Many people who know me know that I’m a self-starter and love to learn.

You’d be pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t always come naturally to me but the risk of missing out on a potential opportunity experience something new is worse than not trying anything at all.

So what might come across as spontaneity or frivolity on this blog and vlogs are really deliberate events or activities that have been planned so that I could continually ‘test’ out my interpretations and perspectives.

So where am I going with all this?  It means that I have picked up some knowledge over the years on using social media for learning and building personal learning networks.

Throughout my life, I’ve had many people ask me for support and advice which I gladly offer.   From friends, colleagues, neighbours, parents, business owners…the questions I’m asked are usually a blend of three things. Here’s some of them:

• Career Advice
  • “Can you please look through my CV and highlight areas where it could be improved?”
  • “Do you know anyone in this industry who I can contact for a new job?”
  • “Outside of my normal job, I coach kids with disabilities to find work. I love to be able to bring these coaching skills into my 9-5 job. How can I show my employer that I can offer so much more to what I’m currently doing in my job?”
  • “I’ve been in corporate all my life and this technical knowledge is what I know, I now want to freelance because I know I can offer these services to others. How can I start to do this? What do I need?”
• Using Social Media and Other Social Tools
  • “I’m being made redundant and I heard that you’re a LinkedIn guru (their words not mine). Can you help me set up my LinkedIn profile?”
  • “How can I use Twitter the way you’re using it because I don’t get it?”
  • “My company doesn’t provide professional development and I think I need to learn about social media but unsure what and where to start”
  • “Someone told me to speak to you because you know how to blog and I think I need one to start my own business and don’t know what to do”
  • “My son has an interest in coding but they don’t do anything like this at his school. What can he do so that he can grow and develop this interest further?”
• Connecting into my Networks or Communities
  • “You know XYZ, can you introduce me please?”
  • “I really think that my new service is directly aligned to this particular network but I don’t know anyone in it. What do you suggest I do to connect into that network? What should I be doing? Who should I be talking to? How do I connect with them on social media without coming across as a stalker?”
  • “Can you tell me how I can start a community for XYZ. How can I get it up and running? What tools shall I use? How do I get my message out there?”

So this got me thinking that there’s a potential new service I can provide here.

A One-on-One Coaching Program

For many years, I have been providing coaching informally to many people.  I’m the first to offer support when I see people who struggle with the above and always keen to help.

Coaching comes naturally to me and I’m quite patient to show people how to use tools to assist them with solving their particular problems.  I’m delighted to see them have the confidence and competence to use these tools in their own ways to improve and promote their work, become more productive or discover their own networks.  My coaching feeds into my desire to help others but to also learn from them.

Like many people in corporate roles, I have been made redundant (four times actually), been through a multitude of restructures and lost count how many job interviews I’ve gone through. Throughout that time, I have seen people my age and into their 50s and 60s, who have expert knowledge, skills, talent and abilities feel lost when it comes to social tools and technology.  Some feel that their lack of confidence in the use of social tools hinders their career prospects or at worse, they are unable to fulfil their dreams of pursuing their hobby, passion or interest outside of work.

So I created a one-on-one personlised coaching program where together, we will come up with a plan to tackle your specific questions, concerns and issues you may have around the use of social tools for your needs, context and application.  Together we will explore what you want to achieve and then create an action plan so that you learn those tools and technologies that will get you started on building your social profile and networks that will support your professional or personal development.

You may choose to have this 8 hour coaching program as part of your career transition program or as part of your annual individual development plan.  Coaching sessions can be in person (for Melbourne based people) or online through virtual collaboration.

Of course if you have specific questions, I do have shorter coaching packages on hand that may be more suitable.  Refer to Personal Social Media Coaching Packages.

If you’re interested to learn more, check out the Personal Collaboration Network Coaching Program page for more information and next steps. I hope to share your learning journey with you this year!

Don’t let the piddly fear of social media (*pffttt*) stop you. Trust me, it will open up a whole new world.