Using Social Networks to Boost Your Professional Connections

The numbers

It’s hard to argue with raw numbers. Social networks are commanding daily users somewhere in the range of 100 million combined. Those numbers aren’t even counting the numerous sites that users make for their favorite pets, TV shows and foods just for kicks. That number refers to the 100 million people who check in at least once a day to:

• answer messages
• post photos
• chat with new friends
• find new videos and music

MySpace attracts almost 230,000 new user registrations a day. Their user base totals over 250 million. Facebook has more than 8 million photos uploaded each day, and is the seventh most-visited site for web surfers in the USA. Friendster, one of the longest-standing, high-traffic social networks, still commands over 30 million users.

These “super public” sites can be more than just fun and games. They can also be a great way to network with professionals and display your marketable talents. Your band won’t get signed from page hits, but you might get a business interview if you direct the right people to a carefully placed portfolio of your work experience. But is there a better way to focus your approach?

The refined network approach

So you earned your degree. You have a few professional hours under your belt. You know what you want to do, but you’re not sure where to start. Do you start with the want ads? The employment office? Taco Bell? Perhaps, but why not start by laying a bit more groundwork to gain some extra advantages?

Social networking can be fun, but you can also do it seriously to gain professional partnerships and peers. But to be effective, you don’t necessarily have to wade through millions of diversified interests in the high-traffic currents of sites like MySpace or Facebook. You can go straight to social networks that are already set up to address your specific professional needs. Social networks are not only sites, they’re models. They’re models designed to connect people with similar interests in beneficial ways. This can be for everything from finding that great new band, to that perfect romantic match, to your next great professional opportunity.

The networks

Two business-oriented social networking sites that work well are Linkedin.com and ryze.com. They’re both aimed at the same people who are looking to make professional connections and build a valuable portfolio, but they’re different in their functions.

1. Linkedin.com helps you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments that helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients and partners. You can add more connections by inviting your contacts to join the network and connect to you. The user base for this network is massive, connecting over 350 companies and millions of users. Through this network, you can:
   • find potential clients, service providers, subject experts and partners who come recommended
   • be found for business opportunities
   • search for great jobs
   • discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
   • post and distribute job listings
   • find high-quality passive candidates
   • get introduced to other professionals through the people you know
2. Ryze.com works very similar to Linkedin.com by helping people find other like-minded professionals in their area for face-to-face networking and events. You socialize by adding people who work with specific things related to your field of interest and asking them questions. As you add people and join their groups, you boost their ratings.

The groups on ryze.com can be based on something very generalized, such as job training programs, or based on subjects that are very specific, such as a local art and film festival.

Ryze.com goes a step further by encouraging your groups to meet for specific events based around professional topics. These events are designed for you to meet people and connect with them face-to-face, so you can build a network of professional references and job leads.

Search for your niche

These are just two examples of social network models that can help you begin your professional climb. There are more being created everyday to help address your specific needs and build your skills. Hit the search engines and keep your eyes open, because now more than ever, it’s easier to collect resources designed to help you in your journey.