You can bury your head in the sand and choose to ignore that these are uncertain times; or you can spend your summer making some positive changes and work toward stabilizing your future. It simply requires a determination to effect change and the necessary information to make the change. Depending on your status within the marketplace, your path to change should be catered to your individual circumstances.

Currently Employed

If you are currently employed, you should ask yourself this question: Am I secure in my current position? Most companies are looking for ways to cut costs, save money, and streamline their workforce. You can increase your value to your company by pursuing additional education related to your career or position. Studies have shown that employers value employees who make the decision to return to college or seek professional development while on the job and many times will reimburse the employee for the education.

Seeking Employment

There are 5.5 million Americans currently unemployed and the number of low income jobs in the United States has risen steadily over the past 30 years and now account for 41 percent of all jobs in this country. Being one of the unemployed means you are looking for ways to find a job and because of the high numbers may have to think outside the box when conducting a job search.

The old-fashioned ways of “beating the pavement”, searching the classifieds, and even posting your resume online may not be as effective. Job seekers are spending more and more time using social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and company websites) to search for job opportunities and networking. These tools can result in unearthing jobs that aren’t normally posted online or in the classifieds.

Recently Graduated

The media has been flooded with news about the recent pool of college graduates. Here’s the good news: the private sector is now hiring. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal:

Employers plan to hire 19% more new graduates this year than in 2010, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That means students were more likely to have offers as they head toward graduation. Among college seniors who applied for positions, the survey said, 41% had an offer this year, up from 38% last year.

But the job market remains uneven. Most hiring is in the private sector, while openings in the public sector, such as teaching, remain scarce. And the influx of another crop of graduates is making things harder for graduates of recent years who are still trying to find positions in their desired fields.

Here’s the bad news: many graduates are without job prospects and forced to move back home. High student loan debt has also prompted many graduates to move home, even though they are employed, to save money and pay down their debt.

Graduation should be an exciting time, but the competitive job market has graduates from previous years also clamoring for the same jobs. If you have recently graduated and find yourself in this position, consider taking the following steps:

• Make sure your resume is current, readable, posted online, and provides employers with a snapshot of the kind of employee you will be
• Network in person and online using social media
• Consider an internship or job shadowing in your particular field of expertise
• Use every opportunity to communicate that you are job hunting
• Never forget that while you are job searching–your job hunt is your job

Still in College

If you are in college, you are in the perfect position to use your summer to boost your resume by adding internships and job experience. While doing this, you can also network with potential employers about hiring after graduation. Many internships or summer jobs often result in job offers after graduation. Since many college students spend hours using social media, use that time to tweak your LinkedIn profile, make connections on Twitter, and clean up your Facebook page.

Using summer to increase your job security, secure employment, or work toward future employment is an excellent way to spend your time. You will improve your quality of life and look toward future summer vacations with anticipation once you are employed and enjoying vacation as a valued job perk.

Twitter doesn’t release user numbers, but most public estimates put the user base at around four million to five million, with about 30% or more being very new or limited users. That’s quite a formidable group for job seekers to tap into. Wise graduates will do well to follow the following steps and add Twitter to their job hunting arsenal.

Create a Twitter account

Since you will be using this account for a professional job search, you need to brand yourself as a professional. Use your name as a Twitter handle (i.e. JaneSmith, JohnSmith) and take the time to create a professional profile that will attract other professionals in your target market. If you don’t have a blog or website, you can connect it to your LinkedIn profile. Use key words in your profile that will communicate your education and/or job experience (i.e. effective social media marketer, background in internet marketing, experience in global marketplace). Use a professional looking avatar, usually a picture, and create a background that communicates your career background, education and experience.

Work on your follower list

As with any job search, it’s often not “what you know”, but “who you know” that helps you get your foot in the door. Job recruiters are now using Twitter to look for potential job applicants. Do some searches looking for the companies you are interested in working for using LinkedIn or Google and search for their Twitter username. Follow them and read their feeds; they often post information related to current job openings. Increase your list of followers daily and they will begin to follow you back.

Get the word out that you are job hunting

Once you have established a strong follow list and are following some recruiters, begin to get the word out that you are searching for a job. Use the 140 characters to craft a simple job statement, including the type of job you are interested in and the type of company or industry that most interests you.

Make use of the Twitter job resources

You can do a search for “jobs” or “marketing”, but the most effective way to use Twitter for your post-graduation job search is to use some applications that have been created to help employers and job seekers. One of these tools is @Microjobs: employers use the service and their jobs are automatically tweeted to their network of followers. Another resource is TweetMyJobs. Follow the #TweetMyJobs hashtag for up-to-the-minute job postings. There are a variety of Twitter accounts specifically created to provide job listings by field, company, region, and more. You can also sign up on Twitter for mobile alerts from these accounts ensuring that you are among the first to be notified of specific job openings.

Communicate your expertise

Use Twitter to communicate your knowledge and expertise within your specific field. You can use “what’s happening” area in your profile to post articles related to the job segments you are searching in. You can offer advise and answer questions related to specific industries. Both of these tactics will attract the interest of recruiters and possibly company executives who are on Twitter as well. Additionally, by communicating regularly pertinent information, Google is now ranking tweets in their searches. This adds to your credibility in your field.

Have you used Twitter to find a job? Leave a comment here and tell us about your experience.

Earn your master’s degree while working full time.

In January, an article in the Wall Street Journal stated that job recruiters are rethinking their online playbook:

As recruiters wade cautiously back into hiring mode, they’re throwing out their old playbooks. Rather than sift through mounds of online applications, they are going out to hunt for candidates themselves. Many plan to scale back their use of online job boards, which they say generate mostly unqualified leads, and hunt for candidates with a particular expertise on places like LinkedIn Corp.’s professional networking site before they post an opening.

If recruiters and employers are looking on LinkedIn to fill their job vacancies, it is good sense for a graduate to concentrate a good portion of their networking on that site.

Set up a profile

Set up a profile and take the time to complete it 100%. If you haven’t completed a resume, you want to have one done to import into your profile. LinkedIn tells you when it’s complete and what elements you need to complete it. Once you get the basic format set up, enter the search engine words related to your job interest (i.e. marketing, advertising, communications, etc.). Search for some current friends, past employers or college professors and ask them if they would consider giving you a recommendation. Stellar recommendations show up in LinkedIn searches and you want your recommendations to stand out.

Make useful connections

Import your email contacts from your email programs and start there with your connections. Those will be people who know you personally and also have a network established on LinkedIn. Next, look for alumni of the college you are graduating from. You can join the alumni group and make connections through that group. Finally, research companies you are interested in applying to and locate current employees. It’s possible one of your connections is also connected to them and you will be able to make that 2^nd level connection. LinkedIn follows the premise of “3 degrees of separation”, enabling you to connect with a vast network of people easily, through your 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd level connections. Do a Google search to find more connections on LinkedIn related to the type of work you are interested in pursuing or the company/job title of interest that would welcome your education background and qualifications.

Get the word out to your network

LinkedIn offers status updates allowing you to post that you are currently looking for employment and any other information you care to share with your network. This information appears on all the home page feeds of your connections, allowing you the opportunity to get the word out about your job search. Search companies of interest and look for their hiring/human resource managers. Send a simple letter of introduction asking to connect and inquire about current job openings in your area of expertise.

Become active

People use LinkedIn to post questions related to any number of topics. This offers you an opportunity to share your expertise and knowledge, while making additional valuable connections. You can also ask questions soliciting information, allowing you to connect with those who answer or comment.

For graduates, building a professional network on LinkedIn just makes sense. It’s where the recruiters are going. It’s where other professionals can be found. It’s where you can begin to position yourself in the marketplace upon graduation. Let’s face it, competition is stiff and the smart graduate knows that if they think outside the box and go where the jobs are, they will be out in front and ready to snag that coveted job. Have you used LinkedIn to find a job? Please leave a comment below and share your experiences.

Study while you work in a Work Study program.