Social media has become an important part of everyday life. Whether you share videos on YouTube, visit Facebook, or incessantly tweet; the consumption of social media will play a significant part in your daily activities.
Social media has evolved and is now very much a tool that can be harnessed to help you with your job hunt. Employers are changing the way they recruit and take into consideration the trends surrounding social media. It is now more than likely that businesses will have presence on at least one of the main social media channels; so how does that help you? Have a look at our advice on how getting social may help you land your next job...
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional networking site that is actively used by employers to recruit candidates. Your profile on LinkedIn is effectively like a virtual CV; it enables you to document your work and educational history, write a bio about yourself and connect with other professionals via the network.
You can 'follow' employers who have created business profiles and be notified when there has been actiivity in the company including new hires, new vacancies and much more. All of this information will be available to view in your news stream.
By connecting with a company you are able to gain an impression of the kind of people that they employ. Knowing the background of the people who are being hired gives you a clear insight into the skills and experience that are valued in their recruitment process.
Twitter
Twitter is an extremely valuable tool for job seeking and there are a number of ways you can use the site to your advantage. Employers often have more than one Twitter feed for their business and often have a dedicated Twitter handle for their jobs, so make sure you are following the right account. You can use the search feature of Twitter to search for companies.
Another great way to use Twitter, almost like a search engine, is to search via hashtags. If you do this, you will see all of the tweets from everyone who has used that hashtag, so a handy starting point would be to look at the hashtag #UKJobs. This will give you a good idea about who is out there recruiting and might give you some companies or websites you weren't familiar with before.
The other excellent thing about Twitter is that you do not have to do all the legwork. Recruiters often use software that scans for keywords on Twitter, to help compile a list of candidates that they may want to approach about a job. Often this software will look at the content of your Twitter bio and your tweets and match it to certain keywords. Use this knowledge and ensure your bio comprehensively states you are looking for work, and ensure you have mentioned the particular field you wish to gain employment in. You do not have to tweet about jobs all the time, but a few times a day will ensure that you are picked up by employers who are looking at Twitter for leads on candidates.
Facebook
Facebook may not strike you as a conventional tool for job seeking. The site is predominantly one that you would associate with your personal, rather than your professional life. However it is surprising how many employers use Facebook as part of their recruitment process.
Facebook allows companies to create business pages which you can become a 'fan' of, rather than the normal 'friend' option. This will keep you informed of any updates made to the page via your news feed. Many businesses will use Facebook to post jobs and other key information about their company and it is a useful way to gain an insight into the places you would like to work.
Branch Out is a service that helps you to connect with employers through Facebook more easily. The third party application can provide a great way of expanding your professional network to include all of your contacts on Facebook. For more information on their service, visit Branchout.com.
Ensure your privacy settings on Facebook are well managed to allow your private and work life to remain, to a degree, separated. Remember also that along with company pages, your network of friends can be a powerful way of learning about new opportunities. People you are connected with may post details about jobs in their own companies which could prove to be advantageous.
Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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