Leading online professional networking sites like LinkedIn, Black Planet and Bright Fuse make it easy to create an electronic identity that employers, colleagues and peers can assess to learn more about a job seeker’s skills, educational background and work experience. However, connecting with other professionals to land new work has pros and cons.
Online Network Identities Endure
Internet World Stats reports that as of March 31, 2009, over 1.5 billion people were accessing the Internet. Each of these people can read the profiles that exist at networking sites and potentially assist in a job search. They can also view a job seeker’s personal information. Some sites like LinkedIn, Ecademy, Ryze and Zing allow users to hide or conceal their expanded profile from viewers who are not in their network.
Membership to participate in the networks is generally free. However, most visitors to the sites can view other users’ basic contact information including their name, photograph, business title, employer’s name, number of contacts and country and state of residence. It is for this reason, especially as it relates to personal safety and privacy, that outplacement agencies advise clients to remove their home address and telephone numbers from profiles.
Effective profiles focus on a job seeker’s current educational training, certifications, licenses and professional memberships. At a minimum of once a month, users should log into their network and connect with contacts. Most networking sites post the last date that a user logged into the site. Having an inactive presence at the sites lends the appearance that a person is not actively networking or is possibly no longer interested in gaining new employment.
Networking Time Required
Outplacement agencies like Lee Hecht Harrison and the Ayers Group recommend that clients spend between 20-30 hours each week networking. Remaining in front of contacts during in-person meetings, telephone conversations and Internet messages can increase a job seeker’s chances of being recommended for a position should an opening be created at the firm where a key contact is employed.
It is critical to be organized and prepared to engage in networking discussions with other professionals. Job seekers should have a copy of their resume, positioning and exit statements and two to three key projects they worked on. Spend 15-20 minutes with each contact. Some networking discussions last as long as an hour. Each week schedule time to follow-up with regular contacts and create new contacts.
Effective Networking Connections
Networking takes time but can yield rewarding results. To reduce the amount of time spent communicating with contacts, job seekers can identify the top ten firms that they want to work with. They should focus on gaining networking contacts at those organizations and generate and maintain regular conversations with those contacts.
Joining professional associations like the local Chamber of Commerce, the Association for Computers and the Humanities, American Association for History and Computing, American Management Association and the Society for Human Resources Professionals and attending association events can put job seekers in front of people who have close relationships with hiring managers at the firms they want to work with. Job seekers should also consider leaving a copy of their resume with their alma mater. Employers can purchase databases that list resumes of college graduates from organizations like MBA Focus.
Professionalism Propels Networking Forward
Many firms require employees to sign non-disclosure agreements upon hire. Due to the nature of the material they review and handle, it is not uncommon for senior managers and business leaders to have customized non-disclosure agreements beyond what the average employee receives. Think of networking discussions, blogs and emails as official communications. Because job seekers cannot control what people they network with confer to others, they would do well to maintain a professional identity throughout the networking process.
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