Jump on the Online Networking Bandwagon and Let the Job Vacancy Find You
Posted: 12.07.2015
An Article by Daisy Wright, Chief Career Strategist, The Wright Career Solution
One of the things I do, as a career coach, is to make sure I keep on top of trends that can enhance my own professional development and by extension allow me to further help my clients. While I sometimes get dizzy from all the online resources that are available, since 2005, I have been experimenting with a number of online networking tools to see what value they offer and how I can incorporate them in my work. So popular have these sites become that hiring managers, recruiters, proactive jobseekers and business people are using them to market their skills or services, or to find the right talent. I am talking about online social/business networking tools or Web 2.0 technology, which refers to the changing trends in the use of the World Wide Web to connect, share information, and yes, find opportunities.
In this article I briefly discuss some of these tools. While I am not advocating that you all go out and become social networking evangelists, I believe it’s important that you are aware of options available to raise your online visibility in a professional sense, connect with hiring managers and former coworkers, and allow the job vacancy or business opportunity to find you instead of vice versa.
So, if you wish to connect with people, you will need to understand how Web 2.0 works. Sites like LinkedIn, VisualCV, Ziggs and more recently, Twitter, are among the more popular online networking tools around. If you have not yet incorporated any of these technologies into your job search or as part of your business-building strategy, then you may be missing out on some opportunities.
LinkedIn is “an online network with more than 30 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries”, according to its website. Its main aim is to help professionals forge and maintain business connections, and it appears to be doing just that. Savvy jobseekers are connecting with employers, recruiters and others who offer job leads and advice. As a matter of fact it is said that LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing recruiting tools being used by recruiters.
Ziggs.com is brands itself as “Your one-stop source for building your online brand, marketing yourself on the web and simplifying communications with people.”
Twitter is the new kid-on-the-block, when compared to those mentioned above, and is not so much a job search tool. It is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? However, it’s another way of gaining visibility. If you watch CNN, or any of the other networks, you’ll notice that during programming, the hosts are always asking viewers to send them their opinions via Twitter. You can ‘follow’ someone via the Internet or through your mobile telephone, but I personally don’t want to be constantly ‘twittering’ my whereabouts and activities to everyone. That said, this tool could come in handy in case of an emergency.
VisualCV. While VisualCV is not a networking tool like LinkedIn, it could offer some value to the jobseeker. It combines elements of the traditional resume with added features like videos, photos, and a portfolio with samples of one’s work. Because it’s web-based, it is very easy to be incorporated into an email and sent to potential employers. Again, this might not be for everyone, but it’s worth exploring.
Are you convinced yet? Probably not…especially if you are not a Gen-Xer…but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore the sites and see if any of them could be useful to you. According to Guy Kawasaki, a former employee of Apple and an avid online networker, “People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.” One important reminder as you consider online networking is that ‘digital dirt’ (unsavoury information) is very hard to be scrubbed from the Internet so make sure to maintain your professionalism when using these tools.
One of the things I do, as a career coach, is to make sure I keep on top of trends that can enhance my own professional development and by extension allow me to further help my clients. While I sometimes get dizzy from all the online resources that are available, since 2005, I have been experimenting with a number of online networking tools to see what value they offer and how I can incorporate them in my work. So popular have these sites become that hiring managers, recruiters, proactive jobseekers and business people are using them to market their skills or services, or to find the right talent. I am talking about online social/business networking tools or Web 2.0 technology, which refers to the changing trends in the use of the World Wide Web to connect, share information, and yes, find opportunities.
In this article I briefly discuss some of these tools. While I am not advocating that you all go out and become social networking evangelists, I believe it’s important that you are aware of options available to raise your online visibility in a professional sense, connect with hiring managers and former coworkers, and allow the job vacancy or business opportunity to find you instead of vice versa.
So, if you wish to connect with people, you will need to understand how Web 2.0 works. Sites like LinkedIn, VisualCV, Ziggs and more recently, Twitter, are among the more popular online networking tools around. If you have not yet incorporated any of these technologies into your job search or as part of your business-building strategy, then you may be missing out on some opportunities.
LinkedIn is “an online network with more than 30 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries”, according to its website. Its main aim is to help professionals forge and maintain business connections, and it appears to be doing just that. Savvy jobseekers are connecting with employers, recruiters and others who offer job leads and advice. As a matter of fact it is said that LinkedIn is one of the fastest growing recruiting tools being used by recruiters.
Ziggs.com is brands itself as “Your one-stop source for building your online brand, marketing yourself on the web and simplifying communications with people.”
Twitter is the new kid-on-the-block, when compared to those mentioned above, and is not so much a job search tool. It is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? However, it’s another way of gaining visibility. If you watch CNN, or any of the other networks, you’ll notice that during programming, the hosts are always asking viewers to send them their opinions via Twitter. You can ‘follow’ someone via the Internet or through your mobile telephone, but I personally don’t want to be constantly ‘twittering’ my whereabouts and activities to everyone. That said, this tool could come in handy in case of an emergency.
VisualCV. While VisualCV is not a networking tool like LinkedIn, it could offer some value to the jobseeker. It combines elements of the traditional resume with added features like videos, photos, and a portfolio with samples of one’s work. Because it’s web-based, it is very easy to be incorporated into an email and sent to potential employers. Again, this might not be for everyone, but it’s worth exploring.
Are you convinced yet? Probably not…especially if you are not a Gen-Xer…but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore the sites and see if any of them could be useful to you. According to Guy Kawasaki, a former employee of Apple and an avid online networker, “People with more than twenty connections are thirty-four times more likely to be approached with a job opportunity than people with less than five.” One important reminder as you consider online networking is that ‘digital dirt’ (unsavoury information) is very hard to be scrubbed from the Internet so make sure to maintain your professionalism when using these tools.
