The Flip Side of Social Networking and Google

In August, you might have read this post where I warned about the dangers of social networking.  One of my colleagues recently made me aware of the flip side of this perspective.  In this economy when most Indianapolis Executive Recruiters (or recruiters in any other city for that matter) are inundated with resumes of unemployed candidates, using Google is a good approach to make yourself identifiable to headhunters looking to fill six figure jobs.  

Have you  tried to Google yourself recently?  If you have a common name, it may be a little more difficult.  However, for most folks, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter profiles are typically the top hits in search results.  Make sure these pages contain information regarding your professional profile to make it easy for recruiters to understand your background within a few seconds of reading.  Blogging is another great way to publicize your background to potential employers.  Also, make sure these social networking sites do not contain any negative information regarding your background.  If your Facebook page contains pictures of a recent Friday night out with friends, then you should consider making your profile private. 

One Indianapolis-based social networking and job search tool is Careerscribe.  This website enables candidates to "scrapbook" about their professional accomplishments ranging from posting letters of recommendation to college transcripts to potential employers and recruiters.  .  Utilizing social networking sites effectively should ease some of the burden of your Indianapolis job search.  Hopefully it will enable recruiters to find you instead of you seeking them out.