How to Use Social Media for a victorious job pivot
Tina went from UX to Customer Success
Free speech is a hallmark of our American Way of life. But don’t think for a minute that what you write, post, or share isn’t looked at by your employers or future employers. In Day 9 of the 50 Day Leap let’s talk about using social media with the purpose of forwarding your career.
Social media can be confusing — I have to admit Facebook continues to confuse me in terms of what it’s for. I think I’m not alone and that’s why FB and other social media can cause some unintended consequences. Like the woman who expressed her view to the president while out for a bike ride and then got fired after she posted the photo on FB.
With that in mind then you have some choices to make. You can choose to speak your mind and be you. Or you can craft a message that supports you as a subject matter expert a thought leader or use it to show that you are pivoting your career.
My friend Tina a women in tech who has honed her skills to move up in a medical technology role. Her particular company is a double whammy of a “brofest” and she has the kind of steel spine that has served her well in dealing with it.
Tina has become interested in a different area and wants to expand into more of a customer success role. She loves the product that she has worked on and really want to see it through to it’s fullest potential.
Her company has been resistant to this move. So Tina and I crafted a plan and she began to pivot herself on social media as an expert in customer success for the product.
She built relationships, she gained confidence and soon the end users were seeking her out. It took some time and it also reinforced that this was exactly what she wanted to do.
A career pivot was complete in a matter of months using primarily social media.
Here are some ideas:
- Share articles with your thoughts about them.
- Be bold and give your real opinions.
- Challenge the status quo — how can you mix it up and create something new?
Last Week as part of our weekly Women Who Work With Men podcast I interviewed Mindi Rosser who is my go to person for all things social media — especially LinkedIn.
She gave some specifics on how to use social media to help with a pivot and positioning your self as a subject matter expert or thought leader. Her top recommendation is to make sure that you create a headline on LinkedIn that tells what you do, for whom and the result.
Then Mindi shared tips on using the combination of LinkedIn and Twitter for establishing how you want to be seen.
All of us have our specific media that seems to fit our style. Creatively build from that. Experiment and establish yourself as the expert and leader that you want to be seen as.
So Day 9 is really Women Who Work With Men podcast # 25 Mindi Rosser and you can listen to the podcast on itunes or here
Todays Action Take a look at your headline — you can adjust the rest of linkIn later. Look at your headline and make sure it fits with how you want to be seen.
BTW you can find Mindi Rosser on Medium, at LinkedIn, Twitter and also her website.
WOMEN IN TECH: Are you looking to make a pivot in your career? The place to start is by making sure you are working on projects that YOU want to. Sign up here and get 5 easy ways to make that happen.
Found this post useful? Please tap the 👏 button below!
Lisa Guida works with women in male dominated industries to create how they want to be seen as a leader at her company Why Leap Alliance Inc.
