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Online Networking
By Heather Carpenter | March 13, 2008
As the Internet becomes more and more popular so do online communities. Many college students have MySpace and Facebook pages that allow them to build a profile for their peers to view. They can post pictures, their favorite songs, and any and all information imaginable about themselves.
Students and job seekers hear the warnings about these pages all of the time. Employers and recruiters are beginning to search these profiles as a normal recruiting practice. Job seekers are told to remove anything that will portray them in a negative light.
Not all social networking pages are bad. Someone with an interest in art or music can build an online portfolio using these resources. This is a great opportunity to market their work - for FREE. So many musicians, artists and comedians are hitting mainstream due to their popularity on these social networking websites. If you use these sites well, you can meet the right people to put you in the right place at the right time. If you are not cautious with these sites, you could destroy your chances of landing your dream job.
There is now a new online networking site called LinkedIn. This site is for professional networking. It allows job seekers, employers and other professionals an online network of their own. Users are allowed to create profiles that are essentially online resumes. Employers can search profiles for job seekers that match the qualifications they are looking for. Additionally, job postings can be found on this site.
Even if you are not looking for a job right now LinkedIn allows you to network and meet people who share your professional interests. Additionally, you can find old classmates and colleagues as well as partner organizations/companies. The site has an immense amount of potential for connecting people.
As a career counselor, I strongly encourage all students, job seekers, and those interested in networking to join LinkedIn. As you may know, nearly 80% of jobs are found through networking, so be sure when using the Internet that you are networking in a positive way.
For more information on Online Networking visit Monster.com.
Topics: General, Networking |