Earlier today a few of us were sitting around trying to decide if Linda should join Facebook (leave a comment and assure her that you’d totally be her friend!). More specifically, in light of the fairly amazing accomplishments of Twitter’s Job Angels (scroll down to Todd’s post for the details) we agreed that it was important to be on LinkedIn, but theories were mixed on the effectiveness of Facebook as a professional platform for career research and networking. Alison Doyle, who maintains About.com’s ‘Job Searching Blog,’ recently took on this question with the help of Rachel Levy – they met on Twitter, of course – who guest-authored a post on using social media sites LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to job search. Rachel’s thoughts are accompanied by insight from Twittermaven Warren Sukernek, who found his current job – you guessed it – through Twitter. Highlights below, or click here for the full post.LinkedIn
If you're not already on LinkedIn, you definitely need to be. Basically, it's a site that allows you to connect to people you know. It also allows you to see profiles of anyone else on LinkedIn, and gives you ways to connect to them. There are a few ways you can use LinkedIn in a job search:
- Company Search - One of the best ways to use LinkedIn is if you have a very specific company you are interested in. You search on that company, and hopefully find people who are connected to other people you know. Then, you can ask your personal contact to connect you. Or, if you pay $30/month, you have the opportunity to email people who you don't have a contact in common with.
- Job Postings - LinkedIn allows employers to post jobs on the site. The jobs are usually high quality, professional jobs.
- Email - When I was first laid off, I sent a large email to everyone in my LinkedIn network, letting them know of my situation, and asking for any help or people they could put me in touch with them.
- Blog Link - LinkedIn now gives you the ability to link your blog post to your profile. So every time I post a new blog post, it updates on my profile, so anyone looking at my profile will see what I'm writing about. It also includes the updated post in the weekly update emails that go out to your connections.
Twitter Link - Similar to Blog Link, LinkedIn also pulls your conversations from Twitter. So, anyone who is not on Twitter, can see what you are tweeting about.
Twitter
The best part of Twitter is that it allows you to connect with people you don't know, based on common interests. What a great way to do some networking!
- Basic Networking - I am now much more connected to people who are involved in areas I'm interested in. Today I heard about jobs available at two companies. I tweeted two people I met on Twitter, and in minutes I had some information about the jobs.
- Job Postings - I am connected to a few people who know about jobs that I would not have otherwise known, i.e. @socialmediajob or other recruiters.
- Connecting - When someone follows me or I follow them, I read their bio thoroughly. If it looks like they work somewhere I might be interested in, or if I think they might be someone who could connect me to others, I get in touch with them. A few have said no or not responded at all, but for the most part, everyone is very open to meeting or talking.
- Companies - My new favorite Twitter tool is Twellow (on my list of programs I "use regularly"), which actually searches people's bios and URLs on their bios. It's amazing! For example, I did a quick search on Shift Communications, a company I would love to work for and I could see that 13 people from Shift are on Twitter.
Facebook
I use Facebook primarily for connecting with friends or people I know and reconnecting with people in my past. But, it can also be an effective networking tool.
- Notes - While I do know everyone I'm friends with on Facebook, I don't necessarily know or remember where each person works. And, I definitely don't know where each of their friends work. So, when I first was laid off, I posted a "note" on Facebook, explaining the situation, and what I was looking for. A note tends to stay on people's screens longer than a status update, and you can write much more.
- Status Update - I do frequently post status updates relating to my job search, to keep it top of mind that I'm still looking for a job. I'll say things like "I had a great interview this morning... keep your fingers crossed!" or "I have a networking meeting later today with a company I'm really interested in!". I also write a status update with a link when I write a new blog post.
--Posted by Steven Schiff, Vault News & Commentary
