Name: Rich DeMatteo
Twitter name: @CornOnTheJob
Website/Blog link: http://CornOnTheJob.com
Area of Expertise: Recruiting/HR
Favorite cartoon character: Peter Griffin from Family Guy
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m just about 27-years-old and a staffing, recruiting, and HR professional from Philadelphia. I graduated with a Master’s degree in human resources development from Villanova University in December 2009. In my professional career, I’ve worked in both agency and corporate recruiting settings. I also coach a college hockey team, and this is my second year as head coach. Oh, and I love peanut butter. Give me a spoon and a jar of peanut butter and I’ll be a happy man.
When did you first become interested in social media? And, what’s the first social media site you joined?
When I graduated from college in 2005, my college had just came around and given us access to Facebook. I had also used MySpace that year. I became much more interested in social media as a tool when I began blogging in July 2009. When I had started my blog, I quickly joined Twitter and grew very fascinated with it’s connection and promotion possibilities.
How do you manage all your social media accounts (a.k.a. avoid social media overload)?
Right now I juggle my blog, Facebook, a Facebook Fan Page, my Linkedin account, and of course Twiter. I don’t get too involved with video, but I do have a Vimeo account. I’m managing well. I think the hardest thing has been to make sure to read and comment on all of the relevant blogs in order to make connections. I try to do this a lot, but it’s not easy to do this often. Describe your biggest social media-related success story?
Due to an acquisition, I had lost my job at my last company. So, starting my blog and getting involved in social media was part of my job search. Just a few months into blogging, tweeting, and connecting with folks, I had received a job offer. I ended up turning the job down, but my use of social media opened up my eyes as to how valuable I am to an employer.
I’ve also founded and co-moderate #JobHuntChat, which is the most successful job search Twitter Chat. In just an hour, we’ve had around 1,600 tweets and near 224 participants.
Do you think social media is a lifestyle?
Sure, it is. Think of how many hours some of us are spending on social media per day. Is it 6 hours? 8 hours? 12 hours? It’s kind of sickening to think about.
If you can give one piece of advice to someone who is just now beginning to incorporate social media, what would it be?
This will really depend on what they are using it for. Most people I advise are job seekers, looking for new ways to make contacts. My biggest piece of advise to them is to utilize social media to initiate contact and build a network, but it can not end there. Taking your online connections, and bringing them offline will result in the the biggest return. Social media is surely not just a fad, but don’t live your life in 140 characters, or in facebook statuses or in tagged pictures. Social media should be a powerful supplement to your life, but not your life.
