First, let’s define social media.  According to Wikipedia social media is content (media and publishing) created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologues (one to many) into dialogues (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal and business. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM).

Social media includes blogs, wikis, chats, podcasts, social networks, and yes, even youtube.  Let’s define each of these.

1. Blogs are written by individuals about any and all topics. Virtually, this serves as the individuals web based diary.  They often allow readers to comment on them after they have been posted to the web.
2. Wiki is a bacronym created from the words “What I Know Is” to allow a collaboration of websites.  Wikipedia is probably the best known use of a wiki.  Wikis are often used in intranets or community websites.
3. Podcasts are broadcasts on a subject over the internet.  They can often be viewed on a monitor or downloaded to be viewed on an mp3 player.
4. Social blogs are based on 140 character messages similar to text messages.  Twitter is a prime example of this type of social media.
5. Social Networks allow a bit more background to be stored on the internet as in a profile.  Good examples of a social network are myspace, facebook and google groups.  You have “friends”; you can post pictures, share comments and find out about others.

Social media is always evolving.  How then, can it help you in your efforts to find a new job?

First of all, networking is a strong key to finding a new job.  By informing your network that you are seeking new employment, you have not just told those within your network, but the people that your network knows.

LinkedIn serves as a professional, business related social network.  Each person to whom you are networked is called a “connection”. The more connections you have, the broader your network reaches. Because each of your connections has their own connections you can literally be connected to millions of people as your group expands.

This is very beneficial when you are searching for a new job.  There are several avenues to pursue a job search, but the most obvious one is to “Search Jobs”.  The jobs are listed with people within that organization who are related to your network and at which degree of separation they are from you.  This can help you complete your research about the company. If the “connection” is close enough in your network, you could make a phone call to find out the ”411” on the position, hiring practices, dress code, corporate philosophy or many other things integral to landing a position in that company.

How to make the most of your LinkedIn profile –

Complete your profile – asking for recommendations is the most difficult part of completing the profile, but if you have references for your resume, they could provide a recommendation on LinkedIn.

Update your profile – the section that states “what you are working on now” is the quickest and easiest way to update your profile and keep your name in front of all of your contacts.  If you are looking for a job, just change the wording in your current activities and it posts on all of your contacts notices.  Add a new connection and everyone sees who you just added.  They may want to add them as well.

How we can help – Are you currently unemployed?  The Employment and Training Representatives at Kane County Department of Employment and Education can help you assess your needs and point you in the right direction to finding new employment.  They can help you find all of the job search resources that will help you find a new job and/or career.

Four Offices to serve you:

Elgin – 30 DuPage Court                        847-888-7900 x 230
N. Aurora – 2 Smoketree Plaza              630-844-6640 x 203
DeKalb – 1701 E. Lincoln Hwy.              815-756-4893 x 240
Yorkville – 811 W. John St.                   630-553-8304

www.kcdee.org