Archive for the ‘strategy’ Category
Mother of Three Graduates Cum Laude at Age 56
I am proud to announce, my Mother, Claudia Wyatt, 56, graduated cum laude from Jefferson State Community College on December 16 with a double major in medical support and medical office assisting. She also received the graduation with distinction institutional honor.
A screen-grab of a .docx my Mom emailed me with a table pasted from her online transcript.
In 2008, Mom decided to re-enter the job market after raising my two siblings and me part-time, providing award-winning customer service for a regional power company part-time and supporting my late Father’s financial advising business over-time.
Mom’s choice to go back to school was strategic. She choose a course study that would blend her exceptional knowledge of customer service with her affinity for information to position her for the growing healthcare industry upon graduation.
By using the Internet and engaging in conversation on campus, she learned about the Workforce Investment Act, we dubbed the “Obama money” that helps pay tuition, books and other school-related fees for non-traditional students.
Thanks to the Workforce Investment Act and the talented instructors at Jefferson State Community College, my Mom brushed up her skills in desktop publishing, database management, business communication and project leadership ready to fill a medical support specialist and/or medical office assistant position in the healthcare industry.
I see this program as not only a benefit to those sharpening their skills to become workforce-ready, but it is also an excellent resource for staffing agencies and human resource recruiters to build relationships with community colleges and gain quick access to a pool of talented individuals that have received occupational training to meet the demands of today’s fast growing industries.
To obtain a copy of my mother’s resume or the link to her LinkedIn profile, and to protect her privacy as she becomes more familiar with social media, send an mention to me @simpleelovlee or an email to leah [dot] d [dot] gordon [at] gmail [dot] com.
How to Expedite Your Job Search Process in 6 Steps
Follow these 6 steps to help you expedite the job search process by allowing staff recruiters and HR managers instant access to your work history and job recommendations.
- Bookmark a Google search for the city you would like to work in and the phrase “staffing agencies.” Google will provide a listing of staffing agencies, their address and phone number. For example: “austin, tx staffing agencies”.
- Check out each website and decide whether you want to add your resume to the database. If the staffing agency does not support clients looking for workers with your skill set, proceed to step 6.
- Create an account with the staffing agency site, if necessary.
- Upload your resume and fill out all necessary information for the staff agencies’ database. Staffing agencies provide hiring managers with information on a pool of qualified individuals that have been interviewed and vetted. This information is provided to hiring managers through a database, some form of electronic communication (such as email) or through conversation.
- Note that you applied for the staffing agency in a spreadsheet of the agencies and companies created in Google Docs (so that you can access this information from any computer, say at a library computer). Note the name of the company, the website and the date your added your information to their database. How to create a spreadsheet in Google Docs
- Move to the next agency listed in your Google search.
Bonus:
If you haven’t done so already, update your LinkedIn profile. Staffing agencies and HR managers use Linkedin to recruit staff.
Note: This post is a result of an email I sent to Mother, who I am so proud to say graduated from college at age 56! In 2008, she decided to re-enter into the job market after raising my two other siblings and me part-time, providing award-winning customer service for a regional power company part-time and supporting my Father’s financial advising business over-time. By using the Internet and engaging in conversation, she learned about the Workforce Investment Act, we dubbed the “Obama money” that helps pay tuition, books and other school-related fees for non-traditional students.
A screen-grab of a .docx my Mom sent me with a table pasted from her online transcript.
Thanks to the Workforce Investment Act and the talented instructors at Jefferson State Community College, my Mom is skilled in computer technology, savvy in business communication, a professional data manager, event planner, project leader and ready to fill a customer service/data management role in the healthcare industry.
I see this program as not only a benefit to those sharpening their skills and become workforce-ready, but it is also an excellent resource for staffing agencies and human resource recruiters to build relationships with community colleges and gain quick access to a pool of talented individuals that have received occupational training to meet the demands of today’s fast growing industries.
To obtain a copy of my mother’s resume or the link to her LinkedIn profile, and to protect her privacy as she becomes more familiar with social media, send an mention to me @simpleelovlee or an email to leah [dot] d [dot] gordon [at] gmail [dot] com.
All Women’s Social Media Summit to Air on Saturday, Nov. 12
Here is a taste of the rich dialogue had at the All Women’s Social Media Summit on October 22. This video clip is made even sweeter with a sampling of the social media expertise I contributed to the panel! That’s right, watch me in this clip!
The All Women’s Social Media Summit will air on Saturday, November 12 in Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro, channels 18 in Durham, 8 in Chapel Hill and 4 in Carrboro. This is a must-see for small businesses expanding their communication efforts online.
The All Women’s Social Media Summit is the ONLY summit of in the nation to feature an all women’s panel of social media experts!
Leah D. Gordon to Appear as Guest Presenter at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s SE Region Innovation Exchange
Leah D. Gordon has been invited to share her knowledge of how small businesses are using social media at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Southeast Region Innovation Exchange on Thursday, October 6.
The innovation exchange brings together the region’s top 50 producers for two days at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to share their skills in financial advising.
“A discussion on social media and small business is appropriate for a meeting focused on innovation,” says Gordon “I applaud Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s desire to learn about how their clients are promoting themselves in a tough economy.”
Studies show that 70% percent of small businesses promote themselves on Facebook.
Gordon advises clients on how to use social media to increase their web presence and build customer relationships.
You can follow Leah D. Gordon on Twitter (@simpleelovlee) or visit www.LeahDGordon.com for social media and small business news.
Leah D. Gordon to Deliver Guest Presentation at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney SE Region Womens’ Symposium
Leah D. Gordon has been invited to present at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s SE Region Womens’ Symposium today at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Gordon’s guest presentation follows the wealth management firm’s recent announcement allowing its financial advisors to use LinkedIn and Twitter for business practices.
“This is an exciting time for women in business,” says Gordon, “social media is a powerful communication tool we can use promote businesses.”
Gordon’s talk will cover examples of how financial advisors’ clients are using social media and ways they can use LinkedIn and Twitter to raise online profiles, follow up on referrals and make an impact on their bottom line.
Follow Leah D. Gordon on Twitter @simpleelovlee to learn tips on using social media for business.
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Leah D. Gordon is owner of Branding the Link, a boutique strategy consulting firm focused on building online brands.
Leah D. Gordon to Speak to Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce
On Thursday, September 15, Leah D. Gordon will speak to the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce at their “Social Media and Your Business” event.
The audience will be engaged in discussion with Leah D. Gordon and other leading social experts in the Triangle. Topics of discussion will cover social media presence and growth, social media measurement, and the value social media provides.
The event is free to the public. Register at http://socialmediagdbcc.eventbrite.com/
Google +1 Button Recommends Relevant Web Content
Bottom line: Adding a +1 button to your content helps users quickly find relevant content from people they know and trust.
You can add a Google +1 button to pages to encourage to users to recommend your page content to their friends and followers when signed into Google.
credit: http://jonathanbjorkskog.com
“+1-ing” content can improve your personal image as well. By clicking the +1 button, you are communicating to your followers and friends content you find to be reputable and credible.
Give it a try!
Hip-Hop Response to Groupthink
They play it safe, are quick to assassinate what they do not understand. They move in packs ingesting more and more fear with every act of hate on one another. They feel most comfortable in groups, less guilt to swallow. They are us. This is what we have become. Afraid to respect the individual. A single person within a circumstance can move one to change. To love ourself. To evolve.
—Erykah Badu, monologue in “Window Seat”
What is GroupThink?
Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within groups of people. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints. Antecedent factors such as group cohesiveness, structural faults, and situational context play into the likelihood of whether or not groupthink will impact the decision-making process.
In a 400-page report released July 11, 2004, the United States Intelligence Committee concluded that the intelligence community suffered from “collective group think” which led to the presumption that Iraq had an active and growing weapons of mass destruction program.
“This group think caused the community to interpret ambiguous evidence such as the procurement of dual use technology” to mean Iraq had an active weapons program, Pat Roberts (R-Kan)said. “It is clear that this group think also extended to our allies” and other nations, “all of whom did believe that Saddam Hussein did have active WMD program.”
“This was a global intelligence failure,” Roberts added.
Badu and GroupThink
On March 13, 2010, Erykah Badu shot “Window Seat” known to be her most controversial music video. This video was shot in a single take, in real time, while she walks Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas removing articles of clothing. At the end of the video Badu is shot in the nude by an unknown assassin. Blue blood flows from the gunshot to her head and spells out “groupthink.”
Badu was inspired by Matt & Kim’s video for the song “Lesson’s Learned” shot in New York’s Times Square.
“…the bravest, most liberating thing I’ve ever seen two people do… I wanted to dedicate this contagious act of liberation and freedom to them. I hoped it would become something contagious that people would want to do in some way or another” Badu said.
Badu described President John F. Kennedy, assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dealey Plaza, as one of her heroes stating,
“My point was grossly misunderstood all over America. JFK is one of my heroes, one of the nation’s heroes. John F. Kennedy was a revolutionary; he was not afraid to butt heads with America, and I was not afraid to show America my butt-naked truth.”
Badu intended for the assassination scene to represent character assassination by groupthink.
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A clue that tells you if an artist is “true hip-hop” ask yourself, “is it socially conscious?” So many MCs fake and over use the classification of hip-hop. I’m just so glad true hip-hop lives on.
This week, I pay tribute to Soulquarians, featuring one or two of the talented people in the collective via my blog (the 1st was on FB, I have to move it over).
Today I honor Erykah Badu, the only female Soulquarian. She has inspired me over the years, been with me on long road trips, danced with me in my dorm room and chilled out with me while writing blog posts. Erykah Badu continues to drop heavy beats, captivate you with her voice and raise serious and sensitive issues through music. She encourages us to understand “what’s going on. “
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.
Crunchy numbers
A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa has 296 steps to reach the top. This blog was viewed about 1,100 times in 2010. If those were steps, it would have climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa 4 times
In 2010, there were 17 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 21 posts. There were 10 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about a picture per month.
The busiest day of the year was March 27th with 31 views. The most popular post that day was the six word challenge.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were twitter.com, en.search.wordpress.com, ow.ly, leahdgordon.com, and facebook.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for www.leahdgordon.com, pr agencies in durham north carolina, leah d gordon, leahgordon.wordpress.com, and pr firms in durham nc.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
the six word challenge March 2010
2 comments
portfolio January 2010
work August 2009
1 comment
contact info August 2009
public relations is not advertising April 2010
4 comments
workshop: what’s the big deal? saturday, august 28, 10am
what’s the big deal? why is everyone so consumed with facebook and twitter? are your friends, colleagues and children using social media? have people told you you need it for your business?
in “what’s the big deal?” i will introduce you to popular social media sites and show you what people are discovering and why they are online. you be the judge as to whether or not you want to integrate social media into your business practice and budget.
in this one hour workshop, i provide:
- an overview of popular social media sites
- networking opportunities via the social web
- turning friends and followers into customers and clients
who: this workshop is for business owners, professionals responsible for communication and marketing at a mid-sized firms, thought and opinion leaders interested in building a brand located in the triangle (raleigh, durham, chapel hill).
when: saturday, august 28, 2010
cost: $30 per person.
how to register: fill out this form
where: durham technical community college, White building, Room #24
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about leah d. gordon
leah d. gordon has worked diligently in public relations and communication roles since 2003. as a student of her craft, she develops, implements and supports communication and pr strategies.
she has formed and maintained relationships between organizations and their communities – both interpersonally and via the web. through these relationships, organizations have learned they have much to learn from their audiences.
as a graduate of the university of oregon’s school of journalism with a concentration in public relations, leah is the public information officer for an international public health project at the university of north carolina at chapel hill and consults small and mid-sized businesses and firms on integrating social media into their public relations, marketing and communication plans.
