View Other job seeker relevant tools and advice at David Perry’s latest launch, www.PutAmericaBackToWork.com

** To View Climber Catalyst offerings and capabilities first-hand register for free HERE

In a challenging economic environment, we often assume that the number of unemployed provides target rich active candidates that are easily assessable. The unexpected complication however reveals a more complex introduction exchange between recruiter and job seeker. The disenfranchised effected by layoffs likewise become disconnected from their corporate brand, corporate emails bounce, corporate numbers become disconnected – often relegating name generation research to a short shelf life. The under employed is likewise an under appreciated statistic within the latest employment discussions and their job title and employer on a social media profile doesn’t provide the complete picture of the availability. Basically, the robust people finding utility can only be as useful as the up-to-date status of individual profiles and the energies we invest in reading ‘between the lines’.

Unemployed? Check out the Unemployment Calculator

Climber’s Catalyst approaches the challenges described handedly. It was designed specifically to enhance the recruiter to job seeker, relationship experience through a seamless capability for introductions. It can create instant networks then transition to Linkedin or other social media applications – introducing them to existing targets among college educated professionals within a salary range of $50k to $160k. Though each are subscription based, the similarities with the Ladders, ends there. Climber’s Catalyst provides both employers and candidates with an actual marketing and distribution platform, in addition to SalesForce Automation Software to support its backend aspects.

Climber’s Catalyst utilizes a sales-oriented approach to track source destinations, and to market prospects to potential recruiters to gain momentum in their career journey. It provides a workable technology solution similar to the metric aspects commonly associated as strengths of a CRM. Staffing organizations can access the ratio of how best to qualify process aspects; i.e., how many actual leads to connection to the pivot point of an actual resume sent, to the number of interviews established to accomplish an actual hire.

Catalyst is built upon a modular platform which allows organizations to instantly connect, in a very targeted, precise manner and it can do so, ‘socially’ all from one place. Recruiters can access Catalyst’s Resume Center –whereas Job Seekers can modify their existing resume to fit a particular job opening. With an enterprise account, if 5 or more recruiters from a corporate brand are interested, Catalyst can build them a free micro-site, with video etc to brand the employer experience.

A Unique, Corporate Branded, Social Integration Like No Other

Through Catalyst’s distribution network, jobs are viewed by 27 million unique visitors a month. The Network directs traffic to over 330 distributed, search optimized job sites. Recruiters can SEO their own individual profiles across the major search engines with a consistent, corporate branded experience. Furthermore, Catalyst offers the unique extras that are unmatched in this arena, with search optimized, branded video housed on-site that can likewise be distributed to across social media networks or shared anonymously. Multiple twitter feeds can be fed, as well as LinkedIn profiles with auto-update/auto-tweet. Moreover, catalyst offers candidate feeds/job tweets with dynamic content easily accessible for a user friendly , eye catching experience.

Climber’s Catalyst offers 3 types of distribution networks:

(1) narrow – Company XY wants java programmers for example, a corporate recruiter can click and immediately distribute within their network to attract referrals; (2) industry oriented – say for example, nurses in Denver, or all healthcare at once within an associated in geographic area;
(3) geographic radius specific – within a 50 mile radius, or broader.

A recruiter or a candidate can import their Linkedin network or specific individuals to heighten the effectiveness of their efforts and create targeted emails which can reach up to 5,000 people at a time.

A One Click, One Stop Jobs connector on Linkedin and Throughout

The tactics to the networking strategy are maximized with Catalyst’s click frequency of auto posting to multiple LinkedIn and twitter accts; to include auto hash tags and even a tiny url. It creates a focused way to harness social media with click through metrics provided that pin point effectively to your featured jobs. The platform allows auto access to your network email enhancing the number of successful candidate opt-in’s. A recruiter can even advertise within your LinkedIn profile – advertising jobs, and an open invite to ‘connect with Climber’s Catalyst profiles to redirect interested applicants.

The job feeds are likewise easily reconfigured by importance in real-time; a recruiter can rotate jobs up or down according to their individual priority. The widget capability can even be made available to niche blogs, and just as easily updated hourly to highlight your jobs.

Export your LinkedIn Network and Import it into Climber.com Catalyst

I will continue to keep you informed as Climber’s Catalyst“>Climber Catalyst and their broader suite of products evolve. Their intriguing use of social media tells as much about how technologies are providing job seekers another look.

View Climber Gallery for Screen Shots

Resume Carousel: Resume Generator, Resume Templates & Resumes

** Make sure to take advantage of the free registration at Climber Catalyst, for job seeker and recruiters alike to experience its capabilities first-hand: HERE

Compliments of Mashable:

Dave Mendoza
Facebook Profile: http://profile.to/davemendoza
Facebook Group: http://groups.to/sixdegreesfromdave
Twitter: http://twitter.com/davemendoza
Join SixDegreesfromDave: http://tinyurl.com/sixdegreesfromdave

I have noticed that whereas 170 million have flocked to Facebook and millions to Twitter, our staffing community has not adopted as quickly in utilizing the search and relationship potential to a comfort level traditionally given to Linkedin.

According to my peers, changes to LinkedIn will increasingly limit its functionality for sourcing purposes, albeit the Cybersleuthing methodology will remain the key. Take a look at this discussion string and see if you’re not alarmed by what you see: http://tinyurl.com/cfafr7

According to our friend, Maureen Sharib, Recent LinkedIn Developments are as follows:

Made the “bulk accept” feature nearly impossible to find
Made it impossible to see your group member emails
Made it impossible to export your group members for communication other than once/weekly
Someone said (at that link) that LI is getting set to change the ability to see 100 profiles down to 60 as of 4/23

I am not confirming, but rather making the case that as a staffing community and early adopters, this is a wake up call to start diversifying the platforms in which our group thrives and in which we directly connect and develop relationships with one another.

Don’t fall behind. In this economy, being an early adopter is crucial if we are to successfully evolve in this economic transition. For those of you who have already joined Facebook, I strongly recommend you double check if you have edited your profile with a robust representation of your personality and professional strengths. Many colleagues remain hidden in search results due to minimalist profiles that lack their present employer or job title or areas of expertise, etc. It’s not simply about having an account – it is about making the most of each social network you join. As suggested with Linkedin, we cannot depend on anyone network for professional or personal networking. We cannot allow social media to grow without us or a role for us to target new talent – moreover, we need to be an integral part of their long-term strategies.

Even if you can confirm you are on Linkedin or Facebook, or Twitter or RecruitingBlogs.com (RBC) – do yourself a favor and check your profiles to ensure they are up-to-date. Ensure above all you have added as many personal and professional email addresses on each of these to be found. Check your settings, and check that your profiles are complete and interesting. If you worry about job stability or uyou have since been laid off – I can attest that many of you are being lost with emails that bounce for exactly this reason – an outdated email or committing to one that risks disconnecting you.

Today and throughout this week – do yourself and our group a favor and look over the checklist of social media to ensure your current, relevant and searchable:

Do you have a Facebook account? If so, is it current, do you have more than one email address listed? Is your profile complete with interesting aspects of your likes and dislikes and specialties?

Do You have a Linkedin account? Do your account settings provide for multiple email addresses in case you get laid off? Have you confirmed each email to ensure they are saved? Is your employer and job title up-to-date? Click Account Settings on top right corner, then click Email Addresses under Personal Information within the Settings page. It will list “Your primary email address is currently: XXXX. Click to add. In fact Linkedin encourages you to add more email addresses, “Add an email address: Adding an email address is useful if you expect to be invited to connect at more than one address. We recommend that you add both a personal and work email address.” * Then Click “send Confirmation Message” and confirm the email once you receive a message in your email inbox.

Now that the basics are behind us, how current are you with belonging to “Six Degrees from Dave”, the group on each of these social networks?

1) Are we directly connected on Facebook? Click to double check we are “Friends” – http://profile.to/davemendoza

2) Do you have “Six Degrees from Dave” as a listed group you belong to on Facebook? Click to double check you belong -
http://groups.to/sixdegreesfromdave

3) Do you have a Twitter account and do you follow me? Click – twitter.com/davemendoza

4) Do you belong to our new Official Membership Feed? Everyone needs to click to ensure they have updated info for our group. We can now identify by locality, region, job title, employer if you complete the form. Click: tinyurl.com/sixdegreesfromdave

5) Do you have an account on RecruitingBlogs.ning.com? If so, double check you joined our subgroup location CLICK – recruitingblogs.ning.com/group/sixdegree

6) Have you bookmarked our home site to get daily updates on our industry, interviews and top ten listings to network? Bookmark Add ‘this site’ it today and register to receive updates.

Each step goes a long way to staying interconnected with a life raft in this economic climate. We are here for you and each other. Be found, find others. It’s why “Six Degrees from Dave” has never been more relevant.

I’m with you in your concerns. You are never alone in our group.
Dave Mendoza’s Profile

Create Your Badge
Dave Mendoza
SixDegreesfromDave

Phil was kind enough to offer this article for the benefit of our readers

Which is better for your job search, Facebook or LinkedIN?
By Phil Rosenberg
phil.recareered@gmail.com

The case for LinkedIN:

Strengths:

• LinkedIN allows you to build a massive network, and allows you to limited contact with any other user directly through its InMail feature
• You see 3 degrees of separation
• LinkedIN has a widget that allows you to superimpose your network over Monster and CareerBuilder ads – so you can reach line managers and bypass HR.
• LinkedIN has a similar widget to superimpose mini profiles over Outlook emails
• The LinkedIN Answers is a great way to find your audience, and participate in discussions

Weaknesses:

• It’s tough to broadcast messages to groups in LinkedIN, or to make messages viral
• LinkedIN is built to acquire a network, more than for communicating with a network
• Communication with LinkedIN contacts are best done through good old email, after initial LinkedIN introduction
• LinkedIN doesn’t coordinate well with blogs, nor have customizable apps…but we are told these are coming soon

The case for FaceBook:

Strengths:

• FaceBook is built for better communication within FaceBook. It’s easy to stay in contact with your network without jumping to outside email apps
• On Facebook, you can directly email anyone, even if you aren’t connected to them
• FaceBook has thousands of customizable apps, allowing recommendations, 2nd degree of separation, CRM like features, business cards
• FaceBook has customizable control to allow (or block) access to your information by group or individual (so you can block all your job search information from people within your company)
• FaceBook has viral messaging features, which is great for spreading the word
• FaceBook is excellent in blog integration, photo sharing and tagging, video sharing, and groups. Facebook integrates well with Flickr & YouTube
• 68 million members and growing…fast. It’s 3x the size of LinkedIN

Weaknesses:

• FaceBook is over-sensitive to spam, to the point of being ridiculous. If you template introductions, your account gets flagged at about 10 intro emails per a day. However, if you send friend requests without a note, it’s not considered spam. Go figure…
• FaceBook recommendations, questions/answers are still weak, due to low adoption rates
• FaceBook still has a social atmosphere, which means you’ll have friends that send cutsey messages to all of their friends…3 times a day. But you can block this feature
• FaceBook really only gives you 1 level of separation, you can get to a second level with heavy lifting through a FaceBook app
• Others can send you pictures, or add pics to your photo album. This means you have to regularly manage your online reputation, especially your public profile and photo album.

Common to Both:

• Both LinkedIN & Facebook have solid job boards
• Both have a status feature that lets you broadcast one-line status texts, like a built in Twittr
• Both have voice integration with Skype and Jaxtr
• Both are great for catching up with old classmates, or co-workers from past lives.
• Both have introduction features
• Neither has an easy integration of multiple social networks, phone or email lists, or contact management. Everything has to be exported and manipulated in Outlook, so it’s very limited, time consuming, & tricky

Summary:

Both are winners, and a winning strategy is to use both, because they each have their strengths in helping you build your network and subject matter expertise. I invite my contacts to both LinkedIN (www.linkedin.com/in/philrosenberg) and Facebook (http://profile.to/philrosenberg/) …feel free to invite me to your networks on both.

Trackback: http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/03/duel-facebook-vs-linkedin.html
Phil Rosenberg
President, reCareered
Phone: 773-831-4628
Blog: http://reCareered.blogspot.com

View my profile on RecruitingBlogs.com

LinkedIn | Bio | MSN | Skype

Rich Tatum is a freelance writer and former online media managing editor for Christianity Today International.

Along with his lovely bride he is currently father and “cat herder” to two off-the-wall children in a Chicago, IL, suburb. You can find him blogging at tatumweb.com/blog/. For more about his experience with LinkedIN, see his blog post, “Will Social Network for Food.”

I view FaceBook as a much more social and relational application than LinkedIN — though I find LinkedIN is a much more serious professional network. If I want my questions answered with real substance, I use the Answers forum on LinkedIN. Nothing beats it! But when I want to let my friends know what I’m up to unobtrusively, I use FaceBook.

I’m more willing to connect with strangers on LinkedIN than I am on FaceBook simply because professional networking there can be more loosely defined as shared vocational interests and intersections than what I consider the more “friendly” environment of FaceBook.

That said, having a FaceBook account has been an important factor in a few job interviews I’ve had over the last several months. When applying for a job where “social networking” and viral marketing have been important components, the hiring managers independently searched to see if I was on FaceBook. Two hiring managers friended me on FaceBook before ever meeting me. One hiring manager wrote that, “If someone says that they get the Web and what it’s about and yet their name doesn’t come up on Google, or any search engine, or FaceBook or any online community — then they’re probably not someone we need to be talking to.”

I think he’s right. In my line of work (information technology, media, and marketing), not being on FaceBook speaks volumes about my so-called credibility.

Now, there are features on FaceBook that wish LinkedIN had, and vice versa. But I recognize that a lot of the feature-sets are geared toward the kind of socializing done on each network. For example both FaceBook and LinkedIN have a sort of Q&A application/forum you can tap into. But the quality of answers on FaceBook are far inferior (in terms of content) than LinkedIN. Yet the entertainment value of the Q&A on FaceBook is at least as good if not more enjoyable than LinkedIN. I wish both had more RSS feeds.

In the end, depending on what kind of business you’re in, it makes sense to at least maintain a profile on FaceBook — especially if your line of work involves information technology or social capital in any way.