Can Facebook and LinkedIn help your career?

Patricia Kitchen | Change@work

12:24 PM EST, February 22, 2008

At the suggestion of a few colleagues, and with an eye to keeping up with the times, Jeannine Ayres, a life coach in Huntington Station, signed on several months ago to MySpace.com, the social networking site.

When it came to how she might benefit professionally, she was clueless. She says she wondered: "Will I get clients out of this?"

That was not to happen. Here's what did.

"Instead of having anyone RSVP to be coached" she heard from musicians -- one a punk rocker -- inviting her to their performances. Also a man with more than a professional interest who wanted to meet and get to know her better, -- "when very clearly I speak of a wonderful relationship with my husband of 28 years."

Patricia Kitchen Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

Last week she learned that she was in the right universe but on the wrong planet. Newsday connected Ayres with Jason Alba, chief executive of JibberJobber.com, a career management site, who in a telephone conversation gave her a professional primer on the ins and outs of social networking.

Some such sites exist for truly social reasons, but others are more professionally oriented. Those that are can assist users in making business contacts, recruiting for employees, marketing themselves and their businesses, and doing informal research. Just about anything you can do at a face-to-face networking event, you can do in a different form online.

But users should know, too, that unless they activate privacy options, much of their information is viewable by any and all -- plus, users have complained that they could not remove their profiles from the site when they've chosen to leave. Alba told Ayres that she should be focusing attention on sites where other professionals are gathering, Facebook and especially LinkedIn.

He says he's seen so many people similarly confused about which site to join and what to do when they get there that he wrote "I'm on LinkedIn, Now What?" and, with co-author Jesse Stay, "I'm on Facebook, Now What?" (each $19.95 and published by HappyAbout.info).

Those who know the ins and outs of online social networking say it's time for the rest of us to join in.

"I can see why people are intimidated, but we're getting to a point where there's not going to be a choice. Remember how people resisted e-mail?" says Lindsey Pollak, a blogger and author with Diane K. Danielson of "The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking (Or What Would Jane Austen Do?)" ($14.95, Booklocker.com).

So, for those who have registered with Facebook -- which started out as a social site for college students, opened its doors to all and remains on the informal side -- or LinkedIn, which has been professionally oriented from the get-go -- here's advice on what to do now.

--Enhance your profile. But first things first: What exactly can online networking do for your career? Essentially, your presence is about establishing visibility in the online world and making connections that could prove valuable later. For that to work, you need to put some effort into it.

In your online profile, for instance, if "you have just two sentences there, it shows you don't take this seriously," says Pollak. "You're not going to get the most benefit if don't make the most of your profile."

So consider adding links and mention previous employers, special skills, buzzwords for your industry, even your "30-second elevator pitch" -- especially if one motivation is the desire to hear from job recruiters. Pollak says her fiance's profile on LinkedIn was so compelling that even though he wasn't looking for a new job, an employer sought him out and offered him one.

And check out other people's profiles to see what kind of information they include; if their approach works for you, try it. When you've completed your profile, include a link to it on your e-mail signature line.

Start adding contacts. Alba says on LinkedIn "contacts" are called just that, but on Facebook they're "friends." Find out who's already on these sites by allowing the sites to "sync" with your e-mail address book (if you use Microsoft Outlook or a Yahoo, Gmail or AOL account) and then asking people you know to connect back to you.

In most cases you're better off sticking with contacts you know and trust, and those you would like to know better. And don't send out a generic invitation, says Pollak. Customize it by reminding the person you're inviting how you met -- perhaps it was on a previous job or at a networking event. Sending such invites is an excellent way, too, to reconnect with people with whom you've lost touch. It's "less intrusive and weird" than calling out of the blue, she says.

--Accepting invitations. What to do if you receive invitations to link to or befriend people you don't know? Nothing at all, says Pollak. You are under no obligation to respond if you don't care to. You might want to read the person's profile, though, to see if there might be an advantage to knowing him or her.

--Get and give answers. LinkedIn has a research feature called "answers" allowing you to post questions on subjects such as how "companies rationalize IT spending given a looming recession," and what are the "options available for a mother with slightly outdated experience to re-enter the workforce?"

You can build credibility by offering useful and insightful answers -- just as you can with postings to blogs.

Steve Link, 25, said he could make use of that feature for two routes he's taking. He's been developing a business plan to open a franchise restaurant, possibly in his hometown of Long Beach. But at the same time he's updating his resumé with an eye to searching for a job in operations or marketing. Link, who signed on to LinkedIn when the student loan start-up he was working for in Manhattan folded last month, says he found the research function so "cool" that he tipped off his sister, who is launching herself as a leisure coach helping others make more satisfying use of their down time.

--Give and get endorsements. Ayres went to Alba's Facebook profile page and wrote a note thanking him for his advice. Such a note is a way of talking up someone you know. You'll want to avoid the general "he's a great guy" and zero in a particular skill or quality -- as you would in giving a reference for a job.

In fact, when Pollak is thanked or complimented, she asks people if they would post such an endorsement on her profile pages.

--Managing time. Alba says many people are concerned with the time commitment that goes with social networking. But he tells them the real investment comes in the set-up, which can amount to five to 10 hours if you register for both sites. After that, users can spend as little as an hour or two a week communicating with contacts and updating their pages.