We’ve all had to go through it, the agony, pressure and stress of looking for a new job. It gives everyone a headache. For most people the age old questions are often the first to arise. How do I get my foot in the door? Where do I start? Now what? And, most of us have heard the rhetorical advice: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
Lucky for job seekers in this day and age, social media has opened new outlets and found more ways to connect people than ever before. With Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other sites available, job seekers can use social media tools to their advantage.
How, you ask? We’ve complied some “Social Media Job Seeking Advice” with the help of recent reports to get you started on the right foot to finding your career path or better yet, your dream job.
Join LinkedIN.
- Reports unanimously agree that one of the first things a job seeker should do in the social media market is join LinkedIn. With the recent announcement of over 200 million members (including employers and job seekers alike) this first step is a clutch to starting one’s job search.
- Make your profile stand out! There are several ways you can do this on LinkedIn. SocialMediaToday recommends you to ask former employers or colleagues to write a recommendation or endorse your skills. You can even add a video to introduce yourself. Join relevant LinkedIn groups, post news, and contribute to discussions. There are more than 1 million groups, so find the most popular ones for your chosen field.
- With the majority of employers utilizing a Google or LinkedIn search on potential candidates, it’s important that job seekers make sure employees are seeing information that makes you shine bright (accomplishments, employment/education background, etc). If there are too many videos, photos and other links to your personal life, your next step should be to put privacy settings into effect.
Separate Your Personal and Professional Life
- If you’re seriously looking for employment it may be time to separate your personal and professional social media accounts. Consider constructing two different Twitter and Facebook accounts, one for friends and family and one for employers to view. Make sure you have controlled the privacy settings for each so they are accessible to the right people.
- Be proactive in mentioning your job search (in your professional account). Mention interviews you’ve had or people you’ve met. This will keep the idea that you are job searching fresh in people’s mind.
Make Your Online Presence.
- Use platforms, like Twitter, to expand your social network. Search for companies you may be interested and connect with them. This will help you keep up on recent news happenings and job postings.
- Engaging with potential employees doesn’t have to be limited to Twitter, use LinkedIn and Facebook to connect with employee pages, human resource employees and view job posting pages.
- According to Forbes, one of the most crucial social media tools is communicating and sharing information. Re-tweeting, forwarding links, articles, and other relevant social media will not only raise your on-line profile, but will encourage others to also do the same for you.
- Stay active on different networks. Use YouTube, FourSquare and Pinterest. These sites will help build your online presence, share your interests and demonstrate your creativity. You have the ability to control your content and what people do/don’t see. Make your stamp in the social media world.
Looking for a job is always intimidating, especially in the current market. By following these tips, hopefully social media can help you make the most of your connections and find new opportunities. Check out the infographic, from Mashable, below for additional social media and job seeker statistics.
Source: The Globe and Mail
