make to your page to make it workplace and business savvy. They are pretty simple changes that can help you actually get a job. I listed a few of the helpful tips below, but check out the article to see all 32!

"facebook" courtesy benstein via Flickr Creative Commons

Hello ThinkTalkers! This is my last and final blog for the semester (sad, I know ☹ )— but don’t worry I have faith in each and every one of you in your pursuits to take over the world with one social media tool at a time. My semester here at ThinkTalk Networks gave me a fabulous opportunity to share with all of you out there my obsession with social media and how we can all use these tools to network with professionals and our peers, and leverage these tools to get an internship or job.

From Twitter to Facebook, LinkedIn to YouTube, and everywhere in between, online networking and personal branding can get you to where you want to be if done right.

But did you ever think about hosting your OWN website, without going through a third-party website to build your personal brand? By creating your website you have total creative control to post information in a way that can be beneficial to your career and personal brand. Dan Schawbel, personal branding expert and blogger, says having your own website is one of the most effective ways to create your online presence and control your reputation.

Websites like webs and Leads You will give you free access to create your own website and build an online portfolio. It is on these websites that you can showcase any and all of your work. Whether it is multimedia, graphics, art, writing, a blog, anything! It is essentially a collection of your work and is great way for prospective employers to check out all of the amazing work you have done. Your website, or e-portfolio, is a way for you to demonstrate your progress throughout your collegiate and professional career.

Your website can also serve as another platform for your resume. Here you can discuss your experiences, skills, achievements and goals! Just remember to keep it professional and classy. Create it for your target audience and try to be simple. You don’t want your website to be too confusing to navigate!

Here is an example of an impressive e-portfolio by a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park (woo go Terps!)

This individual created a visually appealing and simple website that provides employers great detail of who she is as student and future employee. She has clips of her resume and pieces that she has worked on. This e-portfolio gets an A+ from me!

But it doesn’t have to be that in-depth either. Allizon Munoz, a public relations student from at Ohio Dominican University, also created her own website so potential employers are able to gain insight into who she is, what social-networking sites she is connected to and how they can contact her. One of the coolest features of her website is not just the background, but the live stream she set up so viewers are able to track all of her activity and tweets!

Both of their websites have inspired me to create my own—that way I too can stay ahead of the game and continue to build on my own personal brand.

Now that my time here at ThinkTalk Networks is dwindling I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to read what I have to say and I hope that you all take better care of your online presence and get your dream internship or job! Good luck ThinkTalkers, I’m officially signing off!

"Computer Testing" courtesy kodomut via Flickr Creative Commons

YouTube is the place to go when searching for entertaining videos, from the surprise kitty to the hundreds of music video spoofs and pranks. But did you know if you search “video resume,” YouTube yields more than 14,000 results?

If you have seen Legally Blond then you know that video resumes can carry quite a bit of weight and influence for candidates. I’m not saying, film a video of yourself in a pool and send it to Harvard Law School, but I am advocating the idea behind it. Video resumes give you a chance to showcase your personality to hiring managers and can be great complements to traditional paper resumes – if done well that is.

Video resumes should last no more than three minutes, so it is important to highlight your strongest qualities and most valuable assets that you can bring to a company or organization. These resumes take it a step further than traditional paper resumes because they allow visual presentation; which means your demeanor, communication and character are all in the spotlight and WILL be judged.

According to Mashable:

If you aren’t a person with an outgoing and lively personality, then don’t bother creating one [video resume]. Since you’re filming yourself, don’t rush because you can always try it a hundred times before you upload the final version.”

Just like when going to an interview it is necessary that your attire appears professional and your speech is clear when getting your message across. You are essentially marketing yourself through a video; if you think you are not dressed up enough for an actual interview, you probably are not for the video either. In other words dress to impress and speak like you mean it.

Mike Nale, author of “10 Things That Make Up a Good Video Resume”, says that Video Quality is the top factor in contributing to a well-done video resume. Video quality includes:

Clear pictures

Excellent sound quality

Overall professional look

If you decide to film a video resume, check out online career Web sites that provide space for these types of resume. Jobster, Vault and ResumeVideo are just a few sites other than YouTube that you can take advantage of!

For more tips and information on video resumes, check out About.com: Job Searching

"Resume t-shirt" courtesy SOCIALisBETTER via Flickr Creative Commons

Alexandra Levit’s blog has been catching my eye this week and she’s done it yet again. Today, Levit highlights a product that is definitely worth looking into for all of you who are applying for jobs, and those of you who will be applying to jobs in the future; so pretty much a product for everyone out there.

*Sidenote: I am not endorsing this product, I have never tried this product, nor have I researched this product in depth… this blog post is purely just to pass information on to all job seekers in hopes that it may actually help some of you!/p>

We all know how important an online presence is in today’s job market. We also know how risky an online presence is in today’s job market if you do not control it and monitor the image of yourself that is being presented. Think about your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter accounts…would you want a potential boss seeing every detail of your profiles. According to Levit:

Microsoft released a study in January that showed 70% of HR recruiters in the U.S. use online profiles and social networks to determine employment, while only 7% of U.S. consumers thought this was true. This discrepancy is significant -- and points to the clear fact that in order to be successful job seekers have to recognize the importance of their online reputations and the impact this information can have on their careers.

So, how are job hunters like you supposed to take control of their online reputation after they’ve cleaned up their profiles and deleted those pictures from “Annie’s Naked Beach Party ’09!”? I present to you, ReputationDefender. It is an online service that searches the deepest darkest corners of the interweb to find out what people are saying about you and who is saying it. The service:

Can help you make [content you deem to be false or negative, or perhaps just irrelevant] become less prominent in searches, and in some cases, disappear. The service protects your privacy by removing personally identifiable information from databases that sell your information.

In theory, this product sounds like a great safety net. Who wouldn’t love a little peace of mind while dealing with the stressful situation of a job hunt? But I’m always skeptical. So to any of you out there who try ReputationDefender (starting at about $9.99 a month) let us know if it works! And if it helps get you a job… I get 20% of your first paycheck. No? Doesn’t work that way? Ok…

"One wifi, many laptops" courtesy technotheory via Flickr Creative Commons

Guest Blogger Jane Lovas' weekly series called “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Life and Career” runs each Thursday

Social Media is fun, isn't it? You can connect with all your friends; the ones you’ve had for years and all the new ones you've met or you’re going to meet in college. You can also use it to check out new places or find events.

So what’s the problem?

There are no problems as long as you remember these common-sense rules:

There is no such thing as true privacy on any of the social media tools.

If you post something someone may grab it and before you know it everyone’s seen the picture of you doing something not very smart, or copied something that you posted and now it’s floating around the internet. Right now you might think “So what, what’s the big deal?” It can become a big deal if it affects your ability to get a job or a security clearance.

Think about it: would you want your posts to be on the front page of the New York Times or People magazine where everyone (including your parents, grandparents, professors and prospective employers) can see it. If not, don't post it. Anything you post on the internet has a half life similar to that of carbon-14, which for you non-science majors has a half life of 5,730 years. If your posts and profiles outlive you, do you want some of this stuff floating around longer than you might be around?

You can use social media wisely and still have fun with it.

Connect with old and new friends and discover new places. When you post, think about what message you want to give to people that don’t know you very well, or might not know you at all. Your personal brand is at stake. Today you may think you don’t care, but in 5 years it might be a different story and too late.

Jane Lovas is a career specialist who is the creator of the life changing 12 week tele-seminar “Creating the Life of Your Dreams”. She is also our guest blogger, whose column will run every Thursday. If you would like to contact Jane, you can reach her here, here or here.

"50 Social Media Icons" courtesy Ivan Walsh via Flickr Creative Commons

My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

Hey ThinkTalkers! I hope all is well in Internet land for all of you! This past week I spent my time at the Public Relations Student Society of America National Assembly in Austin, Texas. The field of public relations involves a great deal of social media and knowing how to implement these Internet tools to not only brand yourself, but to network with other students and professionals. At the assembly, students were required to attend three separate seminars. The one that stood out the most to me discussed how to affectively and appropriately use your social-networking tools to earn professional respect and to hopefully land a job. One of the presenters mentioned how Twitter can either make or break you—depending on WHO is following you and WHAT you are posting on your account.

It may not seem like a big deal to you to tweet about your night out on the town after a few drinks. It may not even seem like a big deal to insult your boss on Twitter. However, when you tweet about inappropriate things, it may actually ruin any prospects that are tracking your movements online or worse, get you fired. When using Twitter, it is beneficial to post tweets with some substance. I know, I know… How can a 140-character message have much value? At the seminar, I learned a great way to get your name out there in a productive and positive way is to post links to helpful or interesting blogs or sites you may have found while perusing the Internet. You should also follow professionals to see what types of tweets they are posting.

Ask yourself what you would find valuable in a tweet—and then tweet it! Be careful and make sure what you are saying is appropriate. No one wants to know when you’re “Tweet’n from the toilet” – a message like that can definitely ruin your chances of being hired. (That was the example the hiring manager who spoke with us used in deciding whether to hire one individual—you can guess what he decided).

What if one of your followers or someone you are following is the guilty of inappropriate tweets? Unfortunately, this can make you guilty by association. There is no escaping it—it’s like hanging out with the wrong kids at school. If you are following or being followed by an individual on Twitter that could potentially tarnish your personal brand or identity, I say UNFOLLOW!

For more ways to appreciate your following on Twitter and how to better use your Twitter as a personal marketing tool check out this article called, “How to Value Your Following on Twitter.” Here's a list of the best people to follow for more information on personal branding and using your Twitter! And if you too are trying to enter the world of public relations, feel free to follow me!

"Fun Twitter shirt seen at LIFT" courtesy Robert Scoble via Flickr Creative Commons

Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

For the past couple weeks I have discussed how utilizing social media tools to further your career aspirations and development can be essential in your quest for a job. Then I realized, although I have several networking profiles, I have been neglecting some of my accounts. For example, I have had a registered LinkedIn account for almost a year, but I have only made five connections--two of which are college friends--and that according to my profile, I am still currently a sales associate for Pacific Sunwear in Frederick County.

Even though the information on my page was true at one point, letting get out-of-date can be misleading when potential employers and contacts come across your page. Although I am usually quite dedicated to keeping up with my social-networking accounts, I sometimes find myself overwhelmed with managing all of them- yet I’m not willing to let go of any of them!

On my pursuit to successfully clean up my profiles and get them up and running once again, (as a serious and proactive student), I came across a helpful blog to detangle my mess of social media websites, HOW TO: Manage Multiple Social Media Profiles. The author, Ben Parr, created a simple five-step guide to keeping your social networking profiles fresh, consistent and less tedious to manage.

Parr’s first step in refreshing your profiles is to first understand your current position. During this step you must uncover just how many social media profiles you have by checking usernames from websites like Funny or Die to LinkedIn and everywhere in between. Seems time consuming, but with this handy website called Knowem, all you need to do is type in your name and the site does all the work for you to locate long lost profiles. You may be just as surprised as I was when I discovered a link from an online journal I had when I was 13 years old on the blogging site, Xanga (can you say DELETE).

After you sort through the multitude of online social media websites that has your name attached to them, Parr suggests choosing your platforms realistically. He advises recruits to sign up for the most popular social networking sites, “regardless of whether you are going to use them all.” Parr’s theory in doing so is to prevent another individual being mistaken for you, thus protecting your personal brand and your identity on the Internet. Even if you do not plan to use them all, you can fill out your contact information and place links to the profiles you use the most.

Third, organize, organize, ORGANIZE!!! Parr recommends creating a bookmarks folder for the main social media services you use and filtering your e-mails so all of your notifications are sent to individual inboxes. If an e-mail and folder system is not for you, there are several others you can come up with, the most important thing is to find a system that works for you and stick to it.

The fourth step, which is also my favorite, is to automate and combine your profiles. Basically, use Internet tools that can update all of your social media profiles at once by grouping them together. Atomkeep syncs all of your accounts on to one social network to reduce “information redundancy,” making it easier to manage all of your social networking profiles. Atomkeep can be used with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Digg, Google, flickr and an abundance of other websites.

Lastly, Keep it fresh. If you plan to use social media to brand yourself, you must continue adding new content – after doing so you can proceed to network! Parr’s article includes several mini tips on maintaining your online networking identity, so be sure to check it out!

"50 Social Media Icons" courtesy Ivan Walsh via Flickr Creative Commons

Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

Generation Y (that’s us!) can capitalize on knowledge of social media in jobs and internships—finally all those hours on Facebook and accomplishing staying within the 140-charater tweet limit is paying off. According to a blog written by Sarah Amandolare for Finding Dulcinea, students savvy in social media can benefit from their knowledge in the workplace. Known as a reverse apprenticeship, companies are encouraging and assigning their junior staff members to serve as social media guides to senior employees. These apprenticeships as social media guides can consist of formal programs or informal sit-downs among staff members and employees.

Andrew Robertson, CEO of advertising agency BBDO Worldwide, mentions that people normally think about mentoring programs or internships for younger employees. However, he sees things differently. Robertson says in order for his company to remain competitive he turns to younger employees to mentor the older ones, thus “breaking down the corporate hierarchies” as younger employees begin teaching their seniors about new technologies.

New intern positions are opening up at businesses and organizations in need of social media makeovers. These positions are often called social media interns or experts. For more, check out this video of Andrew Robertson discussing this new trend!

Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

This week I wanted to focus on something a little different than social media (okay maybe a lot different): mentors.

I am teaching a public relations related course for the University of Maryland, and the professor is notorious for over-emphasizing (in good way!) the importance of having a professional mentor in the field that you plan to work in. Before taking the role as a teaching assistant for this course, I took as a student.

When he first assigned every student the responsibility to find a professional public relations practitioner in the field we are most interested in (mine being entertainment) I felt awkward and unsure. Now, I have my fair share of socially awkward encounters and experiences with people, but the thought of e-mailing a professional- or even calling- really freaked me out. Why do I need to contact someone I do not know and expect them to provide me guidance? I thought, hey I have my academic advisors and an internship lined up—I’m good to go. WRONG.

Having a professional mentor while you are still a college student can be incredibly beneficial to your own professional and individual growth. Professional mentors can answer any inquiries you have about a given field and offer helpful tips, advice and wisdom. I am actually very thankful that my professor required us to all have a mentor—my mentor has given me great advice about public relations internships and has even gotten me in contact with other professionals in my industry.

Now that I have the role as teacher, I really try to get through to my students that they too will have even more opportunities thanks to a mentor. Establishing a relationship with a professional can give you a leg up on getting an internship and/or a job. If you form a bond with your mentor they may be willing to provide you with a formal recommendation when needed and suggest opportunities for you.

Mentors have been where you are sitting and they understand what it is like to be a college student; they have already run down the path you are trying to find and can encourage and guide you in the right direction. According to this article at The Internshiprs blog, not only can mentors be a great source from you to learn from, but also acquiring a mentor expands your connections (which can be of great help after graduation).

So, where can you find mentors? For starters, if you visit your campus’s career center your advisors can recommend and help get you in contact with university alumni. And, for those of you taking advantage of all the social media and networking tools available for free online **wink** you can find a mentor through researching different companies and contacting a person who works there. Contacting a mentor can go beyond e-mails and phone calls. You can follow them on Twitter and tweet for their advice, or make a connection on LinkedIn. Good luck!

Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

As I’ve been going through the endless amounts of information on social media and networking present on the web, a light bulb went off! Blogs! (I feel as though I may be stating the obvious). Blogging, as one of my fellow ThinkTalk interns linked to on Facebook (thanks Morgan), is an excellent way for college students to showcase their “thoughts, opinions and strengths” to potential employers.

In the article,  E-Book: Career Blogging for College Students, the author Ryan Healy mentions that using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, while helpful, are not enough to market yourself online to hiring managers and employers. He says that blogging is the way to go to really show off your skills—which by the way, writing is one of the top skills employers are looking for in new employees. In order to hone in and develop your writing skills, especially if you are not feeling too confident in them, start a blog!

Healy brings up a good point in his article that most college students are in a dire need to burst out of their small campus bubble and routine of frequenting campus establishments and really only associate themselves with other individuals from their own school. And how does one do so? Well, Healy says, “The best way to do this is through social media. The connections you make and the knowledge you gain by immersing yourself in these tools cannot be achieved offline.”

In another one of Healy’s articles, 5 Reasons Every College Student Should Start Blogging In 2009,” (I know it is already 2010, but they still apply), he gives reasons on why blogging can help you land your dream job:

1) You stand out from the crowd: Including your blog on a resume can show employers that you are willing to go above and beyond at work.

2) People find you: When putting yourself out there people will come across your blog and dream jobs can come knocking.

3) You can show your true personality: Some employers have a special set of questions they ask to determine a sense of your personality and interests’, having a blog gives them a sneak peek!

4) The connections are amazing: You can network with authors, entrepreneurs, CEO’s, executives and several other professionals through blogging – just maintain as many of those relationships as you can!

5) You grow up, quick: Creating a public forum opens doors to criticism, forcing you to re-evaluate your positions and maturely deal with negativity, preparing you for the “real world.”

And as our economy is still in a flux, making it harder for those ready to jumpstart their career to do so, students need to take advantage of every tool they can to get a job – now more than ever! So take advantage of the numerous free sites you can use to jumpstart your first blog. Write about anything—politics, fashion, technology, and your pets—anything!

Just remember, although it is your own blog, you still need to follow the same social media etiquette tips and rules that go along with other online profiles.

"Keyboard" courtesey john_a_ward via Flickr Creative Commons