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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
The importance of social networking tools in today’s job market
By Karl Noseworthy
July 16, 2009
Job hunting completely changed with the emergence of the Internet. Instead of past ways, such as calling up companies for job availability, word of mouth, etc., many people now use the Internet as their main avenue for seeking out employment. But how are we using it? Are we exploiting all possible means to find our "perfect job"? What are the tools that can help us? How can we be more proactive? In order to find the answers to these questions, I spoke with Mark Swartz, one of Canada’s leading career specialists and the founder of careeractivist.com, a site dedicated to giving you Canadian career advice.
Effective use of networking tools
One of the biggest changes to the Internet in recent years is the emergence of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I asked Swartz about the usefulness of these tools. As we discussed Facebook, he advised to use it simply as an online business card to get your presence out there. "A recruiter is looking for a particular kind of person and if you've got your resume posted within your profile and the recruiter is doing a keyword search, people will find you." He suggests putting your resume on Facebook, making it public, and claiming your short name URL. That way you can put that URL on your resume and your business cards so you’re cross marketing.
"It's a way for employers to see things that you wouldn't be able to capture in a resume," explains Swartz. "The idea is to market yourself more effectively and also you are showing that you are technically fit." With regard to Twitter, he feels it's debatable in its uses for a job search. But he does have one positive example. "I spoke on a panel recently and one of the people that they brought in had tweeted to a bunch of colleagues that she was looking for work. They then passed the tweet on to their colleagues. Somebody got a hold of the tweet from Google.ca and decided to bring this girl in for an interview."
Taking it to the next level
When you become more established and want to begin networking on a more professional level, you will want to start using LinkedIn. According to Swartz, "LinkedIn actually has - just as Facebook does - job listings partnered with various companies. You certainly want to begin using LinkedIn once you hit your later 20s and 30s." You can use it as an online business card, just as you can Facebook, but it has higher-level uses once you decide to become more active in the job market. "Being more active is when you start leveraging your contacts," remarks Swartz. "By making contacts with various companies in various industries online, you can exponentially expand your contact network. Tools such as LinkedIn are good for this. If you add a contact to your own network, you also get access to that person's contacts. Therefore, if you have a list of 20 contacts in your network, you actually have 20 times those people's 20, which is 400 people."
That potential is huge, but how do you harness it? "If you want to get into introductions, you can ask your first-level contacts to ask your second-level contacts," Swartz explains, offering a great example for using LinkedIn effectively. "Say, for example, you were looking for a job in biotechnology. Normally, you would have to go around and start calling people and saying, 'Hi, do you know anybody in biotechnology?' It's a chore. Now, by using LinkedIn, what happens is that you first want to do some research into biotechnology as an occupation. Then search biotechnology on LinkedIn and all these results will come up and show you who in your network or your network's network is somehow related to biotechnology. This can lead to introductions and all those kinds of things." This process can also work in other ways. "The same is true when you're looking for a job with a certain company or an organization. You may be able find people in your network that work there or who have worked there."
Reputation management
It all sounds like a job seeker's dream, but there is another facet of the process. Aside from getting your name onto social networking sites, it’s important to know what other sites your name is associated with. This tactic is called reputation management. According to Swartz, the first thing to do as a job seeker is to Google your own name and see what comes up. "As you get more sophisticated, you can start to shift what is out there by creating your own blog. You can also add to other people's blogs and write online articles." The idea is to get your name out there and increase your own online presence. "That way, if an employer does go online and decides to Google you, the things that come up will be good."
One site that can help with reputation management is ZoomInfo. The difference with this site is that it will go onto the Internet and create an online presence for you based on what it finds, regardless of whether you ask it to or not. Therefore, Swartz suggests that "what you need to do is check if ZoomInfo.com has created a presence for you. If it has, then claim it. Once you claim it, if you have some Google citations or URLs already pointing to you, then you can request the website to point to those URLs and it will do so. If you are not there, then create a presence for yourself."
Dos and don’ts
Keeping reputation management at the fore is key when using social networking tools. Be aware of what is out there that could be detrimental to your own success. As Swartz puts it, "If you're going to look for work and you have a presence on Facebook that's personal, you need to ensure that what's on your profile is appropriate. If it is inappropriate, make it private. Then create a second presence online that is purely professional." That way, you'll avoid becoming a cautionary tale, like the one Swartz shares: "I've heard of somebody who the employer was going to give a job offer to, but first they said, 'Hey, let's just do a quick Google search on the potential employee and see what comes up.' The results took them to Facebook and this person had a personal profile that was very revealing. The employer decided not to hire the employee because they felt that they didn't show proper judgment."There are some other things that you shouldn't do in your job search. "Don’t abuse the privilege of sharing contacts," advises Swartz. "If you are a professional, everything you do online will reflect back on you." For example, "If you are going to approach one of your contacts’ contacts [a second-level contact], don't just barge in. Ask permission from your direct contact and get them to make an introduction for you."
In terms of a more positive avenue to take, Swartz feels it's important to write a thank-you note for each person that you have contact with. "Try to reciprocate in terms of any interesting articles or different people to connect back to." As he puts it, "The rules of human interaction exist whether it is online, telephone, or in person. It is important to remember that just because you're sending something through a computer doesn't mean it goes to a computer. It goes to a person, ultimately."
Final thoughts
When it comes to social networking tools such as Twitter or Facebook, Swartz believes they have revolutionized the present day job search "dramatically, yet not at all. On one hand, this has completely changed the way that you look for and make networking contacts. However, at the end of the day, you still have to show up face-to-face and create that human connection." He goes on to say that "at that point, the human factor kicks in and it's all about those connections you can make, the bonds you create, and the impressions that you give." When I asked for a final thought, Swartz simply replied, "Remember the human touch, because in the final analysis that counts for everything. That's what will get you hired."Karl Noseworthy is a freelance writer from Newfoundland who currently resides in Kitchener, Ontario. He can be reached at karlnoseworthy@hotmail.com.
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