Social networking may have started out as a faster, easier way to keep in touch with your vast network of personal contacts than relying on snail mail and phone calls, but it didn’t take long for professionals to usurp the power of mass connectivity offered by online and mobile platforms. This is not to say that plenty of people don’t still use these sites to stay in contact with family and friends, but commercial interests have also found ways to build their brands and push their agenda via social media, and you can certainly use them to aid in your job search if you happen to find yourself out of work (or looking for a new means of bringing home the bacon). And while you’re probably already using your connections on popular sites like Facebook and LinkedIn to put out the feelers, you might be surprised by the many features on Google+ that can make your job search easier and more effective.

For starters, you need to know that Google+ is growing by leaps and bounds. It may not boast over a billion users like rival Facebook, but half of the reason for its popularity lies in the fact that the platform listened to user complaints in order to address some of the many problems inherent to Facebook. And whether you’re interested in keeping groups of friends, family members, and colleagues separate thanks to the circles feature offered by Google+ or you want to utilize your personal and professional groups in different ways as you seek gainful employment, this platform can offer you greater options than others of its type.

Consider, for example, that Google+ provides users with the ability to connect to multiple social media accounts on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube, amongst others. This allows for sharing of information (such as contacts and content) that can make your job search efforts a lot less labor intensive. Plus, if you have contacts that are featured on multiple accounts, you won’t have to annoy them with numerous pitches or requests related to your unemployment. And when it comes to promoting yourself in your quest to nab a job, Google+ may win out over other social networks simply because of the many handy tools it provides for the purpose.

While it’s not exactly designed for professional pursuits like, say, LinkedIn, you might be surprised by the many ways in which you can utilize the Google+ toolbox in your work-related efforts. For example, you can start by linking out to other professional profiles via your Google+ profile, so if you have a current resume and samples of your work posted on your business Facebook page, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel; you can simply send potential employers down the rabbit hole with a link. If you want to know what employers are looking for so that you can tailor your content, you can use the sparks feature to find the information you need to succeed (even if that means finding unique quotes for cover letters). You might also set up Hangouts where you can post a video resume, demo reel, or promotional viral video for contacts to pass around, thereby increasing your odds of engaging the right people. In short, Google+ can offer you all kinds of options when it comes to searching for a job. You just have to put some time into learning to use the tools provided.