Every week, NETSHARE hosts Ask the Coach, a phone-in coaching session with leading career management experts. Here is an excerpt from this week’s session with career transition coach and career management consultant Randy Block.
This week’s call with career coach Randy Block was a lively one. The discussion began with a discussion of social networking and how to use it effectively as part of your job search.
Randy opened the call with a story about a group of hunters who were very excited about the opening of moose season. They packed up and heading toward their cabin the woods to get to bed early to bag their first moose of the season early the next day. Imagine their disappointment when they awoke to find a dead moose on their doorstep. The point, of course, is that you want to be hunted rather than being the hunter. 
The first caller talked about his LinkedIn strategy. He has a profile on LinkedIn but was only using it to network with contacts and he kept a lot of the information private; accessible by invitation only. Randy notes that that is a mistake. LinkedIn sells sophisticated SEO software to clients to help them find candidates on LinkedIn using sophisticated search criteria. In order to be found, you need to put your best foot forward in a searchable profile. Highlight your best achievements and make sure you are discoverable using keywords and other means.
Randy also emphasized the need to be perceived as a subject expert. Participate in the forums and offer expert opinions on various topics related to your personal brand. You become known by the groups where you are active and how you rank as an expert, so participation is important.
Another caller asked about the new social network Google+ and how important that is to job search. As Randy noted, some folks like to start with a Google search, and if you are active in Google it increases your rankings. Google+ is another tool that you can add to your job search arsenal to supplement your hunt-ability. The more Google tools you use, the higher your rankings.
Start by doing a vanity search and uncovering what you can on your name and your personal brand. Then you can help shape your brand with a Google profile and using Google+ to build your network. As Randy noted, relevancy is the key to job search today. To be found and considered, you need to be perceived as relevant, so you need to plant your brand footprint in as many searchable locations as possible.
