2021 SoACE Employer Relations Summit – Expand & Energize Connections

Energize: to raise to a higher energy level
Expand: to grow vigorously

This new virtual world has opened new opportunities for us to expand connections in ways that previously seemed impossible. As employer relations professionals, connection is at the core of what we do; we connect with employers to eventually connect those employers with students, and we are all ready to take our teams and efforts to the next level! The two-day Employer Relations Summit will highlight best practices, utilizing technology and data analytics, and leveraging partnerships that will Energize & Expand Connections for you and your team.

Join us virtually on June 23-24 for the 7th annual SoACE Employer Relations Summit. Read below for more information on registration and call for proposals.

Virtual Employer Relations Summit June 23-34

Registration Information

Registration Rates
SoACE Members: $50
Non-Members: $75
Registration fees include two-days of programming (keynote speaker, breakout session, employer panel & spotlights) and optional networking event(s). Additional features possible and dependent on virtual platform. Register Today!

Call for Proposals
Deadline: March 31
The Program Committee is looking for current critical topics relevant to Employer Relations. Our mission is to craft a two-day program that addresses topics pertinent to the needs of career services professionals and employer campus recruiters specializing in employer relations and university recruiting, respectively.
For more details, please review the official Call for Programs page.

We look forward to seeing you this summer at the 2021 Employer Relations Summit!

Questions? Please contact the ER Summit Chair, Beth Mannella at bmannella@elon.edu.

Post by Sheri Blight, Kennesaw State University, SoACE ER Summit Planning Committee

Letter from the President: Erica Lake

Hello SoACE members,

Happy Women’s History Month! We are excited to celebrate all the contributions of our female leaders this month. Be sure to check out the Administration Knowledge Group’s webinar later this month that highlights some of our notable women of SoACE. I am thrilled to see so many women leading in our association. Additionally, since we recently celebrated Black History Month, I must share that I am proud that SoACE has been a leader in engaging black and African American Career Center and recruiting professionals in our region. We have a lot to celebrate!

As I reflect on where we are in our world this March, it is hard to believe that we have been living during a global pandemic for a year. We have survived so much this year. We have become pros at Zoom and virtual career fairs, and we have blended our life and work more than ever. What have we learned? A lot. There is still a need for companies and organizations to hire college students. We have more options than ever before to provide our services. We have had to rethink our processes and many of us have learned new and more efficient ways to connect with students. Hopefully, we have also learned how to take better care of ourselves.

This year has been like none other. I was not expecting to be a virtual SoACE president this year, but we have made it work and it is still an honor and privilege to serve our great association. I am grateful for the community that we have built over the years that has positioned us to weather this storm and stay connected as colleagues and friends. Back in December, we were able to connect virtually during our largest conference ever! Thank you all for your amazing engagement. We will continue to think of our friends and colleagues affected by the winter storms in Texas and the southern region as you pick up the pieces from the devastating storm. We stand with you and want to help in any way we can.SoACE San Antonio

The Board of Directors continues to think about how we can move SoACE forward and come out better on the other side. We have continued to work hard for you. In our upcoming board meeting, we will discuss strategic priorities to include our employer engagement initiatives, our annual budget, and the new sponsorship model. Next on deck is the Virtual Employer Relations Summit scheduled for June 23th – 24th. We hope you will join us and bring a colleague with you!

SoACE is a family. The relationships we have invested in for so many years have sustained us through these tough times, and we will continue to get through this together. We are optimistic about the future and are using this time to think creatively about the future of our profession and our association. Keep the faith my friends.

Yours truly,
Erica Lake signature

Erica J. Lake

SoACE President
2020 – 2021

LinkedIn Voice Messaging: You’re Missing Out!

By Matthew French, UNC Charlotte, mkfrench@uncc.edu

LinkedIn can feel a lot like you are practicing an endless cycle of cold outreach to professionals and connections. Directly messaging a connection’s profile for questions, guidance, or an ask, and hoping for a reply back. Well there’s a tool that can help make this effort more personal that you may not know about…LinkedIn Voice Messaging!

What is LinkedIn Voice Messaging?
LinkedIn launched this nifty tool back in 2018. From my hours on LinkedIn, I have gathered that it is still an under-utilized tool at our disposal. The tool can be accessed through the LinkedIn mobile app and you must be a 1st connection to a person to use the feature. You are limited to a 60 second audio message for each individual message, but that is more than enough to have a virtual audio conversation. For those job/internship seekers it is more than enough time for your 30 second Elevator Pitch! From using the tool for months now I have come up with a few tips when utilizing the tool.

Top 5 Tips on Using LinkedIn Audio Messaging

Infuse Your Personality

This is the time to let your personality come out! The best part of an audio message is you can demonstrate career competencies like communication, professionalism and technology all within a 60 second message. Your words come to life!

Don’t Over Do It

Are you excited to use this feature? Of course you are! Should you message everyone? No. Be strategic with your messages and sending one audio message, then following up with another after two weeks is the best approach.

Remove False Connections

Let’s say you’ve done step 1 and 2, but the person has still not replied. What should you do? Remove your connection to them on LinkedIn. They are clearly not open to helping you, providing insight, advice or the like. These types of LinkedIn users are what I call False Connections. Either amassing a huge following for their own gain or straight up just don’t want/care to help. Think about how hard it is to reply and say, “Wish I could help, but I am super busy.” I have heard from many people that they get so many messages and they simply cannot reply to everyone. It’s called Copy+Paste.

Don’t Be an “Asker”

Now, the key to building your LinkedIn network is to not be the “Asker”. An “Asker” is a person who only reaches out or asks for something and who never provides value to the other connection. Remember the person you are messaging is another person with goals, interests and a job to do as well. Ask how you can help them, check in on them, share a new insight. You’ll go from being an “Asker” to a “Helper”.

Practice

The cool thing about the audio messaging tool is that you can record and re-record to get that perfect message that summarizes what you are wanting to chat with them about; you can also communicate the value you would like to bring to them.

Full instructions on accessing the tool can be found here.

 

About the author:

Matthew’s 9-5 is being the Assistant Director for Employer Relations & Partnerships at UNC Charlotte. In his 5-9, he is the Founder of Awesomely Authentic, where he collaborates with colleges and employers to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ and underrepresented minorities in careers.

Original Blog Post Location: https://www.awesomelyauthentic.com/post/linkedin-voice-messaging-you-re-missing-out