Get Hired in '08: Workplace Trends to Put You Ahead

Jan. 2, 2008 — -- New year, new job? The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that America will have more than 5 million more jobs than people to fill them this year … thanks to baby boomers retiring and fewer young people joining the work force. But you have to get in the game — the right game — to find the best job for you.

Collaborative recruiting is the buzz word for 2008, which means more people have a say in who's hired and referrals are more powerful than ever before. So instead of submitting your resume in what often feels like the big black hole, the newest trend in employment — for job seekers and corporate recruiters — is to use social networks like Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com and MySpace.com to get that all important referral.

Get connected. Instead of relying on your resume as the first contact with a prospective employer, your priority should be making direct connections to people who can introduce you to your next employer. Online social networks are your ticket to doing just that.

Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace that were once exclusively for social purposes are now increasingly being used for recruitment — and that will blossom even more this year. Employers are using these sites to promote their job openings, their corporate cultures and even their benefits all in an effort to encourage you to apply.

One prime example is Ernst & Young, which created a major online presence for its recruitment efforts on Facebook. The accounting giant recognized that college kids were constantly on Facebook — more than half of the 60 million users go back to the site each day — and so the firm went to their turf to find recruits. But Facebook isn't only for college kids: The fastest growing demographic on Facebook is age 35+.

More than 500 corporations say they use LinkedIn as one of their primary recruitment tools. And there are 250,000 recruiters registered on the site — all on the prowl for new talent to hire. Beyond that, executives and employees from each Fortune 500 company can be found on LinkedIn, which also features exclusive job postings. So it's rich in resources for anyone looking for work.