Esearch jobs - Leveraging Social and Professional Networking

Leveraging Social and Professional Networking
By Joanne Sammer

Recruiting and job seeking are all about casting a wide net. Candidates want to identify the best number and types of opportunities and companies want to assemble the best possible pool of candidates from which to choose. Social networking sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Plaxo, Ryze and Spoke, allow both sides to accomplish their goals in a low- or even no-cost way.

Tapping a Network

The value of social networking when looking for a job lies in the size and diversity of an individual’s network. The more people from different backgrounds in a network, the greater its reach. “I have people in my Facebook network who have known me since elementary school,” says Laura Stoker, senior director of training for AIRS, a Company of The RightThing, Inc., an enterprise recruitment process outsourcing provider based in Findlay, Ohio. “You never know when those people will be able to help.”

For example, if an individual wants to relocate to a specific city, she can reach out to people in her network who live or work in that city to see if they or someone they know can help. The key is to provide clear information when communicating with these people and when developing a network profile that displays background, skills, and the type of job opportunities sought.

Some other tips for professional networking sites include updating your profile frequently to stay top-of-mind within your network. And, all professionals should reach out to your network for recommendations to be posted on their profiles. Both candidates and hiring professional s will benefit from having specific recommendations from colleagues and in-network professionals.

However, there is a caveat when it comes to using social networking to build a career: Avoid providing too much information. Stories abound of people being burned when prospective employers find unflattering information and photos online. “Think about who will have access to this information before you put anything online,” says Stoker. “You have a lot of control over what you put in the public, but you have to monitor the situation to make sure information doesn’t seep out through friends and family.” A recent Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) survey cited a few examples of "negative information" professionals may want to avoid: personal views or values contradictory to the hiring organization, negative or slanderous discussions, and excessive alcohol use.

Individuals in mid-career who have never seen the need to get involved in social networking online need to overcome any reluctance to use these tools. “The people who are not used to this technology and are not willing to be creative and invest time in using it probably hurt their chances in the job market,” says Stoker. “This is not just for college students.”

Building Visibility

Although social networking sites are unlikely to completely replace traditional recruiting tools for many companies, they can be an important way to supplement these efforts. Social networking is a great opportunity to get the word out about the company and what it offers to its employees.

These sites offer opportunities to connect with both active and passive job seekers, along with finding candidates of a particular skill set or career level. Companies can attract active job seekers by posting available jobs on these sites for a fee. However, these networks also allow companies to make and maintain contact with a range of professionals who are not currently looking for a new position but may be interested if the right opportunity presented itself. “You have to have patience and be more creative in how you find people,” suggests Stoker.

However, not all of these efforts will necessarily yield immediate results. If a company is establishing contact with a number of individuals with the desired experience and skill sets, it may take some time before there is a chance to turn these contacts into recruited employees. The key is to maintain regular contact with those individuals even if they are not interested in leaving their jobs. This also applies to professionals interested in pursuing a position in a particular company, where there are not currently openings, or the right opportunity. After all, in this economy, their situation could change in an instant. Telephone calls, periodically emailing lists of job openings or links to interesting articles, and other efforts to keep in touch can help keep the relationship going.

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