Finding a job on the Internet can be tough. With so many job sites available, a limited number of vacancies and an ever-increasing number of people applying, you need to make sure you stand out at every opportunity.
In today’s job market, vacancies can be found in a number of ways: an ad in the paper, a job posting on a company website, or through friends and family. Increasingly, people are also using social media, not only to apply for roles, but to make themselves more attractive to potential employers as well.
But can you really leverage your social graph and pick up your next job through a site like Facebook? How about Twitter? This helpful guide will take you through each of the major social networks and show how you can use social media to secure your next job.
LinkedIn
With over 300 million users globally, LinkedIn is the world’s most popular jobs site and perhaps the most obvious social network to visit when you need a new job. For many modern professionals, LinkedIn is now their CV. Employers are increasingly asking to see applicants’ LinkedIn profiles; some companies even allow you use your LinkedIn details to fill out online job application forms. To really maximise what you can do on LinkedIn, here are some simple tips:
● Update. It seems obvious, but make sure your information is up to date. That includes recent promotions at work and any awards or accreditations you may have earned.
● Increase connections. Connecting your address book to LinkedIn helps you see which people you already know are on LinkedIn. Connecting with more people exposes you to more job and networking opportunities.
● Share. It’s important to remain active on LinkedIn at all times, not just when you want a new job. Sharing articles, surveys and other content that is interesting to you and relevant to your role in the industry shows that you care about your job and career, which is an attractive quality to prospective employers.
Facebook
Perhaps better known for Pokes and Likes, Facebook is more than just a social network to talk to old school friends and family members. Professionals are now using it to engage with brands they like, showcasing personal and professional skills and much more. Here are some of the ways you can use Facebook to get a job you’ll really like:
● Promote your skills. Deep in your profile is a section dedicated to Work and Education. Here you’ll be able to add your school, college and university courses and grades, as well as information about your past jobs and current position. You can also use this section to promote your skills and experience gained over the past few years.
● Go public. After adding your work and education information, consider making them public, viewable to all. This, combined with changing the privacy settings on your posts, will show potential employers what interests excite you. This also encourages discussion, giving you further opportunities to showcase your talents and enthusiasm.
● Stay up to date. Ensuring all your information is up to date and correct is key when employers are looking at your profile.
Twitter
140 characters might not seem like a lot, but you can do so much with even just one post on Twitter. Recruiters, companies and employees use the service every day to promote themselves, search for and post jobs, and connect with others. One of the fastest growing social networks around, it is reported that 200 million users send over 400 million tweets daily. Here are a few tips to make sure your tweets stand out from the crowd:
● Follow, follow, follow. Following is the lifeblood of Twitter, so make sure you’re following relevant recruiters, companies whose work you admire and people from the industry you work in. As a real-time social network, by following these people you’ll see news about a new job or opportunity as soon as it becomes available.
● Hashtags. Using hashtags to make sure your tweets filter into specific searches is one of the most powerful features of Twitter. Try searching #job, or #jobsearch to see the thousands of people posting new jobs every day. If you’re on the lookout for work, promote yourself by adding a hashtag such as the two above, or a hashtag relevant to your local area or country to your tweets.
● Tweet! It sounds simple, but tweeting about your passions (professional or personal), engaging in conversation with people from your industry and just generally using Twitter as it was intended gives prospective employers a great view of who you are as a potential employee. Just be sure to avoid swearing and controversial subjects.
These are just a few key pointers to take on board if you want to join the millions of others using social media to get ahead in the job market. But you don’t have to use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook if you don’t want to. There are lots of other avenues to promote yourself online. Why not use Pinterest to pin different elements of your CV? Think about using YouTube to broadcast videos that showcase your skills. Or use iTunes to publish a podcast that promotes you as someone to employ. With the Internet and social media at your disposal, you have all the tools to make yourself appear in front of your next employer with ease. Good luck!
This post was created by Oliver Adderley, Managing Director of Jobs Direct.
