The Wall Street Journal recently explored an idea that is growing in popularity when it comes to job searching - Using Social Media to Find a Job. They did so in a fitting format - via a Twitter chat! One of their key takeaways from this discussion was that most people choose Twitter and LinkedIn for professional networking, and use Facebook for personal networking. They also emphasize the importance of remembering to give back to your contacts, don't simply take from them. Networking, both on and off of social media, needs to be reciprocal. 

The article answered some key questions that come up when deciding if/how to use social media for networking and job searching, such as:

• How effective is online networking, really?
• Which social networking sites are best?
• And once you've made the choice to use social media for job searching, how do you rise above the noise?

There were some very interesting answers to these questions, here are some highlights:

• "I will hire a six-figure salaried employee this month, and I strictly recruited via Twitter - no resumes. #WSJchat"
• "I've met more professional contacts via social media (LI and Twitter), especially at conferences, than any other medium. #wsjchat"
• "Join Twitter chats, LinkedIn groups. Write posts/tweets sharing interesting articles/info about your field. #wsjchat"

Check out our earlier blog on How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search and our Job Search Tools for more helpful hints.