When searching for a new job you often hear about the perils of social media. Check your privacy settings, beware of drunk photos and don’t swear, or post any strong opinions, or anything that could be deemed inappropriate. But when it comes to job searching, social media isn’t all bad!
There are now a number of ways that you can be using social media to find a job. Employers and recruiters aren’t just on social media to snoop on the profiles of their applicants, they’re now using it to both source and engage with potential hires.
For job seekers then, the aim shouldn’t be to hide everything you’ve got with the tick of a privacy box. Instead, you need to be thinking of ways that you can become more visible to employers and recruiters. You also need to make sure that you look like a high-calibre professional when they do notice you.
You may be surprised by the various social media platforms and useful tricks you can try to help you with your job search. Here’s what you can do:
Leverage LinkedIn
If you’re serious about your career, you should be on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a recruiter hotspot! The vast majority of recruiters now use it to source candidates with specific skill sets, qualifications and experience. Whether you are actively looking for a job or not, you should try to be open to hearing about potential new opportunities. Something bigger and better could come along at any moment.
So, how can you be visible to recruiters? Contrary to popular belief, writing seeking new opportunities on your profile does not do you any favours (perhaps unless you are a recent graduate). Think about what this statement is suggesting to employers and recruiters: I don’t have a job right now. Why? Whether you were made redundant, fired, chose to quit or were taking a career break, someone viewing your profile could assume your current unemployment to be a negative thing. In their minds, they’re thinking someone with great skills, experience, passion and drive isn’t unemployed.
To make yourself look great on LinkedIn, you first have to ensure that your profile is up-to-date and complete. Include some keywords relating to your sector or what you’re looking for as recruiters often conduct keyword searches. You should also set your security settings to make your profile visible to everyone. It’s LinkedIn, everything’s professional so why not?
Don’t fear Facebook
Most of us use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and to share photos and updates of our lives. Oh, and we like to laugh at funny cat videos. Understandably, none of these are things that we want to share with potential employers or recruiters, so do keep them private.
However, what you can do is ensure that your location and professional information is filled out on your Facebook profile. This is because many recruiters and employers pay to advertise job campaigns on Facebook and they target audiences based on this information. This means that relevant jobs will come to you and could pop up in your newsfeed at any time.
Take advantage of Twitter
Twitter is a great platform for engaging with recruiters and employers. Depending on how you use your personal Twitter account, you may want to consider setting up a separate professional profile for this activity.
On Twitter, you should follow relevant employers and recruitment companies. Make an effort to engage with some of their tweets and you never know where it could take you. Many companies tweet about available opportunities before advertising them anywhere else so you’ll be one of the first to apply.
If you’re really passionate about your industry, then a professional Twitter account is useful even beyond your job search. You can follow key publishers, companies and influential people to keep up-to-date with new trends and to make new contacts.
Using social media to find a job can get you ahead of your competition, so choose your methods wisely and then give it a go.
Good luck!
