5 WAYS SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HELP YOU WITH JOB SEARCH
Social media is a part of most people’s everyday lives, but many don’t realise that it can be used for so much more than sharing photos of your latest holiday. Here are four ways that social media can help you with your job search.
Make yourself visible
Gone are the days of sifting through the newspapers to find a job. Today’s graduates need to be savvy to compete in the global job market. One third1 of employers use social recruiting, so making yourself visible on social media could help you get noticed.
A personal profile on LinkedIn acts as your online CV and is a great way to showcase your experience. Make sure your information is up-to-date, complete and matches the CV you’re sending out. LinkedIn focuses on work and achievements so is more professional than Twitter and Facebook (and it is widely used by recruiters to source candidates). Other social media platforms can also be used, but be careful about what information you share.
No social media, no interview
Ten years ago nobody really cared if you didn’t have a Facebook or LinkedIn account. Today it is almost fishy for someone to not have a social media account. The recruiters almost reject a candidate with no social media presence. Trust runs through Google. If they can’t find you at the tips of their fingers, they really don’t need you at all.www.iibmindia.in
Competitive advantage
If you aren’t using social media for job search, somebody else is. They are probably excelling at it too. Now, the job search isn’t limited to updating your resume. It’s about being digitally active. Today, digital obscurity comes with a very high price.
Research companies you’d like to work for
Of course you can go straight to a company’s website to get a sense of who they are and what they do. But also check out their social media profiles, and any other places you might find them on the web. Read their blogs, posts, and tweets to get a sense of the tone in which they are written, and their focus. You can learn a lot about a company by their daily, constantly changing social media messages—much more so than with a static web page. Keeping up with the company on social media can also come in handy should you be called in for a job interview, since you’ll have more current knowledge that you can reference.
Showcase your skills
Once you have your professional social media profiles in place, it’s time to let yourself (and your skills) shine! Just finished getting a new certification from IIBM Institute? Tweet about it in 140 characters or less! Did you finish a pet project that relates to your career field? Instagram those pics and post them online! Remember, you can use social media to not only look for a job or a company to connect with, but to also highlight those special skills, education, and experience that recruiters and hiring managers are looking for.www.iibmindia.in
