• by Beverly Weinstein , July 27, 2009

Start with securing your contacts before you're in the job market. Part of your value as a potential candidate to any employer is your professional relationships. Those relationships are also an essential tool in looking for a job. Don't take them for granted, don't stop building them, and don't underestimate new technology in helping you with the task.

I'll be exploring the importance of using professional social networking in this column. Other job search basics will be covered in the coming weeks.

Where Are You Storing Business Contacts?

If you're old enough, you probably had a Rolodex, the old office staple, perched somewhere on your desk. When you left your job, it was something you usually boxed up and took with you. Enterprise messaging platforms (Outlook) started and contacts went up on your computer and your company's corporate server, which. in turn. allowed for seamless transfer to your company-issued PDA Whether you should back up your Outlook is certainly a consideration, but I've found a surprising number of people that don't.

So even if you have hundreds of names in your business contact files don't assume they will always be available. Parting company with your job means parting company with your computer and your mobile device, along with all the information contained in both.

It's time to take a close look at the importance of the professional social-networking sites, not as a substitute for Outlook but as another contact resource.

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Secure Your Contacts

If you haven't started using a professional social network like LinkedIn, what are you waiting for? If you have hundreds of Outlook contacts and 30 LinkedIn contacts, you've got it backwards. Linked In is a click away, and one of the great perks of social networking is that you never have to worry about it disappearing if your hard drive crashes, if you're away from your computer, or if you leave a job. It's always floating around the Internet waiting for you to hop on.

Some Easy Building Blocks

LinkedIn enables you to upload contacts from commonly used email services, including, Yahoo, Gmail and AOL or by uploading a spreadsheet of them. This only takes moments, no matter how large your network is.

You can keep adding to your network. If you're a PC Outlook user, a tool is available to make connecting even easier. Every time you get a new email, it allows you to automatically invite the sender. You don't even need to go to LinkedIn, because the site is"linked in" to your Outlook.  For step-by-step installment instructions, visit http://dearbev.com

Other Benefits

OK, you may be thinking: I've backed up my Outlook, why do you need to do any more?

• It's easier to keep track of your contacts, and you don't have to do the work. On Outlook and other address books, you make the changes, but on LinkedIn, the contacts do it for you and you receive notifications of changes your connections make, such as new jobs, new titles, new locations.
• It's faster to send a blast email or message letting people know you're in the job market. You can send individual notes, too, with the guarantee that the recipient will receive a notification from LinkedIn. If you're contacting someone you haven't spoken to in some time, you need not worry about falling into their spam box.
• Finally, more and more individuals, as well as recruiters,are using LinkedIn to communicate job openings and search for candidates. So what are you waiting for? Start connecting.

This is just the start of your job hunt. First, you need to gather and nurture your connections and contacts. Next, I'll look at how to make them work for you.