1. Using Social Media
and Online Technologies
in the Public Workforce System
NORTH EAST REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND
TRAINING ASSOCIATION
Colleen LaRose

2. Have you ever “googled” your name?
Howmanyofme.com
4 people out 313 million in the USA are
named Colleen LaRose
TERRORIST?
What are people saying about you? If
you do not control your image, you can
lose control of it!

3. Social Media Defined
• CREATE - Social media (SM) describes a variety of internet
based applications that allow for making contributions,
creating and exchanging user-generated content.
• DISCUSS - SM fosters interactive dialogue, allowing people to
share information. (2.0). Contrasts with the editorially
controlled style of old media
• BUILD RELATIONSHIPS - SM platforms encourage group
conversation and group contributions.
Strengthens ties/Draws out formerly weak relationships.

4. How does this change things?
Due to the ubiquitously accessible nature of online
social networking, the way organizations, communities,
and individuals communicate has changed dramatically.
Now, more than ever,
individuals as well as
organizations
have images to be controlled.

5. What is Social Media?
It’s a listening and an interpersonal communication tool…
• Networking
• Introductions
• Information sharing
• Reviews/opinions
• Entertainment/multimedia
• Collaboration

6. The common characteristics
of social media are:
• Accelerates Communication and Collaboration
(networks, employees, customers, partners)
• User generated “Social” Content (capture and share
expertise and best practices – efficient and transparent)
• Enables New Business Insights (analyze social data
to understand business situations and improve
decision-making)

7. Who is using Social Media
• Professionals in the same industry (best practices,
commiserate, etc)
• Professionals sharing across different industries
(economic development/workforce
development/employers/educators)
• Those wanting to learn/explore other industries
• Those looking for people with skills they need to fill
in for their project/staff

8. Advantages to being the “odd ball”
• Experts are willing to “teach you”
• You bring new eyes to their old problems
• You realize you know more than you thought you
did
• You make connections that put you way ahead
of others in your industry
• You learn new methods that can be applied in
your industry

9. EXAMPLE: Collaborating with
Economic Development Folks
• Planning basics are the same
• Forces WD to think about other considerations
(infrastructure, transportation, housing)
• WD is more more about partnering
• ED WANTS input from WD
• WD is the number one issue for ED!

10. Who else is using Social
networking?
86% of Americans aged 18-34, and 62% of those aged 35 to 54
are using social networking
Did you know that of all job candidates in 2010 (last full year
reported)…*18.4 Million Americans say Facebook got them their
current job. 10.2 Million Americans got their jobs from LinkedIn
and 8 Million Americans got their jobs from Twitter!
• 16% of them got a job referral on Facebook
• 9% on LinkedIn
• 6% on Twitter

11. How Many Online Social Media Opportunities
Can You Name?
• Social Networking Add friends, comment on profiles,
join groups and have discussions
• Social Bookmarking Tag websites, search websites
bookmarked by other people
• Social News Vote and comment on articles
• Social Photo and Video Sharing Share photos/videos.
Comment on user submissions
• Blogs Write and respond to articles

12. Social Networking
Interact by adding friends, commenting on profiles,
joining groups and having discussions.
Facebook (750,000,000)
Twitter (250,000,000)
LinkedIn (110,000,000)
My Space (70,500,000)
Google + (65,000,000)

13. Social Bookmarking
Interact by tagging websites and searching through
websites bookmarked by other people
Twitter (250, 000,000)
StumbleUpon (17,500,000)
Pinterest (15,500,000)

14. Social News
Interact by voting for articles and commenting on them.
Digg (25,100,000)
Reddit (16,000,000)
Delicious (5,500,000)

15. Social Photo and Video Sharing
Interact by sharing photos or videos and commenting
on user submissions.
You Tube (450,000,000)
Flickr (90,000,000)
Photobucket (75.500.000)
Pinterest (15,500.000)
Vimeo (16,950,000)

16. Blogs
Interact by writing articles and responding to articles
Wordpress (150,000,000)
Blogger (75,000,000)
Tumblr (60,000,000)
Ehow (55,000,000)
Type pad (35.000.000)
Hub Pages (28,500.000)
*Twitter also called “microblogging”
Bit.ly for reducing url

17. Other online interaction (2.0) websites:
• Ask – ask questions, public answers (125,000,000)
• Wikipedia – add articles/edit existing articles
(350,000,000)
• Meetup – create in person meetings - (7,500,000)
• Craigslist - want ads (160,000,000)
• Yelp - reviews (40,000,000)

18. Where to start?
1. Facebook (personal)
2. LinkedIn (professional)
(join and start groups, complete resume, do
research)
3. Facebook (create organization’s fanpage)
4. Twitter (personal/professional)
(NAWB Twitter classroom - http://bit.ly/xjoDh3 )
3. Bit.ly (to shorten code)

19. Some Successes…
• Found a web developer
• Radio DJ job
• From worker bee to thought leader

20. Cycle of growing online dialogue
Conversation
Content You Create Community
Curious Inquiry
START Consistent
HERE Collective Communication
Contribution
Conversion
You are responsible for keeping the
conversation interesting and alive.

21. Now that you understand the
power of online dialogue….
• Consider adding a community feature to your
website!
• Who would you invite to your community?
• How would this change the dynamics of your
organization?

22. What social media is not
• It is not a bully pulpit or bullhorn…
• It is not static, one way information

23. Do’s and Don’ts of engaging online
• 5%
• 95%
• Think of it as a cocktail party online….

24. NERETA
Currently Linked In groups:
 Linkd.in/nereta.org
 Linkd.in/workforcesurvival
Envisioned to be an online social media site
Increase collaboration, share info on issues and legislation,
promote public image of public workforce system and
support entrepreneurship
Spring conference being planned with NEDA
For economic and workforce development
professionals in the north east

27. Some of the conversations you are missing!
Should there be a national DOL job bank? Why did DOL close
America’s Job Bank? (22 comments)
Should volunteer opportunities be offered to those on
unemployment as a way to gain new skills? (21 comments)
How do we engage more employers to talk with us so that the
system trains to fit their exact needs? (27 comments)
Should entrepreneurship be taught to people on unemployment as
a marketable skill? (23 comments)
If you were King for the day” what is the one thing you
would mandate as a change to improve the public
workforce system? (27 comments)
Should/will community colleges be the new
One Stop Career Centers? (23 comments)

28. My favorite comment so far…
Ken Biddick • I love this group, and Colleen and big thank you for it's creation. One of the best things any of us can do
is be persistent with our ideas in moving workforce sustainability forward. I can only speak to my experience over the
last fifteen or so years chairing two WIB committees that until recently I did not think much would ever be
accomplished. This group provides something that gives me and I hope others the realization that we can make
a difference by sharing ideas and promoting a basic theme in all of our respective WIBs.
My current committee consists of all the respective folks, agencies, public and private training/education organizations,
and union reps mentioned in this discussion. I have been able to bring to this group much of what this LinkedIn group
discusses so we can continue to create value throughout the workforce sustainability chain. My committees main theme
is to connect the dots for businesses and our citizens to thrive. It took some time to get everyone to recognize that the
WIB is basically a concierge service, we connect needs to providers that can fulfill that request. We also have learned
that the chain doesn't start at the one-stop, which was the old way of thinking. Sustainability has two basic paths, the
current needs of those who require economic assistance (this means businesses seeking workers and workers seeking
a means to generate income) and the longterm view of developing our citizens to be self sustaining. This longterm path
begins before middle school and requires the kind of collaboration discussed here. It is a long road to travel but had I
started this fifteen years ago I think we would have the beginnings of a working system.
This LinkedIn group has provided ideas and information to help move the process
along much faster than I imagined it would. I firmly believe as we debate here we
can develop what could be the national model of what WIBs do and how we connect
economic activity to education and the development of our citizens as innovators of
sustained economic activity.
BTW, I also believe that the WIB is, as Kevin Kline said in the movie Dave, a temp job, since our
ultimate goal is to build the longterm model that in one to two generations should eliminate the
current short term needs.

29. Why you need social networking
• Puts your ear to the ground.
• Makes you a thought leader
• Gives you an advance on internal and external
public relations strategies
• Allows you to “soft-market:”

30. Establishing an Organizational
Social Media Policy
Heldrich Report - http://bit.ly/zHS2AU
Social Media Today -100 social media policy examples:
http://bit.ly/wQj3ZN
1. Employees have no right to privacy with respect to social
networking. “Employers reserve the right to monitor employee
use of social media at work or on personal time at home”
2. Employees “should be made aware that company policies on
anti-harassment, ethics and company loyalty extend to all forms
of communication.

31. What jobseekers should know
• Word clouds (www.wordle.net)
• Look for work (signal, research companies/employees)
• Use Glassdoor.com to research companies
• Be found (300 views to get one offer)
• Making connections (3000 lifetime invitations) – use
your group connections to add connections
• Online resume…different than print (4 word key phrase)
• Where to show contact information
• The power is in the GROUPS! Starting a group is
important!

32. Examples of recruiters using
social media
• Linked In as a recruiting tool
• Linked In SIGNAL to find out what companies
are looking for.
• Twitter as a listening device
(search.twitter.net, #, socialoomph)
• Facebook to look for behavior

33. When all else fails –
Helping people create a Job
• Too few jobs are leaving some people lost
• Internet and social media is making it easier to
start new enterprises
• Crowdfunding as a way to raise capital:
"JOBS" (Jumpstart our business start-ups).
Some crowdfunding sites they may want to
visit are www.kickstarter.com,
www.indigogo.com, and www.fundly.com

34. Online Gigs…
O Desk
Elance
Freelancer
Sologig
Virtual assistant
Petsitusa
Care

35. Basics that staff should know about online technologies
Linked In
Facebook
Online meetings
Cloud technology
Blogging and micro-blogging
2.0 Listening and creating dialogue
Organizing social media strategy
How recruiters and employers are using social networking
You tube
Online job hunt

36. Contact
Colleen LaRose
Founder
North East Regional Employment and Training Association
Email: Colleen@nereta.org
Phone (908) 995-7718
Cell (908) 239 6030
Website: www.nereta.org
Twitter: @neretaorg
Linked In group: http://linkd.in/neretaorg