In Praise of "Seven Days to Online Networking"

To paraphrase Thoreau: sometimes you can date the beginning of a new era in your life by reading a book.

Thoreau undoubtedly had something more literary in mind than Ellen Sautter and Diane Crompton's book Seven Days to Online Networking, but a career counselor's work is often profoundly pragmatic. It has been decades since I've read a job search book that actually transformed the way that I think about the job search process.

I've known for awhile that the Internet is changing the way that people look for jobs. I have shared my clients' frustrations that, after posting their resumes on job sites like Monster and CareerBuilder, they wait (often in vain) for employers to respond to them. I have also known that many people are using social networking sites to advance their networking and job search efforts; but I haven't been able to develop clear guidelines on the best sites or ways to use those sites -- until now.

This book made me a better counselor and I recommend it often. It has taught me how to use the major sites to meet potential employers and help my clients develop customized plans to use online networking in their careers.

And for that, I thank them.