Professional Networks

The days where posting your CV on Monster.com / CareerBuilder, Searching Jobs-sites or e-maling friends where enough to get a great jobs might be all over. Social Media are changes the rules of job-searching and making yourself attractive to companies and recruiters.

That means getting word out on social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Friendsfeed and meeting new people who might be able to lend a hand through professional networks like LinkedIn.

Social Media and Professional Networks is often an effective place to making aware of yourself. But be carefull - there are many pit-falls and trying to hard is almost always the road to fiasko. The right social networking strategy is an art - just as socialising with professionals in the’real’ world is.

Here are some of the most used Social  Media Networks for Professional Networking and job-search, and some tips on how to go around to suceed:

1. LinkedIn

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LinkedIN is by far the #1 spot for job seekers, those currently employed, marketers who are looking to build lists and salespeople who are seeking out new clients. With 35 million users, including recruiters and job seekers, LinkedIn is quite a hot spot. Of course, due to the current state of the economy, it’s simple to understand why LinkedIn is more popular than ever.

The problem is that most job seekers don’t optimize their profile, cultivate their network, join and participate in groups, use applications and exchange endorsements. That is basically everything you should be doing in a nutshell. I also recommend that you use a distinct URL (linkedin.com/in/yourfullname) and an avatar that best represents you and is consistent with the picture on your other social sites.

When you search for a job, recognize who in your network might help you get to the hiring manager. You’re given 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree connections on LinkedIn that you should be using to secure a job opening.

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2. Plaxo

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Plaxo is a social network that resembles LinkedIn to a certain degree. You’re able to create your own profile with a section about you, your contact information and your “pulse stream,” which is made up of your presence on social media sites such as Twitter. You’re even able to share your photo album and send eCards, which is a nice differentiator.

The real value in Plaxo is the address book that keeps track of all of your contact information, including a Yahoo! Map indicating where your contacts live. Plaxo, which is owned by Comcast, is also integrated with Simply Hired, which is a job aggregator that searches thousands of job sites and companies and aggregates them in a single location for you. After building your Plaxo profile, use it as part of the recruitment process when applying for jobs with Simply Hired for success.

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3. Twitter - follow employees, managers and companies

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Twitter is an excelent tool for following experts, employees, executives and making aware of yourself. But making value of Twitter in personal branding, network building and job-search is hard and delicate work. You need to be passionate and offer real value to build loyal crowd of followers.

To many people try to hard to build a personal brand and end up spamming their network. Have patience and use it to keep updated on news, new ideas and to tap into discussion in specific fields and branches.

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4. Facebook

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Though mostly considered a Social network Facebook is - with it huge penetration - a place that can’t be ignored in making aware of yourself for job-networking and job-search. You can use your close network on Facebook to make aware that you are on the look for a new job. We have made a Check list for your Facebook profile if you search for jobs:

1. Consider who you accept as friends on Facebook
2. If you are posting highly personal information (party pictures, personal views, political views) on your Facebook Profile close your profile (friends only).
3. If you have your boss, collegues og business connection of your Facebook friendslist consider what you post.
4. Organize your friend-list in close friends, network and business connection - and consider different reading/acess rights for each group.
5. Keep and eye out for peoples status updates - many post job-leads once in a while.

Another way to get jobs using Facebook is to join a group or fan pages to find people with common interests and to network with them.

5. MyWorkster

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MyWorkster focuses on exclusive networks for colleges, allowing students and alumni to connect for exclusive career opportunities. This site isn’t valuable to you if you didn’t go to college though. This social network allows you to create a professional profile and network with potential employers.

Read more about the top Job-search sites

Appart from this list on Professional networks for job-search we have also listed some of the best job-sites for job-search