Let’s face it, if you are not using social media to find jobs today, then you are missing out on many job opportunities that are out there. The days of sending out a paper resumé are long gone, and even sending your resumé by email is slowly fading away as companies and recruiters keep searching for smarter ways to get across suitable candidates. There are unrivalled benefits that social media offer to job seekers which you cannot get from elsewhere and the sooner you start using this platform in your job search, the better. It is no doubt that by using social media in your job search, you will increase your chances of making contacts with the right people and getting hired.
Here are 5 reasons why you should be using social media to find jobs:
1. It’s Who You Know
You probably have a Facebook page that you use to stay in touch with friends and family. While Facebook is great for social connections, you should be using LinkedIn for professional connections. LinkedIn is an online social network for professionals. You can easily create an account with all your updated work history, and do not forget to add your resume. Once you have done that, you can use LinkedIn to connect to people you know through Facebook or your email account. You will be surprised to see how many people are on LinkedIn. Now you can use your social circle to find a professional one.
2. Social Media is a Recruiter Tool
More and more recruiters are turning to social media to look for potential candidates today. Recruiters scour LinkedIn for skilled employees and if you do not have a profile on it, they will not find you. Many jobs are not being posted today. Instead, recruiters are looking for the best candidates through social media. Of course, if your Facebook is not private, make sure that you keep it professional. Recruiters will judge you if they see you partying in every photos.
3. Promote Yourself
With social media sites like LinkedIn you can tail your profile to highlight your expertise and skills. Have you earned a new certificate recently or taken part in a seminar? Post it on your profile. Do not forget to add your resumé, and make sure it is updated. A lot of job seekers are also creating their own website or blog to get more exposure. It is an easy way to promote yourself.
[Read also: LinkedIn Hacked – How Safe are Social Networking Sites?]
4. Learn More
Social media sites are full of discussion boards and groups. You can use these boards and groups to learn more about your field and stay up-to-date on trends in your field. Boards and groups are also a way to show your expertise by joining in on the discussions.
5. Show Your Influence
Recruiters and employers today are looking to your Klout Score to choose between candidates. A Klout Score is your online influence and can be improved by sharing your expertise. One good way to improve your Klout Score is to open a Twitter account. In very few words you can tweet your advice or even provide links to articles or blog posts you have written.
People use social media almost everyday these days and it’s a great way to make that first point of contact. With all the reasons mentioned above, social media is definitely going to help job seekers find out more about a company and hopefully getting the dream job they always wanted.
[Image credit: Tax Credits, Flickr]
Hi Peter,
Nice post. It is very informative and interesting too. Social media is a powerful tool , which is helped to promote yourself to the world without any restructions. Great tips and thanks for sharing.
You are welcome!
Yes bro , Social media sites like facebook and twitter are indeed one of the best resources from which you can get job …There are lot of facebook groups in which people post jobs..all you need to do is to join them ….and you can simply follow a company of your choice on twitter ..they’ll always post jobs on twitter ..Thanks for sharing
Regards,
Pramod
Well.., obviously time has changed isn’t it?
Social Media is quite popular today, it does not only help us be connected to someone we know or to mingle with anyone in the world but at the same time it can help us to likely advertise ourselves, capabilities and personalities. I think everyone even companies has a social media account, even myself has an account not only for socializing but for job seeking also as there are many post regarding with job opportunities.
I believe so too. As more and more people are using social media these days, it’s no surprise that even companies are getting on the boat. Social media has become a center of information, job seekers and companies are all posting their information for everyone to see each with the hope that they will find the suitable employee and employer respectively.
I keep hearing social media is popular among job seekers. I don’t know too much about the process or Linked In though. I have looked for a few new opportunities online, and it seemed a little overwhelming to some extent. I am no expert in that field though. My oh my has job search changed since I was a young adult.
I won’t be surprised if these social media sites incurred some charges for jobs found and position hired through their sites one day. I can see the one most likely to do so is FB since they keep finding ways to make money from their users. Anyway, I couldn’t care less. I’m too old to change jobs. LOL 🙂
Yeah its true that social networking site like LinkedIn, Twitter, & Facebook can help you find a job but at the same time it can lend you in trouble as well. The internet is open for all to see. What you post on the these social networking site is not private, and it leaves a trail. Photos, status updates, tweets, blog posts, and comments on other people’s blogs are all trackable and can impact your reputation within the company. There’s no firewall between your personal and professional lives, it’s all there for any employer who looks into your account. However, If one manages his/her social networking account smartly, it will produce best result for him/her.
I guess nothing is perfect in this world, let alone social media and technology. Appreciate the comment, Raj!
Hey Peter,
Social media its great to source get the information in right time and i too get an offers for job especially in Linkedin but you need to have an right profile so its make sense to get right people in connection
Well said, Shameem! 🙂
Social websites is fairly popular today, it does not only assist us be connected to anyone we realize in order to mingle with anyone on earth but concurrently it can help us to likely advertise ourselves, capabilities and personalities. I do believe everyone even companies features a social networking account, even myself has an account not just for socializing however for job seeking also because there are many post regarding with professions.
Social Media can play a big role in your hunting for jobs. Linkedin is a great way to start and there some facebook pages that makes a lot of sense. Linked it has worked well for me in the past.