Facebook can be a comfort when you see that your high-school sweetheart is married and divorced (twice), has two kids and another on the way, and still sports a mullet in the finest David Bowie tradition.
Bebo can help you remember the birthdays of all your old roommates, even if you can’t remember anything else about any of them.
Friendster can show everyone you know just how cute and clever you think your cats are.
But can social networks get you a job?
We’ve seen the numbers: unemployment’
Social organizer sites like Spacelocker make what may well be the laziest possible way to look for employment surprisingly effective. From a single place, these sites enable users to sit back and monitor all their social networking sites and more with a key stroke.
Nate Callens, an actor / teacher, discovered just how effective when he found himself looking for work last October.
"Substitute teaching has been slow this year, and I needed money," he says. "I posted something along the lines of 'Nate needs a quick $500 . . . anybody?' I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was hoping to get someone's attention."
He sure did. A former employer saw his status and offered him part-time work that was perfect for his situation.
Of course, publicly asking for help finding work can be a humbling experience. So keep it light, rely on your sense of humour, and keep your expectations to a minimum when you put out your job query.
Some might say that this is a lazy young person's way of finding a job. That may be so, but it’s an effective way. If it were an unemployed 40-year-old who’s looking, it would be different. Or would it? Your networks are important and, given the chance, you may be surprised how supportive and helpful they can be attracting serious messages from people offering to help you out.
After all, who says finding work needs to be hard work? With a social network organizer like Spacelocker, it’s a snap to keep an eye on all of your networks at the same time.
http://www.spacelocker.com
