By Kristina McDougall on December 21, 2009

Last week I met with a group of tech professionals in Waterloo, to discuss the new realities of career management. Many of these people had been recently laid-off from a large local software company. The chat was all about the new ways of job hunting and the benefits a professional online presence.

The evening centered around a Social Media 101 presentation by Cheryl McKinnon. Cheryl provided a great overview of social media tools and included excellent tips on how to get started with blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. My favourite bit of advice was to present your ‘authentic-self’ when using these tools. Cheryl loathes the phrase, ‘personal brand’, and recommends that you let your personality come through.

But, what’s the best way to announce that you’ve been laid-off and direct traffic to your online profile? The catch-all job boards are losing relevance. So, we’re proposing a better/faster way to connect Waterloo tech companies with tech professionals in transition!

Here’s what you do… let the Waterloo-area employers see you’re ‘hot on the market’ by entering your info in the COMMENTS section below. For a good idea on
what information to include, refer to the points on the right-hand side of the page.