Social Media Strategy - Jim Adcocks Career Strategy - Career Pivot

Social Media Strategy - Jim Adcock's Career Strategy - Career Pivot Social Media Strategy â€" Jim’s Story This is the first of a multi-part story of Jim Adcock. I have known Jim for six years and now serve on the board of directors of Launch Pad Job Club. Jim is a classic example of someone who has learned to manage his career through a social media strategy. â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€" My name is Jim Adcock. I make a living as a SharePoint Consultant, and I make a difference as Vice President on the Launch Pad Job Club Board of Directors. Over the last three years I have been actively using blogging as a key part of my career social media strategy, and found it to have been an important building block toward a successful and stable career. In April of 2009, I got a chance to hear Jason Alba of JibberJobber.com fame, speak about his ideas about managing a career. While I had previously heard some of those ideas from others, he put it together in a way that finally got through to me. The purpose of a career blog, as it was explained to me, is to create a portfolio of what you know, what you can do and how you can solve your (potential) employer’s problems. In my particular case, I blog about SharePoint and how I use it to solve business problems for companies. I write about particular technical issues, and how I solved the problems. This provides a look at how I approach solving problems, both business and technical, and occasionally shows off how clever I am. As a portfolio of job activities, it provides a way for employers to validate my experience, especially during those “Tell me about a time when…” questions. It provides a selection of code samples for employers to review. It provides a platform to advertise myself, to build some brand recognition for a brand that is very important to me… that brand is ME! And it works. As an example, I went to a conference a few months ago, and the very first person I saw as i was walking in, a random stranger, came up to me and said, “Hey, you’re the guy with that blog!” (It helps that I have my picture featured prominently at the top of the page layout.) Employers have contacted me after reading posts, employers that I would love to work for someday, just to tell me that they liked what I wrote, or that the post solved a problem they were struggling with. Listen to the most recent episode And, yes, all that work paid off. Blogging played an important role in getting my most recent job, as I discuss in a recent post. But success like that doesn’t just happen on its own, and it doesn’t happen overnight. Next time, I’m going to talk about some of the things I do to make that success happen. Check out the rest of the series: Social Media Strategy â€" My Resume Social Media Strategy â€" How I Make Blogging Work For Me Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...