It is very controversial that online professional networking site are worthy. Two articles supports totally different sides about job seeking in online professional networking site like LinkedIn: "Search for a name and these profiles generally show up in a search engine's top 10. This is a low-stress way to control your image and, incidentally, make yourself a passive job seeker (It's not just who you know by David Lidsky) and "applying networking skills is truly the way to an active, productive job search" (Networking for students by Priscilla March). But both still admit that it is a convenient, useful tool when you use it properly.
Yea, that's the problem. To what extent it could you PROPER? Who knows? everybody is different... thinks differently.
Well, in my opinion, if you want to expand/discover your network through online professional social networking site, you would have to be a nerve unless you know somebody veryveryveryvery well.
Ok. For example, can you add your professors of currently taking courses at LinkedIn or Ziggs? Ummm, this might be a hardcore. The reason I found out LinkedIn was that I googled my one of my previous professors a while ago. And I figured out that whenever I googled a name, Linkedin was one of almost top 5 results. I joined LinkedIn made account. But I couldn't ask them to accept my request, no I never requested it. Although the person I wanted to add and I knew each other and I was a good student(really? haha) it is never easy to ask. Another instance, I interned at AU athletics last summer and I found my boss(director of marketing, promotion, and sales) at LinkedIn. I could haven't send him a request for a long time after I knew that he had used it (to be really honest, everybody like me!! and I worked hard!!! no kidding!! I worked overtime.... without getting paid!!!). I was a bit scared what if they think that I am using them for getting a job or something like this. It could be a guilty conscience, but if it really happens I would destroy the good relationships. And what if I asked them in person(not online) and they rejected it... It could hurt the relationships.
You can add your close co-workers there, but what about other people working at the same place, not from the same team but just same company or neighbor teams, can they be a network? So hard to define "network" itself.
I am still confused and don't know how to use. Ah, yea I am not still out there in the competitive job market. But still, it seems to be hard after I graduate the college. I hope there is a specific situational tutorial in using those sites. To be honest, the stuffs in Networking for Students aren't new.
1 comment:
I like that you brought up how you felt awkward asking your previously professors and bosses to join your linkedin network. I too have felt nervous about adding professors to my networks.
I think what you mentioned about whether they would think you were using them or not is a good point.
Do we need to be thinking twice about why someone wants to join our network? What does it mean when someone adds you on site x and not on site y? It's an interesting topic to peruse. It may just because us girls over-think everything.. who knows?!!
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