Why Google+ Deserves Your Time Attention (Guest Post)

Why Google+ Deserves Your Time Attention (Guest Post) Im excited to share a follow-up post from social media career expert Miriam Salpeter. Miriam was a recent guest on Making a Living with Maggie sharing tips on social networking for career success. Read below for her tips on how to leverage the latest social media tool, Google+When Maggie and I talked about social networking on her show, Google+ was very new on the social media scene, and we didnt get to discuss how it might be useful for job seekers to explore. Hopefully, youve taken some of the advice we shared about LinkedIn to heart, but dont forget a well-rounded social media strategy (including a variety of networks) may help you achieve your plans sooner. I was delighted to take Maggie up on her offer to share my thoughts about Google+ and how using it could help you achieve your career and business goals.Keep in mind, there are three big reasons to use social media:To expand the number of people you know and who know you.To learn new information pertinent to your field from m entors and thought leaders, andTo illustrate your expertise with a community of people who may connect you to opportunities based on learning about you and what you know. Having spent time using Google+ for the past few months, I believe this new social scene allows users to accomplish all of these goals. Like Twitter, it is an open network, allowing members to learn from and share information with people they dont already know. Without any introductions, anyone is free to find and follow people who provide useful details and information pertinent to their careers.Think about the possibilities! If you are interested in learning about an industry, organization, or niche, you can search Google+ (or use one of the applications popping up to help you search it) and identify people who are actively discussing topics that not only may interest you, but could open exactly the right door you need to go through to make your next career or business move.Another factor to consider making Googl e+ worth your time Googles hold on search traffic. Google+ will help improve your find-ability by connecting you via the network to an extended social search community. For example, when you are signed into Google+, and you use Google to search a topic, Google likely populates your search with results from members of your Google+ community. Similarly, those community members will find you when they search for topics.Finally, whether or not you decide to actively engage on Google+, this new social network heightens the importance of your Google profile. If you use any of Googles products (Gmail, Google voice, etc.), you have a Google profile. Some recruiters are already chomping at the bit with excitement about tapping into a new network profiling details such as work history and expertise. Since Google+ automatically populates its profile using the Google profile, many who have a skeleton description will (and should) update it with useful and detailed information, which makes Goog le+ a great go-to place for employers and hiring managers to search for potential candidates.Thanks again for your insights Miriam! For more, check out her newly releasedYour Guide to Getting Started on Google+, an eGuide walking you through how to update your profile, find people to follow and tips to make it easier for recruiters and potential clients to find you on Google+. In it you will fine tips, tricks, and links to help make your Google+ experience more efficient, effective and successful. Learn more about the Guide HERE.