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4 Social Media Sites That Can Help You Find a Job

Miranda — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:13:07 +0000

Source: sxc.hu Photo: clix

It’s quite possible that you think that social media represents a big part of the decline in civilization. However, whether you like it or not, social media has become an integral part of our society and how we do things. From the fact that my mother just joined Facebook (FB is getting big with parents) to the fact that my father is considering a LinkedIn account to have a network in place “just in case,” it is increasingly clear that social media is fast becoming a fixture of modern life. And not just for meaningless commentating and exhibitionism (although there is plenty of that); social media can actually help you in other areas of life. Using social media to get a job is now possible. Here are 4 social media sites that can help you in getting that next job:

1. LinkedIn

Can LinkedIn help you find a job? Networking has always been the best way for finding jobs. For business professionals, LinkedIn is the place to be. LinkedIn helps you connect with people you know, and even get access to their business contacts. LinkedIn offers ways for you to search job postings and companies, and see if you have connections, or connections through connections, that can link you back to potential employers. If you are willing to pay $30 a month to upgrade your account, you can also send emails to people who are not somehow connected to you.

LinkedIn provides plenty of room for you to post your résumé information and skills, as well as links to your personal Web site, blog and/or Twitter account. Ask trusted connections for recommendations to further increase your stock on LinkedIn. Create a catchy LinkedIn headline to snag the eyes of head hunters.

2. Twitter

Yeah, it seems strange that Twitter would be a good place to look for a job. But it really can help. First of all, there are some job listing services that offer feeds on Twitter. @craigslistjobs and @SocialMediJob are examples of ways you can have job postings delivered right to your Twitter feed.

Twitter is also a great place to do some basic networking. Do a people search of Twitter to find a company you want to work for. Does the company have any people on Twitter? If so, follow them. You can also ask questions or do other things that are involved in offline networking. Only now you don’t have to be face to face. Bonus points if you use your real name so it is easier to recognize you, the brand on Twitter.

3. YouTube

The main purpose of using YouTube as part of your job hunt is to post a video résumé. A video that shows your personality, as well as your qualifications, can be a bonus. Embed your video résumé into your homepage, or you can link to it from your Twitter or LinkedIn account. We’ll talk about Facebook next, and it is worth noting that you can post your YouTube video to Facebook. Make sure that you tag your video résumé with keywords that are related to your desired position. Using YouTube to find a job is now getting mainstream as job hunters try to find ways to make themselves stand out from the competition.

4. Facebook

For the most part, Facebook is best for networking. Make old connections. Keep people updated on your status as a job seeker (a great way for members of your network to keep you at the forefront of their thoughts, just in case they can recommend you to someone else. Connect to your Twitter account, and regular updates reach two different networks at once. Facebook Notes can also be useful, since they remain visible for longer than just regular feed items or Wall posts.

Keeping it professional

It is vital to remember that when you are on social media, you are out there. Facebook is becoming an especially popular place for potential employers to check you out. I don’t feel bad that there is a picture of me wrestling around in pudding in one of my albums, but I certainly wouldn’t want prospective clients to see it as my profile picture. Additionally, I try to avoid naming clients in posts to Twitter or getting too specific about what is going on in my day to day life. If you want to be perceived as a professional, you have to act like a professional — especially in places where others might come looking.

Realize that your social media profiles and comments may also come up in a Google search. Just because your potential employer Googles you rather than going right to LinkedIn or Twitter doesn’t mean that he or she won’t eventually end up on a social media site, staring at a picture of you using suspicious substances at a party.

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4 Social Media Sites That Can Help You Find a Job

Social Media and Decline of the Civil Society

Arohan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:55:11 +0000

Source: sxc.hu Photo: eliteds3

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens at Pamil Visions in her piece on Social Media and Society Decline takes on the question of whether freedom of expression means anyone should be able to post content on the social media sites that can easily be termed as pornographic. “How much is too much?” She asks, and “Where do we draw the line and do we need to draw a line?”

This question has taken on a lot of relevance recently as the social media has become more mainstream. It is no longer just a few geeks and teenagers communicating over facebook and twitter. In this day and age, it would not be surprising to find families communicating with each other over these networks. In a sense, these tools are helping draw the society closer after decades of societies and cultures fracturing and losing their identities in pursuit of the individual’s quest for money and self-fulfilment. Businesses are finding these networks as a useful way of keeping close to their customers and develop new channels of marketing and sales. In short, social media is now mainstream, just as emails and chats became mainstream earlier.

With this as the backdrop, one wonders how much damage do the drunken facebook party pictures or similar content can cause to well functioning society. With such content online and freely accessible, does this indicate in any way that the civil society is on a decline? Do we need to regulate and censor content on these sites to maintain the integrity and civility in our societies, given that a larger and larger part of the societal interaction is now online and through social media sites? Let’s look at the three key questions we need to answer.

Does such content on social media sites reflect a decline in civil society?

From a purely logical point of view, I would have to say no. It is true that social media allows an easy outlet where content like this can be posted and shared with a large audience very quickly. However, it is a reflection of the society as it exists. If social media did not exist, such values and lack of values in the society would still exist and would find another way of expressing itself. Pornography existed before internet did.

Does such content on social media sites cause further decline in the civility in the society?

This is possibly true as it spreads the wrong kind of message very quickly across the world and exposes people to the content they should not be exposed to (for example, exposing pornography or violence to the kids). Almost all the countries in the world try to regulate the traditional media for content and access to the content to protect the cultural values of their societies and their most vulnerable citizens (children), and social media should be no different. But protecting the vulnerable is different from censorship.

Who decides what is morally okay and what is not?

Liliana considers the two sides of the freedom argument. Freedom of expression guarantees an individual’s right to express and this extends to their right to post whatever content they choose to on the internet (as long as it is legal). If I look at a site and find content that I object to, does that violate my freedoms? I do not think so. I have a choice to look away. Ultimately internet content is part of a global marketplace and will follow the basic rules of supply and demand. If the society does not value a particular type of content, it will not make sense to post it. And if Facebook finds that such content hurts their business, they will find ways of regulating it.

Democracies are formed on the belief that individuals have the rights and the capacity to make choices that are right for them and these choices in the aggregate manifest in the societal values and culture. Governments have duty to protect the vulnerable but beyond that they should not be in the business to decide what ‘values’ should their citizens enjoy. How can they? They are merely elected to uphold the values and culture that the society cherishes.

I am a firm believer in society’s capacity to self-regulate. This happens all the time through various social institutions such as schools, places of worship, communities, parents, teachers, etc. If a change is needed, it can only come from the roots. Sometimes, these take a long time to work but it is the only way to make a lasting change. This is the only way culture survives and becomes stronger. Everything else is just a reflection of what society is going through.

This is but my point of view. I am sure there are many sides to the story and would be happy to hear them and get a constructive discussion going. I also call upon other bloggers and writers to add their voice to this debate.

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Social Media and Decline of the Civil Society

Parenting moves to social media

admin — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:26:43 +0000

Source: stck.xchng Photo: lusi

I guess this was bound to happen. Dads and Moms are now signing up for Myspace, Facebook and other social media accounts and are friending their kids, in many cases, to monitor the online activities of their wards and in many other cases as a way to communicate.

Social media is fast becoming an established medium for communication among people of all ages. So it is not surprising that parents are signing up, nor is it surprising that once they are signed up, they consider adding their kids to their network. Parenting and Social Media, seems to be a relationship that was bound to happen.

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Parenting moves to social media