05/07/2010 #FF — New Connections

Twitter is such an amazing tool for fostering connections. While it may be tempting (and quite easy) to stay within a small group of people once you get going with a couple hundred followers, it’s good to look beyond that circle to see who else of value is out there. Not that you should abandon your existing network; continue to nurture it, and then work to grow it incrementally. Who knows what opportunities you may find as a result?

Today’s #FF honors some folks I’ve connected with more recently, and I can certainly say that I am feeling enriched by their ideas and perspectives!

Kelly Cuene (@kellycuene)

Kelly found me on Twitter a couple weeks ago, and because we’re in the same city, started to follow me. We started talking, which led to an in-person meeting last week. PHENOMENAL conversation!

It reinforced every reason why it’s so important to turn online connections into in-person ones. We talked about many topics related to job seeking in today’s world and discovered areas where we could help each other. Kelly is a great person to follow — I know I’m glad I did!

Marianne Cantwell (@FreeRangeHumans)

I had started following Marianne a few months ago, in part because I was intrigued by her Twitter handle. I read her blog off and on, and then became occupied by other things that took my attention elsewhere. I recently found myself looking at her tweets and her blog once again, and there’s some good content there!

She gets right to the heart of the heart of the matter with many of her posts (like this one about past occurrences dragging you down that asks, “Do you know where your baggage is? And can it fit safely into the overhead lockers?”) And some are just downright funny — seriously, you have to read How to Get Your Dream Date and Your Dream Career, which quickly outlines three steps to achieve that goal. Then she adds, “If a cake-scarfing Dr Who geek can do it, anything is possible.” Good information and fun all wrapped together is a good reason to follow Marianne!

Jorgen Sundberg (@jorgensundberg)

Jorgen is The Undercover Recruiter, and I’d heard of that blog previously. It’s been more recent that our networking circles have intersected, and I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him and his work better. Jorgen is a fount of knowledge; his previous work as a recruiter and his current role as a personal branding consultant provide him with a strong background to advise job seekers. He also has the Personal Branding UK blog and another blog on JorgenSundberg.net. Between Jorgen’s blogs and his tweets, you’re covered!

#FollowFriday happens every week here at The Job Quest. To learn about other wonderful folks who are follow-worthy every week, visit the #FollowFriday archives, and start following some amazing people!