Growing companies are changing the way they search for talent. Rather than posting ads and waiting for candidates to apply with cover letters and resumes, the vast majority of recruiters and hiring managers now proactively search for talent via social networks such as LinkedIn.

A good number of organizations also use Twitter to announce job openings and to engage with potential candidates. And let’s not discount Facebook. Job leads and business opportunities are shared between friends and family on Facebook every single day.

What this means is that your online image is every bit as important as having a targeted resume. Maybe even more so! And being forthright about your recent layoff may not be as helpful as one might imagine. It could work against you. The currently employed seem to hold more fascination for recruiters than active job seekers.

Yes, we still need to play the traditional cover letter and resume game. But only about 20 to 25 percent of one’s overall job search time should be spent applying for posted positions. The majority of our time should be dedicated to networking in person and online to engage with people and to develop our careers.

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