Social media is rapidly becoming a popular place to advertise and find job opportunities. To find a job on social media, you do not even have to search. Once you have followed or liked the right pages, the jobs will come to you.

Employers and recruiters are now looking for career-driven individuals on social media. They want candidates who show a real interest in their brand. If you want to get ahead of your job seeking competition, social media is a good option to try.

Here’s how you can find a job on social media:

Step 1: Create Professional Profiles

Creating a professional profile or profiles online can help you to find new opportunities. LinkedIn is the first and best place to do this as it is purpose-built to showcase your skills and experience to employers and other professionals. If you don’t have one already, create yourself a LinkedIn profile and ensure that it is fully complete and kept up-to-date.

LinkedIn is not the only platform where you can boost your professional presence. Twitter can also be a valuable platform, especially when looking for jobs.

These profiles will not only help you whilst you look for jobs. They are also great platforms for maintaining a professional image and can help establish you as an expert in your field. When used correctly, they can be beneficial for the rest of your career.

Top tip: When applying for jobs, you could include a link to your LinkedIn profile on your CV. This gives you a further opportunity to show off your skills and experience to an employer and will make you stand out among your competition.

Step 2: Start Networking

With your professional profiles set up and ready to go, you’ll now want to make them visible to the right people. Use your social media to connect with other people and companies in your industry. You can also join relevant industry groups and get involved with the discussions taking place there.

Step 3: Engage with Potential Employers and Recruiters

If you want to find a job on social media then be sure to follow the companies you are interested in and any relevant recruiters (if you are trying to keep your job search discreet, do be careful with this on LinkedIn). You should then make an effort to engage with these company posts online. This will get you noticed even if you have not applied for a role with them yet.

Step 4: Search for Jobs

Keep an eye out for posts and updates advertising job opportunities. You can also use LinkedIn’s job search facility to discover new opportunities and apply for them really easily by submitting your LinkedIn profile.

Step 5: Share Content

If you are working in quite a specific industry and your online connections are a part of it, then you should aim to share content that is relevant and interesting to both you and them. This demonstrates your enthusiasm for your industry and shows that you know what you are talking about.

Step 6: Avoid Asking Directly for a Job

Your professional profiles will make you more visible to potential employers, but you should avoid approaching them directly on social media to ask for a job. Use social media to engage with them first, before inquiring about or applying for opportunities using their official channels.

Points to note:

• When using social media professionally, ensure that your profiles and posts use correct spelling and grammar.

TOP TIP: Try Grammarly’s Free Grammar Checker. With this fantastic tool you can instantly correct all grammar and spelling errors. The great thing about Grammarly is that it can detect the context of your writing and therefore spot errors that your usual spell checker can’t!

• While you do want potential employers and recruiters to see your professional profiles, you probably don’t want them to view your personal ones so do ensure that they are fully private.

The rapid rise of social media and especially LinkedIn has made professional networking easier than ever. Career-hungry professionals need to ensure that they are onboard and getting the most out of social media.