The other night I gave a Networking training session as part of a job search series at a local library. With the unemployment rate still so high and the percentage of jobs found through networking (over 85%) soaring as well, networking is still the very best way to find a job.
One of the topics tackled was using social media to network. It’s interesting; since the class participants ranged in age from the 20s to retirement, I could tell from the body language who was comfortable using it and who would rather network the old-fashioned way. Once we looked at some of the statistics though, it started to sink in. According to a 2011 survey from Jobvite, Inc., this year 80% of the companies’ surveyed plan to recruit through social networking. Add to that, the very low percent of success of finding a job through job boards, well…. it makes sense to jump on the social media train. Let’s look at Facebook. How can you find a job on Facebook? Here are a couple of hints.
1. Tell your contacts that you are looking. If you announce that you are looking for a specific type of position in your status line, you are going to get many comments back from your pool of contacts. Also ask your friends to tell their friends. Clean up your profile, add contact information and update your friends on your progress. By the way, I looked at the number of contacts that the average person in their twenties has. The average number ranges between 500 and 1000! That’s a lot of friends which may equate to a lot of networking contacts.
2. Start a professional Facebook group and refer your contacts and their contacts to it. Here you can include a link to your LinkedIn profile and your other professional information (such as any blogs that you may have created). Add links to interesting articles in your field and encourage discussion with these. NOTE: Facebook group comments can be found in a Google search so make sure the content is ALWAYS professional.
3. Look for contacts by typing in the company name. You may find company pages, groups and general information containing names.
4. Look for job specific groups: Look for your job type and “Like” that group. Comment, ask questions and let them know that you are looking for a position.
5. Search for employment agencies.
6. Create a Facebook Ad: For a fee, you can create an advertisement about you and your strengths/skill set.
Anything else? Please add to the list. What has worked for you?
Anything else? Please add to the list. What has worked for you?
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