What’s Your Score?

Do you publish a website?  Are you looking to find a position as a social media and content manager? Over at Vancouvermom.ca they’re hiring a Social Media and Content Manager and four City Bloggers.  If this type of work is up your alley, you’ll definitely want to check out their hiring page.

I noticed this posting because at first blush it is the type of opportunity that would interest me. Here’s why.

Right now I am on sabbatical. (See my About page.) I’m not sure from what exactly, but I did work before having children and I plan to work full-time in a paid position in the future. So at a minimum I’d say that I’m on sabbatical from my career.  I started my career in the field of Early Childhood Education – specializing in Montessori education.  I decided to work with children in the youngest grade levels because I love the Montessori primary programme and wanted to help children start school on the right foot.  After working in that field for a number of years (including five years working for an international school overseas), I returned to Vancouver to complete a graduate degree.  This was followed by experience working in the field of educational policy research.   Finally I worked for a local university and finished my last job there in a junior management position.  The birth of my children was a personal highlight alongside marriage to my husband.   While I was on  maternity leave, there was a turn-over in my office and my position was cut.  So here I am.  I’m on sabbatical, looking after my children full-time – an educator, with some managerial experience, who publishes a website.  A social media position/blogger position would fit in nicely.

When I saw these ads over at Vancouvermom.ca I did what I always do in such circumstances.  I took inventory.  “Hmnn”, I thought, “how many of these skill sets do I have?”

* Am I a whizz with Facebook and Twitter?  Others consider me to be right in the thick of things when it comes to using these social media applications.  I do try to stretch the potential of these sites to the maximum for my own benefit.

* Do I know what hip/happening moms like and how to engage them using social media in a corporate setting?  Another “hmnn”.  I’m not sure what  “in a corporate setting” means.  Does it mean that I use social media applications for a money making and not purely private venture? Since I haven’t monetized my site, I don’t have ads, don’t use Google Ads, and don’t have sponsors, I guess the answer is “no”.  My efforts must count as being purely non-corporate.

* I’ve started using Hoot Suite, I know what an RSS feed is and have made my site RSS feed friendly.  I don’t read Mashable and excuse me while I take a break to “Google”  Gary Vaynerchuk.  … Oh yes. I’ve read about him, but he didn’t make a lasting impression on me. I don’t follow his work.

* I’m a proud owner of a WordPress run site which replaced a similar site that I ran on Blogger for six years.   I can’t believe I’ve been actively creating content on the Internet since 2004! I’ve signed up with Dropbox, but don’t use it.   I’ve used Google Docs and think it’s a great tool.

* Am I an excellent writer?  Sure. Well, at a minimum I can say that I do strive to be a good writer.  Am I sassy? Sometimes, but not always.

* Can I coordinate others?  I’m pretty sure I can handle that task, based on previous work experience.

* Am I familiar with SEO?  Yes.  Do it I ensure SEO for my site to the best of my abilities ?  Yes.  Do I do a good job of ensuring SEO for my website?  Possibly.

* Do I know how to use HTML?  I do dabble in this area.  It’s an important skill to have  if you want to design your own website without asking for help from other people.

* I’ve got the major programmes on my computer and I’m an expert photo cropper.

* My availability each week goes up and down, although I could cram in six hours.  This point is neither here nor there as my task here is to take stock of how I’m doing (and I don’t live in Vancouver.)

* Do I do what I love and love what I do?  Absolutely.  Every day and always.

* While I currently live outside of Vancouver, after moving from Yaletown, I don’t meet the residency requirements for the Blogger section of this job ad.  Now that I’m living in the Tri-City area, the pace of life has slowed down considerably.  I’m very much focussed on raising my almost 2 year old toddlers.  I’m not walking around the city with them, as I did in Yaletown.  Our ability to explore the area and find out new information is random and unpredictable.  At this point I am definitely not one of the most in-the-know mums when it come to the Tri-City area.

* 20 posts in 6 months is doable for me.  I decided to focus on quality rather than quantity and don’t endeavour to produce content every day.  Instead I do share information on the BC Family Facebook page, Twitter page and related Tumblr site on a daily basis (between the three of them).

* I’m a keen photographer – thank goodness – so I do like to use my own photography on my website, when I can.

Based on the answers I gave and the amount of categories, I give myself a B grade.  That’s not so great.  Aren’t you supposed to strive to be the best you can be at whatever you do?  Granted I do have time and energy constraints, but still. I must work on this.  How about you?  Are you publishing a website?  How would you grade your efforts?

We’d love to hear from you so don’t be shy! You can comment about this posting using the comment function below or visit us at our Facebook page.

Daily Dish Archives Pamela Chan/Publisher, BCfamily.ca


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