How to Leverage Social Networking Sites to Enhance Your Job Search

Posted by Courtney Grant on May 28, 2009 at 01:56 PM in Job Search Process

Social Networking has opened many doors in the career world and has taken even the most serious professions by storm. Doctors and CEOs are tweeting; Lawyers and Politicians are Facebooking; and anybody who is anybody in the career world wouldn’t be caught dead without a LinkedIn profile. So where have you been?

If you are just beginning a new job hunt, it’s time to jump on the social networking bandwagon. Social networking sites offer far more benefits than just reconnecting with old high school classmates or socializing with your friends. Here are a few ways to utilize social networking sites to benefit your job search:

• Create a Professional Presence – A professional online profile allows you to introduce yourself to the career world. Sites such as LinkedIn and Beyond.com allow you to highlight your professional experience in an easy-to-read and professional online format. Fill your page with relevant career experience, important achievements and any other information that you feel best represents you as an employee.  By establishing a professional online presence it allows you to further enhance your marketability to potential employers.
• Join Professional Networking Groups – Facebook and LinkedIn groups are a great way to connect to people in your industry. There are hundreds of recruiting groups that allow members to post and respond to career opportunities that may not necessarily appear anywhere else on the internet. By joining these groups, you are expanding your knowledge and broadening your exposure to new career opportunities.
• Explore Your Options – It is helpful to research a company before applying for a new position. A simple way to do so is by looking up the company on social networking sites. Many corporations have created their own Facebook and Twitter pages that are full of information that could be useful to your job hunt. Visiting these sites shows initiative and creativity and also allows you to learn more about perspective employers, which could prove to be valuable if you land the interview.
• Contact Current Employees – When applying for a new position, social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook make it easy to contact current employees of millions of companies around the world. These individuals can answer specific questions and give additional insight related directly to the company. By using these sites as a research tool, will give you a unique inside perspective on what it is like to work for the company.

The Internet is the greatest tool in your job hunt. Make sure to utilize as many tools as possible, including social networking sites! Joining social networks will only benefit your job search process. Remember, it is essential to remain professional, but have fun! Engage, explore and enjoy!

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