Increasing Career Prospects With Social Networking

Today, if jobseekers and those who would like to advance their careers are not part of a social networking site and using their services, they are losing out on a valuable opportunity through which they can market themselves and their skills to employers and recruiters. In fact, today with recruiters using these sites to do more and more of their hiring, it is essential that every person maintain a profile on one or more social networking site such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
In the current economic situation, more and more companies are looking to hire high-quality workers who may already be employed elsewhere but who might be looking for a chance to advance their career. These workers might be persuaded to quit their present job and join elsewhere if they are convinced that the conditions are right.

However, how do you get in touch with these recruiters? Well, remember all those invites you got from friends, colleagues, ex-college mates and even your boss. Accept them and start building a profile on LinkedIn or Facebook. Here are a few ways in which you can increase your career prospects by using social networking sites.

• If you are going to set up a profile on more than one social networking site, you should make sure that you are portrayed consistently on all sites. While one profile may mention you as an experienced professional who is all ready to make a move to greener pastures, the other might mention you as a serious, committed player for your company. Make sure that each and every profile you create essentially shows the same person – respectable, professional and hoping to achieve greater heights.
• When recruiters look at your profile, they will immediately turn to the About You or Info section so that they will know more about you and the kind of work that you do. Use this opportunity to briefly describe your work experience, your skills and strengths and any notable achievements or challenges overcome.
• Instead of assuming a merely passive role, you should actively start developing networks. For example, you might want to contact people you know, or are related to but you might also want to speak to people who share common professional interests with you.
• Through your profile, try and link to your website or blog, particularly if they are relevant to your career. If you have neither, briefly mention the various projects you have been involved in, in your profile and then provide links that could be viewed online.
• Make full use of the ‘Tags’ section. Just as you use some keywords in your resume so that recruiters can know at first glance what your special skills are, you should use some keywords in your tags section. These keywords may be your area of expertise, present or past job titles, industries, and so on – anything that helps identify you as a professional.

You can thus use social networking sites not merely to locate a job but also to advance your career prospects and find better opportunities.