If you’re new to networking, you may be overwhelmed by what you’re experiencing. There’s so much to learn about meeting people, keeping up with your contacts, asking for an giving favors and introductions – it can be a lot to manage, even for people not currently on the job market. If you’re job-searching and building your network at the same time, you’ve got a full plate.

More Job Search Networking: Job Search Networking Home Who, What, When, Where, & Why of Networking Research Your Next Job Through Your Network Keeping Your Network Real Networking, as Easy as Sunday Morning 10 Tips for Effective Networking via Text or Talk Networking Lessons from Frankensteins Lead with Your Abs Job Search Support Groups Effective Job Search Networking The Right Networking Prize In Praise of Non-Phony Networking Hope for Networking Haters 10 Success Tips for Reluctant Networkers 10 Networking No-No's What Network? I Don't Have a Network Reconnecting with Your Network The Point of Networking More Powerful Networking Networking Lunch Rules Networking Like a Consultant Managing that Second Networking Meeting Essential Online Networking Tools Stealth Job Search Networking So, What Do You Do? Ending the Endless Network Conversation Art of Job Search Networking Effective Network Communications Jump into Social Networking The Online Job Search Myth Recovering When Introductions Fail Personal Branding for Slash People Job Search Networking Experts: Robyn Greenspan, Job Search Networking Expert Liz Ryan, Contributor Related Information: Social Media & Job Search Networking Resources: Professional and Industry Associations and Societies Corporate and Military Employer Alumni Groups Networking & Job Search Support Groups (by state)

Here’s our list of Top Five Recommended Tools for networkers, to help you make and keep track of networking contacts as you go.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the largest business-focused online networking site, and it’s easy to see why. A free LinkedIn account makes it easy for you to be found online – a major plus if you’re job-hunting, at least in a non-stealth-mode – and makes it easy for you to get in contact with Influencers and Decision-Makers at hiring companies as well as old colleagues, schoolmates and search folks.

I recommend that non-stealth job seekers use the headline Job Seeker or Seeking Opportunity right in their LinkedIn ‘headline’ field, to make it easy for hiring managers and recruiters to find you. The Profile Update feature allows you to alert your first-degree network when you accept a job, and the LinkedIn Answers section of the site allows you to ask for business, networking and job-search advice from experts around the globe. Get started on www.LinkedIn.com.

Twitter

Got a job-search following? Lots of smart networkers keep their friends and family apprised of their job-search activities by creating and sending a Sally’s Job Search Newsletter or other regular communiqué. An easier way to accomplish the same goal is to use Twitter, a free application that sends out your daily (or hourly) doings to as many ‘followers’ as you like. Simply invite your well-wishers to follow you on Twitter, and then remember to post a message to Twitter whenever you have an interview, get a recruiter’s call, or – best of all – get a job offer!

One caveat: your Twitter updates can’t be more than 140 characters long. If you never learned careful editing in the past, Twitter will teach you not to mince words! Join up at www.twitter.com.

Zoominfo.com

ZoomInfo is a research site that makes it easy to find businesspeople and learn about them, even if they’re not LinkedIn users. On ZoomInfo (www.zoominfo.com) you can research decision-makers at companies you’re interested in, find out where they worked before and which associations they belong to, and generally move your job-search research efforts along.

You can also “claim” your own profile on ZoomInfo and even upload a photo, to let prospective employers who are researching you know more about your career. To claim your profile and correct any inaccuracies (as well as to let ZoomInfo know that they’ve combined your profile with one of the many other people on the planet who shares your name) you’ll need to enter a credit card number for verification reasons. Your credit card won’t be charged. In addition to ZoomInfo’s free service, there is a paid version that provides more information on the people you find in ZoomInfo’s database.

Plaxo

Plaxo is a free contact-management application that you download onto your computer from www.plaxo.com. Plaxo allows you to keep up with your contacts as they change jobs, cities and industries. As long as you have a valid email address for each person in your address book, you’ll be able to use Plaxo to request an update from this person whenever his or her situation changes. Plaxo also reminds you when your friends’ birthdays are approaching, notifies you when they change jobs, and generally keeps you abreast of their movements.

Because of the volume of mail Plaxo sends out, some people regard it as spam, so we recommend that you confine your use of Plaxo to other current users. If you invite every person in your address book to get a Plaxo account of his or her own, you may irk a contact or two. Still, Plaxo users swear by its easy interface and the hours they save updating their contact files.

Yahoo! Groups

Job-seekers need information, they need contacts, and they need moral support. Yahoo!groups can supply part or all of these needs via its job-search-focused email discussion groups in cities across the U.S. and abroad. Search the database of Yahoo!groups at www.yahoogroups.com to find a group in your city focused on job-search networking and advice. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to share a harrowing interview story or get negotiation tips from online well-wishers, and to share your war stories with them as well.

Don't use your real name as your Yahoo! Group member name to protect your job and your privacy. Do use your name if your are establishing your personal "brand."

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About this author:

Liz Ryan is Job-Hunt's Networking Contributor. Liz is a former Fortune 500 VP and 25-year veteran of corporate human resources departments. In addition, Liz is the author of Happy About Online Networking, moderator and coach of AskLizRyan, author of the AskLizRyanCommunityBlog and AskLizRyanBlog, and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the 21st century workplace.

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