Career blogs these days are all about how to use social networking to land a job (or a candidate). But with all this talk about what you can get OUT OF social networks, not enough people are talking about what you should put INTO them.

One HR blogger we follow, Gautam Ghosh, cautions professionals against a me-me-me attitude on Twitter and similar sites in his recent post “Using social tools with an agenda.” Says Ghosh:

Often these days I come across articles that say “Here’s how you use Facebook for Recruiting” or “17 ways of effective job hunting using Twitter.” The problem is, if you merely use the tools with an agenda to recruit/job hunt or whatever, then you’re headed for disappointment. That’s because these tools are social in nature. And whether you are a marketer, PR person, recruiter or job seeker, using them badly will not just turn off the very people whose attention you strive to seek, but might also backfire on you.

While LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter all may have plenty to offer you, you can’t expect to really flourish on these sites if you aren’t willing to take it slow and offer something of value yourself.  Forbes journalist Tara Weiss addresses this in her article “Twitter to find a job.”

If you’ve never used Twitter, don’t sign up and immediately blast people with a message saying you’re out of work. Instead, build momentum slowly. Open an account and include something about your profession in your user name. Since users can search tweets by topic, that’s one way of making your feed more visible… Next, start tweeting. Offer your opinion on news, industry happenings and seminars. If someone you follow, particularly an industry leader, says something controversial or interesting, retweet (forward) it, or send the person a direct response. That can be an ideal way to get a casual but more personal conversation going.

Indeed, one of the biggest blunders a job-seeker can make is starting up a new Twitter account and immediately clamoring for a job. Yes, the infrastructure is there to make this possible, but Twitter is a real community — not just a job board!

And while plenty of jobs are listed there, the real value in joining the network is in the “loose” connections you will make, which statistics show are the most crucial in finding a job, says Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers in her article “Leverage Twitter for your job search.” One of her top tips is to start tweeting long before you follow anyone at all (in other words: contribute!). Salpeter says,

Tweet about an article, an idea or share a link of professional interest to your targeted followers. Do this for a few days. It may seem strange to be tweeting when no one is following, but you may be surprised to gain an audience before you even try. Once you have a great profile and a set of interesting tweets, start following people in your industry.

Salpeter’s final, most important tip falls right in line with Gautam Ghosh’s urging that we all give before we take in our online networks (the original inspiration for this post):

Give, give, give! Think about what you can do for others. Don’t blatantly self-promote. Instead, help promote others. “Retweet” (pass along information someone else shared, giving them credit) - you will earn followers and friends this way. Those who know (and like) you will become part of your network and will be willing to help you.

The right way to approach a social network is bearing something of interest and value. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it’s practical, too. When you invest time in your Twitter profile, and build relationships, you are enhancing the likelihood that people will re-tweet the information you’re offering. When you’re re-tweeted, you’re taking advantage of the medium’s exponential power! With just a small up-front investment of time and effort, you can sow something that’s really worth reaping.

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