Networking still key in times of Employment 2.0

We’ve been all over the social networking scene of late, whether giving you advice on how to use social networks like Facebook and Twitter in your job search, or discussing the use of these networks by employers as screening tools for potential hires. We know all about the allure of these here internets as a job searching outlet. However, each new day brings more development in the bold frontier of “Employment 2.0,” and today About.com’s ‘Job Searching’ blog weighs in on the matter. Specifically, guest author Robin Eads reminds us that, like everything else, the importance of the internet as a job search tool is relative. What really matters, she says, is your network, which can be enhanced through the internet, but must be cultivated through picking up the phone, talking to people, getting involved in groups and, you know, traditional ways of actually interacting with people.

With more technology, opportunity and ways to communicate, it’s easy to forget that there are actually live human beings out there. Many job seekrs fail to remember the basic rule of job searching which is connecting. The interent and social networking sites can be great sources of information and networking; but when it comes to giving yourself fthe edge for that job you’re after, you have to step away from the box.

You mean to tell me I need to leave my house to get on the job search grind? Won’t this require putting on pants? Yikes. It really is a brave new world out there, huh?

Eads writes, “Consider for a moment what you might do if you had no access to the internet. How would you conduct your job search?” Job search? If there were no internet access, I’d be looking for a place to hide from the hoards of crazed pantsless savages emerging from basements everywhere in search of precious bandwith. Although I suppose once the initial shock wore off, said hoard might develop into a useful network of real life human people. [About.com: Job Searching]

--Posted by Steven Schiff, Vault News & Commentary