Take your job search social

Sharlyn Lauby, @hrbartender on Twitter, is an HR pro I had the chance to meet when I attended the ERE conference in September. She is President of Internal Talent Management, a company that “utilizes human resources as the marketing department for a company’s internal clients.” (Don’t miss Sharlyn’s blog – www.hrbartender.com.)

I thought it would be good to have another opinion from the HR perspective, so I asked Sharlyn if she would share some ideas to help job seekers during the holidays. This is her reply:

Miriam – I totally agree with your “don’t stop now” approach. I believe there is an assumption that organizations don’t hire during the holiday season, which I’ve never found to be true. Companies are hiring. But even if you take the approach that companies aren’t, this is a great time to network and remain tops in everyone’s mind.

Some of the things I suggest to people:

This is a great time to call colleagues and wish them happy holidays.
Invite those people you’ve been meaning to network with to connect with you on LinkedIn.
Get a Twitter account and start following recruiters and people in your industry.
Volunteer to help out at your favorite charity’s holiday fundraiser so you can meet people.
Attend association holiday networking events.
Catch up on your business reading and invite some people over for a book club discussion.

The point is: this is a social time of year, take your job search “social.”

For much more advice about job searching during the holidays…

Part 1 – My suggestions and a free ebook offer

Part 2 – Walter Akana – Take care of yourself

Part 3 – Anita Bruzzese – Stay ahead of the crowd

Part 4 – Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter – Unplug and embrace rest

Part 5 – Wendy Enelow – Ideas for employed and unemployed job seekers

Part 6 – GL Hoffman – Use time to research and prepare

Part 7 – Meghan M. Biro – Use the holidays as a time for self assessment

Part 8 – Craig Fisher – Recruiters don’t ease up during the holidays – neither should you

Part 9 – Ronnie Ann – Take advantage of other peoples’ resolutions

Part 10 – Alison Doyle and Andrea Santiago – Use parties and festive occassions to fuel your job search

I can help with every part of your job hunt! Need a great resume? Tips to use social networking? Interview coaching? If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, don’t forget those social networks! Be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community! Since we’re on the subject of doing something new…Are you on Twitter? Jump on and touch base with me @keppie_careers.

photo by sunnyUK