How Social Media Can Aid Your Job Search
In today’s day and age, social media is at the heart of our lives. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ allow us to express and share our thoughts, ideas and creativity in a different way than ever before.
In a world of easy interaction, most companies now also connect with people online, whether it’s to offer customer service or advertise new projects and products.
Some platforms, like LinkedIn, even specialise in professional networking to aid people in their job search. About half of the people looking for a job are active on social media on a daily basis, so why not use that time productively to search out a new job?
A lot of people use their Facebook account to share stories and photos with friends and family. Some potential employers may well have a look at your profile to check you out in advance.
Edit your privacy settings to only publicly show what you’re comfortable with and just bear in mind that it, if you want your profile to remain public then it might be time to untag any photos that show you in embarrassing situations and ease off on rant-filled statuses. It’s a free country, of course, but if you wouldn’t want to be overheard saying it by your interviewer at the pub, for example, then don’t say it. It could hurt your chances in a potential job search.
From a practical perspective, many companies such as JobsToday also have a presence on Facebook allowing you to find out more about them and their services, sharing job search tips and advice and information about jobs fairs and events.
You can use Twitter to follow your favourite companies, helping you to better understand their philosophy or just to keep up to date with their latest developments. You can also use it for networking purposes, even aiding you in your job search, by retweeting interesting articles or replying to tweets. Many people also use Twitter to first establish contact with a company. Your Twitter profile reflects your interests and, to some extent, even your skills. Make sure that your posts are free of spelling mistakes and that you are not being rude or offensive.
If you’re applying for a job, it’s very likely that your potential employer will take a look at your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is your number one professional job search tool. It’s all about networking with colleagues, recruiters and companies, so make sure that your profile reflects that. It should be credible, persuasive and list your professional accomplishments. Once your profile is set up, you can start using this platform to reach out to corporations and companies. It also gives you the opportunity to be found and approached by would-be employers.
YouTube
YouTube offers you a great platform to promote yourself and aid you in your job search to a potentially infinitely large audience. Be creative and show off your skills, but ensure that you’re not embarrassing yourself. You want to come across as friendly and approachable, but you also want to be taken seriously. It can be a great tool to use if you know how to use it for your job hunt.
If making videos isn’t your thing then YouTube can still be useful – with tutorials and clips that can boost your knowledge of an industry.
Using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even YouTube can be a fantastic way of getting in touch with companies and recruiters and ultimately aid you in your job search. Don’t overlook social media as your primary tool to hunt down your dream job. Many have succeeded and so can you.
