The Power of Social Media When Looking for a Job
With more and more companies and recruiters using social media to look at potential candidates. Is your social media presence helping or hindering your job opportunities?
With the jobs market being even more competitive and overcrowded. Social Media is a great way to show your skills and who you are before even getting an interview. Most of the Social Media platforms now have space for companies to share and post jobs, so it’s important to know how you can use them to help get your dream job.
“45% of employers are using social media to find candidates, it’s important to keep your social profiles up to date. Likewise, jobseekers are increasingly using online profiles to find jobs, with 34% using Twitter to make first contact with employers.”
source: https://www.theguardian.com/careers/how-use-social-media-get-job
Even though Social Media is a great platform to use, using these platforms correctly is key to success. The First step is to tailor what you want to showcase on your platforms. Whether you are doing something creative and want to show off your work or using it to demonstrate your skills and interests in the industry you want to join. Getting the right content and feel is going to be key. Having the mindset of your profiles being like magazines is a great way to start out, you could even base it on a magazine style or content you like related to the job you’re looking for. It is also important to show that you are interested in the wider field and that you have an active presence online. Posting about articles, reviews and interacting in discussions over Social Media will show employers your likes and interest, showing them how you could fit in with the company and gives them an insight into your personality. Don’t be afraid to let people know you are looking for a job either, it is always best to be upfront and honest about what you are doing. However, you don’t want to overdo it. If someone sees that your timeline is full of ‘please hire me’ posts or that you have @replied hundreds of companies, it will reflect negatively on you and drown out any of the positive and intelligent discussions you may have had.
There are a few other things to avoid when using these platforms that may cost you the job. Having personal pictures, like your big night out, is great for your friends and family but not necessarily the first thing you want your new boss to see. Having your profiles set correctly, so that your public presence can show your professional interests and some of your personality, with more private occasions to only be seen by family and friends, will help. This also goes for your usernames and profile pictures that should reflect who you are but not be something like ‘hotbunny69’, as this could give your potential new employer the wrong idea about you. It is important to avoid using clichéd buzzwords when writing posts too, be a little more creative and original. This shows that you are unique and you know your stuff. The biggest no no would be not having a presence at all.
“When a recruiter searches an applicant’s name to learn more about them, it’s actually a red flag nowadays if someone isn’t found to be active online,” said Brie Reynolds, senior career specialist at FlexJobs. “LinkedIn is the bare minimum a job seeker should be using to help show employers that they are technologically savvy and understand the basics [of] digital communication.”
source: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7728-social-media-job-seeker-guide.html
Make sure you are keeping on top of everything. It is also best not to link your profiles so you can use them to show off different aspects of yourself and your skills.
TOP TIPS
LinkedIn:
- Network with past colleagues, people in your field of work and anyone interesting
- It has up to date jobs board so great for job searching
- Great for getting your profile seen
- You can get recommendations from previous employers
- Us your timeline for sharing industry related articles and posts
- Show your own work or ideas off too
- Allows recruiters to find and connect with you
- Free courses to add to your skills
- Interview prep videos
- Easier if you have had work before but can be hard to start out if you have just come from school or studying
Twitter:
- You can tailor your profile for your dream job
- Use hash tags to find jobs
- Job centres and Job sites post about jobs
- Follow companies you want to work for
- A way to find out about the company before applying
- Great for networking with others
- Tweet about your job searches
Facebook:
- Great for networking
- Following the right companies and be part of groups
- Making sure your private life and professional life are kept separate
- You can make a page for yourself to promote work
- New jobs section
- Companies starting to post adverts on their pages
- Good for looking for job posts
When you undertake a course with free2learn we help you with your employability skills and help you look for job roles. Take a look at your courses and see what your next career could be in.
