In 2010, the landscape for job seekers continues to change as the world around us changes. As social media begins to envelop almost every part of a corporate organization, and as more corporate employees are required to use social media as part of their professional jobs, the impact it has on the job seeker is tremendous.

However, most companies are still trying to figure out how to use social media, and initial planning usually starts with the social media marketing strategy.  What hints for the job seeker might social media strategies that businesses implement have?  A lot.

First of all, think about why companies are now starting to show up on Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter: because that’s where you are.  Just as companies decided back in the early ’90s to create a “Home Page” on the Internet (and there was debate about the need for it back then), companies are currently struggling with not so much the “why” but the “how” to engage in social media.

And for their strategic planning, they are often hiring social media strategists like myself to do the planning and potential implementation.

Do you have your own social media plan for your job search?

Up until now, the tools for your job search were simple:

  • Get your resume ready
  • Contact your references
  • Practice for interviews
  • Look for jobs, often entailing registering with and looking at various job search sites

Of course, when we look for jobs now, it is less in the newspaper and more on Internet sites.  In 2009, many job seekers became savvy and realized that, since most of the jobs never get advertised in the first place, they needed to Windmill Network and build up a large network that could help them navigate through their target company list and provide other invaluable advice.

As a part of that, and in order to network outside of their network, which is where the value of networking lies, most have already created a LinkedIn profile and are using the site in one way or another.

But guess what?

Social media marketing is not just about networking and it is not just about LinkedIn.  It requires a mindset, a mindset that says that you become a resource for others instead of broadcasting your requests to others.  It also means there are a plethora of other social media channels out there that you need to explore, not just LinkedIn.  Facebook.  Twitter.  Blogs.  YouTube.  StumbleUpon.  And more.

Why is it important?  Because that’s where your customers (i.e. hiring managers and recruiters) are, and it requires you to engage with them in a way that attracts them into wanting to contact you for your expertise.  The more channels that you cover, the greater the chance that you will be found.

I know many who joined LinkedIn in hopes of getting found.  Guess what?  Tens of millions of your competitors are doing the same.  What to do?  Differentiate yourself by 1) utilizing LinkedIn better (which my LinkedIn book is perfect on advice for) and 2) utilize other social media channels in a sophisticated way.

As I work more and more with corporations on their social media strategy, I look forward to paying it forward and sharing more and more information that job seekers and professionals interested in proactive personal branding can utilize.  As I wrote at the beginning of my LinkedIn book, job seeking is just another sale, the product this time being yourself.  All of what I do for businesses is 100% applicable to professionals.

I have a few webinars scheduled for the near future to begin to roll out this information to professionals worldwide.  Join me for my first one, which will be a FREE webinar on February 16 entitled “Social Media and Your Job Search: How to Get More Hiring Managers and Recruiters to Find YOU”.  If you can’t make that webinar and want to be informed of future webinars, make sure you register.