Guest contributor

You may have read my previous column “Networking 101.” While today’s column is obviously a follow-up on the same subject, there is no pre-requisite “course” for reading the following information. However, you will need a certain comfort level with your computer. In “Networking 101,” we discussed the possible job-hunting advantages available through networking at social gatherings, stores, and across the street with your neighbors. Today’s “lesson” focuses on networking over the computer.

A few weeks ago, a friend suggested that I join Facebook (www.facebook.com) to do some networking for my job search. Facebook has received some unfavorable press recently due to their attempts to change their policy for protecting users’ private information. However, they are supposedly addressing that issue. I’ve found Facebook to be a useful tool, not only from the networking perspective, but also as a form of free “therapy” and moral support during the job-hunting process. 

Members of Facebook “talk” to each other online, so there is potential for a valuable exchange of information. You can contact your next-door neighbor, or you can get in touch with a long-lost friend in Japan. Either way, Facebook users can communicate their job-hunting status to as many people as they wish, throughout the Kennebunks or across the globe, without the cost of a single phone call. I’ve already gathered helpful job hunting suggestions from Facebook contacts working in a field related to my own. The miracle of technology has put us in touch with job markets anywhere in the world!

What about the “therapeutic” benefits of Facebook? During the last couple of weeks, I have re-connected with about 20 of my college friends, some of whom have offered a willing ear, when I’ve needed one. Thanks to my Facebook connection, I had dinner recently with a couple of old buddies from Indiana who were visiting Maine over a weekend. We didn’t discuss my employment situation much, but just “kicking back” and enjoying an evening out was refreshing. When your life is centered around job-hunting and the stresses of being unemployed, establishing contact with old friends can be a breath of fresh air!

For those who prefer a more “business-like” approach to networking, there is “LinkedIn” at www.linkedin.com. To be fair, I have not used this networking tool to its maximum advantage, but those who have used the LinkedIn system sing its praises, especially if they work in business and sales professions. LinkedIn works somewhat like Facebook in that users create their own profile pages with information about themselves and their businesses or career interests. Both Facebook and LinkedIn users email “invitations” to friends and associates with whom they would like to correspond. However, in LinkedIn, you not only network with individuals you know, but also the people that they know, and the people that know the people that they know, etc. If it scares you to imagine a guy in Argentina that you’ve never met before inviting you to become a part of his network, you may not want to join LinkedIn! However, if you are job-hunting through LinkedIn, the possibilities are endless.

Networking over the Internet can be an interesting and profitable way to search for your next job. Just a word of warning: Don’t spend too much time at the computer screen “talking” to all of your new contacts! The snow is melting, the days are getting longer, and spring is on its way – Get outside and enjoy the warmer weather!

Gup-Mathews invites readers to send thoughts regarding unemployment to her at “The Write Impression” at www.writeimpressionmaine.com.