Get the know-how on social networking for job-seekers

By Joyce Lain Kennedy | Workplace Q&A, Via McClatchy-Tribune

DEAR JOYCE: Apparently I’m doing something wrong, because I’ve been using Facebook and LinkedIn to scout a new job, but so far the result has been a big fat zero. I suppose you know about using social media to find employment, so what am I doing wrong? – J.W.W.

I know something about using social media as a job-search tool, but Dr. Sherrie A. Madia knows more. Madia is a social network strategy consultant and director of communications at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Madia is co-author of several books about social media, including “The Online Job Search Survival Guide.” (Read the first chapter free at www.onlinejobsearchbook.com ). Here are two of Madia’s many tips for networking online:

1.) Give before taking. When networking for a job search, always start by giving something of value. Offer a comment to a blog or a question on LinkedIn. Pose a question to an industry group and engage in an information-sharing dialogue on best practices. The trick is to give expertise and thus position yourself as a helpful expert. People will be inclined to return the favor.

2.) Invite right. Be sensitive as to which social networks you request colleagues to join you in. If your Facebook page is largely family-oriented and reads like a snapshot from Ancestry.com, think twice about inviting the boss to post on your wall. Is this really the mix either of you wants? If so, more power to your Uncle Ned’s barbecue. If not, stick to sites geared toward professionals: LinkedIn or Plaxo.

DEAR JOYCE: This happened to a friend, but I don’t want it to happen to me. She applied for a job and wasn’t hired, which was odd because she was perfectly qualified. Almost by accident, my friend learned she was mistaken for someone who stole her identity. How often do things like this happen to people who are looking for work?–- J.J.

No one knows; the numbers aren’t available. Only a handful of states require data breaches to be reported to a central clearinghouse. But a nonprofit watchdog, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego, has released a startling new statistic: More than half a billion sensitive records have been breached since 2005. Think about it: 500 million breached records in the past five years, including personal medical records, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers. We’re all vulnerable.

How do such horrors happen? Hundreds of ways, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse director Beth Givens: “Employees losing laptop computers, hackers downloading credit card numbers, and sensitive personal data accidently exposed online.”

Wise up: Learn about threats to your identity and reputation as a job-seeker – and what to do if the worst happens to you. At no cost, visit the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse site (www.privacyrights.org; on the home screen’s right side, click on Data Breaches, and then go back and click on Identity Theft & Data Breaches on the left ).

DEAR JOYCE: Is it worth the effort to cold-call companies to uncover job openings? – K.B.

How smooth are you on the phone? Be brief. State your name, why you’re calling, promise a benefit and ask for a meeting. Practice until you can do your calls in a minute or less.