• Poder popularizar un nuevo producto o actividad
• Poder mejorar la percepción de la marca
• Poder evaluar el nivel de satisfacción del usuario
• Poder definir el perfil del usuario de los productos
• Poder conocer los puntos débiles y fuertes del producto
• Poder ver porque algunos clientes prefieren otras marcas
• Poder responder a las necesidades de los usuarios con rapidez y eficacia

Human resource experts conducted a study identifying the lack of information or bad spelling as the cause for about 80% of the CVs to be discated even before the interview stage.

Further, even though the main purpose of sending your CV is to get to an interview,, 60% of those invited to meet the recruiter fail due to lack of preparation.

 (check out: Are social networks important for getting a job?)

In this sense, it is important to remember that the interview is a perfect environment to demonstrate knowledge, experience and attitude which would fit within the new company and the perfile requested. The best way to achieve this, we suggest, is to give clear, direct and sincere responses.

Here are some tips about how to format your CV:

1. It needs to include the basic information of the candidate as well as the work permit he/she holds
2. Make sure that your e-mail and telephone are correct (You would be surprized how many possibilities are lost due to errors in the telephone number).
3. Include your academic information and any relevant awards 
4. Describe in detail your professional experience
5. Include languages that you know and the level to which you can freely use them.

(More: Careful! Facebook is your new CV)

It might also be useful to include other information such as prefered type of contract, working day, if you own a vehicle or what your interests are. 

Take your time to structure your CV well to make it easier for the recruiter to find the relevant information. You might also consider to include a recent photo of yourself yet be careful that this is a passport type photo, and NOT an edited version of your party photo from last week. 

20 years ago finding a job implied bringing your CV together with a bunch of recommendation letters to the company's office and ask for a job.

10 years ago, e-mail took over and we all were sending out our digital CVs to the corporate email.

A bit later, job portals began to appear, and setting up a profile on SocialMediaJob.EU, for example, had become the primary way to get job offers.

Today, everyone talks about social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others, and their role in the job search. But are they really useful? Is it necessary to know them to be able to find a job in 2012? Or are they of service only for freelancers searching for their new project?

Social networks seem to have become fundamental for a succesful job search in 2 ways. Firstly, many companies now only publish their job offers in pages such as LinkedIn. Thus, only those who have a profile there have the opportunity to apply for these positions. Secondly, because now, the first thing that the recruiters would do is to check out candidates' social media profiles to gather information they might not have volunteered on their crafted CV. 

(check out: Beware! Facebook is your new CV)

However, the search for information on social networks goes further then the selection process. After signing a contract, it might very well be that you get a friendship invitation by some of your new colleagues in the company, including, possibly, the HR. This is often the last test (and on many ocasions the deal maker or breaker). You cannot lie here. Your colleagues want to get to know the new hire, your tastes, hobbies and passions. If you have many friends, a relationship, likes. Giving access to your social profile is a very easy way to build a reputation in your professional life, based on your private one (something not happening a few years ago before Facebook appeared). 

More and more recruitment officers will take a peek into the social networks' profiles of applying candidates and of those recently hired. Why? They are trying to get to know their personality better.

Our Facebook wall (or biography as it is now called) is filled with all that is going on in our lives- if we have a couple, what we do in our free time, what things we like. And not only this. Facebook also demonstrates if we have few or many friends and how do we interact with them. For an expert, this information is a gold mine, as it can serve to build a rather adequate profile of the person, including a better one then if it is only based on an face-to-face interview.

Our profile speaks for us

We are not exagerating. Some scientist in the University of Texas and Washigton studied 133 Facebook users and managed to build a personal profile of each only based on their profiles. Later, they gave the testees a traditional personality test to measure the accuracy of their concllusions by studying the 5 major factors that determine personality - extroversion, responsiblity, friendliness, inestablity and self esteem. The results were clear and the conclusions from both studies were the same.

The psycologists focused on the number of friends the subjects have to evaluate their extrovertidness. Also, on the number of Likes on their publications (as well as those the users themselves gave to other members of the community) to measure their empathy and the capacity to relate to the rest of the world. The photos sirved to measure self esteem and self-security. The hours which they were online recorded to emasure the degree of responsibility: those who would publish content during working or studying hours were considered less serious.

Difficult Problems

 Even though the authors of this study are psychologists, it is almost certain that any viewer without any particular background knowledge can reach the same conclusions.

For ecample, if our boss or coworker adds us on Facebook, they could judge our personality, define if we are a good choice for a race, or fit to do a specific task. There is little we can do in such a situation. It is much more difficult to hide our short-comings on this social network (for example, because of your profile photo or a photo that a friend of yours has tagged and has not warned you about it) as it is on a job interview or a perosnality test. May be the only solution is to modify your Facebook privacy settings and never add friends from work on your Facebook. But thats sorta rude now isn't it?

An increasng number of employers are becoming social media concious. May be so should you!

If you are looking for a new position, social media such as Facebook and Twitter would certainly nee to be on your list. 

Yet, make sure you check them out first. You would want to make sure that your Facebook profile is clean and those high-school party photos are out before you send out your profile to potential employers.

Companies are increasingly introducing social media screening as a mandatory element of any selection process. Recent surveys revealed that 91% of HRs would go through your social media footprint and two thirds admit to have discarded candidates based on what they have found online. 

Half of the employers would conduct the background check to all candidates applying for a position while others might just limit the search to the short list. 

Most would check out Facebook (76%), followed by Twitter (53%) and LinkedIn.

While, many candidates have been rejected because of what would be considered inappropriate content, another 68% of the employers admit to hiring someone because of something they saw about them online. 

Here's some more data:

5th Competency: Create value and build relationships within the company and with the community

- Identify and recruit external and internal opinion leaders who would help build the community. Maintain the contact between the most active members of the community ready to collaborate with the company. 

- Design, develop and maintain clear collaboration strategies with different communities to grow the company

- Introduce new corporate products and services to the market

- Propose internal improvements and innovation as based on clients' opinion

4th Competency: Social Networks and Community Managing

 -The main responsibilities which come along in a Community manager's daily work are

 - Activate like-minded communities to follow the work of the company

 - Manage the different branded profiles on social networks (Facebook and Twitter among others) responding and conversing actively. 

 - Blogging. Managing and coordinating the content of corporate blogs along with disseminating their content. Update and create articles for the corporate blogs and other social media, using all the possible multimedia and channels available. Select and share content from other media which the community might find interesting. 

3rd Competency:  Brand Reputation

The Community Manager would need to devote time to change the general concept that the clients might have towards the brand and transforming it into a personalized company which takes true care of their customers and is ready to provide immediate support and customer service. 

Evaluate the brand and the organization and identify where it stands in the mind of the consumer

Manage the communication betwheed the different communities and stake-holders (clients, providers, shareholders, collaborators, etc.). 

2nd Competency: Branding

To serve best to the company they are working for, a community manager would have to do more then update Facebook's statuses. Some of the most important things that CMs would be doing would hardly be even Facebook related. 

What would require time, dedication, persistance and tremendous work is the monitoring of the whole wide web to identify and note different attitudes towards the company on websites, blogs, forums, podcasts, etc. 

Further, the CMs will need to establish and maintain a fluid two-way communication with the different departments to explain the tremendous importance and benefits that communicating directly with the clinets would have for business. 

It is responsiblity of the Community Managers to distribute the relative information through social networks in the most adequate manner.

CMs also dedicate time and efforts into promoting the brand on the Internet respecting ethical and moral rules such as transparency, respect and truthfulness maintaining a positive and respectful manner. 

Without any doubt, the Internet has brought a true revolution in all the aspects of life, including your work environment. Thus, not only there has been a great increase in new job positions (such as the Community Manager figure) but also it has changed the way we look for jobs. First there came job portals, such as SocialMediaJob.EU, and later came social networks wich immense opportunities to find jobs. 

Most companies use social netwokrs to find new employees or to reseach and know better the candidates for a specific position. This is why it is very important to be present on social networks. Without a doubt, just having a profile is not enough. You should also take special care of your online image to build a personal brand which would help us get to the desired position. Key to this is to maintain your profile up to date and complete. 

Further, we need to make sure our posts and comments are appropriate for future employers to see. Be careful with pictures, especially those you might not want to share with... your grandmother would be a great criterium. Make sure you have your privacy settings correctly set to avoid any accidents. 

Keep in mind that if it is out there, someone will be able to find it in the worst moment. 

Each social network is different and expectations of your presentation there vary. Facebook by default is not a professional netwokr, but it could without a doubt help you in finding a job. And it is also one of the first places future employers will check you out! Thus, keep updated your working history on Facebook. It will be useful to follow companies and influencers in your area of interest who will help you remain up to date with the latest developments in the field. 

Twitter is useful during a job search as you can search through different predefined keywords and hashtags such as #job #work #joboffer, etc. Further, Twitter provides a great way to increase your professional network by facilitating your getting in touch with other opinion leaders internationally. 

Last but not least, we should focus on LinkedIn - the biggest professional social network. It offers the possiblity of recommendations of former jobs, participate in related groups or increase your prefessional contacts. 

Invest time and energy in developing your social media profiles accordingly, to be able to benefit to the maximum and discover the opportunities that lie hidden in social networks.

1.500€ en premios para los Community Managers del mañana

• Ganador de la I competición Social Media Junior. Premio de 750€
• Mención especial mejor caso de uso para Marketing. Premio de 250€
• Mención especial mejor caso de uso para Ventas. Premio de 250€
• Mención especial mejor caso de uso para Vigilancia Competitiva. Premio de 250€

Monitoring the social networks

This is the number one competency anyone in the field of community management should have. 

A professional community manager should work to develop their Listening skills. They need to stay on top of the social media sphere and monitor information distributed online which would be of use to the company they are working for - comments, news and opinions about the company, the competition, the sector, the clients, etc. 

Another key skill is the ability of the community manager to identfy and utilize new communications channels and opportunities for collaboration with stakeholders. 

Further the community manager should dedicate time and effort to study the market through searching new trends in the commnity they are in, aiming to know their clients and potential clients better and provide them with continuous better service. 

Cada año, la empresa de recursos humanos glasdoor.com publica las 25 preguntas más extrañas de las entrevistas de trabajo en los últimos 12 meses.

1. ¿Cuántas personas que utilizan Facebook en San Francisco a las 2:30 pm el viernes? (Pregunta en Google)
2. Sólo déjame disfrutar de 5 minutos. No voy a hablar. (Acosta)
3. Si los alemanes son el pueblo más alto del mundo, ¿cómo puedes comprobarlo? (Pregunta en Hewlett-Packard)
4. ¿Qué piensa usted de los gnomos de jardín? (Pregunta Trader Joe)
5. ¿Le gusta la vida? (Dado en Ernst & Young)
6. ¿Cómo entra un elefante en un refrigerador? (Pregunta grupo Horizon)
7. ¿Cuánto es 37^37 ? (Pregunta Jane Capital)
8. Si pudieras ser un superhéroe, ¿qué superpoder tendrías? (Ubicado en la lluvia y el seguro contra el granizo)
9. Si fueras un programa de Microsoft Office, quina serias? (Ubicado en el Equipo de Carreras de la Cumbre)
10. Pepsi o Coca-Cola?  ( United Health Group)

És Pinterest la nueva red social?

De verdad quieremos compartir todos los imagenes de nuestra vida con el mundo? 

With the intensive growth of social networks in the everyday life of people all over the world, it is only natural that more and more businesses recognize the need to devote time and people to maintaining their social media presence. 

 Como y porque la gente interactua con marcas sigue una de las preguntas mas relevantes que hoy en dia todos los especialistas de marketing digital se están haciendo. 

Take your online actions offline

Modernization and technology has so blind-sighted so many who now believe everything could, should and must be done online. However multiple surveys show that mow more then ever building a  devoted community will involve getting out of your way to accommodate people offline as well. Also look at it the other way around - invest time and effort into connecting with your community offline (at networking events, fairs, expos etc) and translate this relationship into an online one. 

The only constant thing is change - so be ready for it.

Teach your colleagues

Make their time worth the while

Be a good listener and pick up on the needs of your audience to engage in it. Although you are expected to lead the conversation at first, make sure you don't intimidate or discourage participation of the public. In the end you are on their territory. Make a special effort to gather the feedback you get and use it to make real life changes in your company. Being active in a industry related community will also certainly allow your personal professional network to grow and you can build relations which could become handy in the future. If you invrst in relationships it will open opportunities down the road. 

 Be ready to multitask and prioritize

Very often a successful community manager is able to do web design, code and even sometimes program. Although these are not skills that currently go hand in hand with the position they will in the future so why not get started on your preparation now? Keep in mind that the more skills you bring to the table, the better chances you would have for getting the job. Another key ability that will prove invaluable over time is the ability of the community manager to pick and chose right. What this means is the capacity to do extended marketing and audience research and chose the appropriate social networks out there to participate in. The world goes far and beyond Facebook and Twitter and although these could give you the biggest exposure there is also a rather high chance that you get lost in the clutter and your message never reaches your potential audience.

 Be sincere

It is not only about being the voice of your company but also giving your comunity a glimpse of yourself. If you have a sense of humor - use it when appropriate. However, do not try to impose your personality over that of members in your community. You might be selling a product but no need to be selling yourself. In the end you are the face to your company - you dispose of a channel that taps directly into an audience - use it wisely and never abuse of your position.

Be clear that it is not a 9 to 5 job

Although in many cases it might feel and look like one while you are at work, to be a successful community manager would definitely involve building your personal professional image  apart from the corporate'. Take it as if you are building your personal brand as another company with social media presence. Write a blog, be actively present on other social platforms, tweet, start your own youtube channel are only some of the possibilities to engage customers and users with an authentic voice. If you do not know what to write about you can always set up an industry related blog. This will not only be rather easy but will also help you in your work-life as it will force you to stay on top of new developments and it will facilitate you connecting with other people in the industry - the competition, experts, other employees, influential bloggers, etc. Take an hour a day to blog about a topic you are passionate about and it will certainly pay off in the long run. You cant expect someone will trust you to manage their community before you can prove you are capable of managing your own.

Improving communication skills

You will need to find the proper way to pull the stings in your community and engage them in conversations and feedback. Although it is clear that competitions with high prices are likely to bring in that effect it would be only temporarily and in essence not centered on your company but on a potential freebie. Your job is to engage people in an effective dialogue which works towards a unified strategy of your role. Some academic background in journalism, marketing or communications will without a doubt help your case as writing and sharing will come out easy.

Be the customers' voice

It is true that you are employed by a company and you are loyal to your brand. However, do not forget that the only reason you have this job is because there is a community formed around your product/company which needs to be respected and cherished. While understanding your product will make it easier for you to target the appropriate people, you need to spend alot of time understanding your community. Qualities such as being empathetic, diplomatic and honest are only some of the key skills that will help you in your journey.

N'avez-vous jamais pesté contre le hasard qui a installé à vos côtés un(e) passager(e) jugé(e) indésirable ?

IKEA Francia ha construido un piso dentro de una estación de metro en Paris.

El apartamento en el metro de París-Auber, establecido para presentar soluciones a pequeñas áreas de desarrollo propuesto IKEA será de 1 9no al 14to 2012.

Durante 6 días, 5 compañeros de casa va a vivir en este apartamento de 54m2 en los ojos de todos los usuarios de Auber. Aqui teneis un video resumen de la aventura.

This seems to happen often in companies - no one knows exactly what a community manager is but someone from management is determined that it is mandatory.

The unprepared community manager might easily become an extension to the help desk and be responsible to create accounts, upload photos, and answer negative comments. Other companies which take a professional approach towards tasks and daily needs of a community manager will also slowly but steadily take this position out of the way. In middle to long terms the management of social networks will be an integrated part of the marketing, communications, PR and Customer Care.

Today companies do not have a department called Strategic Emailing, right? The same is likely to happen with social networks. Thus, the poor community manager will be left on the street. The one who will still be sought after and who will not go out of business is the Digital Business Managers.

Their responsibilities will include:

• Identify the advantages of the social media strategy that the company has
• Determine the objectives and how will they measure success. We are talking about concrete numbers and figures which will give a clear picture on how successful the social media marketing team has been. Some are traffic, conversions, issues resolved, positive comments, reduction of negative influences.
• The most important goal of the Community manager (along with any other digital marketer) is to convince management that these figures do affect the bottom line.
• Be able to identify the most important priorities and achieve results with minimal time.
• Constantly study and evaluate what are new ways that the company can beneffit on the internet environment.
• And above all the new community manager needs to be a figure who is proactive and reactive and further has a rather elaborated general knowledge about ... everything. He should be able to discuss face to face with other departments in the company what the problems are and how would be solve it.

As customers become more demanding and big brands try to accommodate individual needs through product expansion and expensive marketing campaigns, smaller companies and startups are on the search for community managers who can provide the public with another Point of Contact with the enterprise -at a much more informal, personalized and stress-less environment, i.e. Social networks. 

Like what you are selling

Which social  network would you use to find the best candidate for a job? 

Naturally the first one that comes to mind is LinkedIn as it is the biggest professionally targeted social network. Of course, you might also want to consider some smaller but more focused networks to connect with like-minded individuals. However, would you dare to use Facebook?

A recent study done by HireRabbit demonstrated that 48% of all job seekers (and as high as 63% of those with a profile) did search for a job through Facebook last year. Thus, your company cannot waste its chances of being present in the eyesight of so many candidates.

Here is an infographic describing recrutiment on Facebook.

Have you recruited via social networks? How did that go? Let us know in the comments.