As women working in technology, the road ahead is not always smooth. It’s like riding a mountain bike on a rough trail. Why take on that project? Why learn that tool? See or download the following SlideShare presentation with tips on finding a mentor to guide your ride.
Content by Holly Justice; Graphics by Patrick Coan, Guild of Build.
Holly Justice: Thoughts on Advancing the Careers of Women in Technology
The road we travel as women working in technology is not always going be a smooth ride. It’s like riding a mountain bike on a rough trail.
Graphic by Patrick Coan, Guild of Build
Let’s build our endurance by finding and using mentors along the way!
I’m pleased to be giving a Lightening Talk at the Advancing Careers of Women in Technology event in Portland, Oregon on April 17th.
Special Thanks to Event Creators:
Here is a link to my speech page and supporting materials!
This post is for those of you who wonder:
I suggest taking a new approach. Think of Twitter as a tool for research, a public list of information about any business or organization. You can access this list without logging into Twitter or having a Twitter account.
What does it take to convince the “forget it” crowd that social media has value?
Do you use Twitter, Facebook or Linked In?
How do you keep your image professional?
How does social media serve you?
How do I get in there?
Today Facebook is big news on the stock market thanks to the IPO. I’ll be honest. I have worked hard to make Facebook a manageable, fun experience.
For me Facebook is a personal, highly effective platform where I keep up with friends and family despite incredibly busy schedules filled with work and college. Check out the next page for tips on how to save time and preserve your ego.
As I became an advocate for social media tools like Linked In, Twitter, Facebook and blogging, it quickly became apparent most people offline suffer from fear of transparency. What if someone finds out something about me? What if they get to know all of me, who I am under the skin?
Some of you know this reaction well. When you mention a tool, the person’s reaction is to tell you all the horror stories they know to justify their fear of social media.
But hold on a moment. Is spying and negative gossip the reason social media exists? Or are these platforms simply neutral tools to be used for either positive or negative reasons?
Continued on page 2…
Alert! We have a social media gap!
Recently I attended a job hunting gathering in Hillsboro, Oregon at a local community college. Over sixty of us were gathered in a large lecture hall discussing Linked In. One person asked if there were any new networking tools to use besides Linked In. The leader had no suggestions. I promptly suggested Facebook, Twitter and blogging.
The reaction was shockingly negative. As I turned to look around at the crowd, I saw frowns, shaking heads and grumbles. At least 80% of the crowd was visibly upset and rejecting my suggestion. The group leader quickly stated “Linked In is the only one that won’t get you in trouble.”
I consider this a very large social media gap since this meeting was being held in the middle of the Oregon Silicon Forest community. Almost every open job for the job seeker involves making computer hardware or software.
So what do these terrified job seekers need to begin moving forward in social media?
The answer on page 2…
hjustice 