Developing a Social Network for job searches

When I first heard the term “social network”, there were visions of spider webs and wires. The term social network first began in the social sciences and is quickly becoming the new buzz word in business circles, especially in the light of recent business lay offs. In the current business environment, employers are often swamped with resumes form perspective employees.  Resume sites and headhunters see to it that employers are flooded with the resumes of potential hires. With such a massive information overload, what can a person do to set themselves apart?

One way to obtain the attention needed in today’s job market is to develop a social network. Developing a network is needed for job offers, support, job leads and encouragement. The benefits of a social network far outweigh the effort required to develop one.

How to develop a social network

1.       Associate with like minded people. You will need a network of peers with whom you share common interests. You will need to have a network with peers in seeking employment. Although referrals and recommendations may seem like an archaic practice, they are still used. When a potential employer can hear from peers about your skills, it communicates that you have the skills and also work well with other people.

2.       Improve your social skills. If you are a person with work skills, but no people skills, it could be working against you. Developing a social network will help you improve your people skills. People skills are critical when it comes time for an interview. Being able to talk with people and sell your skills in a calm manner is important if you want the interview to lead to a job offer.

3.       Do your homework. Know your business. You will need to know who is hiring, what they are looking for and understand how you will fit into that company. The more you know about the company that you want a job with the better positioned you will be when negotiating for a job offer. You will need to know who the head of the company is, what their product is, and what the position is that you desire.

4.       Hop, hop, hop. One of the principles of developing a social network is that when you meet with one company, ask if they know of anyone else hiring or that could use your skills. It is often a matter of meeting up with the right people. Use one interview or lead to take you to another (the hop).  Use that person to identify potential connection or people who are the gatekeepers of the company you want to enter.

5.       Give it time. Relationship that have good quality take time to develop. Developing a good social network is something to have started last year. You need to spend some time keeping in touch with your network. Time spent on relationships is never wasted.

In developing a social network for employment purposes, business network sites like LinkedIn provide opportunities for each of the items above. You can connect with like minded people. You can see who they connect with and work on developing similar connections. You can see the profiles of people who have positions that you want. When those people are identified, you can see what skills, training, and connections they have. Knowing that information will let you know what areas you will need to develop in order to obtain a similar position.

LinkedIn also provides a way to find out more about the companies that you are interested in.  You can find out who holds the CEO and other key positions. Knowing such information, you can often connect the dots and identify which people are the gatekeepers. Knowing who the gatekeepers are and how to approach them is essential in navigating through the corporate network.

LinkedIn also provides avenues to show your skills, By initiating conversations or involving yourself in the question and answer section of the site, you can show potential employers what you are truly capable of accomplishing. When they can see that you have the skills, with a representative sample in front of them, it will go a long way in selling yourself.

Being that your LinkedIn profile will be seen by potential employers, it will be important that it conveys the image that you wish to have. You may need a profile makeover to create the professional image that you are seeking. If you are serious about your job search, a professional makeover of your LinkedIn profile may be in order. People often shop with their eyes. Having a professional look will set your resume apart from others.

LinkedIn also provides services which allow you to send your profile (resume) to potential employers. You can take aim and direct your profile to key persons in the company that you are seeking to obtain employment with.

LinkedIn can also be used as to mine for  professional data. The potential of LinkedIn is  particularly powerful during the interview process. With the information gleaned, it will let you know something about who your competition is, what their education is, what their interests are and how to contact them. This can also be obtained to allow you to know about those interviewing you so that you will know what to talk about.