Is Your Online Persona Authentic?

If you pay close attention, you will notice that your social networking friends have online personalities. Some are witty, some are “in the know”—always sharing the latest and most interesting news, some are opinionated, some are quiet, some are vain, some are overbearing, some are religious, some are clueless and so on.

How would you describe your online personality? Or how do you think others might describe it?

To be frank, sometimes social networking feels like high school all over again—comparisons of who's smarter, funnier, cuter, improved, more successful…you name it.

Sometime ago I reconnected with an old friend from high school. I was really excited talking to this friend over the phone. Being an email person, I asked if the friend was into emailing or social networking. Apparently my friend keeps up to date with old friends through their spouse’s social networking account but didn’t have a personal one. When I suggested creating a personal account, my friend responded, “I’m not ready to do it yet.”

However, reflecting on our phone conversation afterward, I remembered how my friend kept talking about weight gain and aging and had a somewhat negative tone when referring to other childhood friends. That led me to wonder why my friend wasn't feeling “online-ready” just yet. Was my friend afraid that they would be judged harshly by others or was it more of an internal judgment?

It is a fact that nostalgia plays a big role in reconnecting with someone from the past but I believe that social networking should be about reconnecting as who we are today and moving our friendships forward; understanding of course that starting with a clean slate (when there’s already a lot of history) is always harder said than done. But it is what it is---so move on.

Your online persona should be an extension of who you are. There should be no waiting until all is perfect or pretending that all is perfect---because there is no such thing. Authenticity always shines through and works out the best. Be who you truly are and have fun with it.

Happy social networking!

Requirement: Must Love Job

For as long as I can remember, it has been general knowledge that majority of workers do not “love” their jobs. However, they need their jobs and therefore tolerate them in order to make a living. In these tough economic times like we are experiencing, one would think that this phenomenon would even get worse because good wage earning jobs are not plentiful as they use to be. In fact, many studies have found just that—with massive layoffs and cutbacks in the job market, workers are overworked, underpaid, unhappy, feel stuck in undesirable positions and are constantly on the lookout for better opportunities.


Knowing all this, I was flabbergasted when I heard a respected radio station do a show on job search strategies with a somewhat unusual approach—people who land job opportunities are those who are engaging, enthusiastic and demonstrate how badly they want the job. One HR personnel even shared how there were times when she had applicants not show up for second interviews, have bad attitudes or simply not respond to a job offers.

Really? Hmm... what could it be? Could it be that they are way over-qualified and are certain that they would be bored out of their minds in that position after about one week on the job? Oh, how about this—maybe the candidate was a friend of a friend who really didn't want the job in the first place? Just saying...

What is the new average time it takes for people unemployed to get a job? Research shows anywhere from 7.5 months and greater, with an average of 6 job seekers competing for every job opening. Of course research shows that it is even worse for populations considered to be “disadvantaged.” Speaking to that, I know of people who have been looking for work for about two years now. The bottom line is that it is taking an awful long time to find suitable jobs that meet personal satisfaction.

So, call me crazy but I think recruiters should know better. Do they know what marathons most candidates have to run before getting a “door” finally opened? Please give people a break to catch their breath! There are many ways to evaluate a candidate than their seemingly “love” for the job. Seriously.

Okay, so while I'm seething over all this talk about job seekers not enthusiastic enough to meet recruiters' precious expectations, out of nowhere my boss asked me if I am enjoying my new “part-time position,” which I had had for about a “moment.” The question was so unexpected that I was slow to answer. I don't even remember what I said—it wasn't yes or no. I think I said something like I'm getting the hang of it. Not very long after that conversation, a co-worker who had somehow learned about it, came back to me and said that my boss might be a bit worried that I may not like my job! Really?

What ever happened to “effectively meeting the expectations of the job requirements in a timely manner?” Since when did loving your job become a requirement for hire?

Sign of the times? Go figure!

Are you an avoider when it comes to trying new technology?

When I hear people swear off social media and vow never to join or be sucked into it, I literally cringe. I've heard every excuse from it's just so dumb to concerns about jeopardizing their privacy. I always have one question for them—do you use a credit card to purchase anything? If yes, I rest my case—it's already out there honey. People can ignore social media all they want but it doesn't look like it will be going away any time soon. Every time I run into someone like that, I can't help but remember my experience with my first cell phone.


I got my first cell phone in 1994. At the time, none of my immediate friends had cell phones or were even considering getting one. During those days, (at least among my circle of friends) a cell phone was definitely considered a luxury. I got the phone through a special offer program from my employer and being a single female at the time, I was sold on the fact that I would have immediate access to a phone in the case of an emergency. My biggest fear was having my car breakdown on the highway in the middle of nowhere, especially in the dead of winter or in a snow storm. Well luckily for me, none of those things happened but soon I was starting to think that I was throwing money away until the incident that made me a believer.


Someone referred me to a hair braider who lived on the outskirts of town—somewhere where I had not ventured on my own before. Anyway, I drove to the address without getting lost so I was feeling great until I noticed that the apartment building buzzer was broken and I couldn't call my hair braider to let me in. For a few minutes, I figured my only choice other than driving back home was to sit in my car (it was during the wintertime) and watch for someone either coming out or going in and then tag-along.


After a few minutes of waiting, I suddenly remembered that I had my cell phone in my purse with the braider’s phone number! I quickly dialed the number, she answered and came downstairs and let me in! I will never forget that moment—it is as fresh in my mind as if it just happened yesterday. That was the moment I became convinced that having a cell phone made a lot of sense not only for emergency situations but for every day occurrences. Whenever I find myself hesitating about trying out a new technology, I always remember this experience.


My suggestion to anyone avoiding new media technology is to give it a try—but you have to do more than just signing up and saying that you have an account. Really give it a try by doing your very best to observe and interact with others in the network. If you do, you will get a chance to experience what everyone's all worked up about. And you will find that if used appropriately, it doesn’t hurt one bit.

It's a New Year-- are you going to be proactive, reactive or inactive?

Individuals can learn a great deal from organizations. In the world of Public Relations, an organization can decide to be one of three things when it comes to relationship-building with key audiences upon which its success or failure depends: it can choose to be proactive, reactive or inactive.

In a proactive PR setting, the organization has a mission, vision and a plan to put things out there (share information), be responsive and craft a certain brand. There is no leaving-it-to-chances about proactive PR. In fact, there's even anticipation of things that might go wrong and what the response will be in each situation. Everything is orchestrated down to the “wire” and they have the appropriate resources to back it up. At the end of the day/period, they evaluate their plan to see how they did against the plan and make any needed adjustments.

In a reactive PR setting, the organization operates as usual but has no plan to share information to shape its public image or brand. However, the only real plan in place is to galvanize into action if something unexpectedly negative happens. Of course in the meanwhile the organization is hoping that nothing bad happens. It operates on a wait-and-see plan and then react in the best way possible as the situation allows. A sort of “we will cross that bridge when we get there” attitude.

In an inactive PR setting, the organization operates as if it is on an island by itself. It hopes that if something gets out of hand, that thing will eventually fix itself or disappear. It pays no mind to what's going in its environment and generally has a “whatever will be will be”attitude.

Did you know that in a way you are an organization? Yes, you are! You the CEO of the (insert name here ) Organization.

So it's a new year and a somewhat new slate. When it comes to the things upon which your success or failure depends, what would your approach be? Are you going to be proactive, reactive or inactive?