This is a true story as told to DiversityJobs, where you can find career interviews for the job you've been looking at and available positions in your desired field.
I've been in the social media manager business for two years now and have varied clients ranging from car dealerships to graphic designers to businesses seeking a strong web presence.
My goals as a social media expert is to provide my clients with website design tips, blogging and above all getting them to utilize social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
The hardest part of being a social media manager is convincing clients the need social media attention in the first place!
Most businesses who are not Internet savvy feel the best way to reach their customers is via newspaper ads, radio and television spots but in reality, today’s savvy customer turn to the Web to find the products and services they seek.
At times, this convincing alone can take up a lot of my time so this part of the job is about a four on a scale of ten; but once they are convinced, the rest of my job is an absolute ten on the satisfaction scale.
One of the largest things independent social media experts face is dealing with firms offering services at ridiculous prices. These firms are hard to compete with but usually the end-user isn’t satisfied and will turn to me to fix mistakes. It would be nice if they’d understand a good social media manager may cost them as much as $2,000 to $3,000 per month depending on the size of their business and the services I provide.
Though social media seems like an easy vocation, sometimes it’s not! You will have customers who want change after change so make sure you nail down the amount of changes they can make in a formal contract agreement.
My desire to learn more about the Internet was all I needed to get a jump start on becoming a social media manager. From there, a few online classes and some optimization of my own website and a little HTML coding experience was all I needed.
As I look back, I might have focused a little more on Google and what their algorithms do and how they can change—very fast meaning the social media efforts you offer your clients start to slow down and require immediate attention.
While online SEO and social media training did help me, I've learned larger companies want experts who have a full bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field. Because I’m void of a bachelor’s degree, sometimes it makes it difficult in convincing clients I can do the job.
A funny thing that happened to me with one client when I asked if he would be willing to share his screen with me via an Internet sharing tool. Once he agreed and I sent him the link so we could connect, I was able to see his screen right away and let’s just say the websites he was browsing were of the adult type! He was very embarrassed!
One advantage of being a social media manager is you do get to perform most of you job at home. While I do meet with clients from time to time, the telecommuting offers me a chance to follow another passion I have—fostering dogs from shelters until they can be adopted!
On the other side of that coin, if a client wants you ASAP, you need to be prepared to leave in a flash so you really can’t work in your pajamas all day long.
I’ve never felt too stressed being a social media manager unless I have a horrible and demanding client. I have, however, turned down some clients just from analyzing them in our initial meeting—sometimes you can tell right off if a client will be good or bad.
I still recommend those wanting to break into the social media manager world should obtain bachelor’s degree, as I wish I had. I think I would have landed more clients right off instead of contacting client after client and proving myself.
So far, I can happily say I’m making between $30,000 to $40,000 a year but this is working 24/7 and being there when my clients need me.
If you think helping any organization gain clients via the Internet sounds like a great job, a social media manager may be the right profession for you. Some of my friends are a little jealous they must follow a 9-5 schedule that is strictly regimented where I can set my own hours.
Five years from now I’d like to have my own company, hire some social media managers and take a vacation!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and that familiar chill is in the air. You think it's the perfect time to look for a job, and it is! But are your job search fears preventing you from making that leap?
It's not uncommon to feel lost when embarking on your job search journey. After all, school teaches us everything except how to get a job. What should you put on your resume? What questions should you ask in an interview? How can you stand out in the hiring process when there's so much competition?
Are you feeling spooked yet?
Believe it or not, there's no need to be afraid of the job search process! You can land your dream job with the right tools and strategy. You can find a job that won't give you nightmares. Here are three spooky secrets every job seeker should know as they look for a job this fall.
1. An Effective Job Search Starts With An Interview Bucket List
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Despite your fears, you've decided to take the plunge and look for a new job. You might be asking yourself, "Where do I start?" The answer is simple: start by creating an interview bucket list.
An interview bucket list is a list of 10-20 companies you'd love to work for. Are you passionate about a company's products or services? Do you feel connected to its mission? Can you relate to its values and beliefs as an organization? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, that company probably belongs on your interview bucket list.
Once you create an interview bucket list, you'll be able to conduct a targeted job search, one with direction and a foundation upon which everything else will be built. An interview bucket list helps you focus your job search and networking strategies on the right opportunities, making it easier to get your foot in the door at one of your dream companies.
2. Your Job Application Needs To Disrupt Hiring Managers
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In order to stand out in the hiring process, you need to disrupt recruiters and hiring managers. You accomplish this by doing two things: optimizing your resume and writing a disruptive cover letter.
A well-optimized resume includes keywords from the job description. This ensures your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of the hiring manager. Once it's in front of the hiring manager, it needs to grab and keep their attention. Quantifying your work experience—adding numbers to your bullet points—will make you stand out from other applicants. Hiring managers will want to know more about you and your accomplishments, and that's how you land a phone interview.
Before that, though, a hiring manager will read your cover letter. To disrupt them, you need to write a disruptive cover letter (obviously!). A disruptive cover letter gives you the opportunity to tell a story about why you feel connected to the company you're applying for. It's that storytelling aspect that will stand out to hiring managers and compel them to pick up the phone and give you a call.
3. Employers Hire You Based On 3 Things
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You can't get hired unless you know what employers are assessing you on in the interview process. While your skills and expertise matter, companies actually hire for three things: personality, aptitude, and experience (in that order).
Most job seekers don't realize how important it is to demonstrate their personality, aptitude, and experience in an interview. You could have the right experience for a job, but if the hiring manager doesn't think your personality is a good fit for the company culture, you probably won't get a job offer.
Make sure you demonstrate your soft skills and learn how to answer behavioral interview questions to prove you're the best candidate for the job you're applying for, not just the most qualified.
Want To Learn More Job Search Secrets?
As you look for a job this fall, it might be helpful to know some more spooky secrets so you can get over your job search fears and finally take control of your career.
We know the job search process can be scary. However, it's important to get clear on what you want to do next and focus on conducting a strategic job search, or what we refer to at Work It DAILY as job shopping. This is the only way to effectively market yourself to employers. If they can't see exactly where and how you add value, then that's going to decrease your chances of landing the job.
The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of factors that are out of your control. But the one factor you can control is your job search strategy, the tools and tactics you use to land a job.
If you want to learn the secrets to conducting a strategic job search, sign up for our Job Search Bootcamp, a two-hour, on-demand video workshop that comes with a free workbook.
In this video workshop, you'll learn:
How to use backchanneling to get directly to hiring managers.
The secret to using a connection story to stand out against the competition.
How social media can be your secret weapon to get job interviews.
The resume format that is getting job seekers more job interviews.
This is a true story as told to DiversityJobs, where you can find career interviews for the job you've been looking at and available positions in your desired field.
I've been in the social media manager business for two years now and have varied clients ranging from car dealerships to graphic designers to businesses seeking a strong web presence.
My goals as a social media expert is to provide my clients with website design tips, blogging and above all getting them to utilize social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
The hardest part of being a social media manager is convincing clients the need social media attention in the first place!
Most businesses who are not Internet savvy feel the best way to reach their customers is via newspaper ads, radio and television spots but in reality, today’s savvy customer turn to the Web to find the products and services they seek.
At times, this convincing alone can take up a lot of my time so this part of the job is about a four on a scale of ten; but once they are convinced, the rest of my job is an absolute ten on the satisfaction scale.
One of the largest things independent social media experts face is dealing with firms offering services at ridiculous prices. These firms are hard to compete with but usually the end-user isn’t satisfied and will turn to me to fix mistakes. It would be nice if they’d understand a good social media manager may cost them as much as $2,000 to $3,000 per month depending on the size of their business and the services I provide.
Though social media seems like an easy vocation, sometimes it’s not! You will have customers who want change after change so make sure you nail down the amount of changes they can make in a formal contract agreement.
My desire to learn more about the Internet was all I needed to get a jump start on becoming a social media manager. From there, a few online classes and some optimization of my own website and a little HTML coding experience was all I needed.
As I look back, I might have focused a little more on Google and what their algorithms do and how they can change—very fast meaning the social media efforts you offer your clients start to slow down and require immediate attention.
While online SEO and social media training did help me, I've learned larger companies want experts who have a full bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field. Because I’m void of a bachelor’s degree, sometimes it makes it difficult in convincing clients I can do the job.
A funny thing that happened to me with one client when I asked if he would be willing to share his screen with me via an Internet sharing tool. Once he agreed and I sent him the link so we could connect, I was able to see his screen right away and let’s just say the websites he was browsing were of the adult type! He was very embarrassed!
One advantage of being a social media manager is you do get to perform most of you job at home. While I do meet with clients from time to time, the telecommuting offers me a chance to follow another passion I have—fostering dogs from shelters until they can be adopted!
On the other side of that coin, if a client wants you ASAP, you need to be prepared to leave in a flash so you really can’t work in your pajamas all day long.
I’ve never felt too stressed being a social media manager unless I have a horrible and demanding client. I have, however, turned down some clients just from analyzing them in our initial meeting—sometimes you can tell right off if a client will be good or bad.
I still recommend those wanting to break into the social media manager world should obtain bachelor’s degree, as I wish I had. I think I would have landed more clients right off instead of contacting client after client and proving myself.
So far, I can happily say I’m making between $30,000 to $40,000 a year but this is working 24/7 and being there when my clients need me.
If you think helping any organization gain clients via the Internet sounds like a great job, a social media manager may be the right profession for you. Some of my friends are a little jealous they must follow a 9-5 schedule that is strictly regimented where I can set my own hours.
Five years from now I’d like to have my own company, hire some social media managers and take a vacation!
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
