Just earlier today, I read this interesting piece on the changing face of today’s barrier less digital economy (a la “World is Flat”) on CNN. The article highlights how the CV/resume has evolved over the past few years from a paper based resume to the online version, and made it easier to find you that dream job.
So, let me highlight five steps to announce to your dream job, that you’ve arrived! Gone are the days, when you found the perfect job when you wanted one! The task is made infinitely easier for those who obsess about their favorite topic of interest and have an online brand that defines that.
1. Start networking today — Off line events
What started off as a necessity while I was into business development – networking with fellow marketers, led to a passion towards attending events on topics that enthralled me (web 2.0 related), and slowly towards finding a community of like-minded peers. For e.g. If your primary area of interest is web 2.0 marketing there is no dearth of events that you can attend. Here are probably three primary sources: Upcoming.org, Meetup, and the Web 2.0 Expo.
Although resumes posted on the Internet has increased the job-hunting prowess for many, traditional approaches — such as old-fashioned, off-line networking, is still a powerful job-seeking tool. “You need a blended approach — you can’t put your eggs all in one basket,” Alan Whitford says.
2. Start a blog on your favorite topic — Online presence
In order to find that dream job, let’s face it, you’ve got to have a dream! If you have a dream, you’ve got to announce it from the rooftops and the present-day equivalent of that would be for you to start a blog. For e.g. When I started my blog, I knew I loved marketing but it helped me evolve towards specific topics I closely identify with (such as customer evangelism and community marketing), fueled by friends in that space (Mack, Jeremiah, Damon, and others).
Blogging, I realized was a great way to effectively share thoughts, energize, and converse with my friends. I think an important first step was finding that community of marketers. In my case, I’d have to thank Mack and Ann for welcoming me into the circle of marketers. But trust me, your circle will find you.
3. Engage with those who share your enthusiasm for the topic
Let your “circle of interest” find you. And once they do, the conversations that ensue will be worth all the effort. There are many tools to accentuate that behavior. A case in point: Twitter, which everyone’s been talking about, helps you connect with your audience/circle of hyper passionate individuals you call your online network. In a recent TIME article, “The Hyperconnected“, Lev Grossman talks of how ubiquitous technology like Twitter and iPhone are going to make things worse or better to engage with your trusted network, depending on how you look at it.
4. Find a tool to sustain both kinds of networking (online/offline)
Now, when I started off networking, I initially tried out an online networking service and felt handicapped by the fact that most of my friends weren’t on those networks and then I moved to LinkedIn (LI). The good news with LI then was that I was able to establish a virtual connection with my friends from high school, college, professional colleagues, the contacts I’d made networking – offline and online, and I was accumulating them all into one single repository (Disclosure: I’m the Community Evangelist at LinkedIn). Now there could be other online resources that you swear by. It doesn’t matter, just have a single easy-to-use repository of connections, and most importantly a tool that enables conversations. More on LinkedIn (via CNN):
Other user-to-user Web sites have conversely been a boon to job seekers: LinkedIn, a Web site dedicated for networking among job seekers, has gained acclaim for matching people together for business purposes.
“LinkedIn has gone a long way to recreate informal social networks for job seekers,” says Alan Whitford, who has written extensively about online recruitment and runs Abtech Partnership, which consults companies about using online tools for hiring. (Source: CNN Article “Interactive CVs…” dtd. 4/7/7)
5. Craft your online presence around your favorite topic
If you follow the above four rules, I’m sure you’ll definitely find yourself continuously among “birds of a feather” and that’d definitely solidify your presence among your “Circle of Interest”, meaning those who are as passionate about your area of interest as you are.
Whichever way you think of it, a blog or an online professional networking tool is an essential component to your online brand and let’s face it, companies are increasingly searching for you on the web. What’s the easiest way to find you on the web? Yes, just Google yourself and see how your web presence defines you.
