Whether you are just thinking about making a job change, looking for your first job after graduation, or you just found yourself unexpectedly amongst the unemployed, you will find that having a social media job search strategy will greatly increase the number of opportunities that you will become aware of.
However, for many job seekers using social media in their job search is uncharted territory and because your on-line presence is so public, it is critical that you make sure you are using it effectively and appropriately.
Although some people will assume that fresh graduates or job seekers are experts using this medium that is not always the case. Just because one communicates with friends through Facebook or tweets what they are doing throughout the day, doesn’t necessarily add up to a coherent strategy.
Career Expert Lindsey Pollak, author of Getting from College to Career and official spokesperson for LinkedIn SAY “sharing information that is not always appropriate for a potential employer to know, often inadvertently, can trip up students”.
Pollak has found that although many students are all over social media with their friends, many are not leveraging social media in their search and often not using the networks that are aligned with their specific career goals.
Through talking with leading experts including Pollak, employers, and other career and communication experts working in the social media space, here are some quick tips to get you started.
1. Plan a social media strategy that is right for your career goals. Think about the types of organizations you want to work at and research what networks the company and the people that work there are utilizing to make sure you are on those networks too.
2. Build an on-line professional profile. Almost all employers will do a Google or LinkedIn search on potential candidates. Make sure that when employers find you they are seeing information about your professional accomplishments and background that’s up to date. If there are too many videos, photos, and other references and links to your personal life, you should utilize privacy settings and consider disabling or removing some of these other links.
3. Create a robust LinkedIn profile. You should tweak your Facebook profile to be more professional, and make sure that your privacy settings are secure.
4. Use platforms like Twitter to expand your network. Build relationships with organizations and individuals of interest to you and don’t be afraid to reach out through several social media platforms. Many industry-related Twitter chats exist that can help you communicate your knowledge of different industries to the right people. There continue to be many success stories of individuals getting jobs or internships by actively participating in these chats and impressing hiring managers.
5. Stay active on Foursquare, YouTube, and Pinterest. Using these platforms will help you build your on-line presence, share your interests, and demonstrate your creativity, but it also makes it even more critical that you control your content.
6. Join LinkedIn Groups (industry-related, or your college/university-related). Actively participate in discussions and identify individuals whom you can converse with online who may also be able to help you build a robust network and eventually lead you to getting the job you want.
7. Consider starting a blog related to the many career interests you are passionate about. In addition to your own posts you can comment on other material that is on topic. This will give you an opportunity to communicate with others who share similar interests as yourself and connect with them. Some of your readers may be in a position to hire and be impressed with your initiative and ingenuity.
8. Pay it forward. Communicate and share 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.
9. Use social media platforms to research organizations and people. You may discover information that will be important to your interview preparations and help you stand out to your interviewers.
10. Raise your KLOUT score. KLOUT is a site that monitors and scores your on-line presence. Conventional wisdom is that the higher the score the larger you are known on various social media networks. This can be especially helpful in jobs that involve communications, marketing, technology, and the arts, but increasingly other industries are getting more active as well. However, since many organizations are also trying to build their on-line brand, having employees who operate in this space can also be appealing to a potential employer. In addition to your own tweets and updates, you can raise your score and profile by sharing articles, posts, and videos, and commenting on blogs and other interesting material that is relevant to the career area you are interested in.
These are just some of the ways to ramp up your social media presence. This space is expanding rapidly and it is critical that you are using this in your job search to greatly increase your professional networks and find the job you want.
