5 More Tips for Leveraging Your Social Networks in Your Job Search - CareerAlley

5 More Tips for Leveraging Your Social Networks in Your Job Search - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. You know that old saying, Its not what you know, its who you know. While I dont believe the first part of the saying (because what you dont know will eventually catch up with you), the second part could not be more true with todays social networks. While who you know has always been important, it has never been easier to leverage your network with services like LinkedIn and other social networks. But more importantly, its not only who you know, but also who knows you. Successfully leveraging your social networks in job search requires that you focus on those individuals who know first hand about you and what youve accomplished in your career. 1. Organize Your Social Networks Youve got all of your contacts in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., but are they organized? Probably not. You should organize your connections based on type of contacts. For example, former managers from previous employers will best know the type of work you did, what you are good at and your long term potential. These connections should be at the top of your list and you should leverage them to help find jobs. Second on the list are current and former coworkers. They too will have an idea of your experience and strong points. There are tools you can use to organize your connections (although sometimes using Word or Excel might work best). 8 LinkedIn Features You Need to Know About 5 Tips for Using Social Media When Job Hunting 2. Network First, Applications Second Applying for jobs will make you feel good (because you think youve accomplished something). However, your first step should be to add to your list from item #1 above where all of your top contacts currently work. For those that are working at companies where you would like to work, they are the best bet to helping you get your resume and application to the top of the pile. Most employers look more favorably to internal recommendations than external applications. Similarly, those of your connections who have previously worked at companies where you have a potential opportunity may also be able to help you with a contact. 5 Tips for Leveraging you Social Network in Your Job Search 3. Hows Your Profile Looking? When was the last time you updated your profile in LinkedIn? Better yet, how does the content and format of your profile compare to others in your industry? Yes, it can be time consuming to create and update your social network profile but this is the first place recruiters and corporate HR professionals look if they want to know more about you. Second only to your resume, your online profile is your most important job search tool. It should closely mirror your resume and should have all of the relevant key words (and dont confuse buzzwords with key words) that will ensure it comes up in a search. 5 Mistakes to Avoid on Your LinkedIn Profile 4. Job Search Marketing Whats Your Brand? It might sound corny, but you need to have a personal brand. This is who you are, how you stand out and why a potential employer would want to hire you. No, it should not sound like an ad for cornflakes, but it should define who you are. This is a key part of your Job Search Marketing Toolkit and should also be a key part of your social network profile. The best approach is to take a look at your current resume and create highlights of your experience and accomplishments. This will form the basis of your brand. 5 Ways to Brand Yourself Get the Job 5. Have you Googled Yourself Lately? Im sure youve heard all of the stories about people who get fired or lose a job opportunity because of something that they (or someone else) has posted on a social network. Or worse yet, maybe someone with a similar name has a damaging social network profile and this has somehow been associated with you. While there is not a lot you can do to control what others post about you, you can get ahead of the curve and ensure you have done your research on your own profile and have proactively fixed (or attempted to fix) any damaging information. Social Disaster is your Job Search Safe? Book Corner Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ what where job title, keywords or company city, state or zip jobs by