You can’t run a job search in a vacuum. You can’t even run a job search alone. If you think of any of the great wins or successes in history, they all involved one or more of the following: partnerships, collaboration, alliances, agreements, negotiations, and trusting relationships. What’s missing from your job search? Is it the “social” element?
This post is one of many Career Collective posts by resume and career experts on social media for job search . I am honored to be part of this group and want to thank Miriam Salpeter, of Keppie Careers, and Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter, of Career Trend, for coordinating this initiative now on its second year. You will find links to the other expert posts at the bottom of this post. I highly encourage you to read them all and bookmark them for future reference or sharing with friends and family. If you are on Twitter, you can see our community by following #careercollective.
The key to a successful social job search is using the right tools for the right reasons! Here are four ways to think about your job search differently…socially….collectively.
Learning and Sharing Knowledge
Learn what you don’t know from those who are in the know and share what you know with those who may want to know! Stop being stingy with your intellectual property. SHARE.
Write about what you know.
This could be starting your own blog, writing an eBook, commenting on blogs, or even writing a book review on Amazon.
Speak about what you know.
Give a presentation to a professional association or group. Make your slides public on Slideshare or Prezi.
And if you do engage in any of the above, add them to your LinkedIn profile via the available applications! This becomes your online portfolio.
The New Business Model isn’t Competitive. It is Collective!
Think of Open Source software, Wikipedia, Online Forums, LinkedIn’s Q&A, Quora (7 Tips for How and Why to Use Quora). These solutions are open and collective. People freely provide their expertise, knowledge and experiences to HELP OTHERS, oh and to build their brand.
Space and Time (zones) No Longer Limit
Joining forces with the global community is possible, even easy, with social networking and social media. Join forces with like-minded individuals scattered across the world.
- Join Twitterchats (see listing of existing Twitterchats here)
- LinkedIn groups (3 Ways to Use LinkedIn Groups)
- Even Facebook groups.
The Sum Is Greater than Its Parts
Work together with other job seekers. Learn and share with each other. There are LinkedIn discussion groups and Twitter chats to help. These are links to the transcripts from some of the top job search related Twitter chats.
- JobHuntChat
- HFChat
- InternChat
Don’t forget about your local resources for meeting IRL (in real life) to grow and foster your network and job search efforts. What I know and have seen first hand is that those job seekers who engage in a group to hold themselves accountable are always far more successful (meaning they find a job faster) than those who go it alone.
Recommended Reading
There are four books I highly recommend you read if you want to better understand social media/social networking and our new social economy and job search.
Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
The Thank You Economy and Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
Social Networking for Career Success by Miriam Salpeter
So my hope is that by reading these books and all the following posts, you will want to build a collective job search strategy. Step into new territory and learn from others. And remember, managing your career is on-going.
Make Your Career More Social: Show Up and Engage, @WalterAkana
You 2.0: The Brave New World of Social Media and Online Job Searches, @dawnrasmussen
How to Get a New Job Using Social Media, @DebraWheatman
Social Media: Choosing, Using, and Confusing, @ErinKennedyCPRW
How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search, @heatherhuhman
Updating: A Social Media Strategy For Job Search, @TimsStrategy
Your Career Needs Social Media – Get Started, @EliteResumes @MartinBuckland
We Get By With a Little Recs from Our Friends, @chandlee
Expat Careers & Social Media: Social Media is Potentially 6 Times more Influential than a CV or Resume, @expatcoachmegan
Social-Media Tools and Resources to Maximize Your Personalized Job Search, @KatCareerGal
How Having Your Own Website Helps You, @keppie_careers
Social Media: So what’s the point?, @DawnBugni
Tools that change your world, @WorkWithIllness
HOW TO: Meet People IRL via LinkedIn, @AvidCareerist
Effective Web 2.0 Job Search: Top 5 Secrets, @resumeservice
Jumping Into the Social Media Sea @ValueIntoWords
Sink or Swim in Social Media, @KCCareerCoach
Social Media Primer for Job Seekers, @LaurieBerenson
Hannah Morgan speaks and writes about job search and career strategies. She founded CareerSherpa.net to educate professionals on how to maneuver through today’s job search process. Hannah was nominated as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Job Search and Careers and is a regular contributor to US News & World Report. She has been quoted by media outlets, including Forbes, USA Today, Money Magazine, Huffington Post, as well as many other publications. She is also author of The Infographic Resume and co-author of Social Networking for Business Success.