MyLifeMyCareer.com

Or Myspace. Or both. Or even some rare one that I don't know about. This social networking website phenomenon is a tremendous resource to aid you in your job and internship search. Less than a year ago, facebook started allowing people to register with their company emails. Now, anyone can register - but that's beside the point. You can search your friends' professional info for a company that you are interested in. You can search their friends to see who they work for. You can even search for random people that you don't even know that work for a specific company. Although this is border-line stalking and kind of creepy, as long as you are classy and tactful about it then I think you should use it. Don't go messaging random people asking them to refer you. In companies, if they refer you and you end up performing poorly or getting fired then how does that look for them? I'm not about to risk my career to recommend someone who randomly sent me a message through myspace or facebook. As long as they are your friend or a friend of a friend or a friend from the past that you don't really talk to anymore but you still check their profile every now and then, I think you could at least ask about their job role, how they like the company, and what they would recommend you do to rise above the other candidates in interviews. These social networking sites allow you to see clearly where people work and how closely they are related socially to you. Years ago, you would have to go to college networking fairs, mixers, and other events that took up a lot of time and didn't yield direct results. Now you can find people who you already know that work for the company that you are looking at…in a matter of seconds. Advantage....you. Stay classy.