The Internet is a great way to
begin those casual relationships that can later
turn into wonderful opportunities.
This is where mailing lists and Usenet news-
groups come in. In the
same way, you can use the various "chat" rooms and
forums available on a number
of websites and in services such as America
Online and CompuServe. The advantage
of mailing lists and Usenet
newsgroups is their availability
to all users of the Internet instead of just those
who subscribe to individual online
providers.
Many experienced workers use
mailing lists and Usenet newsgroups as a
networking tool, discussing recent
developments in their occupation or
industry and asking questions
of one another. Anyone involved in career explo-
ration can benefit from following
these online, public discussions, learning
about current trends and developments
and the interests and concerns of those
involved. Once you identify the
newsgroups and mailing lists that carry discus-
sions for your field or industry,
it's also possible that you'll find job announce-
ments crossing these groups,
making these yet another targeted service for your
job search. If you are not already
familiar with these services, you will find
them to be a powerful addition
to your job search toolbox.
Advantages to Online Networking
• There are thousands of discussion
groups covering hundreds of subjects.
• Opportunities abound for networking,
and many recruiters are following the
discussions to find potential
candidates.
• You can "break the ice"
before meeting someone in person.
• You can listen, engage, or
be engaged as you wish. No one can see you sweat,
and you don't have to feel
like an oddball wallflower, since no one can see
you standing off by yourself.
• Many employers and recruiters
use subject-specific groups to post jobs
targeting a defined segment
of potential applicants.
• Many recruiters follow the
discussions in various newsgroups and mailing
lists to help locate interesting
and highly qualified candidates for positions
they are trying to fill.
And the Disadvantages
• Networking online is just as
difficult as networking in person! In fact, it may
be harder because you can't
establish a true personal relationship online. The
only thing that is easier is
making first contact.
• First impressions count more
than ever, so be very careful with your first
public posting.
• Your online behavior counts
much more than you think. You must be even
more professional and polite
than in person. Rude or obnoxious behavior
online will get you "blacklisted"
faster than you can imagine.
• Not all groups carry job announcements.
Very few allow resume postings.
Don't rely on these discussion
groups for just those purposes.
THE FINE ART OF NETIQUETTE
To repeat, since you aren't face-to-face
with the other person, the stress of
making new connections is greatly
alleviated through the Internet, but this
isn't a fast track to the hidden
job market. It is important that you begin these
relationships in the right way
and maintain them properly. Since you can't use
your voice or body language to
express yourself, you are limited to making
sure the words used and the ways
they are presented properly represent your
intentions. In other words, don't
make a mess of a great opportunity to
connect with people in hiring
places!
This caveat doesn't apply to
just the new Internet users, a.k.a. "newbies." A lot
of Internet oldie-moldies need
a reminder that there are real people behind the
electrons, and real people make
real decisions based on your electronic
communication blunders. So, we
humbly offer these few words of advice: Do
not go boldly where you have
never gone before!
Take the time to learn the rules
of Netiquette, otherwise known as the Fine
Art of Correct Behavior on the
Internet. These simple rules can mean the
difference between stepping out
in style or stumbling off the online block.
• Stop and learn the
respective rules of conduct and desirable topics of discus-
sion for any particular newsgroup
or mailing list, and then follow them!
• Look for a list of
Frequently Asked Questions (the FAQS) so you don't ask the
same questions that everyone
else has and frustrate the other users of the
list.
• Listen patiently to
the mailing lists or newsgroups you have joined and learn
the tone, language, and culture
of the group before you start posting.
• Never post your resume
or ask if anyone can help you find a job in your
first, second, or third message
to the list. In fact, you should never post your
resume or make this kind of
request unless you are doing so in a newsgroup
or mailing list dedicated to
these types of postings.
Here are three principles to
remember as you begin exploring online
networking options. First, public
participation is necessary to get networking
contacts. If you don't make yourself
visible, no one will know you are there,
including recruiters and potential
employers. Second, it's always best to
monitor your chosen newsgroups
and mailing lists for a few weeks without
posting. Follow the discussions
and learn what they are talking about. Do not
participate in the discussions
until you are comfortable with the group and
know how members speak to each
other and what they talk about. Third,
networking is a two-way relationship
that must be beneficial to both parties.
You must give in order to receive.
If you aren't helping others on the list, then
it is unlikely they will be willing
to help you.
The following articles are (or
certainly should be) required reading before you
start strutting your stuff online:
• Agre, Phil. "Networking
on the Network."
(http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/network.html)
Although the author intended
this guide for his graduate students, the prin-
ciples apply widely to anyone
considering networking online.
• Riley, Margaret F. "Enhance
Your Career Through Online Networking."
National Business Employment
Weekly, November 3-9, 1996, 21-24.
A copy of this article can
be found in Appendix B: "Networking on the Net."
• ——. "Establish
a Net Presence." National Business Employment Weekly,
February 9-15, 1997, 23-25.
A copy of this article can
be found in Appendix B: "Networking on the Net."
• Rinaldi, Arlene H. "The
Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette."
(http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/)
This is a complete introduction
to appropriate online behavior.
USENET NEWSGROUPS
The Usenet is a network that
carries thousands of discussion groups dedicated
to a variety of topics. This
network actually developed outside of the Internet,
so the communication methods
it uses are not quite the same as are used on
the rest of the Internet. To
begin with, to access newsgroups, you need access
to a news server and newsreader
software. Then, your local news server must
carry the specific newsgroup(s)
you want to read.
To find Usenet newsgroups that
could be useful to you, you'll need to review a
list of them. While the list
is constantly changing, it will give you a good idea
of what is available. Go to one
of the online resource guides with a directory oi
Usenet newsgroups, and search
it using some of the keywords on your list
describing the subject or occupational
area in which you are interested. Here
are two such guides:
| The
Liszt |
http://www.liszt.com/news/ |
| Reference.
com |
http:
//www. reference. com/ |
One of the first things you'll
notice about the Usenet is that there are
hundreds of newsgroups with the
word jobs in the title. Many of these contain
)ob listings, posted resumes,
and discussions on job hunting, but many have
also become filled with useless
"spam," unwanted postings, and they do
nothing for your networking needs.
The best places to be on the Usenet are in
the newsgroups dedicated to discussions
on various subjects or topics, such as
sci.engmeering.civil, a discussion
group for civil engineering. These are the
spots where you'll find networking
contacts, industry trends, current informa-
tion, and better job listings.
Most employers and public Internet
services like those offered at your local
library do not provide connectivity
to the Usenet, but all is not lost. You can
use the available web-based archive
services to look for job listings and other
information posted on the newsgroups.
Going back to your keyword list yet
again, search the archives for
discussion topics and the names of newsgroups
in which you are interested to
find pertinent discussions and see what groups
are involved. If you have a target
newsgroup, search its name to find all of its
archived postings. Available
archive services include:
| Reference.com |
http://www.reference.com |
|
Deja.com (search Discussions)
|
http://www.deja.com |
| AltaVista
(select Usenet from the Specialty searches) |
http://www.altavista.com |
And remember, before you begin
actively participating in a newsgroup you
need to review the most commonly
asked questions. These you can find in The
Internet FAQ Archives (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/).
MAILING LISTS
Mailing lists are discussion
groups that operate through e-mail. A central
computer called the listserv,
listproc, or majordomo runs the list. The name
varies according to which list
manager software the computer is using To
participate in a mailing list,
you must first subscribe to the list, a very simple
process. You send a message to
the computer hosting the mailing list in which
you are interested and ask to
be added to that particular list. The computer will
then send you back a message
to let you know your status. Once it says you are
successfully added, you will
automatically begin receiving the messages from
that mailing list in your e-mail
account.
Like Usenet newsgroups, mailing
lists cover a broad variety of topics and
fields, duplicating many of the
topics found in the newsgroups They'll carry
occasional job postings, usually
in advance of print announcements and
they are a good resource for
networking contacts, industry trends, and other
developments. However, the main
advantage to mailing lists is their ease of
use. If you have e-mail, you
can participate in mailing lists.
If you don't have an e-mail account
available where you access the Internet,
you can register for one of the
web-accessible free e-mail services and then sign
up with any relevant mailing
lists you find. Here are six options:
| HotMail
|
http://www.hotmail.com |
| Yahoo!
Mail |
http://mail.yahoo.com |
| USA.Net
|
http://www.usa.net |
| Excite
Mail |
http://www.mailexcite.com |
| Email.com
|
http://www.email.com |
| IName.com
|
http://www.iname.com |
As with Usenet groups, to find
mailing lists that could be useful to you, you'll
need to review a list of them.
While the list is constantly changing, it will give
you a good idea of what is available.
Visit the online resource guides for
mailing lists, and search them
using some of the keywords on your own list
that describe the subject or
occupational area in which you are interested. Here
are three good possibilities:
| The
Liszt |
http://www.liszt.com/news/ |
|
Reference.com
|
http://www.reference.com/ |
|
Directory of Scholarly
Discussion Lists and E-Conferences (The Kovacs List)
|
http://www.n2h2.com/KOVACS/ |
Also, as with Usenet newsgroups,
some mailing lists are archived online. This
makes it easier for you to get
the feel of a list without having to actually
subscribe to it. The archives
are fairly limited in the number of groups they
cover, but it's worth taking
a look to see what might be helpful. Available
archive services include:
| eGroups
|
http://www.egroups.com/ |
|
eScribe
|
http://www.escribe.com/ |
|
Reference.com
|
http://www.reference.com/ |
There's one more feature you
must remember about mailing lists, and that is
how to control them. When you
are first added to a list, you should receive a
brief message with explanatory
commands, including the ones you need in
order to suspend mail while you
are on vacation or to unsubscribe to the list
should it not be right for you.
You should save this message somewhere, but if
you happen to hit the delete
key by mistake, there is a handy guide listing all
commands you need to control
your mailing list participation. Check
out Discussion Lists: Mail List
Manager Commands, by Jim Milles, at
http://lawwww.cwru.edu/cwrulaw/faculty/milles/mailser.html.
IDENTIFYING THE GOOD CONTACTS
AND MAKING THAT FIRST CALL
Now that you are in a discussion
group, how can you identify the people who
might be your best contacts?
Look for postings by someone who seems knowl-
edgeable about the topic being
discussed. You can do this only by knowing the
topic yourself, but beyond that,
look for people not only who seem authorita-
tive, but also about whom others
say, "Yes, listen to this person." Note the
person's e-mail address at the
top of his or her e-mail message, and then look
for a signature at the bottom
citing any organizational affiliation, position in
the organization, and more complete
contact information. While such signa-
ture information is not a guarantee
that this person is very good, it's at least a
statement that the writer is
not afraid to identify himself or herself and the
affiliate organization.
Once you have selected some mailing
list or newsgroup participants you want
to contact, prepare your approach
carefully. Since you know them from the
Internet, your first contact
should be through the Internet. Be sure your e-mail
message is professional and especially
polite, and double-check for grammar
and spelling errors before sending
it. A few more pointers:
• Be sure to contact the person
or persons directly and not through the list or
newsgroup. Do not post a general
message to the list or newsgroup asking if
anyone is willing to talk to
you.
• Be concise, identify yourself,
state why you are contacting the person, and
list some of your interests
and where you noticed some correlation with his
or her postings.
• Request a follow-up to your
message, via phone or e-mail. Give your contact
the choice of how to continue.
• If you are contacting more
than one person, do not copy the same message
to all of them. Send each person
a separate e-mail message. It not only looks
better but also avoids the
possibility of fueling any hidden rivalries which
might work against you.
