Job Hunting 2.0: Get Social in a Down Economy

When Judi Wunderlich was laid off from her managerial position at recruiting firm Aquent in early March, she spent little time looking for work on traditional job sites such as CareerBuilder, Craigslist, and Monster. Instead, she turned to social and business networking sites.

"There's really no point in trying to apply for a job on a job board," says Wunderlich, who lives in Chicago. "There are so many other people who are hitting the job boards and sending résumés like crazy, and I know this because I was in recruiting." Wunderlich used her extensive network of contacts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Meetup, and Twitter to learn of new career opportunities. "I have not applied for a job or sent a résumé out. I've had all this activity and meetings, and it's all from the network," says Wunderlich, who was still on the job hunt as of late March.

A new collection of Web 2.0 tools, including social networks and online résumé builders that enliven your résumé with multimedia elements, are helping job seekers market themselves in a tough economy. Internet-based services can help you stand out from the crowd, and résumé-creation sites are a good place to start. Among them is VisualCV, a free service that lets you construct a résumé enhanced with audio and video clips, photos, slide shows, and charts. You can link your VisualCV résumé to other social media accounts, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Similar, if less impressive, sites include GigTide, which charges extra for multimedia embedding, and Emurse, which offers a less-intuitive résumé builder.

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