Jocelyn Aucoin is the Community Manager at WorkSimple. You can connect with her on Twitter @jocelynaucoin.  

A long time ago, the Internet didn’t exist. It’s true. You’re really learning things today. But hang with me — can you remember the day when email didn’t exist? When looking for a job literally meant pounding the pavement or pulling out the newspaper to scan and circle the want ads? There’s no arguing that the Internet has drastically changed the way we find work. It’s also changed the way that work finds us.

If you’ve looked for a job, you’re tracking with me. You know that a lot more goes into finding work than just submitting your resume online. And if you’re an employer, you’re also hopping on this bandwagon faster than patchouli on hippies because you know that candidate research doesn’t stop with that piece of doggone of paper. Nope. Don’t you wish, recruiters? Wait, actually you probably don’t.

Recently there’s been a lot of opinions circling around the House of Representatives voting down a bill to restrict employer’s access to prospective and current employee Facebook pages. Where you stand on the issue isn’t important for our post today in so much as it’s a reflection of how much of our lives are now lived online and how that comes into play when we’re searching for a job.

So, what to do? Well, first of all don’t let your online life scare you. When it comes to the job search, it really is good to be “social.” Here’s why:

Facebook is Your Friend

Facebook is such an amazing resource if you learn how to harness its power. The first thing to remember is that while a good deal of vulnerability is ideal, not everything in your life needs to be shared. Learn to reign in your content by setting your privacy settings properly. Remember that both what you chose to share and who you chose to share it with is important. Keep your potential readers in mind. Above all, always be you — just not you on “Girls Night Out.” What happens in Vegas, should stay in Vegas. Ya get me?

Get Ta Tweetin’

When I first joined Twitter I was a real skeptic. But being the “werd nerd” I am, I was sucked in by the challenge of succinct writing — 140 characters. Later I learned the amazing benefits Twitter offers in terms of expanding one’s professional network in that you can search and follow people by common interest. And the real diamond-in-the-Twitter-rough: the Twitter Chat. Check out #hfchat, #hirefriday, #careerchat, #tchat, and #genychat. These are excellent resources on employment trends and great for networking with recruiters. If you’re too scared to participate (Twitter chats can be very overwhelming, especially if you’ve never been in one) you have my permission to lurk or read through the stream after the fact. Whatever you do, be sure to tell them Jocelyn at WorkSimple sent you!

Build a Visual Work Portfolio

LinkedIn tells a great story, albeit a static and text-heavy one. Look to other tools like Vizualize.me, Dribbble, and even Tumblr/Blogs that can tell a visual work story traditional resumes and LinkedIn often neglect to tell. In our image-centric culture, this can be the difference between landing a job or not. WorkSimple offers a more visual way of communication as well with our WorkStory feature. With the recent launch of the beta of our Personal Edition, now everyone can begin building their unique WorkStory.

Did you meet your current employer on FB? Do you have the most kickass Work Portfolio? Share your stories with us!