Making Connections

I made a contact today. Actually, I made it last week but am just getting to writing about it now.

I am Linked In. I have a profile on Linked In and I go in periodically. I click through the buttons to check contact updates, see what new apps are available, scan the ever growing list of groups, and then if I have time, I search for people locally or long, lost friends (where the heck are you Kathy?!).

Sometimes I find some to invite and connect with, and sometimes I don't. Last week I did. I found (like they were ever lost) a friend and a few HR colleagues.

The friend is someone I had attended my Ordnance Officer Advanced Course with eons ago. He stayed in the Army, I got out. He's a Colonel now and from what I remember about Colonels from when I was a Captain, he is pretty old right now. Glad I got out and didn't age like he did :)

My HR colleagues are from the local area. Turns out one was looking for work and I was able to forward her information about an opportunity I had just received via Linked In a few days ago.  She responded back later that evening: she had a face-to-face interview on Wednesday! I know what you are thinking because I thought the very same thing, "Did I do that for her?" Talk about a rush. What a great feeling to be able to help another. Turns out, she was already aware of the opportunity. She had a phone interview last week and the face-to-face was already scheduled. So, it was not me but the rush was still the same.

Bottom line: I would not have had the opportunity (or the rush) had it not been for a social networking tool.

This time it was Linked In. What will it be next time? MySpace? I don't think so, I have a profile only so I can have access to my sister's page. Facebook? I had a profile but deactivated it because I never went into it. Twitter? Possibly. I feel the energy behind Twitter. I went to the site a few times but did not sign up. I even subscribed a few months ago to the Twitter Handbook (but lost my password so can't get to it now). What was stopping me? I am not sure how Twitter would fit into my life and my technology situation, i.e. cell phone (no text messaging).

Maybe it was the rush of seeking and making a connection; the possibility of being able to know (quickly) what is happening with friends and family; wanting to know as much as I possibly can about the medium that may very well consume my little girl in the next  few years; or just plain curiosity. Whatever it was, I took the leap. In the spirit of possibility and of making connections, I signed up for Twitter and have started to tweet at http://twitter.com/lisarosendahl.

It is all about making connections, isn't it?

Comments

[HR Maven]

I had a wonderful experience on Linked In. I had a national recruiter contact me about a position. I wasn't interested (love my job) but had recently been contacted by someone out of work, inquiring about HR positions at my college. He had the skills the recruiter was looking for and I hooked those two up. What a thrill. Two people I don't know, will prob never meet and I was able to connect them.

At work, almost the entire college uses Facebook. You can't imagine what I can keep up on - engagements, marriages, illness and babies. Sort of weird reading Facebook, seeing someone who is sick and then thinking - jeez, I better send her 'paperwork.' But it works. :)

[Lisa Rosendahl]

So you do like Facebook? Once I get a handle on Twitter, I may go back in and take another look. At the very least, it may be a way for others to find me. Thanks!

[Dustin]

I too did not see a real use for twitter... that is until I discovered search.twitter.com. I enter HR into the search box and get all kinds of neat search results. Sometimes, those searches result in a link to someone in my industry.

You can also add your "search" to your RSS reader and then read it like you do any of your other blogs... very handy.

Twitter, FaceBook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are all part of a new idea - the emergence of the "personal brand" and managing this brand is just as important to the individual as managing the Nike brand is to Nike. (beware shameless pug ahead) I was so inspired by the idea of building a personal brand - I started MeritBuilder.com to help HR build the employee's brand... So far so good!