Here’s the thing, as much as most of us LOVE social media, as much as we engage…, there is nothing like a face-to-face greeting or meeting. There is nothing like that chance to sit down and actually have a conversation where real eye contact can be made. It is easy to forget, as we sit behind computers or drone on from go-to-meeting to webinar, what it’s actually like to shake the hand of a new contact or embrace friends. It is easy to forget what it is like to have a conversation longer than 140 characters or less. It is easy to forget that we don’t have to speak in status update format and wait for a thumb’s up “like” or a bazillion comments to justify our existence. It is easy to forget that sometimes you don’t have to ask permission to be a friend, you can just do it.

And guess what (best part)? There is no deleting in real life. There is walking away, which is far more satisfying,by the way. And you don’t need to look on your home page to see who is checking you out, You can simply turn around.

This is a good thing. And just like most good things, they usually come back in style, unlike shoulder pads and stirrup pants- dear God, I hope they don’t come back in style. And just because it’s in style doesn’t mean someone can wear it well. Remember lycra for God’s sake… After all, there are many performing artists that fail at live performances. Stick to the studio or movie screen. Not everyone is cut out for the handshake, the meet and greet. The bottom line is that it comes down to knowing people, learning about people, engaging with people. Hiding behind an online persona or no persona at all is a big, fat fail. People do business with people they know. People do business with people they like and trust.

Sometimes, you just have to drop the media from social media and be social. Remember when your mom told you to say thank you and please? Remember when you were told to sit up straight or your dad prompted you to shake someone’s hand? How about when icebreaking games were played at parties? Let social media be your icebreaker but not your party.
The party is after the IRL (in-real-life) handshake, not before.

Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology.  She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.  

Intigued? Well, yes. The 5 P’s are basic Marketing 101. Flashback to Business College and Marketing class with that smelly professor who wore birks and tyedye.

The 5 “P’s” of marketing include:
Product – The products or services offered to your customers/clients.
Price – The strategies you use with regard to pricing your products or services with the goal of making a desired profit margin.
Place (Distribution) – How you get your products or services to your target market.
Promotion – How you communicate the features and benefits and endorse your products or services to your customers or clients.
People – The value your people bring to your business by providing service to your customers and clients.

So you’re asking yourself what does any of this have to do with finding a job? Well, everything.

Product-Refers to you, your qualifications and skills that you have to offer an employer. What skills and qualifications do you have and what are your strengths and opportunities? Focus on the opportunities and how you can make these better. Maybe it means taking a Crystal Reports class at the local vo-tech.
Price-What salary range are you willing to accept? Research the local job market, the unemployment rate, the industry, and top companies you are interested in working for.
Place-Consider the methods to deliver your resume either by informational interview with your top companies, using your network, job boards, or job fairs.
Promotion-Tools used to promote yourself-resumes, coverletters, myspace pages, and business cards. Get these and make them look professional. Realize that these can hurt you too. A racy myspace or friendster page can be viewed by just about anybody. Companies often google candidates. Consider this.
People-What value has your skill brought to previous companies? For example, as a Sales and Marketing Director you saved the company $300,000 in expenses in the first two quarters of 2005 streamlining the sales and marketing strategy for your fitness center. Shout this accomplishment from the rooftops and list it as a bulleted point on your resume. I do this very same thing in my resume and companies have often contacted me because of one bullet point that peaked their interest.
Use buzzwords on your resume. This helps several different ways-1. It gets the recruiters attention. 2. Your resume is flagged as a possible candidate from what I call their buzzword software. The buzzword software then passes your resume on to the recruiter. Very high tech, huh?

You are your biggest asset. Develop a marketing strategy to market yourself.

Next week. . . The Coverletter