Updated May 31, 2023
Introduction to Jobs Using Social Media
Getting a job is never an easy task. But it has been seen that most of the passed-out students, even the experienced professionals, are still following the old rules of searching for job and landing an interview. Does the above description match with you? Do you search for jobs in the same way? Have you ever searched for a job using social media?
There’s good news, and there’s bad news.
The good news is you can now learn the secrets of searching for a job more easily and creatively than ever before. The bad news is your effort till now has gone in vain because things won’t work that way anymore. It’s being seen in the research that whatever information we get in a day, hundred years ago, our forefathers were receiving the same amount of information in their entire lifetime.
Ring a bell?
Drop the notion that you need to be extraordinary to get a job. Yes, you need to have a skill or two, be reasonably good at it, and have the attitude to learn even if you don’t have much knowledge about the industry. No matter who you are, a fresher or an experienced professional, this article will help you tick and get a job using social media. After each tip, we will offer you one exercise to follow through. You must take that action immediately (yes, within 90 seconds).
Get a Job Using Social Media
Let’s get started. The clock is ticking.
1. Pay heed to your online habits
Do you know that you have online habits? Even if you are unaware of the term, know that you have. Every day you go to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and update your status, upload photos, and post comments. But what if your actions are not congruent with what you want?
Here’s an example.
Suppose you have applied for a job in a company where you have mentioned yourself as a reserved, introverted person, but recently you uploaded a photo of you and your friends where you are being seen as extroverted as one can possibly be. Now, you may think that it’s quite natural to be exuberant with your friends even if you are reserved in nature. But employers see it differently. They search your profile and find out photos and match them with your own description of your characteristics. Employers use this as a tool for screening potential employees who have applied for the same job. So who would win among all potential candidates? Of course, the ones whose description of themselves matches the updates and photos posted in various social networking sites or social media sites.
When you apply for a job, employers google your name. Do you know what comes out first? If you don’t have a website or a blog, the first thing that comes out is your social networking sites. Then they view it and make their own decision.
To have a good impression and to be congruent with what you are depicting yourself as, first pay heed to what you are doing on various social networking sites.
Following is the list of don’ts that need your attention.
- Don’t rant about your current employer or any part of your job using social media on Twitter or LinkedIn.
- If you post any personal photos, think before you post them. Is it aligned with who you are? If not, don’t post.
- Don’t complain about anyone (not even about a customer/management/subordinate/colleague).
- Don’t portray a negative picture of who you are. Your status and updates convey a lot more about you than you can think.
- While commenting or posting, check the grammar. Don’t write erroneous English. It will act as an impediment to your selection.
- Don’t be a noise. Popularize something that is unique and which describes who you are.
These habits are crucial. All you need to do is to be conscious of what you post, upload, or update. If you have a profile that highlights your skills and maintains a positive attitude all through, your way to getting a job will become significantly easier.
Action Exercise:
Track yourself for 3 days. Write out everything you do online – from posting updates, liking photos, commenting on someone’s status, and uploading photos. Start now. After 3 days, you will discover your online habits and how to improve them.
2. Take advantage of the connections you have
Taking advantage of social media for your connections doesn’t mean that you would be exploiting them and their connections. No. Rather make a win-win situation for both of you.
Here’s the deal.
In the previous era, when there were no social networking sites, people didn’t even get to know that there were jobs available in the companies they were searching for. But now, LinkedIn and even Facebook have made the search easy. If you know someone who works in the same company, by looking through their profiles and updates, you may know there is an opportunity waiting for someone like you in that company. You need to connect with the individual at a professional level and ask him/her about the opportunity.
If that doesn’t work, try to follow through on what that individual is looking for now. S/he may need a person who can design a website for him/her. Your job would be to help him/her solve that problem. Go to your own connections, look through, find out the top 5 web designers, and recommend them. This simple act of kindness will help you get through to the person, and as a result, you will also build relationships with those 5 web designers whom you’ve recommended.
The world is very small. And with the aid of using social media in your job search sites, it has become smaller. Thus when people say networking is hard, they need to know only one thing. They don’t need to use social networks. They need to help, sincerely. Once they help the individual in need, they would receive help in return. It will create a win-win proposal for both of you and as a result, both of you will get what you want. Most importantly, you will get a job using social media!
Action Exercise:
Go to LinkedIn. Find out someone who needs help. Recommend someone from your connections. It’s super easy. Do it now.
3. Know where to Search
It’s not enough to post an update such as this –
“I am looking for a job in the marketing domain. If you assist me with any leads, it would be helpful.”
It’s a universal truth that people do things for themselves. And by looking at your update, it’s difficult to fetch many responses. Then what to do? You need to look at places where other people require expertise and skills. When people apply for a job, they have a mentality that by employing them in a company, the company or recruiters are doing a favor to them. But it’s not. It’s a win-win game. They needed someone who could serve them with the skills, knowledge, and expertise and at the same time the candidate who is applying needed someone to recognize and use the skills, knowledge, and expertise he has.
So, no one is doing anyone any favor. Everything is win-win. If it’s not, it’s not the right approach to social media job search. So, without trying to plead with anyone, go to places where people need your skills, experience, and expertise.
Here’s a list of job sites that may be helpful in your job search and get a job.
- Technical/Engineering jobs – Dice.com
- Media jobs – MediaBistro.com
- Finance jobs – eFinancialCareers.com
- Salary info and reviews – Glassdoor.com
- Google in job search – SimplyHired.com
Other than that, there are also job sites like Monster.com, Indeed.com, Craigslist, and the number one job site in the world, LinkedIn.
Action Exercise:
Go to any job site that is mentioned above. Write the keywords and search for jobs right away.
4. Make your resume unique
What makes you tick in your social media job search online? You would say your resume. Yes, it’s your ticket to represent your unique talents, experiences, skills, knowledge, expertise, and professional competencies. But are you doing it right? Tweaking a few things in your resume and trying to attract employers with language proficiency and bright colors are not enough. Everyone is doing that. Creating a resume that nobody would think of doing will make you unique.
There are a few options you can think of:
- Video resume: This is the age of having a virtual resume. What if, before the interview, you give an introduction on a short video and post it online for employers to see? In this short video, you would be able to talk about your current skills, occupation, what you are good at, what projects you are working on, and why should the employers choose you over others. Yes, these questions are generally asked in a face-to-face interview. Thus, when shooting a video, you need to include all these things for employers to see. Make sure you have expressed everything clearly because your communication skills would also be monitored. For shooting this sort of video, you can use your smartphone and ask any of your friends or family members to do the needful. After that, you can use any video-editing software (most easy is Windows Movie Maker) if you are using Windows.
- Resume in Slide: If you are too shy to shoot a video of yourself or feel comfortable writing down things, you may like to create a slide resume to help you stand out in the crowd. The way you create PPTs, you can create the same with some creativity and unique ideas. Your PPT resume should be uploaded in SlideShare to get maximum views.
Action Exercise:
Choose any one of the two. If you choose Video Resume, write an outline on how you would shoot the video. If you choose Resume in Slide, create the first slide now.
5. Create yourself into an advertisement
The best thing about being online is you can reach so many people quickly. In social networking sites, it’s more important to realize that when you are using social media for a job search, you are actually trying to attract potential employers to you and your profile. The way top companies use social media platforms as a base for recruiting candidates i.e., using social media for recruiting and fetching customers, in the same way, you need to approach your profile. But there are millions and billions of profiles on social networking sites. And there are thousands of people who do what you do. How will potential employers get to know about you and your expertise? You need to scream.
Image source: pixabay.com
I have something to offer to the world. If I don’t say it myself to people who matter, then my gifts would be wasted, and I would not be able to be of any value to the people who need my gifts most.
Thus, if you have an uncanny feeling about promoting yourself, let it go and begin self-sponsorship. All you need to do is enroll for Facebook and LinkedIn ads and promote yourself in many ways. Now, you can do it for free on certain sites. But guess what? If it’s free, everyone else is doing it. Thus, paying a few bucks and promoting yourself to the people who matter is always better.
Now, there is another way if you can’t at all pay for advertisements. Here it is: Writes a book. Open a Word document. Think about what you are promoting yourself for. Narrow down the subject. Write an outline. Write the book in the most practical ways possible and format it. Then simply go to Amazon Kindle, upload your book, and promote the book online. At the end of the book, mention your name, contact details, and skills and expertise.
You are done.
Action Exercise:
Scream out loud. Write an outline for your advertisement and just try for a few days how things work. If it doesn’t, try another one (Amazon Kindle).
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