Using the One-To-Many Approach in Online Job Search - CareerAlley

Using the One-To-Many Approach in Online Job Search - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Work hard, have fun and make history. Jeff Bezos Author: Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D. Online job search should never completely replace traditional ways of searching for a job. As any good marketer knows-and thats what you are, a marketer of yourself-its never smart to make assumptions about what works and what doesnt. Rather, the ideal approach is to test everything and see what works for you. If going to real-world networking events gets you the gig, thats great. If finding a job in the newspaper classified section does it for you-kudos! The goal of using social networking for job search is to give you more options-more job-hunting tactics to test. And the new tactic of using social networks to speed up your job search is highly leverageable. In other words, you can get a lot more mileage out of a little bit of invested time and energy relative to traditional job-hunting tactics. Instead of telling your story by sending your resume to one person or company at a time, social networks allow you to broadcast your message using the one-to-many approach. Traditional methods of job hunting such as applying through newspaper or online job listings can best be thought of as using a one-to-one approach. You are reaching out with one resume to one job at one specific employer. Conversely, social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and others, are best thought of as platforms that will enable you to establish ongoing one-to-many relationships. Therefore, you prepare your message-or better yet versions of your message in the form of resumes-and then you can start building relationships with a greater number of people simultaneously. Youre not laboriously sending resumes out one at a time to someone who might give you a job. Instead, we e going to show you how to blast your message out there-in a targeted way-to people who might give you a job directly or help you find one indirectly by passing you on to others who can hire you. Start with this people-centric perspective, and youre on your way to understanding how to best utilize social networks to getting your next job. Versioning There are times when a candidate might be wise to prepare a variety of messages-and resumes-that are tailored to the needs and interests of different employment niches. For example, one professional who was planning a career change several years ago had done many different things and was open to pursuing a wide variety of job options. While this greatly increased the number of opportunities that were available to him, it also created a challenge for him as well. If he were to present himself as all things to all people, he may well have come across as someone who was way too broad and unfocused to fit in the narrow confines of a given job description. So what did he do? He created three fairly different versions of his resume. He called one his consulting resume, and it focused on his flexibility and creativity in handling various creative projects for high-profile clients. His second was his educator resume, and the slant of his job description on that resume highlighted on work he had done as a teacher, instructional designer, and stand-up presenter. His third resume was his manager resume, and that one showcased experiences with supervising, managing, and collaborating with co-workers and other organizations. He even varied his Interests section on each resume. Each featured honest interests, but specific passions were included or omitted depending on the audience. Obviously, creating multiple resumes can be a great deal of work, and you need to have a system of keeping track of who has received what resume. That said, this can be a helpful concept for those considering multiple career paths simultaneously. Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/career-management-articles/using-the-one-to-many-approach-in-online-job-search-4862778.html About the Author Sherrie A. Madia, Ph.D. is an educator, author, and trainer. Her most recent books include The Social Media Survival Guide (Also available in Spanish), The Online Job Search Survival Guide, and S.E.R.I.A.L.PRENEURSHIP: The Secrets of Repeatable Business Success and The Social Media Survival Guide for Nonprofits and Charitable Organizations.She is frequently cited by the national media as an expert in social media. She is Director of Communications, External Affairs, and a Lecturer at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. To schedule an individual consultation or group workshop on online job-search, visit http://www.OnlineJobSearchBook.com. Good luck in your search.Visit me on Facebook