A company's main reason for not allowing social networks at work (aside from legal ramifications for financial institutions, etc.) is they feel a productivity loss. If you're sharing advice on your social networks at work and blogging, then where is the real business value, unless you're in a social media specialist type role. Companies are looking for you to bring in revenue, decrease costs or at least bring in some return on investment for the expense they're paying for you to work there. If you can't do that because you're building your brand or developing yoru sites at work, then get ready for a big fat pink slip because you're easily replaceable, now that there's 6 job seekers for every job.

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part Seven: Appropriate Content >>

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Posting inappropriate photos on your social media site and forgetting that your profile is public is a common mistake. Remember, often times you and your friends aren't the only ones who can see your information.

Ray Lam, a former NDP candidate for Vancouver-False Creek was forced to resign from his job when photographs were discovered on Facebook. One picture showed him palming a woman's breast and another with his pants down and two people pulling at his underwear. I was going to post the photo here, but it's too inappropriate for this blog. There are other examples of this happening, such as a teacher being fired for her MySpace picture and a nursing home assistant taking pictures with her patients. I have knows for you: you don't own your profiles on social networks. That's right, Facebook owns your profile and companies can pay Facebook for that information. Always think of your profile as public!

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part Six: Respect Your Elders >>

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The economy appears to be getting better and when you turn on the news the positive thoughts are really starting to outweigh the negative emotions. However, were not out of the deep water yet and there are still a lot of job seekers and still very few jobs.

While employers have decreased the amount of lay offs that we are seeing from major companies, a recent article from the New York Times states that employment prospects are still getting worse.

"Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. According to the Labor Department's latest numbers, from July, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed. And even though the pace of layoffs is slowing, many companies remain anxious about growth prospects in the months ahead, making them reluctant to add to their payrolls."

How does it look in your market? Are you seeing any changes that can provide insight, motivation, or a positive thought to other job seekers?

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Letsbuyit.com, a Paris-based website, is inviting people to compete for what they are calling the "Second Best Job in the World." They aren't exaggerating.

What Is the "Second Best Job In the World"? A month-long, worldwide shopping spree. That's right, the winner not only gets to shop in seven world cities (Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Milan, New York, Paris and Tokyo), but will be given a $16K shopping budget, business class travel and luxury accommodations to do it. All this lucky person has to do is find the best bargains, compare the shopping cultures of the cities and blog about it. And this job is up for grabs!

How Can YOU Get This Job? Enter the competition by submitting a video and resume explaining why you are qualified to be their "international shopping consultant." Entries are due December 14.

What Is the "Best Job In the World"? Of course you're probably wondering, if this is only the second best job in the world, what could the best job possibly be? Ask Ben Southall of Britain who beat out 34,000 candidates from 200 countries to become the caretaker of an idyllic island off the coast of Australia.

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If you're a millennial than you have to start figuring out how you want to position yourself at work. Don't think for a minute that everyone that's older than you doesn't understand technology. Although the younger generations are typically more savvy and adept at utilizing social media, there is still a signifcant amount of "seasoned" professionals on the web.

There's five generations in the workforce, and although millennials will be the majority in the year 2020 (HBS), older workers still have senior positions. Instead of trying to be superior than them, which can get you fired or put you in a corner, try and be helpful by supporting their projects with your tech expertise. Think about how you can use your knowledge of social media or web 2.0 technology to your benefit and teach them, instead of trying to outsmart them. Remember, a built bridge is stronger than a burnt bridge.

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Here's a creative solution to the economic downturn -- let people pay you to wear their swag.

Jason Sadler, 26, sells companies the opportunity for him to wear their company's shirt for a day. He charges what he calls "face value", meaning January 1st costs $1 and December 31st costs $365. It might not sound like a ton of cash, but it adds up to $66,795 on a sold out calendar. He then sells monthly sponsorships adding upwards of $18,000 to his take home.

It may seem like one of those ridiculous ideas that would never actually work, but last year Jason made $83,000. According to BLS.gov, the average US take home was $32,000.

Here's the best part. In true entreprenuerial style, Jason's hiring on the west coast of the United States to expand his fledgling company's reach. Time to start bombarding his website with that Emurse resume. Make sure to mention how awesome your farmer's tan is in the cover letter!

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Your colleagues are following you on Twitter, trust me. If you're looking for a career move right now or in the future and you want to promote it, wait till after you've moved from your company.

Supervisor references are always important because endorsements rule the world, so if you want to burn your previous employer by not being transparent offline, then you're in trouble. You can tell your friends and family, but once you announce it to the world, it's fair game and you'll be laid off immediately without the chance to ever return to that company. A lot of people don't realize that once you establish a reputation and a network at a company, it can be your safety net in the future if you desperately need a job.

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Brand association isn't just for advertising and public relations nowadays, even the common worker is effected by this. As such, please don't say that a blog disclaimer is going to disassociate your brand with your company's because it's not and when you get fired your boss won't accept that excuse either!

Brand association is powerful and cannot be undone, which means you have to be smart about what kind of attention you want to draw to yourself. A reporter, journalist, producer or blogger can easily scrape your content and quote it in a story, without your permission. Not only should you be careful about your presence on your blogs but be careful about any attention you draw to your social media outlets including answering linkedin questions, status comments on facebook or myspace, etc. They can link you to your company, even if the blog topic isn't related to your current work position. If news breaks out because of this visibility, your company can fire you for carelessness and for harming the corporate brand. Its called conduct detrimental to the company outside of work. Again, our lives are different now, so you better be safe than sorry (and that sounds like something my parents would say).

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part 5: Tweeting Too Early >>

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part 3: Corporate Policy >>

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• Mac Developer for Graphics Focused Project: Have a passion for graphics and a background in computer science? This may be the perfect gig. Joshua Distler, an award winning designer and Apple alumnus, is looking for a code ninja to help him turn his patent pending techniques into a world class Macintosh application. He's looking for someone with " the ability to implement mathematical algorithms and concepts in C++, C# or Java."
• iPhone Developer - Groupon.com is looking for a crème de la crème iPhone developer. They're based out of Chicago but they're down with the telecommuting if you're not down with the windy city. Groupon is sort of like a localized version of woot. Mobile is big, shopping is big and local is the "next big thing." Seems like a great opportunity with a really cool startup!

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Company cultures are always different and have policies (some have social media policies for workers too). Some block social networking sites, while others refrain because they know that people are doing work at home, so their employment contract is different. Robert Half International found that 54% of companies prohibit use of social networking Web sites during work hours, including popular sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Another survey by ScanSafe, indicates that 20% more companies are blocking social networking sites and that 76% currently block them, which is much more than the Robert half survey. Don't complain that your company blocks these sites. If you're truly obsessed, why not access them from your mobile phone? Otherwise, get fired or quit and go somewhere else (though that is not a great idea in todays economy)!

Other companies realize the potential in good corporate web-citizens. For example, eBillme offers training on how to use social networking sites to spread company information.

Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Four: Brand Association >>

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part Two: Me Before We >>

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Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Three: Corporate Policy >>

Previous: Social Media Mistakes Part One: The Simple Stuff >>

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People use a lot crazy tactics to try to get a job, and some actually work. Brandishing a gun, however, is not one of them.

According to LoHud.com, a man took the term "Job Hunt" a little too literally. He walked into a Taco Bell in Haverstraw, NY on Monday afternoon, pulled out a gun, demanded money, then continued on to the manager's office.

• Funny Business
• Do Crazy Tactics Really Work?

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Next: Social Media Mistakes Part Two: Me Before We >>

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• Provide a solid, thorough explanation. Like with many potentially damaging pieces of information on a resume being honest and clear about what happened can be your best defense. Don't let them assume the worst about you.
• Be positive, not bitter or defeatist. It's hard to lose a job, let alone two or three of them, but if you want a new employer to hire you you're going to have to get over it. They'll pick up on your negativity and hopelessness and why would they want that on their payroll?
• Consider getting a career coach who specializes in your field. They can help give you an edge to counteract your multiple-job-loss disadvantage.
• Utilize LinkedIn and Twitter. The online world is becoming a popular tool for recruiting, networking, and sharing expertise. Consider putting your LinkedIn and Twitter links below the email address on your resume (consider carefully, though, it might not be appropriate in all situations).
• Remember that all luck changes. Things will get better, perserverance is key!

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