By Angelita Faller
Grambling State University alumni Dean Jones, a senior delivery manager at Microsoft, tells college students how to market themselves using social media.
The most important advice Dean Jones, a senior delivery manager at Microsoft Corporation, tells young college students looking for a job is to be aware of the competition that comes from the global market.
“You’re not competing against just people in the United States. You are competing against everyone,” Jones said during a January 29 seminar in Grambling Hall hosted by the Center for Student Professional Development and GSU’s sophomore class.
Jones holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Grambling State University in Institutional Management-Food Production. He has spent most of his career working for large companies in the hospitality industry. While working as a Microsoft executive in Frisco, Texas, the GSU alumni is also an active youth mentor who encourages his mentees to start thinking about the future early.
In today’s competitive job market, it takes more than just a cover letter and a resume to get a good job. Top employers are looking for people with unique skill sets, creative thinking and diversity.
“Every company is looking for diversity. It’s not a matter of racism or prejudice. It’s a matter of economics,” Jones said.
The mass infusion of social media websites makes finding these unique candidates easier than ever, which is why Jones encourages students to join websites like LinkedIn, a professional networking website with hundreds of millions of users, and start building a positive work history with professional endorsements.
Leagues of job recruiters scour through social media websites looking for promising job candidates. At 50, Jones still receives job offers every couple of weeks from people who found him solely by looking at his LinkedIn profile.
The negative side of social networking is that it also gives recruiters enough information to dismiss candidates without speaking to them in person.
“Companies are using what they call the ‘new truth,’ what you post on social networks, against you,” said Jones, who reminds students that they need to “sterilize” their online presence and fill it with positives. “When creating your own brand, everything you do should be about integrity and transparency.”
Sarah Wabo, a senior accounting and computer information systems major, plans to take Jones’ advice to rework her social media profile. She has already received some job offers and would like to revise her online presence before she enters negotiations.
“I think it opened our minds that we should know what is on social media. Companies use it to see if you are a good fit for their company,” she said.
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