Okay, so I stole the idea for the title from one of my colleagues, Jason Alba, but I simply could not resist it. Recently, my dear old mother gave it to the call of social media and with help from my oldest sister, Faith created a Facebook account.
Within just a few days, she had connected with her family and friends - granted most of whom are her children, but she has put herself on the media map to find old friends and colleagues.
How many of you are still fighting the need for social media marketing in your executive job search?
Are you still not convinced that you can make easy connections and start to build a network of supporters and strategic partners by simply joining and actively participating in social networking groups?
I spent this past weekend, reaching out others in my LinkedIn groups to offer support, general ideas, and suggestions as job seekers are facing seemingly "insurmountable" obstacles in today's recession-packed market.
But I noticed something very phenomenal, the more I reached to help others, many of whom I have never connected or communicated with reached to offer me their support in my business ventures. I was offered opportunities to be a guest blogger and submit articles to major self growth and information sites, and an author asked for my feedback on her upcoming book.
What I am getting at? Networking is more than you using opportunities to get what you want, it is also about you offering support and encouragement to other who may be going through the same thing - word of kindness, patient listenly, and sharing of resources will cost you nothing.
On the LinkedIn blog, there are several jobseekers who have shared their success with using it in the post called "Top Linked In Stories of 2008".
Check it out, get some ideas for yourself, get your profile up, and get to connecting and networking. If my once-technology-challenged mother can do it, so can you.
Look forward to "seeing" you on LinkedIn.
Additional resource:
