Survival Tactics for Gen Y

The last few years we have been experiencing a social media revolution. As a result of this, more and more companies are incorporating social media into their business models. Why? Because Social Media = Positive ROI.

Generation Y is at the forefront of this movement. We use social networking sites for just about everything these days, and companies are jumping on the wagon. In fact, many companies (over 80%) already use social networking sites to help locate worthy individuals to work for them.

LinkedIn is a great career management site that has over 55 million registered professionals, but what if you are looking for something a little more personalized? Are you a member of Generation Next? If so, Brazen Careerist might be for you.

What is Brazen Careerist?

Simply put, Brazen Careerist is a career management tool for next-gen professionals. The company was founded by Penelope Trunk as a refreshing way to allow companies to brand themselves as employers to Gen Y bloggers. It offers its users a way to showcase themselves and build a network through their ideas and conversations.

From a social standpoint the site incorporates a lot of features you might be familiar with from sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This is no accident, and if you truly are a Gen Y’er you should feel comfortable in this aspect. Let’s take a more in-depth look at some of the site’s features:

Create an Account or Sign In with Facebook

When you first arrive at Brazen Careerist you are faced with the choice of creating a new account or signing in using Facebook Connect. After getting signed up you are asked to fill in some information about yourself to help build your profile.

On the next screen you can choose to start building your professional network by becoming a ‘fan’ of some of Brazen Careerist’s most active networkers. If you choose not to follow anyone right away you can always come back to this later. When you are finished you can proceed to the next page.

You are then taken to a page where you can find/invite your existing contacts on various networks you belong to. These include Facebook, Twitter, G-Mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, and any desktop email clients you might have. Once again, if you choose not to do this right away you can always do it later.

The final page you come across while creating your account offers you the opportunity to join any popular networks or groups you find interesting. Joining networks is a great way to find like-minded individuals with similar tastes and interests.

Share Your Information

Aside from the introductory information that you already filled out about yourself, Brazen Careerist enables you to share your info with others. Here’s what you can add to your profile:

-          Links to your social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

-          Link to your personal website

-          Add your blog’s feed and share your posts

-          Upload your resume

-          List education and work history

-          List personal interests, goals, specialties, and favorite quotes

-          Add a summary

Follow and Be Followed

Remember Twitter? Well, Brazen Careerist offers a similar feature in that you can become a fan of anyone on the network and anyone can become a fan of yours (neat, huh?), thus building your following. The more followers you have the more people you are connected with. Being an active user will show others (and companies) who you are and invite them onto your page, not to mention make you well known throughout the community.

The Power of Networks

Joining networks is the fastest way to connect with others who have interests similar to yours, and Brazen Careerist has no shortage of networks for you to join. You can sort them by the most popular, location, professional, interests, and other (miscellaneous). Join as many networks as you want. You can even create your own!

Flaunt Your Blog

One of the features that set Brazen Careerist apart is the ability to share your blog. Submitting your feed to the site allows your posts to be seen and enables you to connect with new readers. If you become popular enough your posts could even be featured on the Community Sidebar.

Manage Your Career

Brazen Careerist, in a nutshell, is where social networking meets career management. It seems to have everything you need to share your thoughts and ideas for the professional world to see. It was definitely built with Generation Y in mind. And, oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it is still just in beta.

Will you be using Brazen Careerist to manage your career? Leave your comments, thoughts, and ideas below!