Professional Social Networks
Read this article, which explores resources for career connections and professional development. Visit, sign-up, and search the websites linked here for employment and networking opportunities.
Customer Service Job Networking and Professional Development
The business world can be challenging to break into, highly competitive, and frequently unforgiving. Fortunately, there are many support systems. For instance, many social networks allow users to share tips, search job leads, post and explore case studies, and seek support from colleagues facing common problems. Successful professionals use these resources to their advantage while also sharing employment leads, tips, and best practices.
Through business networking and social network posting, you may also help employers find and recruit you! Check out the following annotated resources that you might find useful as part of your career development in customer service and related occupations. Please spend some time on each of these websites, consider joining if you haven’t already, and put their networking power to work on your behalf.
LinkedIn is a free social-networking resource with a primarily business bent. You can connect with other professionals; track your friends and colleagues as they progress in their careers; network for employment opportunities; post a resume in order to help employers to find you; join professional groups in fields such as retailing, technical support, and other customer service fields; or start a group of your own. You are also able to research company listings, follow their postings for company news and job openings, and gain inside insights into a company’s activities and developments. If you only join one social network for your career growth, this should well be it.
Facebook is more personal in nature, but it also provides many opportunities beyond simply staying in touch with loved ones and posting pictures of your pets. Many companies have Facebook pages that you can like and visit to follow their in-house news. You might also develop select circles of friends and colleagues who share employment leads, career tips, training opportunities, and the like.
Twitter provides yet another opportunity to follow companies’ news by subscribing to their Twitter feeds. Pick an employer you might like to work for, and follow its daily updates for better insights into the company’s updates and new directions.
Professional Development
Customer service—like most specialized fields in business and public affairs—requires a high level of social skills. As you network with other jobseekers and colleagues in your networks, you may find some useful tips, and even share some of your own. The following suggestions might help with stressful situations of customer interactions, staff meetings, presentations, and just small talk schmoozing at office parties.
- If you have a difficult time with public speaking or interpersonal interactions, you may want to find a Toastmaster’s organization near you for some low-stress and supportive practice.
- When preparing for job interviews and performance evaluations, expect hard questions and draft out your responses in advance—especially for the questions you might not want to answer.
- Do not be afraid to admit that you do not know the answer to a question; instead, offer to find the answer and get back to the asker as soon as possible.
- Do not rush when answering any questions. Do not feel obliged to fill the quiet after a tricky question. Just pause, think, and then answer.
- Always dress appropriately, projecting a cool, clean-cut professional image. Dress up or down as the circumstance dictates.
- Project enthusiasm for your ideas and goals; that attitude is contagious. Remember that if you are not excited about yourself, then the listener never will be.
- Be truthful, but also do not feel the need to be hurtful. Do not say someone looks unwell, sick, or tired. This will do nothing to further conversation and will only make the person uncomfortable. Remember silence is an option.
Summary
- There are a number of worthwhile networking resources that help job seekers exchange information and leads.
- Social networks such as LinkedIn allow us to post resumes, join online professional groups, and help potential employers find us.
- Customer service success requires a high degree of interpersonal skills such as simple but enthusiastic presentation, advanced preparation of information, and sensitivity to the needs of others.
Source: Steven R. Van Hook and Saylor Academy
This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.