Teaching students and career counselors a 6-step, social-media-based job search system enabling students to stand out from the crowd, showcase their skills, demonstrate industry knowledge, connect with key industry players, and land the career-launching job of their dreams

I developed the 6-step process after working with 300 students over 5

years

The 6 steps1. A scrubbed and robust digital footprint

2. Two resumes: 1) ATS-friendly; 2) interactive

3. A “Me” Site as a digital portfolio

4. A “Passion Blog” about a niche in their field

5. A social media marketing campaign of themselves

6. An informational interview campaign

A scrubbed and robust digital footprint 1.Ninety percent of companies check candidates out on the web

Seventy percent have rejected candidates based on what they find, but 70% have hired based partially on what they find

We show students how toscrub their digital footprint• pipl.com (finds mentions of you in lots of place

• Facewash (now SImpleWash) (scours Facebook)

• socioclean.com (being rebuilt but best when it returns)

• Reppler (scans Facebook profile for bad stuff)

• BrandYourself (helps you make sure the results for a search of your name are good results)

• Social Mention (searches social media for mentions)

• BackTweets (searches for mentions of you on Twitter)

• Reputation.com (searches for mentions of you everywhere and grades them)

• Tin Eye (searches for your IMAGES everywhere!)

After their digital footprint is clean,

we help them make it robuston LinkedIn

and other major platforms

Here are two of my students

to illustrate

how it works

John OtterbeinURI grad, 2012

Marketing Assoc.Environmental nonprofit

Sae ChoBU grad, 2011

Sr. Accnt. Exec.Social House, LA

A “Me” Site 2.A digital portfolio, putting all their great work (including resume and references) in one place, helping create a positive digital footprint, and using a powerful, professional photo to fix the student in the mind of the employer in the role THEY want to be in.

Sae’s ‘Me’ Sitehttp://www.saeyoungcho.com/

John’s ‘Me’ Site: http://www.about.me/johnotterbein

• Re.vu• About.me

• Flavors.me

• Snackwebsites.com

• Zerply.com

• BrandYourself.com

• Follr.com

• Visualize.me

• Wordpress

• Tumblr

“Me” Site platforms

Two resumes:2.1. “Anti-Black-Hole”

resume (ATS-friendly resume)

2. A multimedia resume

ATS Resume2A.1.Proper keywords in right

places

2.Proper placement of skills

3.Proper order of elements

4.Absence of fancy stuff

Interactive Resume2B.1.QR Code at top linking

to intro video of student

2.QR Code at bottom linking to video of best reference

John and Sae’s “Before” Resumes

John and Sae’s “After” Resumes

Introductory videosIntroductory videos instantly

convey a student’s energy,

passion and personality,

converting a dull paper resume into

a dynamic, memorable

experience and helping answer the “cultural fit”

question

QR Codes bring references to life

John’s Reference Video

A “Passion” blog 4.1.Showcases students’ skills

2.Demonstrates industry knowledge

3.Raises profile in their field

4.Puts them in touch with key players as a professional not a supplicant

Sae’s Passion Blog

John’s Passion Blog

Social Media Marketing Campaign

5.Regular activity on the primary social media platforms puts students on the radar screens of key players, impressing those players with the student’s knowledge, analytic ability, creativity and thoughtfulness. This contact paves the way for the informational interviews.

How to find key people: Twitter Lists

Listorius, WeFollow, Twellow

Informational interviews6.Building on the student’s list of key players, they make appointments for interviews that will:

•Cement the student in the minds of people who can make a difference in their lives •Plug them in to “the hidden job market,” and •Result in new contacts after each interview to add to their network

John has gone from sending out 76 resumes and getting no answers to landing his dream job as a content creator for an environmental advocacy nonprofitSae went from sending out 26 resumes and getting no responses to being hired as the web mistress for WeekendLA and was recruited away last month by a social media agency serving major media clients

WHAT’S HAPPENED TO SAE AND JOHN?

Other success stories:Degrees2Dreams “graduates”

are:The asst. casting director of “America’s Next Top Model”Teacher in a STEM program in the Providence, RI schoolsWeb Producer at NECN; then one of first hired at bostonglobe.comPaid Music blogger, Professional music site, BostonThe editor-in-chief of The Next Great GenerationReporters with PatchEditor-in-chief of weekly online/print paperPaid intern at HubSpot (one of 200 applicants)Producer at NPR in WashingtonWriter/Photographer, Shanghai Daily NewsInbound marketing producer, NYC marketing co.Asst. to director, Los Angeles music video companySocial media mgr. Doyles Pubs; now social media mgr. brewing company.Winners of two paid internships, Boston marketing co.Paid intern, Mullen Adv. (one of 1200 applicants for 30 jobs)Community manager, social media marketing co.Webmistress, Weekend LACommunications Coordinator, City Year

Sam Clarke, Emerson ’11, Production Asst., “Modern Family,”

formerly Asst. Casting Director, “America’s Next Top Model”

WE OFFER:• 90-minute crash courses

• Half-day courses• Full-day courses

• Weekend boot camps

Everyone walks away with actionable information they can put to work

THAT night

Thank

you!

john@degrees2dreams.com