NETWORKING - CAN TECHNOLOGY HELP?

You would have to be plugged in 24 hours a day to keep up with current changes in the evolution of the internet. It has always been a perfect tool for keeping in touch easily and, now, clever entrepreneurs have created businesses out of that ability.  Those businesses-online networking and online bulletin boards- are becoming new marketplaces for job searching.

Does that mean you can dispense with the hard work of creating a brilliant CV?  As consultants in outplacement and career management, we would advise not!  Sorry, it cannot be shirked. While your CV may still be dropped into the post box, there are additional options to find an appropriate audience for it.

Networking.  Social networking online brings together acquaintances and near acquaintances for social connections as well as business connections.  Two of the most well known social networking sites are Facebook and MySpace. While they are still very much social and chat-up sites, keep an eye on them for, as they are growing up, their members are using them for business purposes.  They are starting to look like LinkedIn.

According to Wikipedia,  LinkedIn, a business networking site, was used by over 24 million people from more than 150 industries during the month of May 2008. Now, in October, there are 30 million members.  LinkedIn allows registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. This way, people who do not know each other can gain introductions through mutual, trusted contacts.  Worldwide traffic to LinkedIn increased 123 percent year-on-year in the three months to the end of September, according to Nielson, the research group, compared to growth in the internet market of 10 percent.

Some large organizations encourage employees to set up sections to socially interact, thereby removing the cost and responsibility for company newsletters and such. Employers can list jobs and job seekers can post CVs on LinkedIn.

Xing is the European rival to LinkedIn.  Listed in Frankfurt, Xing saw third-quarter revenue growth of 86 percent to over 9m euros.  the bulk of this revenue came from its half million paying customers.  The website states there are 6 million members in all.

Bulletin Boards.  A second important change in searching for jobs, impossible without the internet is Craigslist, a huge bulletin board. So huge in fact, that Alexa Internet, Inc., a website that provides information on web traffic, reported in August 2008 that Craigslist receives over two million new job listings each month. It is now found in 450 cities in 50 countries.  Twenty seven British towns and cities currently have local Craigslists.  Started in San Francisco in 1995, it retains a rather casual USA West Coast sensibility. However, don′t be fooled by it′s pared-down and no frills look. Millions of employers and job-seekers find each other through CRAIGSLIST, all over the world.

Be aware of technology′s power and consider your CV in a world where it represents you on its own more than ever before.

To access the sites mentioned above, go to

www.facebook.com
www.myspace.com
www.linkedin.com
www.xing.com         
www.craigslist.org