Most people today have heard of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media web sites. However, many have not thought of these Internet sites as modern day tools that can be used by people to help find a job or career opportunity. Everyday the news is full of dismal stories about the rate of unemployment and the poor economic outlook for jobs and job creation. That is why successful employees today need to be life-long learners and users of modern technology like web 2.0 services. The days of finding your dream job in the classifieds of your local newspaper have most likely passed. Today, job seekers need to hunt down their own opportunities and often create new ones by networking with other professionals in their industry through social media services like www.linkedin.com , www.facebook.com , and www.twitter.com
Using sites like these allows people to participate in online conversations about their job industry and interests. These conversations allow people to get to know others educated in these fields and see their accomplishments which might one day lead to more direct communication and possible job opportunities. Think about it, when a manager for a computer programming company needs to hire a Java language expert, would they rather pay to post an advertisement online or in a local news source or just access their online social communities where they already have connected and gotten to know other professionals with the skills, knowledge, and experience in the field they are hiring for. I think the answer is obvious.
So, take the plunge and visit LinkedIn to learn more about using social media to enhance your career possibilities. Why wait....give it a try. However, successful candidates will still need a great resume just as in the past. Now, people just have new ways to share it convincing employers to look at it and give them a call for an interview.
Links to information about resumes
- Great Resumes versus Good Resumes: http://www.careerknowhow.com/resumes/greatres.htm
- Ten Tips for an Interview Winning Resume: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumetips/a/tenresumetips.htm
- More than two-thirds of recently polled companies said they use Linkedin to help with finding employees to hire: http://socialmediapaige.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/employers-turning-to-social-media-for-hiring/
- Social Media - employers using it to screen candidates and to find those whom to hire: http://www.cmswire.com/cms/social-media/employers-use-facebook-more-than-linkedin-for-hr-screening-005331.php
- Do you share pictures online? They could keep you from getting a job: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/more-employers-use-social-networks-to-check-out-applicants/
Just for fun!
If applying all these modern web 2.0 skills to your job searching does not prove effective, you can always resort to other creative means - LOL
Click here to visit the authors Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
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