Connect to a Job Amy Scofield

**published in the Manhattan College Quadrangle

Social networking has overtaken porn as the #1 online activity. This incredible boost makes it an ideal way to find jobs for recent college graduates, who typically have their pulse on the beat of social networking itself.

A Wall Street Journal article says that 85% of hiring managers Google their applicants before interviewing them. Being on the first page of a Google search, with good content, is critical to making that great first impression. The key to that is fresh content.

Social media is a simple way to generate fresh content. You have to figure our your brand, which could be what you stand for or what your values are. What sets you apart from everyone else? Once you’ve found that. you need to update your job searching documents (resume, cover letter, references, etc.) to reflect that. Consistency is key, be it in font face or document format. When you have your brand and documents ready, you can take your job search to an online social networking platform.

The more obvious platforms include Facebook, Twitter and various blogs. “The idea is to make yourself an online social authority,” said Kyle Younger, a communications professional, who spoke to a group of MC students last Thursday. 

As a social authority, you will be constantly blogging, tweeting or making status updates about something you are passionate about, something that could have something to do with the type of job you want to get. If you want to work for a publisher, critique books that are coming out, for example. This will show that you are genuinely passionate about something and not just trying to get some job, any job you come across. 

One relatively new platform for social networking is called Linkedin. It was launched in May 2003, and is more of a professional networking tool than a social networking one. It is designed to let individuals connect to each other, be it colleagues, coworkers, relatives, etc. It will show you what different connections you have to various companies. You can put up a profile, complete with a summary of yourself (basically equivalent to an “About Me” on Facebook.), a resume and a picture. 

An interesting thing about Linkedin is that it not only allows you to search for jobs, but you can also search for companies. The page that comes up will give you information about the company, all in one place, as opposed to on scattered Pages. Furthermore, the page is typically created by the company itself so it will all be correct, as opposed to Wikipedia, which can be edited at any time by any person. The company info page will come in handy for going on a job interview. 

Knowing small details about the company is important. For example, knowing that the New York Times website is rated as one of the most popular websites online makes you look passionate about the job, again, as opposed to someone who is just walking into an interview blind. “Tell me about yourself,” or “Tell me what you know about our company,” are two very popular job interview questions and the companies page on Linkedin will help avoid not knowing an answer to the latter.

Using Linkedin is not the same as using Facebook. Since it is more a professional networking tool than a social one, they frown upon making connections with people you don’t know. When requesting a connection, you will have the opportunity to select ignore, accept, or I don’t know this person. If five people select “I don’t know this person” for you, you will be banned. 

“Social networking is shrinking the world,” Katie Taflan, who also spoke to the MC students. Taflan is Senior Assistant Director of Marketing at Columbia University Center for Career Education. 

With this shrinking, it is much easier to have a company in your back pocket, but it is also easier for the company to find a picture of you rolling on the floor drunk last Friday. So untag all your questionable pictures on Facebook, and move on to making connections on Linkedin.