Personal relationships and professional networking have always been the best ways to find a new job, isn’t it? When Nishi, last updated her wall post on facebook saying, “Looking forward to working with an NGO,” she wasn’t offered a job, but got various lucrative options and suggestions by friends, which helped her find work in just five days. With most of us updating our Facebook status every few minutes, looks like social networking websites are not just a great way to connect with people, but are proving to be just the apt place to look for a job.
Take for instance, Pralay Bakshi’s profile. The introduction, reads, “Voice Overs, MCing, Audio Production and Radio Solutions, Singing and Music Production. Own Studio. Leads are welcome :)” Not just that, when he was recently looking for a junior copywriter, he posted: “Junior copywriter needed on a freelance basis, needs to be fluent in English and Hindi. Should be able to convert print/poster copy into radio copy,” he got a few interesting replies and he is now short-listing people. Like Pralay, there are many who are looking forward to posting their requirements on their Facebook walls. Says Pralay, “I have been doing this for quite sometime now, and I must say facebook is quite an effective tool for business communication. I have been in touch with many people through facebook, and every time I’m looking for people to work with in my studio, I get some great responses online. In fact, I’ve short-listed a few people for the last vacancy I posted.”
For others, it’s a great way of connecting with people and one often makes contacts, which one feels one may not have made otherwise. For instance, Mihir Gulati, a student from Xavier’s College Mumbai, recently uploaded his clicks as “I.clicks” and is looking forward to being spotted by someone who’s looking for young photographers. “Facebook talks volumes about your work, than merely uploading a resume. Many of my friends forwarded my work to their friends who are professional photographers. In fact, I added a few professional photographers, and they liked my work. I’m still in touch with them about assignments,” he says.
For budding models too, Facebook has been a great help in getting assignments. “After I started uploading my portfolio pictures, I got 50 per cent work. Now I make it a point to upload all my work pictures and many people approach me for assignments after that,” says budding model Akriti Bhambri.
Then there are others who get clients for their new projects when they put up the news on Facebook.
“I started making my own cakes and put up a few pictures with their names and prices. Slowly and gradually my friends started ordering cakes, and the business grew. Facebook is definitely a better service provider than any other medium. It’s a time and money saver too,” says Shweta (name changed on request), a bakery owner in Noida.