Using Social Network Sites in the Job Hunt

Landing the right job isn't always about how qualified you are or what you know. Frequently, it's also about how well-connected you are - it's about who you know. If you have a deep professional network, if you have word-of-mouth working for you, if you have the right references, frequently, you'll get much farther than you ever would if you merely had the right qualifications. Working in your favor for the networking part of any job search, social networking sites can be particularly important these days.

The top name in social networking sites for businesses seeking talent and people seeking jobs, is LinkedIn - a place where employers and employees can come together. The job hunter on LinkedIn posts his resume, makes notes about what his goals in a job are, and how he can be contacted. Companies out for the kind of talent he provides can come contact him right away. The more members on LinkedIn a job seeker is in touch with, the more his chances expand of finding the job he wants.

Any profile on LinkedIn allows you to provide links to three external websites - websites you're interested in. Most people use these links as a way to show potential employers where samples of their previous work might reside. Some people use a link to connect to an online resume. The general idea is to use these resources to connect to places that reflect well on you in a professional way. Once your registering is done, you're ready to do the most productive thing social network sites like LinkedIn allow you to do - build your network. Start out by importing all your webmail contacts. The easiest way to do this would be to select Contacts and then Connections on the navigation bar to the left. Once you have your e-mail contacts imported, you can go on and try to expand your network by looking for contacts from former employers or your alma mater to add. The idea is to expand your network as far as possible. You can call on your friends and colleagues for recommendations for people to network with. You can offer them recommendations yourself in exchange. The more of these you have, the more credible you look to a potential employer. It is how social network sites function. To recommend anyone in return, choose Profile and then Recommendations.

To find new jobs on LinkedIn, you click on the Jobs link. You'll get to see how many times employers have looked at your resume as they've looked for talent. The more keywords you put in there, the more relevant your page becomes to potential searching employers. When used correctly, LinkedIn can be the most powerful job searching tool there is.