Social networking is the new way to get a job, and it will be for the foreseeable future.  Bold statement, but it is true.  Your connections are extremely valuable and are often privy to positions you don’t know about but definitely want to.

You are building your connections on any social networking platform (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, etc.) for the future.  If you are only looking at “collecting” connections then you are approaching this thing the wrong way.  By just lurking in the background, you are missing excellent opportunities to engage. 

Your connections add value to your career every day, not only in what they have to share with you but in who they know.  The cool game is no longer the six degrees of Kevin Bacon but it is the six degrees of you!  Who do you know?  Who knows you?  How can you elevate yourself to Bacon status?

You should leverage your connections when it comes time to look for another position. The network you have built up and actively engaged with over the years is an asset, and now is the time to utilize it!  And remember, the one of the best ways to forge a strong connection is to afford your network with the same assistance you expect them to provide you with.  Just think, if you gave someone a lead which led to a job, they would likely go out of their way to help you in the future, much moreso than someone you just added on LinkedIn then never had any contact with.

Now, let’s delve a bit deeper. If you use a service like LinkedIn, you are able to figure out who in your network is connected to someone within a particular company.  Pretty cool if you are looking for a new position. Through this search you are able to check out the titles and responsibilities of people within the target company and maybe even find someone in a role in which you would be interested in working.  If that person happens to be a second degree connection (a friend of a friend), consider asking for an introduction.  An easy way to get a foot in the door!

Alternately, once you’ve found that networking target, you can dig through their social media history… maybe come across a blog they own or a Twitter feed.  You can begin to interact with them directly without letting any intentions be known.  Over time and through your conversations, you can further develop the topics into your more specific interest and even a play for an interview.

Sound a bit far fetched?  Not so much.  As a corporate recruiter, I become flattered when someone takes the time to do their homework on me first.  It shows that not only are they interested in my company but they are willing to take extra steps to make a positive first impression.

Social networking gives you the tools to find people of interest and make a great first impression.  It is up to you to make the most of that impression, and parlay it into a strong contact for your future or immediate benefit.

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Keith McIlvaine is a Social Media Strategist within HR and Recruiting for a Fortune 500 company.  When he is not focused on leveraging social media and networking, Keith is also a personal branding coach and social media mentor.  He is passionate about his family and is a major soccer fanatic.  Follow Keith on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.  The statements I have posted on this site are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

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To continue with our series on people getting jobs via social media, I give you Hans Mestrum. Below are a few questions I asked him to get a more in-depth look into how social media landed him a job. To make this story even sweeter, I come across him on Twitter.

What is your background, and how did you first get started with social media?

I am a teacher from Origin and worked at a school for 9 years. After that I moved to Tulip Computers and worked there for 19 years in the education business as a trainer, product manager, training manager, business unit manager and managing director. My last job there was Sr. strategic business developer/trend-watcher.

In this job I used a lot of social media and did a lot of presentations and workshop on social media (about 5 years ago) and set up my blog and my online presence (just type “hans mestrum” in Google).

When you first heard about Twitter, what were your initial thoughts?

First I did not see the potential of it but after a couple of weeks I started tweeting. I think someone invited me to join.

You were able to get a job through Twitter. How did you come upon this opportunity, and how long did it take to get hired?

I just tweeted the fact that I was in search of another job and someone of the university who was following me on my blog and Twitter saw this tweet and introduced me at the dean of the faculty of technology. I did not know him. Just followed his blog and he followed mine. He wrote 2 pages as a recommendation letter, based on my online presence. It was amazing to read how accurate it was, thinking of the fact that he did not know me personally.

An interim manager who wanted to set up an interview ASAP contacted me that same evening. The next working day I was meeting with the dean and two directors of the faculty and next day I was hired. So this is really twitterspeed.

There was no job, no vacancy, no description whatsoever online.

I was hired as new media specialist/blogger on the staff of the dean of the faculty. I report directly to her.

In your current job, do you use Twitter for businesses purposes? Has this opportunity changed your initial perspective of Twitter?

I am using all kinds of social media now to present the faculty and myself. I blog, tweet, yammer, video blog and anything interesting that students and teachers need to know about. People like it although some of my colleagues wonder what all this stuff does. But by just doing it they see the relevance of it.

What is HAN University of Applied Sciences, and how has social media – especially Twitter – helped you in your role there?

HAN University of Applied Sciences is a high school in Arnhem en Nijmegen (towns in the east of the Netherlands) with 25.000 students and about 2400 employees. We have an education, management/economics, health and sport and technology track.

I work on the faculty of technology and I am responsible for putting the faculty on the map by means of social/new media.

Do you teach others about Twitter now?

I did some presentation and guest lectures about new media. On some websites I am a HRM case in which my case is explained as the new way of job hunting.

Congratulations to Hans! Tell us if you know anyone who got a job using social media so we can feature them next.

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Q: What gets thousands of people fired every year and prevents people from getting jobs they want?

A: Inappropriate content online.

To make sure your web presence is helping, not hurting you, check out James DeVile’s recent article at TechRadar: Make an Online Profile to Get You Hired not Fired (how to promote your skills and hide your ills).

Here’s a great quote from the article that made us nod our heads: “The ultimate goal is to reach a stage where so much quantifiably positive information exists online that the paper CV becomes redundant.”

Right on, James. The future of hiring undeniably exists on the web. Check out the 5-part article for tips to effectively use social networks to control your personal brand online.

Author: Trace Cohen

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I stumbled upon a debate about personal branding started by Geoff Livingston of The Buzz Bin a few days ago with his blog post: I Don’t Care About Your Personal Brand. While I disagree with the overall message, he does bring up some interesting points.

(Mitch Joel at Twist Image responded with a post: Why You Need To Care More About Your Personal Brand. I encourage you to read both posts, the comments, and come to your own conclusion).

To touch upon a few of the key points:

“Personal branding is NOT for everyone.” Personal branding is for everyone who wants to live a happier and more successful life – if you have the drive to follow through with it. Half-assing it won’t achieve much, and might actually water down your brand if you aren’t consistent. A commitment to personal branding is required if you want to see results. Thus, personal branding is not for you if you’re unwilling to commit to it.

“Don’t use personal branding as a means of ’self promotion.’” Don’t waste your personal brand on a fake image just to try and get your few moments of fame. This will only hurt you in the long run. Authenticity is the name of the game. As we said in a previous post: “Your personal brand emerges from your search for your identity. It powerfully and clearly states what you want based on your values, vision and strengths. It promotes yourself based on who you are, what you stand for, what makes you unique, what your purpose is, and what value you offer to your specific audience. It is a path to self-awareness, joy and self-esteem. It is NOT creating and marketing a made up image – that’s the exact opposite of personal branding. Personal branding is 100% authentically YOU.” So don’t spend time on personal branding until your efforts stem from your genuine source of career energy.

“Ask yourself: does your personal brand offer any VALUE?” You can join every social network and have as many friends as you want, but if you don’t add any value, you’re wasting your time. Make legitimate connections with everyone you meet, not just “Thanks for accepting my friend request.” Engage people in thoughtful discussion. Your personal brand defines why you’re the best solution to a certain audience’s problems, so what value to you provide them?  In short, don’t try to strengthen your personal brand without constantly creating content and value.

Consider these three points (the commitment required, the need to align your brand with your authentic self, and the value you provide) before starting your personal branding efforts.

Please feel free to leave comments here on how you feel about personal branding. For a breakdown of what personal branding is, see our post: Everything You Need to Start Building Your Personal Brand Right Now.

Author: Trace Cohen

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