More weapons for the job hunt – the social media explosion

10-15 years ago, when the internet was being widely used for the first time, the job hunt often came down to the use of a small handful of websites – monster.com and careerbuilder.com the most widely used among them of course. And why not? They are excellent websites, very intuitive, well laid out, and have a sole purpose – connecting employers with potential job seekers. As a recruiter, I still use both sites often and like them both.

However, with the market being where it is today, it’s important to make use of all tools at one’s disposal. While monster and careerbuilder are still the de facto standards for what they do, they certainly aren’t the only tools to utilize when looking for work. These days, taking advantage of the social networking craze can not only help you connect with past friends and colleagues, it can also help with finding that next role.

I’ve covered LinkedIn in a past blog entry and from a “professional networking” site, no question, LinkedIn is the most widely used out there. Today I want to focus on two more sites: Facebook and Twitter. Recently there was a great report on Kare11 News talking about using Twitter and Facebook on the job hunt. Here’s a link: http://tinyurl.com/k11SN I’d like to expand on the report as well.

Chances are you’ve at least heard of Facebook at this point. It started in 2003 and was put together by students at Harvard University as a way for students to get to know one another. Eventually it expanded to other Ivy League schools and Stanford. Within a couple of years it expanded well past the reach of college and high school campuses and became available to anyone and everyone. It challenged and eventually surpassed MySpace as the most widely used “social networking” website on the planet. Currently, Facebook is the 3rd most visited website in the United States. What was once limited to college students now sees those over the age of 55 as its fastest growing population. (in comparison, Facebook ranks ahead of YouTube (4th), and MySpace (5th) and is WAY ahead of careerbuilder.com (55th) and monster.com (86th). In fact, both LinkedIn (43rd) and Twitter (78th) rank ahead of Monster.)

The great thing about Facebook is that it can be used for so many different things. I originally joined to keep an eye on the students I coached at Eden Prairie High School (which had a well-publicized incident where students were suspended for the "activities" shown on pictures that were posted on Facebook). What I found in a short time is that I was using Facebook for so much more – getting back in touch with old classmates, displaying pictures of our family, and connecting with potential consultants. It’s that last piece that I really want to focus on.

Facebook creates an easy-to-use and fun portal for connecting with people. It stands to reason that those you connect with are folks you trust. And what better group of people to help with the hunt for a new opportunity? The “status update” feature of Facebook allows you to let the world know what is going on in your life. And making your hunt public will allow others to help in that hunt. I have heard numerous success stories from those that have posted things in their status update such as “looking for a job in project management” or “java development” or whatever field your specialty is. Many recruiters are in tune with using Facebook to find and connect with candidates as well, so if you get an invite from one, much like LinkedIn, feel free to connect with them on Facebook (you can always disconnect with them later if they become belligerent or annoying).

I’d write more about Twitter but wanted to save that for a future blog post. The Kare11 report listed above does touch a little bit on Twitter.

I am a Facebook addict (more or less) in my free time so if you ever had questions on how to best utilize the site, don’t be afraid to ask – please feel free to connect with me there as well: http://www.facebook.com/people/Kirk-Walton/679991124.