Yeah, yeah, yeah. The economy’s in the crapper. The list of people I know who are unemployed (or under-employed, like me) continues to grow. But what can we do about it? Help each other out, for starters. At the Minneapolis-St. Paul Social Media Breakfast event on Friday, local recruiter Paul DeBettignies said it best: “For the love of God help somebody else.”

So let’s try doing that. I’ve come across a number of resources to help job seekers lately, so let’s share.

The Online Job Hunt
First up, is the presentation Paul DeBettignies gave at the Social Media Breakfast. You can actually check out three of his recent presentations on using social media in the job search, getting the most out of Linked In and what to do after you have a “killer” resume. I’ve only seen the social media presentation, but I gleaned some good stuff:

• “It’s not the size of your network that matters, but how you use it.”
• Using Google to find people on Linked In you can’t find with Linked In’s search.
• What to do once you get a job (thank people, tell people, ask if your company has other job openings, keep up with your network, look for your next job).
• Ask why you didn’t get the job. Nine times out of ten they won’t tell you, but when they do it can be huge.

You miss out on a lot by not seeing the presentation live, but hopefully you can find a few nuggets.

Next Up: Better Networking
Jeff Goins offers the best way to do networking. Most people find jobs through networking. It’s a simple, unavoidable fact. It’s all about who you know (and who they know, and who they know…). But not everybody likes networking. The handshaking, the useless chitchat, the shameless self-promotion. Like me, Jeff isn’t a fan of networking, but he’s found a way to make it work: do favors for people. If you help them out some day it will come back to help you out. This is essentially the root of networking—finding ways to help one another. Ideally networking should be mutually beneficial, and if you go in with an attitude of helping others instead of collecting business cards, you’re much more likely to hit that everybody wins sweet spot.

Finally: 6 Words That Make Your Resume Suck
I’m always coming across resume writing advice, some good, some not so good. These six words that make your resume suck are gold. Most resume advice always seems obvious, like don’t list your high school or don’t exaggerate your experience (if you need to be reminded of ethics you don’t deserve a job). But this one hits pay dirt, giving real world examples like avoiding the passive “responsible for” lingo and telling us what you actually accomplished. It usually comes down to being specific. Don’t tell us how experienced or successful you are, prove it. Don’t tell us you’re detail-oriented or a team player, prove it.

Last Words
Looking for a job sucks. It’s a full time job and it’s full of soaring highs and depressing lows. So let’s help each other out. If you hear about a job, pass it around. If you know someone looking, introduce them to folks who might help. Everybody wins.