If you want to increase your success at finding a job online you must change the way you network. In the past networking has always meant face-to-face meetings and an exchange of business cards or lunch dates. Today, networking is climbing to new heights with the advent of social websites and online community groups.
Traditional sites like Monster and CareerBuilder are still going strong with listings of current job openings; but social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are taking the job search market by storm. What makes these so popular is that headhunters and recruiters are using them to source candidates, and job hunters are now beginning to experience more success at connecting with a prospective employer this way rather than just by using traditional methods. Membership is free at these social networking sites.
LinkedIn is a professional network that boasts over 38 million members worldwide. You can “link” with former colleagues and other professionals in your career field. Their JobInsider tool lets you view job listings at Monster, CareerBuilder and other major job boards so that you can find the professionals in your LinkedIn network that work at hiring companies, find out how to submit your resume so that it gets to the right people, and learn more about prospective employers.
Twitter.com describes itself as “a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” Twitter is constantly developing new tools and resources to make it easy to search for a job on the site. Many job seekers who are members of Twitter report getting job leads from companies and recruiters that were not listed on the major job boards.
Facebook has over 200 million active users worldwide who share with each other to “make the world more open”. Job openings are posted on Facebook within sub-groups. For example, if you are interested in a specific technology field; then after signing up for a Facebook account, you should join several related groups from which you will be able to access job openings.
Things to Consider
Since membership is required to participate in these social communities, you should think carefully about your online identity before joining. Ten Tips to Enhance Your Job Search on LinkedIn offers some great suggestions on how to get your job search started. Although its focus is on LinkedIn, the tips and advice work for other social networking sites as well.
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