You Should Be Using Social Media For Your Job Search
Social media is usually used to refer to websites that encourage online "social networking."
In this article we'll use it to mean the range of online activities that enable you to create virtual relationships with people who have interests similar to yours.And this social media activity can be very important for people looking for jobs. You can use social media activity to:
- Find a job by networking on professional sites such as LinkedIn.com
- Convince a potential employer that you can add to your value as an employee by utilizing your social media contacts to help disseminate the employer's promotional message
Social media can take different online forms, and we'll be talking about two major ones:
- Blogging
- Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
Blogging started out as the online equivalent of keeping a diary - albeit a diary without a key and thus open to the entire globe (or at least the entire globe who read English).
Blogging gives you the opportunity to share information with others. Even if your blog doesn't have a large readership, what you write can still impress potential employers.
There are free blogging hosted platforms such as www.blogger.com where you can set up your own blog in a few minutes. If you plan to become a serious blogger, it would be a good idea to first spend some time learning about the different blogging platforms, including self-hosted ones.
Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are free membership sites where you can connect with other people and share information.
Each site requires specific strategies for optimizing one's experience due to the different nature of each site. This is why there are so many websites offering reports and training sessions on how to effectively use these networks.
And at first you'll need a glossary of terms just to use the language correctly. For example, you follow people on Twitter and you friend people on Facebook.
As you participate in social media it's important to have a job search strategy: First, you want to make sure you always appear professional. This means that the photo you use for your profiles on these sites as well as any other photos you choose to post should be respectable (for example, no visible beer cans and no low-cut tops for women).
Second, you want to clearly state what you are looking for. Saying you are looking for a job isn't specific enough. Instead, for example, you could say: Looking for a management position in a software company in Southern California.
Third, you want to take advantage of all the help you can get. For example, on LinkedIn, reach out to people to give you testimonials for your profile page. Obviously you will ask people who can give you testimonials that will support your job search.
Fourth, make sure to reciprocate to help others. This is true after you get a new job as well as during your job search. After all, you never know when you'll be in the job market again. You want to maintain those online connections you've made.
In conclusion, thanks to the Internet the ability to connect with people who might be able to help with your job search has increased tremendously. And to take advantage of these online opportunities, you should definitely be utilizing social media.
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