Social networks & job seekers

Posted by Thinker on November 30th, 2009 at 02:14pm

Is it undeniably important that an employment seeker exploit social networks in their job quest in this day and age? No. Nevertheless, granted the economic environment of the world, particularly the USA, one might say that you should attempt everything available to get your application out there and expand your network in order to get to all potential employers. It is not at all mandatory though that one use a social network to find a position, as though it be the answer to all their employment misfortunes. It is as productive and worthless as a job fair or sending your resume to all people you know. The only need? to enroll in social networking sites like LinkedIn, which sell itself as the “hip” social networks for their particular slot in the market in social networking, may be to you dodge being ostracized by your friends for not being a part of it. But then you’re only succumbing to peer-pressure and not really meeting the requirements of economic or job-market constraints.

Having said that, there are several merits to employing social networking sites in your job hunt. First and foremost, why wouldn’t you try to post your resume everywhere possible? Why wouldn’t you call on a job-fair if it meant increasing your odds for a job even in the least? And why wouldn’t you send your resume to everyone you knew, in order to see who might be employing? Similarly, why wouldn’t you sign up for a social network and use it to air your resume and advertise the fact that you are on the lookout for a job? There isn’t really any downside, as long as you are able to assertively sell yourself on that network. In the business world it’s all about “who you know”, and thanks to social networking sites, you can be connected to to everyone imaginable in the business world. The list of friends in your (network expands immensely by joining such networks, and the results speak for themselves as job hopefuls continue to credit their employment to domains specializing in business and job searches such as LinkedIn, Facebook and other Facebook clones. And even so, even the recruiters who still run traditional websites that promote your resume are now using social network sites to couple employers to future job seekers who meet their requirements. If the professionals can see some utility in it, then you likely should be able to as well.

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