By Becky Taylor

With more and more companies falling victim to the recession every week, never have we had to work harder to keep our jobs; working longer hours, competing against our colleagues and generally watching our backs. It pays to stay one step ahead of your competitors, which is exactly why more of are taking our future into our own hands and turning to social networking sites to give us a boost up the career ladder. Gone are the days where social sites were only used by teens and students to gossip, these days more and more sites are emerging, catering to ambitious professionals keen to take networking to the next level and make their professional achievements known rather than relying on word of mouth. Check out the top social networking sites around now to see how getting online could help you get on in your career...

Citysocialising.com - This award-winning site currently has 13,000 users on its database and caters to both young and more mature professionals living in most major cities. It's a great way for anyone who may have relocated or is new to an industry and would like to get to know other like-minded professionals, meet new friends and explore the city.

The great thing about this site is that is offers both an online and offline approach to socialising. As well as providing an opportunity to chat online and share information, organisers host networking and social events giving you the opportunity to swap business cards and meet new people beyond the computer screen. It's free to join but if you want to attend the socials you have to pay a minimum of £9 unless you are a full member. Full membership costs £19.99 per month and gets you discounts, allows you to send unlimited messages and gives you a chance to get in on socials if they fill up.

Twitter - Twitter has become massively popular in recent months and has even made the news headlines thanks to its many celebrity followers including Stephen Fry, Jonathon Ross and Philip Schofield. Used by friends, families and co-workers, it's the simplest of all social networking sites to use as all you have to do after creating your profile is provide quick and simple status updates consisting of up to 140 characters.

It works by ‘following' people and them in turn ‘following' you which allows you see one another's updates. With organisations such as BBC news on Twitter now it's a great way of receiving up to the minute bulletins at your desk or even on your mobile.

Use it to improve your career by posting what you are working on and following people in your industry, in other words, brag about what you are up to in order to get noticed. The key thing is to use it for professional purposes rather than updating with what you got up to last night or being over zealous with confidential details. Actors of the hit show Heroes recently got into trouble for giving away show secrets on Twitter and panicking fans who thought the show was ending.

Facebook - Everyone from your gran to your next-door neighbour is on Facebook and if you're not, it's only a matter of time before you give in to peer pressure and join in with its current 175 million users.

As the most advanced and popular social networking site around, using it to your advantage could have a big impact on your career. Use it badly and you could face dismissal as one young woman recently found out when she was fired for posting about how dull her job was.

Many employers often search Facebook for candidates they are interviewing for a job so it's important to get the picture on your profile right for starters. Stick to a simple shot of you looking happy rather than drunk and definitely avoid any bikini shots. Next, be careful who you add as a friend. People who are Facebook friends can see everything on your page and they receive all of your updates, which is often where people slip up. If you do decided to add colleagues and people within the industry keep the status updates to a minimum only posting work related updates where appropriate.

Linkedin - The chances are, your colleagues are already on Linkedin and if they are, they've got a far better chance of being headhunted than you. With 36 million users in over 200 countries around the world, Linkedin is the most popular professional networking site around with a new member joining every second.

It's completely free to join and is a great way of getting your personal and professional achievements out there without having to send your CV to every prospective employer around. When you sign up you create a profile summarising your accomplishments and professional expertise, very much like a CV. You then form ‘connections' with colleagues and other professionals who become a part of your network. You connections' connections are also part of your network which helps you to develop new contacts and stay abreast of information and activity within the industry.

Your connections can also introduce you to other contacts and you can create and collaborate on projects, share files and solve problems, all online. It's a great outlet if you're looking for new business opportunities and is also really helpful if you are self-employed and are constantly on the lookout for new contracts.