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First, by way of background, I have been in and around the recruitment industry since 1993. With over 200 executive search assignments under my belt and the fact that every single career opportunity I have had has been relationship-driven as opposed to ad-driven, I have a deep appreciation for the power of the network.
The best executive search occurs by actively sourcing the best candidates for the job, whatever the work situation.
So, along come these social networking sites. I have been messing around and have put considerable time into LinkedIn, it seeming to be the most relevant for me.
I am impressed. And, I have those goose bumps that I get when faced with something that seems to be a profound improvement or change on the way things were done before.
Recommendations: Go figure out which service is for you. And use it. It does take some work, if you are truly going to benefit, but what worthwhile is easy in life.
So far, I am most impressed with LinkedIn (which has a distinctly management+ level to it), but there are others. For finding work, building your brand, building your online resume and collecting endorsements, looking for deals for your business, sourcing employees.
This is truly one of those ground-breaking innovations.
July 17th, 2004 at 2:49 pm
Ian,
You’re a great ‘LinkedIn’ pivot. I appreciate how you fold your networked connections together, i.e. deftly and professionally.
I anticipate that isn’t news … I just wanted to convey my appreciation.
Cheers!
Peter
August 17th, 2004 at 7:08 am
Ian,
I don’t get it man,I’m sorry. I went to the Linkedn site and checked it out. All of my friends and associates KNOW that I am desperate for a job right now and would gladly send me info. if they had anything to share with me. What is the point of my sending them an invitation to something like Linkedn? I need to see the sources in that site that I do not know yet and that my friends are unaware of that may be hiring–do you see my point? This same thing occurred when I initially tried to do the Monster Networking. I am a registered Interior Designer with 25 years experience, the people who wanted to chat with me were at home Moms who had a “flair for color and home decorating”. I found myself helping others get started in my field, which is fine, but I never made contact one regarding employment which I thought was the primary point of networking, isn’t it? Needless to say, I quit the networking on Monster because I never could find anyone in my field. Sorry to sound like I’m ranting…just don’t know how to work this system, plus it’s been a while- 8 months–yikes! Employment Agencies and Headhunters have also been equally usless. I’m just about at my wit’s end and ready to change careers as much as I hate to think of doing that.
P.S. Your photo is NOT cheesy! It’s nice.
August 26th, 2004 at 4:29 pm
Okay, Here’s my absolutely shameless plea for some good resume attention. Trying to get the attention of Microsoft. Is it working?
Seems like I read about all kinds of exciting projects and have even gotten to come in and test a few. I’d love to come work where I love to play.
Thanks for any suggestions or consideration!
http://www.geocities.com/jjswanson_mgr
October 4th, 2004 at 7:08 am
Although my profile is on LinkedIn, I felt that an invaluable blogging service is missing there.. seems to me LinkedIn upgrades take much longer time to move on….
Anyway, I am on Ryze and Ecademy too…
Online networking is relatively new to me, been touching ground since August 2004. Previously I online delphi forum posted more!