Your résumé is top-notch, your interview skills are polished, and a $400 suit hangs neatly in your closet, awaiting your next opportunity for face time with a potential employer.  There is just one perplexing problem—very few recruiters and human resource people seem to call you. So, what more should you do?  Is there something else you haven’t thought of to enhance your visibility? The answer, without question, is “absolutely.”

And what would that be? Think “technology.”

If you are not taking advantage of some of the powerful social networking tools, such as LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Xing, VCARDLINK, Plaxo, and others that are popping up like daisies on the Internet, then you are sacrificing the opportunity to maximize your professional contacts and social exposure. Social networking sites demonstrate that “there is never more than six degrees of separation between any two people.” In short, these sites provide the technological edge that could put your job search on a different level.

The reason? Many professional recruiters have turned to more creative strategies for sourcing candidates. They are using social networking technology to maximize their success in finding individuals online at these popular sites, which fill a vital role in their resource kit for generating more focused leads and reducing their search time for vacant positions. Social networking sites allow recruiters to hunt for talent and locate potential employees faster using a vastly increased network of contacts. According to some recruiters, LinkedIn is where companies look when they are hiring. Currently, more than 500 companies are using LinkedIn’s Corporate Solutions, and many more hiring managers and recruiters are using LinkedIn to post jobs and source candidates for employment.

John Bresse, CEO of Backcountry.com, states in a recent article: “Social networking is becoming an international phenomenon. If you think it’s a fad, it’s not. By 2012, there will be 1.2 billion people using social networks. It’s the next big thing.”  Employers are also using it to see what consumers think about their products and services.

To you, the job seeker, this means that to forgo online visibility is to relinquish the power of this new technology—the ideal tool to harness the energy and connections of professional and personal contacts. 

LinkedIn, MySpace and Facebook, Xing, VCARDLINK, Plaxo—What’s the difference, and how do they work?

LinkedIn is the Daddy Bear of business-oriented social networking sites, with more than 20 million users. It’s a powerful resource for business-oriented networkers and jobseekers because the focus of the site is about making business connections. LinkedIn is not the place to find people interested in starting a book club or to find fellow kayakers for an outing on the Great Salt Lake. Rather, it is a useful tool for job seekers, recruiters, and entrepreneurs who are looking to make fruitful business connections.  

LinkedIn basic is free. Usually a colleague or a friend invites you to join, or you can go to the site and sign up on your own. Then you create a profile, sharing your work experience, educational background, and professional credentials (kind of like a mini-résumé). Once your profile is up, you can begin connecting with others on LinkedIn or invite professionals you know to join. You can download your contacts list from Microsoft Outlook or Gmail to connect with others using the site, which acts as a kind of giant online Rolodex that allows you to pick and choose whom you download into the system. Suddenly you have the power, with a few keystrokes, to invite people into your sphere of influence.

MySpace, Facebook, & Xing work essentially the same way but are more personal and social, and tend to be used by a youngish crowd.  Facebook was originally designed for colleges and universities. Consequently, jobseekers beware.  Many an indiscreet photo has been posted to MySpace only to be discovered by a recruiter. So be discreet as to what you upload in your profile.

VCARDLINK.COM, developed here in Salt Lake City, is similar to having your own personal white page directory. It is a Personal Web Portal (PWP) that stores your contact information with links to any other information you would like to share, such as Web identities, files, Web sites, blogs, etc.  It also centralizes access to all of the information that you’d like to share with your personal contacts. People access your PWP with your VCARDLINK address or your VCARD-ID # through VCARDLINK.COM. There is a modest annual fee.

Plaxo/Pulse is a tool for accessing contacts and your online calendar so that you may stay connected with people who matter to you, professionally or personally.

Currently, I use LinkedIn, Plaxo, and Facebook; plus, I was recently invited to use Reputation Network on Naymz. It’s clearly difficult to keep up in this rapidly changing techno world.

These techno-tools are powerful, allowing you to leverage not only your connections but also the connections of your connections—six degrees of separation.

Need more information or advice on how to carve out a successful career? Contact Alumni Career Services Program Manager Julie Swaner, jswaner@sa.utah.edu or (801) 585-5036.

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