“…job searching is going to change even more so into referral-based hires. Word-of-mouth and crowd-sourcing are becoming so ubiquitous that there would be no reason to hire someone if they weren’t recommended…” – Jamie Varon (from Office Arrow)
I don’t remember when I first read that article but I recalled it when I read an interesting eBook this weekend, From Tweet To Hired. The eBook brings up some good points and how to brand yourself with Twitter- but also how to use it to help network and expand your contacts- because as I’ve said before, we should all be putting the social back into social media.
But let’s stop and think for a minute, Jamie is absolutely right- The Internet has changed the way we make decisions and now social media is going to change the way we find work and make contacts in business.
Back in the 90′s, how would we make a major purchase decision? Perhaps we’d visit a store and talk to a salesman or dealer. However it’s hard to completely trust what a salesman says since there’s a natural bias for him to steer us to certain products. In that case maybe we’d ask a friend or consult an independent review publication like Consumer Reports.
Remember Consumer Reports. With the funny looking circle ratings?
Now there are endless sites that peddle reviews. Cnet is a trusted site I always go to when I am looking to buy electronics. The power of individual reviews have also increased now that retailers allow for users to provide reviews on their sites. Suddenly the competition has changed for Consumer Reports- which I bet had the market concerned on buying advice. Today they have to worry about blogs and sites like Epinions cutting into their audience. Who would of thought that the audience Consumer Reports caters too would end up being the same party that could threaten their livelihood?
The Internet and sites like Monster made it easier to find jobs, which threatened newspaper classifieds. I’m going to go ahead and take it one step further and say that social networking and Linked-In will contribute to the decline of Monster.
If you could grab a fully qualified candidate for a job through a trusted recommendation or connection, why wouldn’t you do that instdea of hiring an unknown from a stack of resumes? I learned the power of networking when I landed my new job last week.
So what does this mean? It’s not longer about the resume or cover letter, it’s about you and your brand. You still need to have an updated resume that works for you but it no longer opens the door when it comes to finding a new job. You do.
Just like they say in Hollywood, it’s all about who you know. So get out there and meet, talk , and engage with people. That’s what social media is all about.
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