The Young Professionals Guide to the Benefits of Google+

FROM: http://www.classycareergirl.com/2012/01/the-young-professionals-guide-to-the-benefits-of-google/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-young-professionals-guide-to-the-benefits-of-google

January 3, 2012 by Anna Runyan ·

I know what you are thinking, you can’t handle another social media account right now. But, there are so many amazing things about Google+ that I wanted to make sure you knew about! That is why I asked Bethany to help us out with a guest post. Today’s post is written by Bethany Ramos who is a full-time freelance writer and co-owns her own e-commerce website, The Coffee Bump. The Coffee Bump specializes in a wide variety of bunn coffee makers and assorted coffee and espresso products.

Google+ is the newest social network to make headlines lately, and it provides much more than just another platform to connect with friends online. If you have been using social media websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to make professional connections and job hunt, Google+ can provide you with the same opportunities when approached correctly.

Here are three main benefits that Google+ can provide for professionals:

1. Expand your social circle online to make more connections.
2. Find quick, up-to-date information about prominent leaders in your industry.
3. Showcase your expertise to other professionals that connect with you online.

A great benefit to having a professional profile on Google+ is that Google controls search traffic. So if you want to get your name out there and make it easy to find your information online, establishing a presence on Google + is one step in the right direction.

From there, it’s time to create a plan of attack. You need to put yourself out there as a professional on Google+ in order to make valuable connections and find new job opportunities.

1. Identify Targets: Google+ allows you to create circles, which are categorized into groups of people. You can share specific content and information with different groups and also view the information they post to their circles. It’s helpful to seek out specific professionals in your industry that you want to find out more about. You can then create a “business” or “professional” circle to network with these key players exclusively. Just like any other social media website, you need to reach out to important contacts on Google+ in order to make your presence known.
2. Network: Once you have built up your professional network on Google+, you can take this further by adding all of the contacts from your e-mail list and from LinkedIn. This will help you to build up a trustworthy list of connections. You can then follow users in your business circle to track potential job opportunities that relate to your industry. You can also share your own blogs, articles, and personal information to establish your credibility as a professional.
3. Seal the Deal: Once you have made a valuable connection or have discovered a potential job opportunity, you can initiate a “hangout” on Google+. This will open a chat window that will allow you to hang out with another Google+ user in a live setting. The benefit to this feature is that up to 10 people can join the hangout to chat as a group. Take this opportunity to both initiate and join conversations with other professionals in your field. You can meet new connections, take advantages of opportunities, and quickly established yourself as a leader in your industry… all without having to leave the comfort of your own home.

Make sure you stop by and add me to your Google+ circles here! If you only want updates from the blog, you can just add the Classy Career Girl Google+ page here.