I had the pleasure of participating at a joint event with Moxxie Network and Dress For Success, Professional Women’s Group through the Town of Brookhaven Office of Women’s Services.  It was a 3 hour event where the women of the Moxxie Network volunteered their time to meet with and coach those entering or re-entering the workforce and those looking to evolve in their careers.  When Beth Meixner, founder of Moxxie asked if I’d like to volunteer my time to coach, I said yes!  When she asked if I’d like to present, I thought NO!  Doing what I do?  No problem.  Talking to a large group of people about how they might benefit from it?  Scary!…  But I said yes.  In the name of professional growth (the theme of the event) I thought it appropriate to challenge myself and venture outside my comfort zone.  I met a bunch of great people, and I hope I was able to help a few.  I collected email addresses at my speed coaching table and promised to send the information I covered and didn’t have time to cover so we could focus on Q&A at the event.  But, this is NOT ABOUT ME, it’s about helping the clients of Dress For Success understand how to begin thinking about using social media as a tool to enhance their job search.  So here it is as promised, and thank you to Moxxie and DFS for having me, for sharing your stories, for allowing me to help you, and for all the feedback.  What you will find below is a high level basic overview.  Each section could be expanded to it's own entire set of articles, so feel free to ask follow up questions in the comments section at the end and I will respond.

My goal was to share what I have learned as a recruiter and help jobseekers use it to their advantage in a search.  So, to understand the process from a hiring perspective, there are 3 driving factors which measure success: cost, quality and cycle time (getting awesome hires quickly and cost effectively).  If you flip that around, as a job seeker, you want to quickly get yourself in front of recruiters and hiring decision makers using free tools to showcase your strongest skills and accomplishments.  If you’re relying solely on newspaper classifieds and job boards, you’re missing the boat on how social media can offer an abundance of free resources that can open the door to a wealth of insider information and give you direct access to people you never would have had access to before.  I’m talking about networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Blogs (not to mention - posting ads in the paper and using Monster and Careerbuilder are expensive for companies).  Social and professional networking sites allow recruiters to find people (who may or may not be seeking employment) for free where they regularly hang out.  Job seekers can use them as toys for social interaction or they can be used as tools for a job search.  Use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as a comprehensive online resume.  Answer every question a recruiter may not have otherwise called you to ask.

First, Google yourself!  Evaluate and do any necessary cleanup with respect to your online image as I described here and here.  Then, use the information from your resume and from 15 Second Pitch to create professional online pages on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Make sure your profile:

• Is focused only on your career.
• Is specific with respect to your professional traits, competencies and skills.
• Clearly indicates what type of career you’re seeking.
• Presents you as a solution to a potential employer’s problem.
• Highlights specific results and accomplishments, not merely a listing of tasks and former job descriptions.

Then what?

 Facebook:

• Search for jobs in the Marketplace.
• Browse, search and utilize career applications such as Inside Job, Professional Profile: Business Networking, Testimonials & Professional Profile (Note: I haven’t personally tested and evaluated all these applications, but there are reviews available on the pages).
• Search for companies that host career pages, such as E&Y, ADP, Discover and Aerotek and fan their pages for potential job announcements and to expand your professional network.

 LinkedIn:

• Import webmail (yahoo, hotmail, aol, gmail, etc..) to find out which of your personal connections are already on LinkedIn.
• Search for current and former colleages and classmates at the employers and schools you have listed.
• Write recommendations for those whom you whole-heartedly endorse and ask others to recommend you.
• Search people - HR, Recruiters, Career Coaches, Resume Writers, people in your industry / job function, and people working at companies you want to work for.  (Note: since these people are strangers, DON’T use the generic system generated connection message.  Be sure to thoroughly review their profile, read any articles they’ve written and linked to and send a personalized complementary request which shows your familiarity with their work and which states your reason for wanting to connect with them.  Also ask them to kindly archive the message should they choose not to accept, rather than indicate they don’t know you, which could eventually disable your account).
• Join career and industry related groups.  Connect with people in the groups.
•  Ask questions on the Answers tab and also as discussions in the groups you join.  Get free advice and thank those who answered you by sending a connection request.
•  Search for jobs on the Jobs tab.  LinkedIn shows you people in your network that you may be connected to or who can introduce you to someone inside those companies with openings.
•  Connect with me and have access to my 600+ connections.
• …and if you find any value in what I’m sharing, please don’t hesitate to recommend my work.

Twitter:

• Use either your real name or a handle that identifies you as a job seeker (you can change it later without losing any of your Twitter flock). 
•  Your website should be your LinkedIn or Facebook profile (or blog or online resume).
• Your bio should contain elements from your 15 Second Pitch and indicate you’re seeking employment.
• Your tweets should contain key words relating to your skills and experience (hints: look a job postings and think about what key words recruiters might search for to find candidates to fill the position you want).
• Do all of the above BEFORE you begin following people, because once you begin following people, they will check out your profile and updates and decide if they will follow you back and/or MORE IMPORTANTLY re-tweet your messages to their following.
• Use "Find People" to search for career experts (using bio key words such as HR, recruit, career coach, resume writer, social media etc...) who can be an asset to your career search and follow them (choose wisely – review profiles, bios, updates and websites to determine if the person really has value to add for you personally).  The more people you follow, the more noise you will see on your home page.  You can also search google for lists of people to follow on Twitter such as this one from Irina @braingain of 200 Recruiters (and growing) to follow .
• Look for jobs.  There are Twitter applications such as TwitterJobSearch and TweetMyJobs created specifically for posting jobs, and you can also search for messages containing job announcements using Twitter Search.
•  Get a head start: Follow me at https://twitter.com/shawnaarmstrong and see the great people I’m following!
• Don’t miss @careerealism who offers T.A.P (Twitter Advice Project) where you can ask career and job search related questions and have them answered by their network of career experts and following.  And also “Am I Money?” where you can submit and receive feedback on your on line profile, resume, cover letter etc... from industry experts – all for free!  Want proof?  I asked Careerealism T.A.P. the question, if social media is right for everyone in a job search, see the answers here.
• Here is an amazing "everything Twitter" list of resources.

Blogs:

Professionals write blog articles for many reasons including promoting their business and building their professional credibility.  When you connect with them on LinkedIn and Twitter, you’ll often find links to their blogs.

• Read them!  Learn about new strategies, best practices and pet peeves.
• Check out www.recruitingblogs.com a professional networking site for Recruiters.  See what they’re saying, what they’re looking for, what they’re complaining about…  They even have a group called "Recruiters on LinkedIn" which lists over 1500 recruiters willing to connect, since every connection represents a potential great candidate or lead to a great candidate for an open position.
  
•  Join the conversation!  Use the comments section at the end of blogs to complement the articles, offer your input (constructively), share your experiences, or ask follow up questions.
• Another idea, write your own blog about your career search.  Share it with your network and ask for feedback and suggestions.

Now you’ve tapped into a large network of career experts who can give you the best career advice.  You've connected with company & industry contacts who can give you insider information and potentially your next job lead or referral.  In addition to that, you’ve created a laser-guided focus and some rich online content attached to your name.  You've articulated your value proposition for recruiters to find (and be impressed).  You’ve marketed yourself as motivated and results oriented, interested in career growth and progression – and the BEST part?… you’ve PROVED it in action and interaction, rather than just claiming it on a resume!

Don’t forget your local network!

• Business to Business local networking events - Find them online and at your local chamber of commerce.  Who says you have to represent a company?  Represent yourself.  Who knows if one of the attending companies could actually use someone like you, or knows of someone else who does?
• Career Fairs – Treat them as job interviews.  Dress professionally and have plenty of resumes on hand.  Practice your 15 Second Pitch and do not show any interest in the trinkets / giveaways, at least until after you’ve discussed the job opportunities.  (Note: some companies are there to interview and some are only there to promote anticipated openings and direct you to their website for future postings.  Don’t be discouraged if they merely direct you to their website).
•  Family, friends, former co-workers & bosses, neighbors and community organization members – Treat every career conversation as a mini interview, perfect your 15 Second Pitch.  Be specific with respect to what you do and what you’re looking for.

Don’t make it all about how people can help you.  Give to your network, offer to help, participate in conversations, help spread their word, complement their work, engage, acknowledge.  Makes people more willing to help you.  In the end, this should ultimately help you get closer to earning what you’re worth, get paid to do what you know and love, create beneficial relationships with those who can be a true asset to your career, and potentially get hired more quickly and easily than you might be able to do on your own.