How to Use Social Networking to Get Hired
December 7, 2009 | VReitano
Social Networking as a job search tool? It seems like such an easy concept, but many people are not sure how to properly harness the Web for this purpose. Some of the networks you check each and every day (Yes I’m talking about Facebook and Twitter) enable networking for professional purposes to be as easy as “point and click.”
There are also some Web sites specifically designed to send you job descriptions, showcase your resume on the Web, and also help you connect with Human Resources of your favorite companies. No matter what career you are interested in, job sites have the resources to help you get hired.
Before you begin “friending” every high ranking executive on Facebook, sit back and read these quick words of caution.
1. Clean it up! Clean up your Facebook wall, profile pictures, and of course tagged photos. The best way to do this, particularly if you have had your profile for a long time, is to make your tagged photos visible by ONLY ME. The way to do this is to login to your Facebook, click on the privacy settings and then go through the options presented. You can even hide your status and photos from specific friends or groups of friends. Now this is not a cure all, you still need to be cautious of what you do and how you present yourself online, but I like having this particular setting on in order to avoid any unwanted surprises.
2. What sites to use: There are so many sites to use in order to find a job online, but the best ones are the ones tailored to your major or desired career. For example, journalism students should check out ED2010 or MediaBistro to find jobs, internships and Freelance opportunities. MonsterCollege, a new division of Monster.com is perfect for almost any recent or soon-to-be graduate. Mashable (http://mashable.com/2009/02/24/top-10-social-sites-for-finding-a-job/) has the top ten sites and from my experience they actually work really well. Twitter, which will be covered in another post, is one of the better tools for doing this.
3. To be LinkedIn or not to be: LinkedIn, HireVine and several other Web sites link ordinary people (aka job hunters) with companies (aka employers). These sites allow you to upload a resume, professional photograph, examples of your work, and also allows you to request recommendations from other people you have worked with in the past. The best part of LinkedIn is that the site will email you when someone views your profile or downloads your resume–which is always a nice thing to see.
If you plan to work online in the next few years the most important thing is to develop professional profiles on all of these networks. You need to be “google-able.” People should be able to search your name and find only good things about you. That is most definitely the key to being hired in today’s global world–that and a little social networking expertise.
YahooJobs has a great post on whether all this is worth it–and they post jobs too.
