Looking for work – Social Media might be the best option

Anne Cameron

If there’s anything the past decade has taught people, it’s that finding a job can be really difficult.

Some have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Some have reached a crossroads in their careers when a job falls short of expectations. And some are recent college graduates trying to find that first job out of college.

So where do you start?

There are traditional job-hunting firms and websites, but one of the fastest growing areas for job seekers is social media.

When most think of social media, they see an avenue for reconnecting with old friends, watching the latest viral videos or keeping up with a favorite sports teams. However, social media also is one of the best options for job seekers and an ideal way to brand yourself. Websites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized how companies and recruiters can see us. According to Rodney Stigall, a professional recruiter and managing partner at Stigall and Associates in Melbourne, targeted recruiting has become easier based of social media profile.

For example, an engineer in Melbourne might have a suggested post come across their feed on Facebook. Some might wonder why they are receiving such a post because they are not seeking a new position.

The company posting the position was able to use information from a person’s profile to reach them and inform them of this new opportunity. There are great advantages to this. A person might not be interested in switching positions or companies but you may have a friend who is. Companies who post on Facebook receive compensation for each click received.

Companies also have been known to use Twitter to bring awareness to their brand. After several tweets about who they are and what they do, a company is most likely to tweet that they have several openings in an area and will include the link to their website. A person seeking employment with a particular company would be wise to follow them. By doing this, the job seeker will receive job postings before others using online job sites. That person has an advantage because they have received information about the company for some time, they have researched it and can prepare a cover letter and resume to suit the position.

Possibly the most professional and well-known social media job site is LinkedIn. It is a community of business professionals from all over the world and in different professions. Don’t get confused and think that this is the best place to reconnect with old friends; that is what Facebook is for.

LinkedIn is an outlet to showcase skills and provide more in-depth information than what can be shared on a one-page resume. This is a great place to showcase a skillset. The page is easy to set up. LinkedIn

walks users through the steps, and if they are not ready to answer a question while filling out the info, skip it. A person can go go back to it.

LinkedIn is also good for connecting with other professionals in the same demographic area or industry. Networking is a powerful tool that can help get additional information on possible new postings or even information to aid in a current search. One great option of LinkedIn for current professionals is that a job search is secret. No need to worry about a current employer finding out.

With LinkedIn, users can grow connections by industry, interests, profession or positions. People can join several circles based off these options. But what is the benefit?

“If you are interested in working for a particular company or industry, LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to connect to the recruiters and develop a relationship before even applying for a position”, Stigall said.

By reaching out to the recruiters prior to applying, a potential job candidate has given them a firsthand impression of themselves as a professional. Employers will be more likely to move that person forward to the next step in the application process, given they have the necessary credentials. This process can take some time so it may be more beneficial for current students who will be graduating to pursue this option than current business professionals.

Recruiters will search LinkedIn profiles for the best candidate prior to creating a job posting for that position. They have also been known to recruit employees currently working for other companies; if they have the skills and education required for the position.

Recruiters and hiring managers can speak in regards to the best candidates for the position.

“Say I am looking for a writer for fashion, we can review various publications and state this publication has the best fashion writer,” Stigall said. “We can go directly to their LinkedIn and reach out to them about the possible job opportunity.”

Though social media is one of the best ways of branding yourself, there are also some downfalls too. As an applicant, social media pages could be scrutinized for what they contain. Here are a few helpful tips shared by Stigall:

Dos:

Adjust your privacy settings on your Facebook to private; only display information that a recruiter would need to see.

Use your real name. Calling yourself by a nickname might be great for your friends, but professionals will not be able to locate you or might be turned off by the name.

Have a professional email address; if an employer wants to send you an email instead of messaging you through the site, having something with glitters, sparkles or sexy might send the wrong impression.

Keep an appropriate profile picture. It is great to support a legitimate cause or show that you are a fan of a certain team, just keep it tasteful.

Watch your spelling and punctuation. Though Facebook is more relaxed than LinkedIn, you may want to be careful how you post things.

Post your additional interests outside of work, as long as they are clean and legal. Employers enjoy seeing what their future employee will do on their days off. They are more likely to hire someone who helps out in the community than a person who has no additional interest.

Review your profile information, make sure that you have no grammatical or spelling errors. List volunteer work you have done. Like companies that you are interested in working for on Facebook and/or follow them on

LinkedIn. Post your full resume. The resume you provide for a job posting should be one page. LinkedIn

will allow you to post every position you have worked and keep all the bullet points you have from that position. Keep in mind that too much information can be a bad thing, so try to keep it to five bullets or less.

Get that professional picture done for your LinkedIn, it can set you apart from other applicants. Keep your LinkedIn professional. If you have a connection who is sending invites for parties and

other non-business related social gatherings, kindly tell them to take it to Facebook. Connect. That new connection might lead to a new opportunity. Stay positive – nothing is worse than negativity. If you are starting to feel that your current

position is breeding negativity, it may be time to look for a new position. Learn how to properly use the sites before adding connections; it is to your benefit to be familiar

with how the sites work, you will be able to update information more frequently and look more professional.

Put your professional social media links on your resume – how will the employers see them if you don’t share them?

While making excessive changes to your LinkedIn profile, turn off the “Notify your Network” button so that every update will not be out there for current co-workers to see.

Don’ts:

Allow friends to post directly to your timeline. There is a section in settings that will allow you to approve all postings before they are shared. Though your friends may think they have your best interest at heart, your future boss may not be as excited that you won your third straight game of beer pong.

Use profanity in your postings; it’s unprofessional and will be perceived as such. Post pictures that could be controversial, just keep it clean. Friend your boss. There will come a time that you forget that your boss is on your Facebook, and

you may lose that dream position because you say how much you hate your job – it might be due to a bad day, but it might not come across that way.

Friend your new co-workers. How well do you really know people who you have been working with for less than a week? Use your discretion on this. Some people may be offended that you friended one person and not the other. Also remember that some people will try to use your postings against you.

Share every opinion and rant that you have. I know this is difficult, especially if you are very adamant on an issue, but remember you might be on the soap box and offending your future or current employer

Over do it. One to two social media sites are fine. Don’t feel that you will need to belong to every social network; remember you need to keep them maintained with up to date

information, failure to do so could get you overlooked for a position and creates more work for you.

Send personal messages for anyone on social networks you do not know. If you have met a recruiter at a job fair you could ask to add them so they know you are interested, however just seeking one out and sending them random messages might come off the wrong way.

Patience is always important. But following these tips can help a person find that dream job.