Click that can hook you up to dream career

Technology is fast driving the career world, and today it is more popular to send a job application via e-mail than in hard copy form. In Kenya, public service job application has gone online making it faster, cheaper and more efficient.

With internet in homes, social networking through websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter has largely become the means to keep in touch with friends worldwide. Many users of these social sites assume that they are for fun with most posting just about anything about themselves on their pages. They are, however, fast evolving into business and career portals where people can discuss job needs apart from networking.

A Kenyan businessman, Andrew Mutua who lives in US, has successfully made use of Facebook to market his business babawatoto.com. A website such as LinkedIn is popular as a professionals’ networking site. Mr Ernesto Gluecksmann, a software developer with Infamia.com says that in essence, one truism exists in business; that people like doing business with people they know.  

“Social networking, by definition is really about creating and maintaining relationships. In fact, to me, these tools behave as accelerators that allow us to create new relationships and connect faster with new people.” He says that by signing onto Facebook, one invariably ends up reconnecting with old relationships because it helps you to “find your friends”.

Even more importantly, spending time on Twitter can be beneficial to job seekers.  The difference with these sites is in the way they are structured, with some giving away too much personal information. This could be why many older folk are yet to appreciate them.

Mr Gluecksmann singles out the difference between Facebook and Twitter. “It is a subtle but a critical difference between the two sites in that on Facebook , each user has to “friend” or connect with another user before they are able to share information between each other.

But this is not so on Twitter, where any user can follow anyone.” He adds that Twitter’s greatest appeal is its potential to cross institutional boundaries. “This, I would say, is invaluable to any jobseeker looking to get a break in their industry.” True, like any item that has been designed to make life easier and more efficient, these websites have had their share of abuse.

As Mr Gluecksmann puts it, one cannot force people to be ones online friends; you have to earn their respect. This part involves a first step before anything - to pay attention. Rather than bombarding users with selfish posts, it is wise to give others the first option. “Listen first! Get an idea of what the conversations online are and then start to chime in with your expertise and knowledge,” he says.

Use of social networking sites by recruiters is not yet common in Kenya. How can recruiters make use of it? Most employers are still using traditional advertising such as newspapers, radio and television to notify would-be jobseekers of existing vacancies. They are also more adept to snail mail to receive job applications, the tried and tested means of communication.

But as more jobseekers turn to these social sites for updates, recruiters will be using them very soon to screen potential employees. Mr Gluecksmann says that potential bosses and employers will use these tools and services to find out more about you, the jobseeker.

“Do you blog? If so, what do you write about? Are you on Facebook? If so, what kind of pictures do you have? What kind of topics do you chat about? etc. They are interested in getting to know who you are and usually the first step is to google your name.” So for those would-be jobseekers who use the internet, it is imperative to make sure that there is great content online associated with your name.

One tip would be to form the habit of giving value first. Develop an online reputation for helping people to solve their challenges first, and they will eventually think about you first when it comes to their needs. Another tip is to write about your industry. Demonstrate that you have inside knowledge and understanding of your industry and are up on current events. Both of these tips will begin to position you as a more authoritative source of your industry.

It will benefit you to have an online user account with these websites. “Sign up with an account on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for starters and post your accomplishments and expertise on them. Don’t be shy about telling the world what you know and are good at,” says Mr Gluecksmann.

His other tip is that when you post something online, it’ll likely be there forever so, keep your online public profiles professional. You can still have personal content on these sites, but get a good understanding of the site’s privacy controls. It makes for efficiency when you group your professional contacts together, and apart from your personal and family contacts.

Job seekers should combine personal and social networking activities, while also focusing on tried-and-true techniques such as developing targeted resumes, preparing thoroughly for interviews and working with specialised recruiters.