How to Find a Job in Knowledge Management or Community Management

Originally posted Feb 10, 2018

Posts, queries, and requests I received

1. I was laid off in October. For the last four months I’ve been applying for community management positions and man, the market has changed.
2. I have been searching for a job for the past 8 months. I have applied to thousands of jobs and openings matching my profile without luck.
3. I was a victim of a merger and am no longer working. Are you aware of any opportunities in knowledge management or communications?
4. I am reaching out to you about job opportunities among your contacts in KM.
5. I just completed my PhD in KM. The theme of my thesis was using Web 2.0 for knowledge management processes. I have passion for KM but as it stands now I don’t know what exactly to do from here since all attempts to find a job that requires my expertise are proving very difficult. How I can find my feet in the field? Please suggest what I can do to find a job in academia or the corporate sector. Are there any postdoctoral opportunities I could pursue to further my career?
6. I am a KM specialist with 7 years’ experience. I feel I am not growing in this field. What are the skills I need to develop? What courses would help me? Does taking a Business Analyst course or learning Cognos help? I feel like I am stuck and my job seems too monotonous. Please guide me.
7. What advice do you have for those seeking a KM job? Are there any tricks of the trade that are worth passing on?
8. I am looking for a job as a community manager. What is your advice?

Finding a KM Job

1. Join the SIKM Leaders Community, search the discussion archives, pay attention to posts about job opportunities, and post about your availability, experiences, and skills.
2. Join the KM Jobs Group, read the posts, and post there.
3. Review the job openings posted by Edwin K. Morris, John Hovell, and others using the #KMJobs hashtag in Linkedin.
4. Read Stand Up and Stand Out — 3 Job Hunting Tips by Howie Cohen
5. From Finding a KM Job

Set up daily email job alerts for “knowledge management” at these sites:

• Dice
• Indeed
• Monster
• Simply Hired
• ZipRecruiter

Attend conferences, blog, publish in periodicals, and lead or participate in KM communities. Volunteer to speak on a community call or at a conference. Develop a good reputation as a thought leader, useful correspondent, and generous helper.

Personal connections are the key to finding a position. Do things for other people without worrying about yourself. Send email to people to share useful information, ask for advice, and connect people with similar interests with one another.

Take advantage of your social and professional networks. Cultivate friendships, offer help, and answer questions. If you wait until you need to find a job to start networking, it is too late, and your motive will be obvious. Continuously build your network in both good and bad times.

Connect in meaningful ways with members of your network. For example, invite them to speak to a meeting which you organize, quote them in your blog, or ask them questions. Reach out regularly to members of your network, including respected thought leaders who you may think are too important to care about you. Each point of contact is a reminder that you are out there, and may trigger a subsequent connection.

Don’t be afraid to let everyone you know that you are seeking a job and to ask for their help. You never know which connection will be the one that pays off. Members of communities have empathy for one another, and will go to great lengths to try to help other members in times of need.

Let the communities you belong to know that you are seeking a job, providing links to your resume, blog, and personal profile. Update your Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social software profiles to show your status as seeking a job. Share job postings with other members — by helping them, you will set an example which will encourage them to reciprocate.

Finding a Community Manager Job

1. How to Get Your First Community Manager Job by Matt Fairchild
2. From How to find a community manager job

In addition to using LinkedIn, I suggested using communities focused on community management to learn more about how the community manager role is defined, to post about personal availability, to search for posts about job openings, and to monitor for new job postings.

Many community manager jobs are posted in LinkedIn. Here are two ways to keep up with openings.

1. Search LinkedIn job openings

• Click on “Set alert” in the upper middle

2. Subscribe to email alerts

• Under your profile thumbnail in upper right, click on “Settings & Privacy”
• In the left, click on “Communications”
• Click on “Jobs”
• Make your selections

Communities can be used for both job searches and for learning more about community management.

• CMX Hub Facebook Group — find jobs in the Job Board
• CMX #Jobs
• A dozen community management communities
• Community Manager Jobs

Developing Skills

• 10 Ways to Build Expertise in Knowledge Management
• Learning about the field of Knowledge Management
• Knowledge Management Leaders & Community Managers: What’s Needed?
• 7 Habits of Highly Effective Knowledge Managers
• Knowledge Managers and KM Leaders
• KM Resources
• How to Be a Great Community Manager
• Articles and Presentations About Community Management

Typical Job Roles

Job roles include knowledge manager, knowledge broker, content manager, web site editor, community manager, and any that include responsibility for one or more of the 50 KM components or the 100 KM specialties. See What Are My Career Options in Knowledge Management?