Quintessential Careers:
Making Social Networking Technology Work for You: A Recruiter's Perspective
by Maureen Crawford Hentz
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Recently a job opening came up in my company for a recruiter. Naturally, I turned to my
network to find candidates. Unlike the strategy I would have used five, three, or even
two years ago to access my network, in 2007, I now turn to social networking technology.
Social networking sites abound and confusion swirls about the appropriateness of using
them for business. While some sites cater primarily to the social needs of the millennial
generation, others are not only legitimate for business use, but essential elements for any
successful networker’s toolkit. While millennial generation-based, purely social sites (such as
MySpace and Facebook, despite the growing acceptance of Facebook as a business-related
site) have been recently trying to spin themselves as sites for business, most professionals I
know avoid them like the plague. As I tell my colleagues: Just as I don’t look for potential
employees on dating sites, I don’t go looking for them on purely social networking sites. I
stick to business networking sites (such as LinkedIn).
Too often as I give workshops around the country, I hear people say that they’ve put a
profile up on a business networking site and “nothing happened.” Putting a profile up is the
equivalent of going to a business networking event alone, not wearing a nametag, and
standing in the corner by the stuffed mushrooms. Business networking sites are valuable
ways to leverage your existing networks and develop new ones. These sites also offer
features that allow users to regulate the kind and frequency of contacts obtained, making it
easy to “work” your network, but you do actually have to put some work into it.
Here’s how to make business networking site work for you:
If you are using a business networking site to develop business, ensure that you fully describe
the goods/services you are offering. You might also consider listing client companies.
If I am looking for someone who has experience selling to Target, I will likely use that as a
key word to query the network. Profiles with that key word will pop up for me.
As you begin to grow your network, respect the contact settings of others. Do not
be a social networking slimeball: If someone’s contact setting says no sales emails, then don’t
send one. Business networking sites are quite adamant about this protocol; violate the
contact settings, and you can be reported by the person you reached out to inappropriately.
In this case remember that inappropriate doesn’t (only) mean solicitations for money-laundering
schemes; inappropriate means sending a solicitation of any kind that is contrary to the person’s
contact settings. No means no.
Many business networking sites do not have a section for keywords. Simply list them at the end
of your profile. Do not bother to repeat words that appear in your position description already;
they are already there! Instead, concentrate on job titles, concrete skills, clients, and competencies.
A word of caution here: Don’t bother to waste the space by keyword-loading soft skills; I will
never search a business networking site for “people person.”
Here’s an example of a keywords listing for an English major looking to break into advertising
and PR: corporate communications, marketing assistant, greeting card writer, editor, scientific
and technical writing, PageMaker, Quark, grammarian.
My strategy varies according to the different networking sites. On sites where it is a practice to
recommend one person in my network to another person, I take a very conservative approach;
I connect only with people I know and can actually recommend. This strategy isn’t as limiting
as it may seem, as I operationalize “know” fairly loosely -- colleagues, business acquaintances,
people who have attended a workshop of mine and followed up after. I like to know a little
bit about the people in my network, and I want them to know a little bit about me. After all,
when I make a referral, I am de facto endorsing this person, and I want to know whom I’m
endorsing.
Remember, social networking technology is an equivalent of a big online networking reception.
You would never approach a person and say as your opening salvo “can I have your business
card.” Instead, you would introduce yourself, chat a few minutes and then exchange cards.
Similarly, if you are unsure if a person in your past will recognize who you are, remind him/her
of who you are and your past relationship. One of my favorite graduate students of all time
just reached out to me through a business networking site with this message: “Not sure if
you remember me – hope we can connect.’ Now because he is one of my favorite graduate
students of all time, I did remember him, but if I had not, this wouldn’t have been
a good message. This message is the in-person equivalent of someone who comes up to
you at a networking event and says “you probably don’t remember me” and then stands
there. Much better to say/write: “Hello Mark, we worked together at Northeastern
University in Student Activities. Now I am working as an equities broker at Fidelity.
So good to connect with you.”
If you ask for and receive a recommendation or a referral for a job take two seconds
and write a thank you email to your network. Social networks, like all good networks,
are fed both good intentions and good actions. If someone does a good turn for you,
at the very least say thank you.
Final Thoughts
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article?
Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's
Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Be sure to take advantage of all the career networking tools, articles, and resources
found in our The Art of Career Networking
section of Quintessential Careers.
Social networking on a business networking site is an essential way of doing business.
It’s a new technology and early adopters are getting the most out of their networks.
Get out there, create a profile and get networking; you’ll be happy you did!
Regular QuintZine contributor Maureen Crawford Hentz is manager of talent
acquisition, development and compliance for OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc., a Siemens company.
She is a nationally recognized expert on social networking and new media recruiting.
With more than15 years of experience in the recruiting, consulting and employment areas, her
interests include college student recruiting, disabilities in the workplace, business etiquette, and
GLBT issues. Crawford Hentz has been quoted by The New York Times, NewsDay, The
Boston Globe, and National Public Radio, among others. In addition to her work for
QuintZine, she is a contributor to the Boston.com HR blog. She conducts workshops,
keynotes and conference sessions nationally. Crawford Hentz holds a master of arts degree
in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, and
a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from The American University,
Washington, DC. She lives outside Boston, MA.
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