Unemployment, using social media to find your next job

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As of August 2009, Wisconsin had an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent. As of September 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate was at 9.8 percent. And, our neighbor, Michigan to the east has a staggering unemployment rate of 14.7 percent. Depressing numbers to say the least. However, sitting around and looking at the numbers isn’t good enough.

Maybe it’s because I grew up during the recession of the 80s and witnessed firsthand the devastating impact a down economy can have on a family. During that time period my dad lost quite a bit. He ran a successful business with locations throughout the State of Wisconsin and then the recession hit. Much of my childhood was spent living in a home where the stress was palpable. There was never enough heat in the house, food in the cupboards or laughter.

Fast forward to today and I feel very strongly about doing what I can to help the unemployed. And today, more than ever, due to the advent of social media, people have the opportunity to use these skills to their benefit.

But, I also realize that social media can be somewhat intimidating or overwhelming for job seekers. We just wrapped up another session this afternoon for the Career Changers Network, a non-profit, all volunteer, job search network group—a great, available resource to have.

It’s exciting to not only help the participants use the online tools they have available such as Linkedin, but it’s also great to network with this group as well. From engineers to marketing professionals, the wide range and depth of experience is amazing.

I feel very strongly about each of us doing our part to help the unemployed when and where we can. Each of us has talents and connections that we can offer to help our neighbors here in the Fox Valley.

As an employer we all have the opportunity to meet with others and connect. Maybe it’s for an informational interview. Maybe it’s an introduction on Linkedin. Maybe it’s just simply taking a phone call.

I don’t know about you but I am not one for sitting around and watching the numbers or the talent leave our state. We owe it to each other to do what we can.