by Robin Ferrier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/benimoto/ / CC BY 2.0

There is so much good information floating out there in the Web-o-sphere — or the Interwebs, as one of my friends likes to call it — that it’s easy to find yourself in information overload. I see it every day with all the great articles my friends are posting to their blogs, their Twitter accounts, their Facebook pages… so I thought I’d start a regular “best of” feature for this blog that would be a regular round-up of some other great career resources/articles. (After all, why reinvent the wheel, right?) With that in mind, our first “Best of…” feature gets underway with a look at some of my recent “favs” regarding social media.

How I balance personal & professional on Twitter
from Denise Graveline (@dontgetcaught) of Don’t Get Caught communications

With tips ranging from why you should include some personal information in your tweets to advice on what you should leave out, Denise Graveline does it again, providing a thoughtful, insightful look at best practices in Twitter use.

MY ADDITIONAL TIP: Look at your tweet balance. By this I mean, how much is personal (in my case, my work on the Gaithersburg Book Festival, complaints about bad service at stores or restaurants, anything related to wine, dogs, or writing) vs. work (in my case, generally anything related to: marketing or PR, economic development, career development, or Johns Hopkins University)? I tend to think you should, in general, want to be 66-75% “work” and the remainder “fun.” (By the way, I tweet at @rferrier. Feel free to follow. You’ll find links to additional career resources and articles.)

Make sure your online self matches your real self during job interviews
by Jennifer Nycz-Conner (@JenConner), a Washington Business Journal reporter and blogger… and contributor to this blog

Jennifer writes about the importance of making sure your “online (unofficial) resume” matches the resume you’re presenting to employers.

MY ADVICE: Read Jennifer’s blog post, then do your own self-audit of your online persona. This may mean you log onto a friend’s computer and do a search on your name to see what you see. Or, if you have a friend who is brutally honest, have him/her do so for you.

Dear Bev: How Should I Use Social Networking In My Job Search?
from MediaPost Publications

A look at how you can EFFECTIVELY employ LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter in your job search.

MY $0.02: Yes, you should be on LinkedIn. Do it now. It’s one of the top professional social networking sites. As to recommendations on LinkedIn, make sure yours are not just from friends. The recommendations should come from your university professors, supervisors at summer jobs or internships, etc. Also, don’t underestimate the value of using the Answers section of LinkedIn. (In the interest of full disclosure, I don’t use them enough. But Jason Alba from JibberJobber is a pro at this and writes about the topic on a regular basis!) Ask questions. Answer others’ questions. It can help you start to establish your professional persona.

4 Ways to Utilize LinkedIn’s “Follow Company” Feature
by Andrew G. Rosen on Social Times

Did you know LinkedIn has a new “follow company” feature? I didn’t… until I saw this post. (Thanks, @GenerationsGuru for the tweet about this!) Andrew Rosen provides some great tips on how to use the feature, including a reminder that you should be targeting companies you want to work for as much as you are looking for jobs that fit what you want to do.

MY THOUGHTS: Where you work is as important as what you do. It truly is. A lot of people would benefit from following Andrew’s advice. I think there’s a lot of merit in taking a less-than-perfect job — at least according to its job description — if it’s for a company you admire and for which you want to work.

So there’s a round-up of some of my recent career-related readings. What about you? Any good articles you’d recommend? Or do you have your own advice related to these topics? Let us know. Weigh in below!

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.