Social Media & Your Job Search P.2

Social Media is here to stay. It may be a relatively new term, but I believe we are only just discovering the depth of these word. I believe Social Media will take us places and connect us to people like we have never been connected before. In terms of your job search, understand that networking online is just one form of social networking, and if you are not employing technology in your job search, you are now in the stone ages. It is a critical component to effectively connecting with people and organizations today.

Today I want to focus on the importance of connecting with people. Do you realize that every single organization, including sole proprietorship’s are comprised with people. Without people, there is no business. Without people, there is no product. Without people there would be no Internet, no blogs, no anything. People are the cog in the wheel of industry, business and networking. So what makes you think or believe that you can have a successful job search without connecting or networking with people. In today’s world of technology it is impossible to be successful in business and career without strong interpersonal skills or people skills.

One of the components to Social Media according to Wikipedia is social interface. Let’s unpack that phrase, social interface. Social Interface means intimate, direct, community engagement, social, viral, electronic broadcast or syndication, or other physical media such as print. Here’s my spin on this definition – Social Interface to me means connecting with people, through various resources including, email, social networking sites, professional development organizations – in person, by phone, by mail, by whatever means necessary.

How does Social Media help your job search? Great question, glad you asked! If you take my first point above regarding the fact that organizations are comprised of people, and my second point about the need for social interface is true, than you can’t have one without the other. In order to successfully navigate the hiring process, a person or some people have to determine that you are the best candidate for their job opening. Not a machine, not inanimate object. People make the decision about the future of other people in the hiring process. But if you are not interfacing with people, than how do they make an informed decision about who you are and what you can bring to their organization?

Social Media gives you a wide range of opportunities to present yourself to hiring managers and recruiters like never before. Today, you can write articles, blog, make videos, YouTube videos and the list goes on. All without someones permission. You get to present yourself to the world in whatever form suits you. WOW! We have come a long way in a short amount of time. Think about it. There was no such thing as LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook or even Google for that matter 15-20 years ago. If you have hesitated to jump into the Social Media swirl, jump in the waters great and maybe, just maybe, you will find that your next job opportunity will come as a result of you taking a risk and presenting more of who you are to a hiring manager looking for your unique brand or product for their organization! More tomorrow!

Image Credit: sxc.hu