Alex asked me to share his job search story in order to encourage job seekers to keep looking, because, he said, you can't give up.

After nearly three years of job searching, I got a job in my chosen profession again. In between, I worked part time in some other related areas, but always kept my eyes on the prize. It was frustrating. I'm a TV sports reporter, and I sent out over 200 tapes and DVDs and got only a half-dozen responses!

Alex went on to say that he is going to stay subscribed to the About.com Job Searching newsletter, because you never know when you might need job search advice.

If you've been job searching for a while, and I'm hearing more stories about it taking much longer to find jobs these days, there is help available. Visit the About.com Job Searching Forum for advice and assistance. You're welcome to share your job search success stories and give advice, as well. There's also a Facebook Job Searching Group you can join, as well as free or low-cost job search assistance you can take advantage of when you need help finding a job.

Let me know your job search stories, as well. I'm always thrilled to hear job seeker success stories and I'll share more in the future.

An issue for job seekers, in this time of being constantly in touch with your connections, is what happens at work? If you are a student or recent graduate, you have been able to message your friends via Facebook on your computer or cell phone, and you're very rarely out of touch for a significant length of time. You could work at a company where Facebook is blocked, or you could, like Christina Johnson, have a job where using Facebook is part of your job description.

Christina is a recent college graduate and a Marketing Coordinator with Serena Software. Her ability to network and to use Facebook and other online technology was considered an asset when she was hired. Serena uses Facebook as the company intranet and Christina uses it on the job to connect with both her co-workers and clients.

Even though those lines between our professional and our personal lives have become increasingly blurry, there is some information that we may not want to share with our current or future employers. Christina shares tips on how best to do utilize Facebook's privacy options to keep private what you don't want to share with your boss, your boss's boss, or even the CEO.

Professional Networking

• Facebook at Work
• Advice on Facebook and Professional Networking
• Facebook Privacy Tips
• LinkedIn and Your Job Search
• MySpace and Job Searching
• Social Networking and Your Job Search

_{Image Copyright Christina Johnson / Facebook}