How to Incorporate Social Networking into Your Job Search

Job seekers nowadays have their work cut out for them as they learn how to incorporate new facets to conduct a successful search. One of the newest facets of the job search is social networking, but not just getting on Myspace and saying hi to your friends.

If you’re going to incorporate this element into your search, you need to take it as seriously as the thousands of hiring managers and recruiters that frequent these sites every day. Here’s how you could get this done…

Join the “Big Three” Sites

Today, there are three big social networking sites that are great for creating job leads: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. They are all unique sites in their own ways, but contribute significantly to a job seekers ability to find a great job.

LinkedIn is probably the largest and most successful social networking site dedicated solely to job seekers, recruiters and other professionals. On this site, you can post your resume, join networks of professionals and even garner recommendations from co-workers and others you’ve worked with.

Facebook is largely known for being a fun site to catch up with high school buddies on. However, it’s also a great place to network for jobs. Similar to LinkedIn, you can join networks and if you use your profile correctly, you could even create a professional environment to lure in recruiters.

Twitter, similar to Facebook, is known as a place for having fun. But it is also a great place for networking. You can link to resumes and professional profiles in 140 characters or less, and also post hashtags that draw hiring managers to your profile.

Post Your Resume

After you’ve joined these social networking sites, many resume writing professionals would suggest that you then post your resumes for others to see. As mentioned previously, LinkedIn is the perfect place to create a professional profile for yourself, complete with a full resume.

But it’s not the only place to get this done. Via Facebook, you can easily post your resume using the “about me” section. On Twitter, you can use tiny urls to link to your resume wherever it may be posted on the Internet.

The idea is to make sure that you make your resume available to anyone who runs across your profiles. And of course, the only way that this can happen is if you create profiles in the first place.

Be Sure to Network

Of course, the idea of social networking is to actually network. So after joining these sites, it’s a good idea to link up with as many friends, family members and professional contacts as possible. This way, you can not only garner recommendations (via your LinkedIn page), but you also increase your chances of having these people look out for you on the job search front.

By simply posting a status update saying that you’re looking for work, you could get your social networking friends’ wheels spinning for you. This way, you won’t feel that you’re all alone as you look for good opportunities.

Now you can see that social networking is a great way to get your job search moving in the right direction. So why not try it for yourself? You might be surprised by the success you have.