The increasing popularity of online social networking is changing not only the way people manage their careers but social networking itself.

As the downturn continues, millions of corporate managers—gripped by the job jitters—are rushing to join online social networks in a scramble to build their social capital. The popularity of sites such as LinkedIn is soaring: less than a year ago the site had little brand profile and was seen mostly as a venue for corporate suits trolling for professional contacts while plotting their next career move. Facebook, by contrast, has largely attracted individuals seeking a compelling site for fun social networking.

Today LinkedIn’s year-on-year growth is up nearly 200 percent in the United States and it now has more than 35 million members—many of whom were formerly employed within the hard-hit financial sector. And it’s just one of the many sites to which recession-struck managers are flocking: Xing (based in Germany), with its 7 million members and special Lehman Brothers alumni section, and Meet the Boss (based in the United Kingdom), which restricts membership to C-level financial types, are also experiencing burgeoning membership levels.

This surging popularity of online social networking is transforming the nature of business networking, with profound implications for the way business people manage their careers. But it also augurs profound change for social networking itself.

With so many people stampeding into Web-based social networks, the line between social and business networking is becoming increasingly blurred. There are, of course, powerful economic reasons behind the trend. As sociologist Nan Lin puts it in his book, Social Capital, “Individuals engage in interactions and networking in order to produce profits.” These profits are based upon information, influence, social credentials, and recognition. The accumulated social capital, meanwhile, helps individuals to gain competitive advantages in the labor market as a result of privileged access to “resources” located on the social networks.

Source:

Bnet.com »

Isn’t this heaven for job seekers? Besides registering with online job portals like Allyhunt which provides free service and alerting you whenever there is a job match, you can now also opt to register with social networking sites.

If that is not enough, you can also choose to get connected with several head-hunters and of course, not forgetting the newspapers and your neighbors and friends that live next door. Too good to be true, no?

I can hear some sighs from the people reading this blog because some had tried all the avenues but yet, no results.

I personally had came across some very good candidates that took a while to be hired and some still waiting to be offered. So, if you are getting rejected more often, do not blame yourself because there are definitely more candidates than they are jobs available in the market nowadays.

Do not beat up yourselves because it’s probably not you – it’s the market.

So, brace yourself and keep on trying! Good luck!