Your Job Search Should Be Social

In the world of work and in our personal lives, we are more connected than ever before, and these social connections are impacting the job search process. According to job search expert Hannah Morgan, job search is social, and the key to a successful job search is being open to new ideas and meeting new people.

Here are some ways to think about your job search socially:

Learn from Others
Make informational interviews part of your job search. Learn what you don’t know from those who hold a position or work for a company you are interested in. Be willing to ask questions and engage with others throughout your job search (see our Tip Sheet on Networking and Informational Interviews). Learn about new job search techniques and strategies, new technology and in-demand skills. As you expand your knowledge, you’ll feel more confident and be able to add value to future conversations.

Share Your Knowledge
Be willing to network and share your knowledge with others. Sharing your knowledge, ideas and resources is an effective way to demonstrate your value to others. Join social networking groups on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook and participate in discussions related to your interests and career goals. Join the Career Center's bi-weekly Job Club to learn and share with other job seekers.

Network with Other Job Seekers
Join our Job Club or similar group of job seekers and draw inspiration and motivation from the team. It’s been shown that job seekers who engage in a group to hold themselves accountable are more successful (meaning they find a job faster) than those who go it alone.

Taking a collaborative approach to your job search by learning from others, sharing your knowledge and networking with other job seekers will likely increase your chances of landing your next job.

Many of our clients attend our Job Club as well as another. Here are a few other local networking and learning opportunities in the region:

SING, Danville (St. Isidore Church: 440 La Gonda Way, Danville. (925) 837-2122, https://www.f6s.com/st.isidorenetworkinggroupsing

JobLinks Support Group, Dublin (St. Raymond Church, 11555 Shannon Avenue, Dublin. (925) 828-2460, www.st-raymond-dublin.org/joblink)

Employment Connections, Pleasanton (St. Elizabeth Church: 4001 Stoneridge Dr., Pleasanton. (925) 462-8579)

Experience Unlimited (39155 Liberty St., Suite B-200, Fremont. (510) 794-3681, or 4071 Port Chicago Hwy, #250 Concord. (925) 602-0166, www.euccc.org)

Tri-Valley Career Center Job Club

“One of the key benefits I got from TVOS is that I was no long feeling alone.” Antonio C.

The Tri-Valley Career Center Job Club meets twice a week on Tuesday evenings and Thursday mornings, and is facilitated by TVCC staff. The TVCC Job Club provides an opportunity job seekers to network and support each other in their job searches. Each week we have for 10-20 job seekers in attendance. Club participants practice their 30-second “elevator speech” introductions, share their experiences (what’s worked and what hasn’t), inspire and console each other as needed and even share company contacts as networking opportunities for others in the group.