Connie Bensen

My most frequently read posts are:

Community Manager Responsibilities and Goals

Updated Community Manager Job Description

And I speak about the role from both the employee and employer’s perspectives. So over the past year I’ve been sourcing jobs. Recently people have been asking that I write more. I only have so many hours in a day, so I decided to shift the job sourcing out of my inbox and let it be self serving.

My sister has created a simple job board that allows you to post your information if you’re seeking a job in social media and also post a job if you’re hiring.

To access it, you’ll need to click on Job Listings and register the first time using the Join button.

It’s free and I hope that you’ll make a connection with the many that cruise thru my site. I only ask that your postings be social media related.

I’ve said many times that people should: “Love what you do and do what you love”. So I hope this resource will help you achieve that goal.

If I can work remotely from rural Minnesota and make a difference, then you can too. If you know what unique values you provide, then you too can do so similarly. It’s just a matter of connecting with the right opportunity.

Other job boards:

Jake McKee

Jeremiah Owyang

The recession has affected people in many ways. Many have lost jobs. And in some cases certain types of jobs are no longer as relevant.

In talking with people it’s interesting to note that after being laid off some people say they didn’t have the job satisfaction anyway. So maybe that’s the upside of the recession? It’s forcing people to reinvent themselves.

In other cases employers are using the recession as a reason to reduce their workforce & restructure for efficiency. My question on this is what criteria is being used? Are they reducing staff based on performance? or seniority?

This past week found me talking with individuals who are in the process of reinventing themselves. My philosophy is that you can ‘Create your own Opportunities’. Rachel shared her story on how she used resources on my blog to help her find a job. (It’s a must read if you haven’t done so).

As much as I love talking with individuals I was trying to put my finger on how to scale that one on one time. How could I impart how I help people find their path & impart optimism?

Here’s the general path we follow when someone asks for advice:

• Provide your objectives: I ask people to send their questions in advance. I think that this is a good exercise in identifying what it is that you specifically want to ask.
• What are you seeking? ask yourself that & put it in the form of questions
• Find your advisors: When I talk with people I generally share that others have helped me identify what my focus should be. My suggestion is to ask people who know you well – what do you think I’m good at? and explore possibilities with them. Things that aren’t apparent to you will be to them. You just need to ask them to be frank.
• What unique value propositions do I offer an employer?
• What should you be doing? consulting, long term contracting or seeking a job? Please be doing all three. And take it a step further by connecting with people and offering your services. Maybe you can provide 10 hours per week? If you do an outstanding job then it may grow. Maybe it means volunteering your time to prove your willingness & abilities. No matter what it is, you need to be doing something! No one is going to do it for you.  
• Make yourself indispensable. That’s important in any job.
• Put yourself out there. There are many seeking jobs. You need to TELL potential employers that you’re interested & how you can contribute to their business objectives. How do you know who the potential employers are? Look around because they’re everwhere. Twitter, Facebook & LinkedIn make it easier than ever to connect with everyone at a company no matter their position. (Tip for LinkedIn – if you don’t know someone’s email address, use Groups & select one that you belong to. Add a note as to why you want to connect.)
• This is the time to stand out from the crowd. Make your success happen.
• I established my mantra of ‘create you own opportunities’ long before the recession. And I believe that life is what you make of it. If you were a statistic change it around and use it as a reason to put your knowledge of social media tools to work. You offer employers something that they may not even realize they need. But it will be up to you to sell your skills. The final question is:
• Why should they hire you?

What are your thoughts? If you’ve shifted into working in the social media space what worked for you?

I’m proud to say that I was the first to openly discuss salary expectations here on my blog starting in the fall of 2007. Now this emerging role is one of the fastest growing in the job market. Despite the recession, companies realize the advantages of adding this role and are seeking qualified candidates.

• Updated Community Manager Goals & Responsibilities
• Updated Community Manager Job Description

And on the flip side, many that have become statistics due to the economy are evaluating their skill set and reinventing themselves. Rachel, an unemployed journalist shared her story of how she creatively found employment in this field.

I have both employers and job seekers asking me about salary expectations. This is my advice. It’s based on discussions with recent hires, companies seeking, and a Salary Survey done last year.

The job market at present favors those seeking positions.

Employers seeking a community manager/social media specialist can approach this two ways:

• entry level with specific salary range – but be aware that it may:
• prevent you from hiring someone with the experience & skills that will really benefit your organization
• requires in-depth interviewing to ensure a good fit
• the successful candidate will use the job to gain experience & then move on (taking their personality with them) – the nature of this role is to be the company’s voice, so it will affect your customers
• professional position with responsibility for leadership
• ask the applicants what their salary expectations are
• this was a huge shock for me, but I truly felt like my professional skills were being recognized.
• my salary increased 30% from my previous library/admin position that required a Master’s degree
• the advantage to this is that you’ll get a much broader selection of applicants & together you can define the role (& fair compensation)
• the successful candidate will tend to stay because they’re intrinsically motivated & in a professionally rewarding position
• In either case, consider offering a remote option – because:
• the position is project oriented & lends itself to working remotely (I wouldn’t get half as much done at the office)
• applicants will be more qualified & you’ll find a better fit
• salary is more flexible because cost of living varies widely (for ex: it costs 2.5 x more to live in San Fran than where I live in rural Minnesota) And I provide damn good services even though I don’t live in SF! (yes, there’s a story there)
• these are my guidelines for working remotely (an overview of my chat with Warren Sukernek, who is now working remotely, follow him on Twitter @WarrenSS)

This morning Leslie Carothers asked an interesting question on Twitter. (She’s a leading community builder in the home furnishings industry.) I couldn’t answer this in 140 char’s or less.

The answer to this question requires a few parts:

1. The position needs are going to be based on the company’s business requirements.

• What is their strategy for online engagement?
• How dependent is their success on interaction with their customers online?
• Is their internal culture ready for an incredible shift? Talking with customers directly requires a whole new attitude.

2. Annual company sales don’t matter.

• Many startups with online services & products KNOW they have to have this position to make them relevant & successful.
• My prediction is that the larger the enterprise, the slower they will be to add it.
• to assist with this I’m doing workshops at Community 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0
• there’s a learning curve in understanding the role & strategically implementing it
• Salaries for entry level online community managers range from $50 k to $ 85 k depending on location. Please don’t insult people that have acquired the skills and are ready to build your brand & provide for your customers directly. I have recommended to people to turn down job offers that require them to work onsite & yet can’t afford the cost of living there. The employer can compromise & try remote. That’s called contracting. It bothers me when employers try to take advantage of talented people with the job skills they’re seeking. And if you’re considering doing contracting work, remember that you need to request a higher rate because you’ll be responsible for your own FICA/Medicare, health insurance, retirement, etc. In my case I owed 49% in taxes before considering health insurance or retirement. So discuss the ramifications with your accountant before you spend it all 
• Salaries for experienced online community managers range from $60 k to over $100 k. I’m aware of one that works remotely with a salary of $120 k.
• My last point was my first thought when I saw Leslie’s question. To be honest, working at a startup is far easier because the culture is oriented toward Web 2.0 and they’re far more likely to embrace transparency & authenticity. The silos don’t exist yet and the organization’s hierarchy is relatively flat. So, realistically, an online community manager starting in the enterprise deserves to be paid more because they’re going to have so many more challenges to overcome internally. It’s going to require so much more patience. They’re going to need executive sponsorship. Otherwise the position will not be effective and will fall short of it’s potential return.
• All of those are reasons to hire a community manager with experience & respect it as a professional position.

Having an online community manager is an investment in the company’s future. It’s not just a step towards staying relevant in this challenging world, it’s a leap!

And yes, I’m passionate about this topic of compensation & community building as a whole. My readers/network provide me with views from both sides. As always your thoughts are welcome. Let’s discuss them!

Since August or so I’ve had people reaching out asking how to start building their brand. For whatever reason they are realizing that they need to establish a presence online.

• Some have been laid off & are considering new options.
• Some would like to work in social media & community building.
• Some realize that they need to create an online presence

Last spring I was in the same position. Because I work remotely my options were really limited. It took me awhile to rethink the whole concept and I’ll admit that I had help from friends. For awhile I was applying for 2-3 jobs a day with no response. I must admit that a major web 2.0 company asked if I’d move to San Francisco, but that wasn’t an option. It was disheartening. (And to my friend who recently emailed me with your news of not getting your position, this post is for you).

For me, it took a lot of talking out loud to rethink things. It’s so important to invest in yourself. And if you’re looking for a position then TELL potential employers that. Now is a better time than ever to be thinking outside the box. This is going to sound really odd, but I have experienced tipping points in a number of areas:

• my social networking has gone through phases & now is building on it’s own – I no longer wonder where all my new Twitter & FB followers come from – I am just thankful
• my personal branding is something I do automatically without thought
• work opportunities now come to me (but I believe that I have planted seeds)

So what are the secrets?

1. a personal advisory board that you trust – only when you share your fears can others help you – choose people that you can give back things to – time is a commodity

2. social networking – hang out with like minded people – is it LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc? But you HAVE to get involved! that’s imperative

3. blogging – you need to establish a presence – what makes you unique & what value will you provide? This is about YOUR brand & what you bring to the company

4. lifelong learning – always keep learning – that makes you flexible & more employable.

5. when you network with people tell them what type of work you’d like Find reasons to network with potential employers.

• Interview them about what their business is about.
• Do volunteer work for them. Help them get to know YOU
• Be interested in their business. Become knowledgeable about the industry
• Evangelize in what you believe in – people will notice you
• Work hard & show that you’re not afraid of digging in

In the last month people have been asking me how many hours a day I work. The truth is that I’m online from 7:30 am to 10-11 pm with 1-2 hrs break during the day. In the morning personal work takes about an hour and in the evening I sometimes work or do personal/professional work. Remember that my daughter is in college, so I have an empty nest.

In regard to my time, there have been a few occasions when I’ve gotten of the phone and my husband would say, were you getting paid for that or not? Most of the time I wasn’t. But in the long run, my advising has now ended up causing a new problem of needing to learn to say ‘no’ (which is another blog post).

My friend & one of my mentors in the branding area wrote a great article on this topic:

The Real Way to Get a Job using Social Media by Dan Schawbel

If you’ve recently found a job leave a comment with your story.