Enhance Your Job Search Using Social Media
Ninety-eight percent of companies and recruiters used some form of social media in 2013, with a whopping 97 percent using LinkedIn, according to the 2013 North American Staffing and Recruiting Trends Report. Some hiring managers agree that retention rates are much higher when a candidate is sourced through an internal referral or networking.
Since hiring managers also are turning to social media to research applicants, job seekers should spend time building positive personal brands. This includes editing social profiles to remove compromising pictures and posts, editing privacy settings to limit the sharing of personal information to close friends and family, and dedicating time to building additional profiles on some or all of the primary social sites noted above.
12 Tips for Using Social Media to Land a Job
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Using LinkedIn, build a 100 percent complete profile, which includes an attractive headshot, and generate a few “recommendations” from a variety of contacts who work in varying fields. Recommendations translate to “I’m a credible applicant.”
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LinkedIn populates your profile with job opportunities you may be interested in based on the details you’ve listed in your profile.
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Join some LinkedIn groups related to your field and contribute to discussions. Link your Twitter feed to your LinkedIn account to stream your professional expertise throughout the day. Keep tweets professional, or create a professional Twitter handle for LinkedIn.
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Like LinkedIn, BranchOut is a Facebook application for job-seeking professionals. The app imports professional credentials and education information from your Facebook profile and allows you to upload your resume.
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Build an online resume. Online resumes are more succinct than traditional resumes and should be written for search engine optimization.
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Create a Twitter resume. Limit your credentials to 140 characters and tweet to your followers.
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Follow hiring managers and companies on Twitter and Facebook to gain exposure to job openings. Ask about opportunities, tweet using the @-mention feature and use hashtags “#” to generate exposure for yourself on Twitter chats and searches.
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Produce a video resume and host it on YouTube. Include links to your other social profiles. Share your video on your blog, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.
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In Google+, differentiate your Circles of contacts—Family, Friends and Professional Connections. Host video chats, called Hang Outs, with your professional contacts to discuss current trends in your field of interest.
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One of the fastest growing social media sites is Pinterest—a social pinboard. The site allows you “pin” images of your portfolio, including: your resume, media clippings, different projects you’ve worked on, etc., to different “boards,” which can be shared with your connections. Pinterest’s value is in its visual nature. It allows you to display and organize your interests and portfolio elements, offering potential employers an opportunity to get to know the “real” you.
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Include your Twitter handle on your business cards and add your LinkedIn profile URL to your e-mail signature.
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Keep your social profiles fresh by maintaining them on a regular basis. Educate yourself on trends in social media; an excellent source is Mashable.com, @mashable.
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*Adapted from CareerFocus Magazine