If you are one of those students who can spend hours on Twitter then I have great news for you! Twitter is quickly becoming a perfect place to network and complete job research. First, it allows you to touch base with previous individuals you have worked for or with, and gives you the opportunity to reach out and network with those individuals.  Also, Twitter is a wonderful tool to use in following major corporations, and staying updated on their policies and developments.

We found a new book for you guys to add to your career bookshelf. "The Twitter Job Search Guide: Find a Job and Advance Your Career in Just 15 Minutes a Day" by co-authors Deb Dib, Chandlee Bryan, Susan Whitcomb is made for the Blackberry or iPhone toting job hunters that are looking to add an edge to their search.

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!

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 ThinkTalkers, my name is Molly and I am a senior English Major at CUA. As part of my internship for ThinkTalk, I will be blogging my epic search for a job in the D.C. area, giving you all my take on what has worked, what has failed miserably, and hopefully giving a splinter of insight to those of you who haven’t quite reached job hunting maturation yet in your young adult life.

Hello again ThinkTalkers. I hope you’re finding time in your busy schedule to repel the overwhelming sense of senioritis and hit those job sites and your local career centers. I know the job hunt is a daunting task but in a suffering job market such as this, we grads can’t afford procrastination. If you’re following my lead and have created Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, you might be wondering what now? I’ve come across just that very problem. Here is what I’ve found from reading a couple career blogs.

First, spend just as much time on creating your LinkedIn profile as you would your facebook. And you should probably spend more time than that because employers will not be impresses with interests such a “pong” or “watching Jersey Shore.” Do not choose a picture where half of someone’s head is cut out, or your out-of-focus formal pics. Then join some groups that speak to your business interests. Don’t be afraid to join or start a conversation amongst these people. Be a pioneer and ask questions, don’t be afraid to sound under educated- just be professional.

You should make this a daily thing actually, especially if you have an internship. Ask your supervisors and co-workers about the kind of work they do and why they chose it. You want to have these conversations because it shows interest and ambition to learn. Then you’ll have a foundation for a practical business relationship. Add your co-workers to your LinkedIn network. If you get a business card from professors at school, internship or work clients, add that person to your LinkedIn network in a timely fashion. This is how you build your network of contacts.

Twitter has been quite an adjustment for me. I believed in the stigma that it was only for people who felt the world needed a play-by-play in their daily life. However, after glancing at different organizations, individual bloggers, and friends, I’m beginning to see the potential uses. But before you start tweeting about how The Shins “get you”, think about what kind of audience you would like to attract. Ideally, who are your readers? If you need help deciding what kind of followers you want, work on who you want to follow.

Search through different interest groups and keep tabs on what they’re tweeting about. It might inspire you to retweet their comments and develop into the Tweeter you’re aspiring to be. Don’t forget to join some groups that are for personal interests as well. It’s important to not only engage with the technological opportunities but to also enjoy them. Tweeting or blog posting about a great book you just read, or a fun concert you attended gives your page personality. It is what sets you apart from the millions of other tweeting, blogging, and linking graduates so don’t be shy.

Unfortunately, non-repetitive tips strictly for new or upcoming graduates are hard to find. They usually cover what I’ve mentioned in the past two posts. However, I did find one interesting tip that I will try over the next few weeks.

Paul Carpino, an Internship Coordinator from the University of Nevada Las Vegas suggested that students should be flexible. Meaning, investigate jobs that pertain to, but are not exactly your ideal career. Contact establishments such as, “Theme Parks, Office Building Concierge or Fast Service Food. Finance / Accounting / Management goes to Federal Government or Non-Profits” for open positions in your related field of interest. You never know what you could find and you’ve got nothing to lose but priceless experience.

"Twitter" courtesy respres 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!

In my last blog I talked about how establishing a strong online social network is important both for companies and for yourself. Having Facebook or Twitter not only keeps you in touch and up to date with your friends and family, it makes is possible for future employers to find out more about you as well. Whether or not you choose to use your social networking profiles for more than just, the obvious- social networking- potential employers can take advantage of Web sites we all know and use to find out lots of little details about you.

Employers can (and most will) Google you, Facebook you or find you on Twitter. Sounds scary, right? Fortunately (or unfortunately—depending on how you look at it as) you do not have to be a part of the CIA to find out everything you want to know about another individual. All you need is access to the Internet and you’re ready to stalk.

Last summer, Careerbuilder.com released the results from a survey of employers and how they use social media that should be enough to scare some sense into college students. According to the results, forty-five percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates:

Job seekers are cautioned to be mindful of the information they post online and how they communicate directly with employers. Thirty-five percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top examples cited include:

• Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information - 53 percent
• Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs - 44 percent
• Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients - 35 percent
• Candidate showed poor communication skills - 29 percent
• Candidate made discriminatory comments - 26 percent

This presents a problem for many college students who are currently searching for a job or an internship while being careless with their profiles. Photos from the weekend and status updates that are being used to blow off steam can easily influence a potential employer’s view of you—before you even had a chance to be formally interviewed. This does not always seem fair, but the truth of the matter is, employers and hiring managers are going to be looking for an individual who appropriately represents their company or brand. What better way to do so than to see how you present your self through the World Wide Web?

You need to be aware of any and all content published to your pages—including photos, status updates, tweets, comments, groups you join and even pages you become a “fan of.” The second my mom friend requested me on Facebook was the second I realized I really needed to watch what goes up on my page. If you would not want your mother to see it, my opinion is to avoid publishing it to your website, because once you upload something it is online for more eyes to see than just those on your friend lists.

In an article about proper social networking etiquette in Forbes, Nancy Rothbard, a management professor at Wharton, emphasizes the damage you can do to your professional reputation by giving too much information away online:

Rothbard says that in face-to-face communications, people are much more careful about the volume and nature of the information they disclose. On the Internet, however, "there is a lot of lack of awareness--or obliviousness--about who is receiving this information." Someone using Twitter, for example, may think that only 20 people will read their message; meanwhile, millions of unknown people may stumble upon the information.

I know I’ve sometimes slipped up when I update my Facebook status, tweet my frustrations or forget to untag myself from unflattering photos that my college friends upload. We tend to forget that we are in a new hiring era now where our parents, professors and employers all use social networking as part of the hiring process.

You may be the most qualified for a position, with a laundry list of experience and well-deserved recommendations from college professors and former bosses, but if your Facebook page is stock full of provocative or questionable photos, you can be sure that your chances of landing that sweet internship or incredible job will be less than you would hope for.

On the plus side, because social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others are becoming increasingly popular, using your networking sites in an appropriate and mindful way can help you land a job. This article from the HRGuru gives a run down on the top networking sites employers use to find good candidates for open positions.

So next time you see a fan page labeled “Wasted Wednesdays” or you are sent a group invite to join a funny but provocative club, I would think twice. Stay tuned to find what things job seekers should be doing to their profiles instead.

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!

If you are anything like me, it is very likely that you are checking your Facebook more than a few times in a 30 minute span and your Twitter, Linked In and email accounts are all connected to your cell phone, which also has a direct link to your hip.

I'm a new intern here at Think Talk and for my first blog I figured I would write about my obsession with social media and how this obsession has become widely accepted and used by students, professors and career professionals alike. Okay, maybe I have been taking it a little too far ever since I downloaded the new Facebook app to my phone, but these days it has become nearly impossible for a company or business to survive without implementing and encouraging the use of social media. Before college, accessing Facebook during class was an absolute taboo. In fact, my high school in Maryland blocked all social networking sites from every campus computer. Today, however, many of my college classes at the University of Maryland actually praise and even require the use of social media and networking sites.

I believe adding social networking know-how and tech-savvy skills to my resume keeps me ahead of the game. Several of my college professors in the communication and public relations field hold a series of lectures based solely on social media. My professors encourage learning about different methods and platforms of communication to effectively send a message across while still being able to keep up with today's fast-paced and growing world.

In an article I just read from the University of New Hampshire (ThinkTalk school!), a student writer interviewed a professor teaching a new course covering all aspects of social media. Professor Chuck Martin of UNH is not only an accomplished author of eight different business books, but he is also the third most followed marketing professor on all of Twitter. In my eyes, that means he has made it big and he probably has a few words of wisdom to give to students in the field of marketing and communication.

“Social media is really, really big in business right now,” said Martin. “Even if the business doesn’t want to do anything in social media they have to because their clients and customers are connecting in these ways.”

Because social media is impacting all aspects of business and all kinds of business, said Martin, anybody in marketing needs to understand social media.

They don’t need to like it, but understand it,” said Martin.

So businesses have no choice but to keep up with social media to connect with clients, even if they cringe at the thought of managing a profile or Twitter account to tweet their daily activities. While it sounds silly, I agree with Martin in that using social media to promote and establish a brand for yourself or your business can go a long way. Take Google, for example; even though they are one of the largest companies right now in the world of business and do not need much more promotion, they know all too well not to neglect the importance of social media. With over thirty separate Twitter accounts based on region, cultures, types of technology and other areas, Google manages to continue to stay on top -- connecting the company to the world and beyond.

If even Google has to do it, then I figure I should, too. Stay tuned for my next post as I start exploring how social media can help me (and you) find a job.

Well, at least there was a Tweeter for hire. This Craigslist posting for a "Twitter Genius" is probably filled now that it has the attention of TechCrunch. But for a brief period there, you could have used your social media skills to secure a job as a social media marketer.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS JOB, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW EXACTLY. NO DEVIATIONS:

(i) Email me two tweets. The first should be about your experience. The second should by why you're perfect for this job. If you exceed twitter's allotted character count, you're done.

(ii) Email me your Twitter name in link form (e.g. www.twitter.com/YOURNAME)

(iii) Tell me how many followers you have and how many people you follow.

(iv) Tell me who's the best person you follow and why (in tweet form).

(v) Tell me what's the best way to get more followers (in tweet form).

(vi) Specific salary requirement.

IF YOU DO NOT SEND ALL OF THE ABOVE, EXACTLY AS I LAID IT OUT, I WILL NOT CONSIDER THE APPLICATION.

It's a pretty unique way to land a social media marketer. And I have to say, it makes a hell of a lot of sense. If someone is going to market a product online, they better have the skills to sell their potential employer. And what better way to show those skills than to, well, show them. I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see more of these types of postings. So if you're a PR/Marketing major, it would be best to get into this frame of mind.

Today was a dry one in Career Blog World. But Zack found a great post by Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight that explains why you should be excited about the latest unemployment report (8.9 percent) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Confused? I was, too. But it turns out there is good news:

A lot of people are excited today not because the unemployment rate is low (it's very high -- 8.9 percent), nor because the economy is adding jobs (it lost another 539,000 last month, according to statistics just released by the BLS), but merely because it's losing jobs less quickly. That is, the second derivative of the employment rate -- the change in the rate of change -- has improved.

I haven't thought about second derivatives since my Calc 2 class freshman year. In fact, I made it a point to forget I ever knew second derivatives. But Silver's news was encouraging enough to make me face my past (with a little help from Wikipedia).

The article goes on to analyze the "employment situation" from our past five recessions to see if the decrease in the rate of job losses is indeed reason to anticipate an approaching end to the recession. Silver determines that the statistics can't really tell us much yet-- history shows that the recession could as likely head downhill as uphill. Still, I'm a firm believer in the power of positive thinking. So let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

In honor of Friday, here are a few cool links to start your weekend...

Chris Brogan Reviews: A book by Pam Slim called Escape from Cubicle Nation. The book's mission is to help readers go from "corporate prisoners" to "thriving entrepreneurs." Brogan gives it a great review and says it's "full to the gills" with useful information for the dreaming entrepreneur.

The CareerDiva Advises: That you go get your passport today. If you haven't been abroad, The CareerDiva points out how expanding your horizons is a great thing for your career. She uses research from the international business school INSEAD that suggests living abroad boosts your creativity and problem-solving skills.

Thrilling Heroics Hunts Down: Ten "travel ninjas" that are worth following on Twitter. It's a good list- I'm now following several of these travel masters. They not only have great travel tips, many of them also have found ways to either turn traveling into a career or have built location independent careers.

"Math Disaster" courtesy of the mad LOLscientist via Flickr Creative Commons

Twitter’s the new guy on the social networking scene, but has already taken off at an insane rate. This last week saw several celebrities and CNN in a media-hyped race to become the first Twitter “Millionaire.” Sally Falkow at The Leading Edge said:

This week several celebrities and mainstream media outlets raced to be the first Twitter user to get 1,000,000 followers. Ashton Kutcher won. CNN was second. Oprah featured Twitter on her show and started tweeting. In just a few days she’s got half a million followers. According to PC World unscientific estimates put the number of new users signing up in the post-Oprah days anywhere from 500,000 to 1.2 million. Those figures come from looking at the progression of user ID numbers assigned to new accounts.

According to Twitterholic.com, Brittney Spears, President Obama, actress Ellen DeGeneres, performer John Mayer, Shaquille O’Neal, Jimmy Fallon and Twitter itself are also in the top ten twitter feeds, each with more than 600,000 followers. Safe to say that Twitter is creating a good amount of buzz.

Just like warnings started flying as Facebook gained popularity, career experts are warning Twitter users to “watch what you tweet.” The ResumeBear just had a post about 30 Ways to Loose a Job on Twitter. There are a collection of dumb tweets posted by employees who obviously don’t get that there’s always somebody watching.

Rather than tweeting, “I am currently trying to decide what disease to fake so I can leave work early today. I have it narrowed down to lupus or scurvy.” (seriously?) try finding a job instead. Cheezhead clued me in to this great list about the top 15 job apps on Twitter. Take TwitterJobSearch for example. Cheezhead noticed they’ve posted 44,165 jobs in the past week. That’s nothing to sneeze at. I also liked the idea of NearByTweets, where you can search Twitter by Keyword and Location to find out if there are any jobs open in your area.

I heart Twitter, Oprah... and The Links:

ReadWriteWeb Announces: That you have a say is what Google says about you. Starting yesterday, you can type "me" in Google search and will be able to create Google profile.

The ResumeGirl Has: Still more last minute job tips for graduating seniors. When I graduated, I dreaded the inevitable "So what are you plans now?" questions. If there are any of these tips you're not using yet, they could help.

Jacob Share at BrazenCareerist Holds Out: That temping really is one of the best options right now. There have been a lot of posts about temporary agencies recently (see exhibit A and B). If you are struggling in your job search, don't be afraid to try it.

The Personal Branding Blog Offers: A simple checklist to ensure that you are ready for your next networking meeting. Dan Schawbel says, "There are two things people want to see in a networking meeting: enthusiasm or passion, and what you bring to the table. Make sure that you incorporate both these answers into your story about your history and your goals." If you are networking as part of your job search, this is a good article.

If you aren’t on Twitter, it’s about time. I mean, Oprah is on Twitter. You have no excuses left. And when you get on Twitter, make sure to check us out!