Your Career Meets Social Media

Are you job hunting or looking to stretch and expand your professional network?  Then think Twitter and LinkedIn.  In a tough economy, who you know is turning out to be the most powerful force in creating professional collaborations, finding job leads and actually getting the job.  Social media is a fast and easy method for reconnecting with old contacts, generating new associations and developing a strategy to support your job search and manage your career.  The mechanics of  “it’s who you know” is now driven by the computer engine — churning out valuable connections with just a few clicks on your keyboard.

LinkedIn.com

If you are feeling a bit snowed-under by social media, the best place to start is LinkedIn, a solely professional network. It’s free and all you need to do to get started is to sign up with your email address and select a password. LinkedIn will walk you through a basic process of creating your profile, which is essentially a shorter version of your resume. A dynamic new feature in LinkedIn allows you to attach video or word documents to your profile which you can use to show off your special talents and achievements. Once you complete your profile, the fun begins.

Key Features:

Contacts

You can connect with other professionals by inviting them to your LinkedIn network. Once you are connected to someone, you can see his or her contact list and he or she can see yours. This feature is capable of expanding your network in leaps and bounds.  If you find an exciting job opportunity, you can check your LinkedIn contact list to see if you can identify an individual contact who works at the company or organization posting the job. An inside contact might well be the vehicle that zooms your resume directly to the hiring manager or it may provide you with inside information on the recruiting and interview process. Even small business owners can benefit from using this feature to develop an innovative marketing strategy.

Jobs

Many companies and organizations are now posting jobs on LinkedIn. Something you might not know is that hiring managers and recruiting staff are conducting searches for specific types of candidates on LinkedIn. Using the Jobs menu, I discovered positions open at Bank of America in Huntingdon Valley.

 Companies

There is a search option for researching organizations and companies.  In addition to basic information about the organization you can see a list of employees who are in the LinkedIn network.  Even a small company like Aardvark, a video production company in Jenkintown, is listed on LinkedIn.

Groups

The “groups” feature located on the main menu provides a great way to connect with professionals in your field or trade. Join one or two of these professional groups and you will discover a unique tool for staying on top of current trends in your field.  I found a discussion group for the Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce (http://www.emccc.org/) with 258 members exchanging lively conversations online. 

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Twitter.com

Tweeting and retweeting is a more informal way to build a network and find jobs. It’s as easy as pie to create your profile and to connect to potential contacts.  By tweeting short 140 character messages that highlight favorite resources or articles related to your work, you can meet and connect with top professionals and hiring managers in your field.  More and more jobs are posted everyday on twitter. Abington Memorial Hospital capitalized on Twitterjobcast.com by posting two positions just this week.

Social Media isn’t just a great tool for job searching and managing your career, it also enables employers to quickly find the best candidates saving everyone involved time and money.  Don’t miss the revolution, join LinkedIn and Twitter today and discover the new world of career opportunities.

Jane Finkle is a career consultant with Career Visions in Philadelphia