Keeping Up With the Joneses and Your Social Networking Strategy

by Debra Wheatman on Jul 8, 2010 in Career Advice

It is so funny to me when I think about the phrase: Keeping up with the Joneses. To give you the dictionary version of the phrase I did a quick search online and here it is:

“Keeping up with the Joneses” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_up_with_the_Joneses) is a catchphrase in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the comparison to one’s neighbor as a benchmark for social caste or the accumulation of material goods. To fail to “keep up with the Joneses” is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority.

In the world of career planning and networking, I think there is also an element of ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ – you want to ensure that you have the ‘right’ contacts and cultivate those relationships so that you can benefit from the assistance / advice of others. Similarly, they can benefit from your network; after all, what goes around comes around (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/what_goes_around,_comes_around). This brings me to the point (finally). What are some of the critical elements that should comprise your networking strategy so that you develop, maintain, and nurture the ‘right’ connections to generate results?

Social Sites: There are numerous social sites to keep you busier than you ever expected to be, or confounded, as the case may be. Facebook, LinkedIN, Plaxo, YouTube, and MySpace are just a sampling; there are hundreds of these sites with more cropping up everyday. Naturally you will not be able to join all of them; even if you could, why would you want to? Pick two or three sites that you feel comfortable with; your choice will be wholly depended on what your primary goals are with regard to enhancing your search and business strategy. Your message, objective, and time spent on these efforts should embody a professional presence where you can engage in open and productive discourse with others, share ideas, seek opinions, and form relationships.

Establishing your Objective: Depending upon your objective will certainly govern which sites you join and frequent most often. From my own research, and discussions with clients and peers I have found that sites like Facebook and MySpace are much more geared toward personal interactions – purely for chatting and sharing things about family, friends, kids, etc., whereas LinkedIN, Plaxo, and other sites operate more in the professional arena. Identifying your objective will enable you to choose the sites that are most appropriate for you.

Your Message: This is perhaps the most important part of your social strategy. Your message should be clear, concise, and to the point. If you are using social sites to facilitate your job search, it will be imperative that you are prepared to share related ideas and information regarding your background and competencies to potential hiring managers. Your online profile, résumé, and cover letter should be complete and ready for viewing / submission should the opportunity arise. If you have a blog or method of sharing your ideas with people; be sure that it is established and that you are ready to share. More importantly, be prepared to help others. Networking is a two-way street. Just as you are concerned with your search, other people are trying to achieve the same thing for their own job hunt. Communicating with others should include your willingness to help the other party, too.

Here are some items for your to do list:

1. Research which social networking sites you want to join.

2. Establish your online profile with an appropriate picture.

3. Start making connections with friends or people you know.

4.Cultivate your extended network by engaging with people that are 2^nd or 3^rd removed from you.

5.Contribute to online postings by either answering questions or posting information that might be interesting or useful for others.

6.Continue to expand your network by engaging people online while being receptive to new connections.

As you refine your strategy, you will learn new ways of connecting to people and establishing value in your social networks.

How’s that for ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’?