Download SPCC's Career Focus Magazine - Summer

CareerFocustoolboxWork Your Social NetworkFind a new job with a little help from your friends’ friendsIf you’re one of the millions of job seekersout there right now, you may want totake a break from searching monster.com and spend a little more time onFacebook. This social network createscontacts with old friends, and theirfriends, who may be your connection to anew job.Social networking sites are the next wave injob-hunting because they provide you withsomething called “weak links” meaning abroad network of friends and associates. Weaklinks are actually quite powerful because theyexpose you to a much wider network than youwould have access to on your own.In other words, while your friends may notknow of any new jobs, your friends’ friends justmight. Here are three sites that can providemoral support as you learn to use your weaklinks to your greatest advantage.Keep up to dateon South PiedmontCommunity Collegenews and events.Become aFacebook fan orfollow us on Twitter.Facebook(www.facebook.com)Your friends have friendsand jobs tooAlthough Facebook began asa networking site for collegestudents, it’s become popularwith all ages. Today the fastestgrowing segment is 35- to54-year-olds.It’s easy to lose track of time onFacebook trying to rememberwho’s in the third row of the5th-grade class photo your friendposted, or throwing a sheep atyour sister, but the site has somevery useful job-hunting tools too.For example, the Jobster CareerNetwork application can show youwhere your friends work (as longas they’ve listed it in their profile).Armed with this information,you have an automatic in atcompanies you might like towork for. You can also add yourinformation to Jobster’s TalentBank and it will help match youwith employers you might like tomeet.By using the Facebook statusfeature, you can broadcast to allyour friends that you’re lookingfor a position. Because people arejoining Facebook every day, ifyou frequently scan your friends’friends lists you may find long-lostcoworkers and neighbors. Withover 150 million active users,there’s certain to be someone youcan connect with.Linkedin(www.linkedin.com)Getting down to businessLinkedIn puts networking intoa more business-like setting,but you still rely on makingconnections.First, you build a networkof existing colleagues andclassmates on LinkedIn, then youcan either send e-mail directlyto others in your network or gothrough an intermediary whoknows both of you. If you don’thave contacts, you can join groupslike college alumni groups orshared-interest groups to getstarted. The groups’ discussionboards allow you to ask questions,or even inquire about job leads.Once you’ve established someconnections, you can access thejobs area, where companies spend$195 a month to post positions.You’ll have a better chance ofscoring an interview if yourprospective employer can checkyour LinkedIn connections.Basic services are free and aresufficient for most tasks. Forexample, your home page tellsyou how many times your profilehas been viewed in the pastmonth, and it can also raise yourvisibility in search engines. Thesite allows you to enter enoughpersonal information and workhistory that a former colleagueshould be able to find you, but italso protects your privacy.There’s a lot to do on this site, butif you’re willing to put the time in,you should be able to make somevaluable connections.ideaList(www.idealist.org)experience at all levelsThese days every place you gomay feel like a “nonprofit,” but ifyou’re interested in entering thegenuinely nonprofit sector eitherfor work or volunteer experienceto boost your resume, check outIdealist.It’s a friendly community ofidealistic individuals with allkinds of opportunities to shareyour passion and knowledge.It works somewhat like bothFacebook and LinkedIn—you setup a profile and then join somegroups or forums.In addition, if you’re an expert ona topic, you can create a separateprofile as a speaker or consultant.Have a question about recoveringfrom a layoff or starting yourown nonprofit? Just ask it on thediscussion boards. Looking forways to meet like-minded locals?Check out the group listings.The Idealist site also hasdownloadable podcasts andpublications full of advice forsecuring employment andnavigating the nonprofit sector.So put down the classified sectionof the newspaper and log on toyour computer. You may find thatconnection you’ve been looking for.Because sometimes getting a jobis all about who you know.Check out South PiedmontCommunity College on Facebookand Twitter! CF6I Summer 2010 I CareerFocus South Piedmont Community College I www.spcc.edu I 704-290-5100 or 704-272-5300