Three tips for maximizing your online connections

Today's internet surfers have a slew of online social networking tools at their disposal. These tools can easily be used to find and make connections with people in the fields or companies they want to work in. Why then do so many job applicants fail to utilize these networks to help find the job they want?

Back to basics

Tools like Facebook and LinkedIn make it easy to find people in your network to reach out to about career opportunities. But just because you are making the connection via a social networking site doesn't mean you should forget the basics of professionalism. Remember, social networking sites are just the latest mechanisms for contacting people, evolved from emails, phone calls, face-to-face meetings, and the ancient art of letter writing. If you wouldn't start out an email or letter of inquiry to a future job connection with a "What's up?", you probably shouldn't send a Facebook message like that either. It sounds obvious, but if you're polite, professional, and to the point, you're already a step ahead.

Make the ask

For most people looking for jobs, especially recent graduates, the first instinct is to fire off a round of emails to friends or former colleagues. The instinct to "tap your network" is a good one, but what you put in that email or LinkedIn message can make all the difference in the world. The first thing to consider is, what are you asking people for? I can't tell you how frustrating it is to get an email from a friend - no resume attached - who is looking for a job "doing anything." That leaves me wondering, what are they good at? What do they have expertise in? What are they interested in? Without having those details readily at hand, it's tough for a potential job connection to mentally sift through their own networks and make connections for you. If you make your ask specific, provide your credentials, and include details about who you are and what you're good at, your friends and connections will be better equipped (and likely more willing) to forward your resume or make a connection for you.

Move offline

Been Facebook stalking a friend's friend who has your dream job? If you live in the same city, use the internet to connect, but ask for a meeting in-person to get his or her advice. There's nothing more powerful than a face-to-face interaction. In “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion," author Robert Cialdini explains that there are key buttons that move people towards doing something they might not otherwise have done - and all of them work best when you're face to face. Since you're asking someone for something, why not do it in a way that optimizes their chance of saying yes and helping you out? Worst case, they say no to your meeting request, but in my experience, most people are flattered by the notion and are happy to sit down and chat.

Janessa Goldbeck is the Director of Membership for the Genocide Intervention Network, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit organization.