Written by Sam Manna

One always sees trends develop when one has been in the recruiting field for a few years. Here’s one of those things which raises concern for me and because it keeps rearing its head again and again and again I think it’s important to pass on a warning to job seekers in these heady times of cyber searching and internet job hunting.   Especially a word of caution to our SCM candidates out there.

So here’s something that might seem obvious but believe me it certainly bears repeating – What goes onto the internet stays on the internet FOREVER and it can come back wickedly to haunt you. Similar to warning we give our teens that teacher, friend or parent bashing on Facebook is taboo because it’s there for everyone to see for eternity and that can come back at them, it has surprised us that through out 2012 routine data cleanup that so many past and present job seekers use work Emails and work numbers as their primary contact touch point for something as confidential as a job search. I was shocked and dismayed.  And frankly that needs a rethink.

A job search is of a very personal and confidential matter that is best handled by as few people as possible and done through personal communication. Do NOT risk an employer inadvertently stumbling across emails or voicemail messages at your work that is related to job hunting. The repercussions could be immense from loss of trust by your employer to dismissal.  Additionally, once one does leave that employer then what? All that extremely valuable networking that was done is gone. Your contact information is obsolete. What opportunity is there for good contacts one has made in the past to reconnect with you at a later date (sometimes years later) with something (an opportunity, a business idea or a consulting offer for example) really interesting?

So a word of advice as the outlook for the future of business in general is uncertain. Networking continues to be a vital part of the puzzle as one moves forward through ones career. Keep it tight and keep it right. Keep your cell numbers current, don’t change your personal emails frequently otherwise people can’t find you, make sure to brand yourself on the social and business networking sites like LinkedIn using the right keywords using your numbers and email addresses clearly displayed.

Always be open to networking with a diverse range of people – you never know what synergies you have with them and when you’ll need them and how you can help them.