Using Social Media for Career Networking

November 4th, 2008

by Stephanie Cockerl

MCNY MBA Media Management Alum and MCNY Business Professor (2003-2006)

Social media is quickly becoming an important component of the online landscape. Besides changing the way we communicate online, it has also made it easier for us to communicate, share and express ideas.

One use of social media is social networking. Social networking helps you not only to stay connected to your friends, but also to find professional opportunities as well. To see social media “in action”, check out this video.

The most popular career-based social networking site is called LinkedIn. LinkedIn enables you to create a profile, fill out a resume and join groups based on affiliation or interests. MCNY has a group on LinkedIn. To join the group, visit http://www.metropolitan.edu/website/social.php.

You can also see who already has a profile on the site. LinkedIn allows you to login your email account of choice and then it does a search of the contacts you already have and matches them up to their profiles. You can then request a connection.

Testimonials are key on LinkedIn, so it is important to ask professors, as well as current and past colleagues to go to LinkedIn and write them for you. Prospective employers and clients are more likely to contact you based on the testimonials you receive from past connections, more than the actual resume. You can also search for jobs and see who in your network can help you with an introduction to an individual you would like to connect with.

Also if you have a question, you can feel free to ask it in the “Answers” section, and people can respond back.

Another social networking site that is gaining momentum in the business world is Facebook. To learn how to keep you professional and personal life separate, click here. MCNY also has a fan page on Facebook. It is also located on the MCNY Social Networking page.

Social networking can offer an “inside track” to learning about jobs and getting your name in front of people who might be in a position to help your career.

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Posted by Stephanie Cockerl in Guest Bloggers, MBA in Media Management, Alumni, Professors. Post a Comment »

Stephanie Cockerl is the Web Marketing Analyst and Internet Marketing Consultant at Metropolitan College of New York.

The international student experience at MCNY

August 25th, 2008

by Sunay Tamashev

This is a guest post from Sunay Tamashev (Hometown-Sofia, Bulgaria) – MBA Media Management

One day on my way home from an open house at one of the colleges here in NYC, I was thinking: “It is so hard and expensive to get a master’s degree in New York”, but I really wanted it, that was one of the things on my agenda, ever since I had come to the city, I knew I was going to get it one way or another. My head was working all kinds of plans, and situations I might have to deal with. I had to consider so many things before I could even think of applying to grad school. One thing was for sure I knew there was a degree out there that will meet my needs I just had to find it, and so I did.

Anyone that has dealt with immigration issues, especially after 9/11, knows how hard it is to get anything done, all the paperwork, all the filing, the insecurity that you might have to pack your suitcases and leave is always haunting you. A life that you have build here for years might have to end, and you can’t do anything about it. I was thinking about my status, my work permits, and my desire to get into grad school, and was wondering how I can get all this together and somehow make it work for me. That’s when I saw the MCNY advertising in the subway. It had the words ‘We Work Here” written on it. I read it and then went home and did some research through the school’s website. I found out they have an MBA program in Media Management, and that I am allowed to apply my knowledge into the real world, by actually working. When I asked the admission counselor what does that mean, I was happy to find out that it is actually a requirement for the MBA majors, and is officially allowed by the INS. I also found out that the admission process is rolling and that I don’t have to chase deadlines, and worry about missing any dates, I could start immediately.

I was already in New York City when I started the application process at MCNY. I have been in the U.S. since 2001. I received my bachelor degree from a U.S college where I transferred my transcripts from a University in Bulgaria. It is a time consuming process and requires a lot of mail communication and phone conversations, and most of all patience. You have to wait for the mail, then you have to send it back, and make sure it gets to the U.S. on time. At MCNY I was assured that even if I have to go back to Bulgaria and apply from there, I could do it over the internet. There is this application that they use called WIMBA, which allows the international students to have an interactive conversation with an enrollment specialist over the internet. You can ask questions, request forms, they have webcams and microphones, and you can actually get your interviewing done without even having to worry about being in New York. How cool is that? I was lucky that I didn’t have to fly back and forward between the continents, but even if I had to, I was not worried that I might miss a deadline, or get a letter lost in the mail.

The application process went smoother than I thought. I filled all the required paperwork, and the rest was done by the lovely admission staff at MCNY. I was able to start classes two weeks after I had applied. Now my first semester is over, and I am looking forward to the second one. I have already secured an internship with one TV production company here in New York City. I have made great fiends with my classmates, and I am sure we will keep in touch even after we graduate.

I would encourage every international student to come and talk to the admission staff, or at least call. There are always opportunities, and the counselors here will do whatever they can to help you with your enrollment.

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Posted by Sunay Tamashev in Guest Bloggers, MBA in Media Management, International Students. 2 Comments »

Sunay Tamashev is the Design Consultant in the Admissions Department at MCNY and is currently a student in the MBA in Media Management Program.

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