| Posted by: Zooped, January 18th, 2009 |
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Ashley Klein landed a real job after she graduated from Ball State University in 2006 – just not the one she wanted.
Ever since, the English major turned business consultant has kept her résumé posted on the professional networking site LinkedIn, hoping it will help her find an editing or writing job better suiting her interests.
“I would say I’m passively looking,” said the 26-year-old, who has already been contacted for an interview by an employer who saw her professional credentials on the site. “It’s a good way to network and get your name out there.”
As the economy plummets, Klein and other job seekers are increasingly turning to online networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook to investigate career opportunities. And they’re logging on for good reason: Recruiters and employers are becoming more involved with online networking sites, too.
Unique visits to LinkedIn and Facebook jumped more than 100 percent from September 2007 to September 2008, according to a study by Nielsen Online, a service of the Nielsen Co. LinkedIn, a professional networking site with more than 30 million members, had a membership surge in September, when the economic forecast grew dimmer. A quick people search in LinkedIn for Fort Wayne brings up about 4,500 members. A similar search on Facebook, a site with 150 million members, brings up thousands more.
The membership growth has helped online networking sites grow when other businesses are suffering.
In January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment rose from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent. This bad news for many Americans may be good news for online networking sites. Membership to most sites is free. If people join in large numbers, networking sites could see advertising sales increase, which could boost profits.
Job seekers have many professional online networking sites to choose from: Sites like Yorz, Xing and Ecademy are not well known but gaining popularity. In the meantime, Facebook, although not solely a professional networking site, and LinkedIn, seem to be particularly popular among job seekers.
The two sites differ vastly in feel and function.
Facebook was founded by two Harvard undergraduate students in 2003. Membership was limited to college students until 2006, when anyone was allowed to join. Now, according to Nielsen Online, it’s the most popular online networking site for 25- to 35-year-olds.
Facebook is primarily a social networking site where users upload and swap photos and favorite songs, trade messages and update their profiles with information such as their latest job, favorite quote or film. Membership is open to anyone, though users can control who sees their information. Recruiters can post job announcements by purchasing advertisements on the site.
LinkedIn, founded in 2003, is an online community geared toward professional networking and is the most popular networking site among 35- to 49-year-olds, according to Nielsen Online. Members are encouraged to form “connections” with people they’ve met in the business world and include information about their previous and current jobs, but that’s about it. The site isn’t about job searching as much as it’s about expanding and maintaining a professional network. For that reason, few employers frown on employees joining the site; many actually encourage it.
LinkedIn members can provide status updates and join or form groups with people who have similar interests. When accepted into a group, members can participate on its discussion board, posting notes and replying to comments by other members. There are about 20 LinkedIn groups related to Fort Wayne, with titles such as “Fort Wayne Information Technology Professionals” to “Active 20-30 Club of Fort Wayne.” LinkedIn members can also recommend others whom they have worked with professionally.
Jill Parker, Career Services director at Indiana University-Purdue Univesity Fort Wayne, said LinkedIn, although less popular, is the online network best suited for professionals.
“Employers like to see referrals and things like that; that figures heavily into finding candidates,” she said. “Facebook has more of a social connotation.”
Membership to LinkedIn is free, although it offers paid subscriptions to customers who would want extra services like the ability to search for references. Recruiters can also pay to post job listings on the site.
Some area businesses use both LinkedIn and Facebook for recruiting, though most tend to prefer LinkedIn.
Michelle Merritt, a recruiting strategist with Three Rivers Credit Union, is such a fan of LinkedIn that she has a link to her network profile in her e-mail signature. She’s been using LinkedIn for the last few years, she said, and has made a few hires based on her LinkedIn network.
“It’s a great tool,” said Merritt, who advertises open positions on the site. “The main priority is getting our name out there to the right people.”
Chris Moline, an Indianapolis-based recruiter, agrees.
“I use LinkedIn quite a bit,” he said. “It’s definitely the stronger tool. You don’t get a lot of (career) information from someone’s Facebook page, and it’s harder to search.”
IPFW’s Parker has some reservations about Facebook.
She says job seekers need every tool at their disposal to land the perfect job, and that joining an online network is another way to increase the chance of being hired. But she cautions job seekers should use Facebook and post information with caution: Recruiters and potential employers should notice candidates’ professional achievements, she says, not how many beers they threw back on Saturday night.
“If they’re going to be on Facebook, we tell them to please keep it appropriate,” Parker said. “A lot of times students will have pictures of their friends drinking, things like that. And we tell them to be very careful about what employers can see.”
Merritt agrees.
“I tell people ‘Be responsible for your image,’ ” she said. “Do not put anything on your Facebook page that you would not say, do, type or show photos of on the 5 o’clock news.”
The warnings come with good reason.
Although some human resource professionals say anti-discrimination concerns keep them from conducting background checks on applicants using social networking sites, the practice still happens.
According to the Ponemon Institute, a privacy think tank, 34 percent of hiring managers look up job candidates on social networking sites. About one-third of those Web searches result in people not being considered for jobs, according to the survey.
Moline, the recruiter in Indianapolis, said it is hard to resist the temptation to look at a candidate’s Facebook profile.
“I’d be lying to say that I haven’t done it,” he said. “If I see someone has red flags, and I think they might have something going on that could be bad, I might look at that person in greater detail. … It’s not my common practice, but curiosity gets ahold of anybody.”
Although online networking has some pitfalls, Parker and other career counselors said it can be tremendous asset – if used correctly.
Job seekers should carefully monitor their profiles, experts said, but also contribute to the online community by sharing information.
Klein, the Ball State graduate, says she always participates in LinkedIn discussion groups and answers questions posted by other members.
“There’s a reap-what-you-sow kind of mantra,” she said. “I’m a firm believer that with any site, you only get out of it what you put into it.”
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