Late in 2011, I had applied for the first Social Media Director position at The University of Michigan. I never got called back, but several months later while searching to see if the position had been filled, I happened upon DearLisaRudgers.com, another applicant’s custom designed website for the same position.
The Blog Post
I was so amazed, I contacted the applicant, Lindsay Blackwell, interviewed her and wrote this blog post: The Best Social Media Job Application EVER: How 22 Year-Old Lindsay Blackwell Applied for a $110K Job. It turns out that Lindsay didn’t get the job either, but she did get an amazing new job – but I digress.
A day later, I got these responses to the blog post on Twitter:
@linguangst just read http://t.co/V9WZjccZ from @EricTTung. How awesome are you?!
— Rachel Macik (@RachelMacik) March 7, 2012
@EricTTung @linguangst I love it. Now we just need to know how to make your #job #POSTING go viral! #dearlisa
— Rachel Macik (@RachelMacik) March 7, 2012
Rachel had read the blog post and wanted to know how to get the same type of enthusiasm for a Social Media opening that they had available. I applied for the position through LinkedIn on March 14, but was not contacted for an interview. I did, however, keep in contact with Rachel.
The YouTube Video
A few months later, they were looking to fill out the Social Media team with additional Social Media Managers. Rachel directed me to this tweet, where Joshua, the hiring manager, had posted a YouTube video to recruit for his opening. Great idea – introduce yourself, the company and give some flavor to the generally bland application process (the video has since been deleted, so the link wont work.)
Have I Got a Social Media Job for You? Looking for social media conversationalists. Watch my video for more: http://t.co/Y5T2zla3
— Joshua Merritt (@joshuacmerritt) June 1, 2012
We were able to speak that first weekend in June (who takes time away during the weekend to talk to a job applicant? An amazing boss, that’s who.) We had scheduled time to meet the next week on June 5, where I met with Joshua as the senior manager of content and creative, Joshua’s boss, the senior director of marketing programs, and the social media lead.
I Got The Job!
By the end of June, I had submitted writing samples for consideration, and in early July, had completed new hire paperwork. I submitted this creative writer’s resignation, complete with corporate marketing speak, along with my four-weeks notice (we were significantly understaffed in my last position.)
The first week of August, I started as the second social media manager at BMC Software, completing a process started with a blog post I had written nearly a half-year earlier.
Lessons Learned
Throughout the process, I learned a lot about the “professional courting process.” Here are some tips.
1. Blog – If I had never written the blog post, I may not ever have connected with Rachel. Not only does blogging get your thoughts out there, it’s a great way to network with people within your industry, or with similar interests.
2. Network – Connect with people that you meet both in person, as well as digitally. If I hadn’t kept up with Rachel, there’s no way she would’ve thought about me when the new social media openings were posted.
3. Be Patient – It took nearly a half-year from initially connecting, to hearing about the new position, interviewing, receiving the offer and starting to work.
Do you have any interesting stories or tips for social media job hunting? Share them in the comments below.