Let's get social - Linkedin and Facebook as career tools

You are never far from your networ

By now most people under 40 have some kind of social network presence. It could be a Facebook page, Linkedin, Plaxo, any combination or all three. According to SelfGrowth.com there are over 100 social networks on the Internet. I’d say that number is low.

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So how can one of these sites help your career? Let me count the ways. Mino Sullivan, a highly regarded career coach and work expert lists 10 Tips to Enhance Your Job Search Using Linkedin. You can click the link to download a copy for yourself.

Briefly the tips are as follows:

1.      

Complete your profile thoroughly – include a picture or yourself, your work history, accomplishments, and recommendations from past supervisors, coworkers and clients.

2.      

Build your network – the more the merrier, whether or not they are directly related to your industry – they may know someone who knows someone.

3.      

Prepare for interviews using Linkedin – research companies and their executives before you interview.

4.      

Join Linkedin groups – become known and get to know others.

5.      

Participate in discussions – share and learn, demonstrate your knowledge.

6.      

Search for jobs daily – use the job board, some of the listings may be exclusive to Linkedin and recruiters are often named providing more networking opportunities.

7.      

Ask and answer questions – be a part of the community, share your insights.

8.      

Identify target companies – you can target by industry and geography to narrow your focus your efforts.

9.      

Promote your blog/website – let people know what you are up to.

10.  

Final tidbits – update regularly, include a link to your Linkedin profile in your email signature, use an “out of office” auto responder.

This is all very good advice. Now we move on to Facebook. Facebook started out as a more serious upgrade from Myspace targeted at college age users. It has become more business oriented as information marketers and other professionals have discovered – and developed – ways to use the power of Facebook to reach people.

Web Worker Daily has a list of 32 Ways to Use Facebook for Business. (They also have a list for Linkedin.) I’ll give you the three main categories - Manage Your Profile, Connect and share with others, and Use Network, Group and Fan Pages - and a few very useful examples of each. You can click the links to read more.

Manage Your Profile – install applications to integrate feeds from your blog and other social media outlets to your Facebook page. Be careful with Twitter so you don’t overwhelm your contacts. (This is a great way to increase the juice from social networking.)

Connect and share with others – share useful articles, use your account to connect with people if you are going to be traveling, use links to connect your blog posts, use Facebook Connect to put Facebook features on your website, use Beacons to drive stories back to your Facebook page.

Use Network, Group and Fan Pages – start a group for branding purposes, post upcoming events, join network, industry and alumni groups related to your business.

While the Web Worker Daily lists are aimed more at business use, it is still very good advice for your job search or career. My motto is “Your business IS your career. Your career IS your business.” We are all self-employed in the sense that we are each responsible for our career.

So use these tools to find a job, advance your career and grow your business. And if you are over 40, well it is time to get with it. Besides it is a great way to keep in touch with your grandkids, too!