Today I had a wonderful lunch with my former colleague Thoko. He just recently got laid off and is looking for new opportunities. Thoko has these innate attributes that put him ahead of most people in his situation. He has an unwavering positive attitude, he’s got an exuberant energy that’s contagious, he’s extremely grateful and he’s passionate about giving back to his community back in Zimbabwe. If you ever meet him, I guarantee you won’t forget him.

Over lunch, we started talking about social media and why this is an incredible time to be looking for new opportunities. If you’ve ever looked for a job, you know the name of the game is to network, network, network. What better way to do this than with Social Media? Social Media is a great, inexpensive way to share who you are, what you have to offer and what you’re looking for.

Here are 7 ways to use Social Media to find your future employer.

1. Create your own website called YourName.com. This is a crucial component of your Social Media strategy. Without a website, the next steps aren’t going to amount to much. You can post your resume on your website, examples of your previous work, any articles you’ve written, awards, and organizations you’re involved with. You can start an easy and inexpensive website on Yola.com without knowing much about html, domain names or web-hosting.  The YourName.com website can be a tool you use to communicate with the world for the rest of your career.  You can keep changing it and adding to it as jobs changes over time and it will definitely be an asset if you ever decide to start your own business.

2. Have a blog on your website.  Talk about what you’re passionate about. Let your future employer know that you think about the industry you’re in, you read stuff, you do interesting things, you’re involved with groups. Don’t be afraid to let people know who you are through your blog.

3.  Have a profile on Linkedin.  Fill out your profile completely, and maximize every square inch of it.  Post your website and blog on your profile.  Linkedin is a professional social network and is used by very powerful people that you want to know.  Once you have a kick-ass profile, you can make connections with people.  Make lots and lots of connections on Linkedin.  You never know where they will lead.  Also make sure to join some targeted groups that you think potential employers are members of.  Make sure to be active on Linkedin, don’t let your profile go stale and participate in the group discussions.  When you meet someone in your off-line networking, make sure to connect with them on Linkedin.  It’s a great non-invasive way to keep in touch with people.

4.  Get a Twitter account, do a search on Twitter with key industry words, and follow the people who show up.  For example, if you’re looking for a job in Architecture in Phoenix, type in Architect Phoenix.  Follow the people who’re tweeting about this or have those key words on their profile.  All of a sudden you’re connected with potential employers.  Many times, people you follow will follow you back.  So tweet about how you’re looking for a job, about your latest blog post, about the latest news in your industry or area of interest.  You’ll get connected to like-minded individuals that very well might want to hire you or might know someone who is looking to hire.

5.  Get a Facebook account and friend former colleagues, new people you meet in networking, and anyone else you want to include in your network.  Then keep in touch, comment on people’s posts, get involved, make yourself known.  Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with others, with a more personal touch than Linkedin or Twitter.  Make sure to join some industry-relevant groups and become a fan of relevant pages.  This will help support other people in your industry plus help you make great connections.

6.  Join some other online networks specific to your industry.  Go to Ning.com and search for a social network you’d like to join.  These industry-specific social networks are gold for making high-impact connections that might lead to your next position.

7.  Join or create a Meetup group relevant to your industry.  This is a great way to combine your online networking wiht your offline networking.  Once you find a meetup group you’d like to join, you can make connections with the members not only online, but you’ll have an opportunity to meet them in person.

But before you do any of the above, make sure that you’re being authentic!  Be passionate about what you want to do, don’t just use the tools I’ve listed above to swindle someone into giving you a job under false pretenses.  You’d figure it’d be easy to be deceptive online since no one can really see you.  But it doesn’t work that way, social media networking is all about transparency and people have a million ways to find out all about the real you, so don’t try to hide it.  But don’t be afraid, go out there, be authentic and network network network with your mouse and keyboard!

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