Facebook has over 500 million people
Twitter has around 100 million people
LinkedIn has approximately 70 million people
Real Life? It has over 6 billion people
…so don’t forget where most of the people are!
These days plenty of people are busy with their online memberships, but if you’re currently looking for a new job or career, don’t forget your membership with the human race – face to face! There’s still plenty of opportunities to network with others live and in-person, so don’t be afraid to get out there! You never know where or when you might hear about your next opportunity!
If you’re in D.C., I’m sure you’ve heard recently that the Transportation Security Administration is serving up job announcements with the local pizzeria. Who could have guessed that when your next pizza pie is delivered, it your next job opportunity could very well be staring you in the face – right there on the pizza box.
Besides finding a job through food, some people here in Arizona are finding theirs through a leisurely pursuit. If you like to bowl, why not go out, bowl a free game and look for your next job. This new pastime seems to have caught on across the state this past year. In Kingman and Tucson which are at opposite ends of the state – they report that over 800 people have found jobs through the bowling alley job fairs. The employers who are participating are both big and small – government included! Heck, even libraries are having job fairs these days, and why not kill two birds with one stone – check out some books and some jobs!
Traffic is another great source for job seekers. I’m sure you’ve heard some stories in the last year or so about people standing at exit ramps on freeways, or at intersections wearing signs telling others that their looking for work while handing out resumes – it does work! People are landing middle-management and entry-level jobs this way.
If networking outdoors with mother nature doesn’t work for you, why not enter people’s living rooms? Even local television stations are doing their part to help job seekers. Local evening broadcasts around the nation are playing videos created by job seekers telling the public about their work experience and the type of job they are seeking. This has been shown to be an effective way to land a job as well!
Finally, for those of you who wake up on Sunday and head off to worship, find out about the other perks of church membership. Chances may be there’s an employment group made up of job seekers who share job leads. Some even have employers come to present to the group about their organization and the types of positions they are recruiting for.
Believe me; I’m by no means knocking the online job search. I’m just saying don’t forget about the day-to-day interactions and real-time opportunities that occur – that is where most of the people are!
Great ideas! The real value of the online social networking tools is in the maintenance of a relationship that you first created face-to-face.
@Melissa – You would be surprised how many people don’t know that libaries have job fairs. When I tell people where I’ll be recruiting, the common response is “Really? The library?, Huh!” I don’t think people realize what all their local library offers. This is slowly changing the last couple of years, as people are using their libraries more with the economic downturn – for internet, movie rentals, etc. Everyon is trying to cut costs these days so they are getting smarter about services!