Social media is key to finding a new job. It will help tell people you are out there. It will give them a glimpse into the real you even allow recommendations! If you are in a technical field I would say you really should look into exploiting it.
SCN to help in your search
So I am this michelle.crapo2. Ha! Why two IDs? My first issue in my social media job search was to find out that SCN did not allow me to sign on to my account. I thought are you kidding me? I've been on SCN for how long? I pulled as many strings as I could. Nothing worked. Be aware if you link your SCN account to your S* account in OSS, you will lose everything from your old SCN account. Yes, I am serious. My accounts will never be linked again. I would recommend not linking your accounts. You will not get any communication on SCN. So after my big complaint -- I'll move on.
SCN does help from the standpoint, if you are looking normally the search would be on your name. So that will help. Perspective employers can search on your name and come up with all your old information.
If you have time get on SCN and blog, answer questions, and just get your name out there. Even if you aren't connected with your old account, create a new one. Really people search by name so it will help. Of course if they send you any communication on old posts - that won't work.
Indeed / Beyond / Monster
My second stop was Indeed. My resume got uploaded and open to employers. I set up alerts, and received them in my e-mail. It made my search much more easier and more refined. It will get you to more employers.
LinkedIn
This was my most helpful site. I was able to blog, talk in discussions, and add skills. Recommendations could be given as well as endorsements. People in my network would send me job postings. I attracted some great recruiters and found my job from here. A recuirter with a specific client, got me an interview.
There were great tips and tricks on what to do and what not to do. There were positive posts with sayings and words of encouragement. I got in contact with people I had let slip during my years. It is truly a social site.
Facebook
Oh boy! This is a personal site. So I had SAP contacts attached here. I had friends. I had many different people. I hadn't used Facebook in years, but started using it. This was mostly a place of encouragement. "You are good at what you do, and you will find a job." That type of thing. And believe me, you will need it.
Twitter
I sent out a quick tweet that I was no longer employed. I was redundant at my old job. They had outsourced all of the SAP development work to India. So I did what I almost never do, and actually used twitter. From there - friends contacted me. The positive energy was amazing.
The result
A lot of recruiters called. Which may be good, and may be bad. I honestly think you should limit the amount you use. A few companies called. And I finally (one month) later found a job that called to me. They checked personalities for a good fit for there company. That was important to me. I will have a boss that I think I will really like. I already respect him. There will be more work than I can handle. PERFECT! It will keep me motivated to do more.
Thank you!
Thank you to all my SCN friends. Unless you go through something like this, you can't know how much that means. Well wishers are an amazing confidence boost. And they just made me feel better. The pressure was still there, but it was a little lighter. By the way one month feels like an eternity.
What are your tips for the currently employed SAP worker?
How did you find your current job?
