Career Networking Through Social Media

I'm often asked about the use of social media sites while IT candidates are searching and networking for that next contract. We all know that networking is oftentimes the best way to land a new opportunity, but with the clutter of social media sites, it can be confusing, especially for those that don't use social media sites on a regular basis. Personally, I think LinkedIn can be a very effective tool since it is geared solely toward those who are interested in professional networking. Here are a few tips on how to best use LinkedIn in your career networking:

Ask colleagues or former supervisors to recommend your work. This is an easy way for a recruiter or hiring manager to validate the content of your resume and assess top qualities that are listed by the recommender, without having all prospective employers bombard these colleagues and former supervisors with reference checks.

Join groups that are relevant to your industry and specialty. Oftentimes recruiters and hiring managers also belong to these groups, and post jobs to the group's page. This can be an excellent way to hunt for opportunities that aren't always posted on other job boards, as well as find connections with those that are hiring. Some examples of groups include Consultants Network, Des Moines Job Seekers and The Cisco Voice.

Select your privacy settings so not everyone can view your full profile and only connect with people that you know. Connecting with someone indicates that you know that person well, and will grant that person access to other people you are connected with, provides them with updates on your activity and vice versa. Your resume is your key to your future, so it should be protected.

Guest Author: Ashley Hennig