Catching Up In A Dynamic Job Market

posted by Pedro Silva on June 8, 2009 on ERE Community

Ask anyone who was on the job market ten years ago or more and they
will tell you that it's not what it use to be.  But then again, nothing
is the way it was 10 years ago.  Ten years ago there was no LinkedIn,
Facebook, Twitter, or Google and the only "Green" most people were
thinking about was money.  But as the world became more connected and
inevitably more social, changes became more transparent and we gained
the ability to watch evolution occur in real time.

Instant feedback is now the norm and the "try before you buy"
mentality that has entered our lives through consumer ratings sites has
entered the job market.  As Dan Voelpel pointed out in his News Tribune
article, "The Rules For Job Hunting Have Changed", these days one of the first things employers do is check your LinkedIn profile to see if you have any recommendations. 

Fifteen years ago if you neglected to keep your resume up to date
prior to a job search all you needed to do was spend a few days
cleaning it up and start handing it out.  These days you have to think
about your various profiles and web presence as well.  So the question
is what do you do if you anticipate being on the job market or are
already looking and have all of this "catching up" to do?

Well the obvious thing is to start today.  In spite of the initial
trepidation of walking in new territory, you will quickly find that you
are going to know many people participating in the social media Big
3-LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  Lay your foundation there. 
Secondly, build a framework by finding and engaging with groups that
are either in your industry or share your interests.  From there, make
it a part of your closing in conversations to ask if the person uses
any of these networks.  Over time, you will find that connecting this
way becomes as natural as using email and cell phones.

The key here is to make yourself accessible if you want to found. 
We are living in a world where we've become very used to having
information at our fingertips.  If you can't google it, then people
will assume that it probably doesn't really exist.   As you begin your
new job campaign, keep in mind that people are out here looking for
answers to their questions and solutions to their challenges.  So if
you have what their looking for, make it known.