By: Sam Sova
If you somehow missed it, 533,000 jobs were cut in November – the most in 34 years. Check it out here in the Washington Post. Are you concerned about your job? If not, you should be. But there is one thing that you can do to make yourself ready for a change – build your online network.
In times like these, it is essential to build your network online. Start making virtual friends with those in your field all over the world. Here is a list of some necessary steps to take online.
- Go to Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Bebo, etc. and build your network of friends
- Go to these social networks and join groups that surround your profession and PARTICIPATE
- Participation is key. Be active and be well known and thoughtful
- Join FreindFeed and subscribe to top professionals in your area (and me if you want!)
- Join Twitter and follow top thought leaders and professionals in your area (@samsova)
- Find top bloggers in your area and put them into an aggregator (like myyahoo.com) and learn
- Search for free or cheap events in your city (like our PRSAYP Bader Rutter event)
The biggest thing to take out of this is to build YOU online. Understand how people follow one another and how to be followed so that you are well know. Start a blog, contribute to a blog (comment). Be thoughtful. Just participate.
Hopefully taking some of these actions will help you understand more what is going on in your profession and will open up opportunities in these tough times.
