window of opportunity
December 7th, 2007 by jseguritan“… so does the stream of beauty, passing through the eyes which are the windows of the soul, come back to the beautiful one…” (Plato, Phaedrus)
Plato is often attributed for saying that the eyes are the windows of the soul, creating a vivid and beautiful metaphor of how the transmission and reception of light via our sight depicts our capacity to access the richness and profundity of that which lies at the core of our very being. There is also a form of sight that takes place on the internet that mediates how our online personas are perceived. It is qualified by a certain degree of caution and skepticism, but enhanced by the ability to form impressions that are disconnected from external appearances. Ziizoo offers us only a small window by which prospective students can form their own impressions of us, and the import of that impression can easily make the difference between a defining click or a nonchalant pass-over.
How can you let students gain better access into what you’re all about? How can you convey that you should somehow stand out? Well, in the world of Ziizoo, you only have 200 characters (spaces included, give or take a few) and a mug shot. I say 200 characters only (despite some extra space on your profile description) because that is all that appears when your record is pulled from a search. If you want to make an impact, it is incumbent on you to maximize this opportunity to express yourself! What are the highlights that make you a little bit different from the next tutor? What unique attribute can you offer a student that is difficult to replicate? How does your personality make a good fit with any prospective student? Be direct, specific and charismatic, while managing the economy of your words. And… if you can at all, include a picture! Students just want to know that there’s a real face behind the identity you present online. This too is part of the formation of trust that is key in building relationships with students!
Let me break down how I wrote my 200-character description:
“I’m excited to help out! A 23-yr old ‘07 grad from Penn Engineering and Wharton (3.92 GPA), I majored in Bioengineering and Healthcare Mgmt, with minors in Chemistry, Biology, Math and English literature…”
What did I want to convey? What did I consider relevant to my aptitudes as an online tutor? Well… I wanted to start by speaking directly to the student, and assuring them of my passionate intent to assist them in whatever questions they had. I was hoping the exclamation point would accentuate that message! lol.. I also wanted to express what kind of tutor I would be–given my relative youth, I definitely did not have as much experience as many of the professional tutors on the site, but I wanted to turn this disadvantage into a key feature of my market positioning strategy–to identify myself as a young, hip tutoring colleague with a fresh perspective of the current educational system, being just out of school. Next, I know strong academic credentials are an important (though not definitive) marker of a tutor’s perceived capability, so I needed to articulate that, even going as far as taking the privacy-risk of revealing my undergraduate GPA. One of the burdens of coming from the Ivy Leagues is showing that you didn’t just get in… that you could also hold your own. Finally, I was also able to convey my passion in academics and my interests and commitments in a wide range of subjects by mentioning how I was able to pick up 2 degrees and 4 minors (from Biology to English) during my time at college. I believe it shows a nice balance across a wide range of disciplines and modes of thinking, while also demonstrating a depth of understanding in each of those academic areas. So… there you go! That’s how I thought about what best describes who I am and what best suits me for being a capable and fun tutor to work with. ;o)
Do you think your 200-character message best captures who you are? If not, how would you modify it to reflect the attributes of your personality that will grant you leverage in the eyes of prospective students?