Job Search Tips: Referrals via Social Networking Get Your Resume Seen

According to a news piece on CBS News, students are learning about first impressions and how important they are. Yet the only two bits of advice provided seem to be 1) smile, and 2) find a way to stand out. Not bad, but sort of lame…

Smiling
This is not bad advice, but it is limited. Smiling is a good thing, as long as you don’t look like the cat that ate the canary – all grins and no telling why. What really matters here is being friendly. You want to appear to be a warm, intelligent person who would be good to work with. Ear-to-ear grins won’t help if you don’t know your stuff and haven’t done your homework about the company or why you are their ideal candidate.

Standing Out
Finding a way to stand out – this is also very good advice. But how is the true question. You want to stand out in a positive way to separate yourself from your peers. But not to simply be different. The purpose is to demonstrate why you are the better candidate.

The news focused on a couple out-of-the-ordinary methods for personal marketing – like developing a web page on a site like www.VisualCV.com

One student who did this, Robert Hopper, had gotten 200 viewers for his techno resume, but no takers as of the story airing.  Just being techno isn’t the answer however. It’s more about using technology to demonstrate your abilities AND then to connect with people. Hoping someone will come across your resume isn’t enough. Driving traffic to see your credentials is what you need.

Get Connected
Ultimately, in a market like we are experiencing today, it helps to know someone and use your connections. What if you don’t have connections? Start networking to build them! This is where your inborn social networking skills come into play.

Get on www.linkedin.com and connect to your parents and friends’ parents, as well as people you have worked with, professors, and even previous bosses. That automatically makes your network grow which is exactly what you need. Then, leverage their contacts by getting in touch.

Once you obtain some names within the companies you want to work for – this will seriously help you get past the “hiring machine blockade”, that vast black hole where your resume ends up most of the time. With a referral – you have a shot at getting past the gate keepers.

Get linkedin, and get going today.