Conducting a social network audit: the social network audit can be an effective and teachable tool for student goal attainment.

Conducting a social network audit: the social network audit can be an effective and teachable tool for student goal attainment. Current research makes it abundantly a��bun��dant?adj.1. Occurring in or marked by abundance; plentiful. See Synonyms at plentiful.2. Abounding with; rich: a region abundant in wildlife. clear that career andtechnical educators in North America North America,third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. know how to give students thetechnical skills they need to be competitive in the 21st centurymarketplace. However, there may be a gap in many educators'toolboxes. Consider the following questions: * How many educators know what to do about the fact that theaverage human resource manager spends less than 30 seconds examining aparticular resume? * How many educators know how to answer a student's complaintthat he or she did not get a single interview from more than 100 resumesmailed out? * What does a teacher do with the latest trend, which indicatesthat the majority of available jobs are filled from the"hidden" job market? In the past, the answers to these questions typically centeredaround the concept of networking. Students would often hear, "Youhave to network to get the job you want," or, "It's it's?1. Contraction of it is.2. Contraction of it has. See Usage Note at its.it'sit is or it hasit'sbe ~have important to develop a 30-second commercial so you can quickly sellyourself to anyone you come across who might have a job for you,"and other platitudes that, though well intentioned, were not veryinstructive in��struc��tive?adj.Conveying knowledge or information; enlightening.in��structive��ly adv. and ultimately of little value to the student trying to gethis or her first job, especially if the student was not a naturalnetworker. The latest research findings indicate that the majority of peoplehave a difficult time connecting with others, especially individualswith whom they are not familiar. Simple verbal instructions throughtraditional networking activities have had limited impact on theseindividuals' behavior, nor do they encourage individuals to explorethe resources that exist within the network itself or even withinthemselves. In addition, other researchers have found that due to the rapidlyincreasing interconnectedness interconnectedness (inˈ·ter·k of modern society, this skill set isbecoming critical to success in the labor market labor marketA place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience . Although traditionalways of teaching networking have provided some support, a moresystematic approach is needed, particularly in the area of specific goalsetting and linking these goals to specific network resources. So What Is a Career and Technical Educator To Do? One answer is Social Exploration[c], the next-generation,researched-based, internationally proven system that takes the nebulousconcept of networking and systematizes it into a teachable teach��a��ble?adj.1. That can be taught: teachable skills.2. Able and willing to learn: teachable youngsters. , accountableand repeatable process. The Social Exploration[c] concept is amultiphase Mul´ti`phasea. 1. (Elec.) Having many phases;Adj. 1. multiphase - of an electrical system that uses or generates two or more alternating voltages of the same frequency but differing in phase angle system that has successfully been applied in both thefor-profit for-prof��itadj.Established or operated with the intention of making a profit: a for-profit organization.and the nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive.Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. sector. It has been used to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on`v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize onan opponent's mistakes s>. the potential that exists within an organization's social networkor "informal power structure" to improve both individual andorganizational performance Organizational performance comprises the actual output or results of an organization as measured against its intended outputs (or goals and objectives).Specialists in many fields are concerned with organizational performance including strategic planners, operations, , reduce turnover and increase profitability. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , teach individuals to tap into the resources thatexist within their networks to help accomplish the goals theyset--regardless of whether they are personal, academic or careerrelated. This system has now been modified to meet the unique demands ofhigh school students who wish to transition directly into the labormarket from the classroom or go on to higher education higher educationStudy beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. , technicaltraining or some other endeavor. Asking the following questions and taking the following steps canhelp guide you and your students through the process of conducting asocial network audit. A Social Network Lesson When thinking of your career goals, do you automatically think ofindividuals in your network who can help you accomplish them? If theanswer is yes, you have a good idea of the type of information yournetwork can provide and are most likely tapping into resources that willhelp you become successful. If not, you might be missing out on piecesof information that may help you achieve your career goals. A socialnetwork audit is an activity that will help you determine if you arepresently accessing information from your network that will help youachieve those goals. The process involves listing your career goals and linking contactswithin your network to them to determine if you are utilizing theinformation that exists within the network. The importance of having alarge network is not necessarily an advantage until you have been ableto maximize on the information inherent to it. This requires that youknow what your goals are in order to access the right contacts who canprovide the right information. This can only be accomplished by knowingwho is in your network and what type of information the contact canprovide toward achieving a specific goal. The following steps will walk you through a social network audit tohelp you determine if you are maximizing on the information inherent toit. Keep in mind that networking is a two-way street. If you're you're?Contraction of you are.you'reyou areyou'rebe seeking information from your network to help you reach your careergoals, you have to be willing to provide information back to yournetwork. If this is not done, you will quickly start to see that thevaluable information within your network will start to dry up. Seven Steps to Conducting the Social Network Audit Step 1: The first thing you want to do is identify and list yourcareer goals. If you haven't have��n't?Contraction of have not.haven'thave nothaven'thave done so already, now is the time tostart thinking about what you want to do once you've you've?Contraction of you have.you'veyou haveyou'vehave completed youreducational program. If you're not quite sure at this point whatyou want to do for the rest of your life For The Rest Of Your Life is a British game show on ITV, hosted by Nicky Campbell. It is produced by Initial, a company of Endemol. FormatRound One , list instead what you thinkyou want to do upon completion of your program. At least this way youwill be able to determine who in your network may be able to provideinformation that can help you determine if that is the career path youwant to take. The best way to organize your goals is to label them (1) main goaland (2) subgoal. See the right-hand right-handadj.1. Of, relating to, or located on the right.2. Relating to, designed for, or done with the right hand.3. Most helpful or reliable: my right-hand assistant. column in the chart at the left foran example. Take a piece of paper and start to list your goals on the left-handside left-hand siden → izquierdaleft-hand sideleft n → linke Seite fleft-hand siden → lato or . For each main goal, you want to list all the supporting goals thatwill help you achieve that goal. This will make the task of achievinggoals more manageable. Step 2: Once you have listed your goals, you want to start to thinkabout your network and those contacts who can help you achieve eachspecific goal. You want to think about the different types of contactsthat presently exist within your network. For example, a family member,friend, work contact, school contact or neighbors. who may help youachieve that particular goal. Now take the same piece of paper on which you listed your careergoals and attach TO ATTACH, crim. law, practice. To an attachment for contempt for the non- take or apprehend by virtue of the order of a writ or precept, commonly called an attachment. It differs from an arrest in this, that he who arrests a man, takes him to a person of higher power to be disposed of; names from your network to each goal. In a columnbeside each name, indicate how you know the individual. If you know themdirectly, write "directly;" if you know them through someoneelse, indicate the individual's name. It should look something likethe green and red columns in the chart at the left. In addition to adding contacts who you feel will help you with eachgoal, you also want to indicate the frequency of contact you have witheach individual. For example, if you see "John Smith" everyday and "Barbara Young Barbara Young may refer to: Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Labour member of the British House of Lords Barbara Young, British actress best known for her role as Agrippinilla in I, Claudius " every six months, it's possiblethat the information Barbara Barbaramaid exemplifying personal and domestic neatness. [Br. Lit.: Old Curiosity Shop]See : Orderliness will share with you will be new informationand not neccssarily known to the rest of your network. This is importantto remember when auditing your network, as it will help you identifywhether the type of information you are accessing is more likely to beredundant, because the people that you are in the most contact with arethe individuals who are providing you with most of your information. It's important to contact individuals within your network withwhom you are not frequently in contact in order to identify newinformation about career possibilities. Your piece of paper should nowlook like the completed chart to the left. Once you have attached as many contacts as you know who can helpyou achieve a specific goal, make a list of all your other contacts whoare not attached to a goal. Step 3: In addition to friends, family and colleagues, think of anyagencies, service organizations, support groups, churches or specialinterest groups that may help you. Add any group to your goals that youfeel may help you accomplish each goal. Step 4: Once you have completed listing your goals and attachingindividuals from your network, you want to take another piece of paperand start mapping out your contacts. The process of completing thisportion of the audit will allow you to fill in all the other people youknow to whom you have not attached a goal. Simply put your name in the middle of the paper and draw a circlearound it. Then draw a line and put a square for each individual to whomyou have attached a goal. For those individuals in your network who arenot attached to a goal, put a circle around their names. If theindividual is a contact of someone else. draw a line from theircircle/square with the name of the individual attached to it. Your map should look something like the network map on thefollowing page. Now look over your map to see if there are any contacts that youare missing. Consider why the contacts in squares are not linked to anygoals. Do you need to find out more information about them? Do you knowthe people they associate with? Start to think of the people yourcontacts know and determine whether they can help you achieve any ofyour goals. When you have identified new contacts, go back to your goallist and enter their names. Step 5: Go back over your map and identify contacts you feel canrefer you to individuals who can help you reach your goals. Develop aplan of when and how you will contact these individuals. Step 6: Ask yourself the following questions: * Are there as many contacts in my network as I thought? * Are the majority of my contacts "strong ties?" (Strongties are those individuals with whom you have frequent contact.) * Do I know many people with whom there is limited frequency ofcontact? (Weak ties are those individuals you do not have contact withon a frequent basis. They typically are contacts that provide you withnew information.) * How many contacts in my network are directly linked to me? * How many of my contacts are tied to an organization? (Thesecontacts can link you to individuals in their organizations.) * How many times have I requested referrals from my contacts? * How many contacts have actually referred me to a new contact? Step 7: Continue to add individuals to your network. Don't don't?1. Contraction of do not.2. Nonstandard Contraction of does not.n.A statement of what should not be done: a list of the dos and don'ts. necessarily worry about linking contacts to goals right away; this willcome in time. The goal is to grow your network and identify the type ofinformation your contacts can potentially provide. Continuing the Networking Process Congratulations! You've just completed your first socialnetwork audit. The process that you just went through is something youneed to continue to help you deter- " mine whether you'retapping into the information within your network. It's not justabout knowing a lot of people; it's about knowing what each personin your network has to offer. At the same time, you have to realizethat, in order to get something, you're going to have to givesomething, Keep this in mind as you network. As long as you communicate toyour e and potential contacts that you are to return the favor, yournetworking experience will be a successful one. Goals List your main goal and the subgoals necessary to accomplish thatgoal, as well as qualifying descriptions of each goal and the date toaccomplish the goals Name of goal: (1) Main Goal--Find a job Description: Find a job in my field Target date: February February:see month. 15, 2008 Name of goal: (2) Subgoal--Resume Description: Write a functional resume Target date: September September:see month. 12, 2007 Name of goal: (2) Subgoal--Information interviews Description: Contact employers in my field for an informationalinterview Target Date: October October:see month. 22, 2007 Network Once you have listed the goals, start to make an assessment of yournetwork and how you will use it.John Smith directly every dayBarbara Young thru Jerry Ward every six monthsJerry Ward directly every month Jim Gumm is vice president of strategic initiatives for FloworkInternational. He may be reached at gumm@flowork.com or 866-FLOWORK ext.703. John-Paul Hatala is an assistant professor at Louisiana StateUniversity Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. in the School of Human Resource Education and WorkforceDevelopment. He maybe reached at jphatala@lsu.edu See .edu. (networking) edu - ("education") The top-level domain for educational establishments in the USA (and some other countries). E.g. "mit.edu". The UK equivalent is "ac.uk". .