Be More Social to Find Work
A big part of finding a job is who you know. But that’s not all of it.
Another key factor is where you go. And that means hitting social media. You need to be social to find a job – you’ve got to be involved in social media. But where?
Do you need to hang around Facebook all day? Pin boards about finding a job?
Here’s a look at the hot social media sites for job searchers.
We all know LinkedIn is a smart place to be when looking for a job. It’s even smart to hang out there a bit before you’re looking for a job. You can form great connections with anyone, not just those in your field and you never know who knows someone who could be helpful to you.
Follow these tips while putting your profile together:
• Make sure you have a good profile picture. People are more apt to look at a profile with a picture, and make sure it is at least semi-professional. No bathing suits or martini pictures here.
• Fill out the profile to the fullest you can. The more information the better, and detail is good.
• Let your personality shine. Don’t be too stoic or inhibited, though maintain professionalism. Make your profile representative of you.
Because people usually have lots of Facebook friends, it’s a great place to network.
As long as you are okay with the public knowing you are job seeking, post it on Facebook. One of your friends may have a strong connection to the field you are seeking, and your friends can share your status so their friends will see it. It’s an excellent network tool.
However, make sure you clean up your page a little before hitting the post button.
Whether it’s enhancing the privacy settings or deleting some previous posts, make sure if a potential employer takes a look, you’ll be all right.
Twitter is another valuable venue for job seeking.
The first thing you may want to do is hyperlink your résumé and then tweet it. Mention your field and/or level, like “technology sales” or “locating bachelor degree jobs” in the tweet and off you go. You may end up getting it in front of just the right people.
Involve yourself in chats and conversations related to your field.
Follow some big and little names in the field, companies you’re interested in and any other job seeking contacts, like career experts or résumé writers. Don’t forget to use hashtags; it will help narrow down and categorize what you’re looking for.
It can be a tough market out there so you want access to the best tools possible. Social media is one of them.
Stay active on these sites and make connections. Get the word out that you are job searching and in what field.
Be smart on social media and it may be just the thing for helping you land the right job.
Photo credit: expatica.com
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