MSU alumnus, author gives job market advice

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Be on time. Dress professionally. Practice a strong, confident handshake. Send a post-interview tweet to a potential employer.

MSU alumnus and Amazon bestselling author Erik Qualman has some new advice for those entering the job market, and it involves seizing the opportunity found in tools students use every day as a part of their social lives.

Qualman, the author of “Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business,” returned to MSU on Monday to share his book and a presentation on social media with students at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.

“Socialnomics — what does that mean in a nutshell?” Qualman said, addressing students.

“It’s like word-of-mouth on steroids; it’s world-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth communication works pretty well, but it takes awhile to spread. With socialnomics it’s an immediate push out into this space, and since it’s passed along digitally, it’s less likely for that message to be lost.”

Qualman encouraged students to find a passion to promote as their individual niche via a social media outlet such as a blog, a Twitter account or Facebook account to strengthen an online presence attracting potential employers.

Bonnie Bucqueroux, director of the victims and media program for the School of Journalism, said to promote a positive image, students and job seekers have to be careful on Facebook and Twitter about “lifecasting” instead of “mindcasting,” terms coined by Jay Rosen of New York University.

“When (people) just say, ‘I’m headed out to get a latte,’ they’re lifecasting, versus, ‘I’m headed out to get a latte and was reminded that the coffee workers in Brazil are exploited,’ and offering a link to an article, they’re mindcasting,” Bucqueroux said. “It isn’t going to impress your future employer that you had a latte this morning. Many people are finding out that they need more than one of these social media accounts, usually one personal and one professional.”

Qualman recommended that students focus on one social media tool at a time, promote their new media skills on résumés and to reach out to employers before and after interviews with social networking, by sending a thank-you tweet or commenting on a blog post by the company.

Jaimee Mayfield, a master’s student in public relations, attended Qualman’s presentation.

Mayfield said she thought the approach was interesting, being able to show an employer an online presence in the field during an interview as opposed to just describing one’s work there.

“I really liked that idea,” Mayfield said. “It’s like saying, ‘This is why I want to work in the auto industry,’ versus saying, ‘Well, this is why I want to work here with these interests and I can show you a blog I’ve been working on in that area for the past year.’ I really enjoyed (the presentation).”

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