1. Pick Three: There are MANY social networks online to choose from, I recommend picking three so you can manage them effectively. For job seekers, I recommend: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Yes, I said Facebook.

Facebook’s fastest growing population is adults age 35 and older. They have 600 million users, 200 million members use Facebook primarily on their smart phones. With LinkedIn, there are more than 300,000 recruiters as members and 100 million members.

2. Create a branded bio: Tell a story in your profile (bio). Don’t just regurgitate your resume information. Know that chemistry helps you land and KEEP a job. Likability counts, so be interesting.

3. Know what you want: When you start networking online, it’s important to know what you want from the activity. If you want a job, be sure your profile is on brand and professional. Have a professional headshot as well.

4. Join a group: Know that in order to make the most of an online group, you’ve got to take an active role. You can take a leadership role in online groups. You can answer members’ questions and provide your expertise.

5. Be relevant and add value: Social networking gives you a chance to demonstrate your thought leadership and set yourself apart from your competition. As an executive and leader, it is even more critical to demonstrate your expertise online.

For example, these experts say…

Every executive should be on LinkedIn. We look at LinkedIn before ever looking at a resume. — Wayne Mitchell, executive recruiter, Career Thought Leaders Conference & Symposium, March 2011

The Facts: 83% of employers now use LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to find new hires, according to a survey by recruiting platform Jobvite. Of those, by far the largest number, 89%, rely mainly on LinkedIn, followed by Facebook at 28% and Twitter at 14%.

In a survey of more than 500 human resources managers, Office Team found that 36% of respondents believe it’s at least somewhat likely that resumes will eventually be replaced by profiles on social and business networking websites. —Wired Workplace, 2011

Take Action: Review your current social media and identify at least three action items from the above list you can implement immediately. Make an action plan to effectively manage your online network. If you’d like more tips, join my upcoming class, Rock Your Network Online, starting next week Tuesday, June 7.

© 2010 – 2011 | Wendy J. Terwelp | All rights reserved.

Wendy Terwelp has helped thousands of clients get hired faster and be rock stars at work since 1989. A recognized expert on networking, both online and off, Wendy was dubbed LinkedIn Guru by The Washington Post and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Fast Company, The Business Journal, Careerbuilder.com, Monster.com, NBC, ABC, and more as well as numerous radio and television shows. She has published hundreds of articles on the web and in print and wrote the ultimate networking book, Rock Your Network®. Rock your career and buy the book at http://knocks.com.