Social media allows candidates easy, quick access to both jobs and recruiters; but what are the best practices to follow that aid your chance of finding a job through your social media profiles?
Consistency is key. Every social media account you have should entail a consistent photograph and name. Employers and recruiters will want to know who you are, what you do and where you’re going; therefore, they will research you on most of your social media accounts.
As tempting as it may be to have your profile name as a personal nickname or joke, it’s necessary to ensure that each profile has your real, full name. By doing this, a candidate not only looks more professional, but will also be much easier to find when an employer or recruiter searches for your name.
Another way to find a job on social media is by guaranteeing that all public content that is shared or published across all profiles, is clean and non-offensive. Effectively, a candidate should remove posts/articles that are politically antagonistic, offensive or that include unnecessarily long tirades on certain topics.
Everyone is an expert at something, so make it obvious that you’re interested in your chosen field. If your profile implies that you are an amazing engineer for example, then share content reflecting your interests and career as this will be noted as impressive by potential employers.
Social media profiles are a great representation of who you are and what you’ve been doing, as well as where you’re going next; therefore, allow a recruiter/employer the option to learn more about you by putting links to your profiles on your CV. Additionally, if you have a website or online portfolio, connect your social media accounts to them as well.
As informative touch points about your life, a candidate should tell employers/recruiters where to find them. If you’ve got a business card, add your social media icons. If you have an email signature, link your social media icons to the template. If you’ve updated your profiles to optimise your professional status, then don’t be shy about sharing them!
If a candidate wants to find a job on social media, then their social media accounts should never lie in isolation. Adopt great practice by including links to the projects you’re working on from current jobs or past jobs together with your personal website, blog, or any other platforms where someone could learn more about you.
Only send people requests to connect on LinkedIn if you’ve interacted with them in some way – the only exception to the rule is if a person is someone in the industry you work in, that you’d like to learn more about or follow their feed.
Despite how many connections you may have on your social media accounts, there may be a great number of contacts that you haven’t yet connected with. Import your email contacts from Gmail or Outlook, or contacts from your phonebook, into your social networks to find out how many connections you’re missing. LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all allow for a free import of a certain number of contacts.
Stay at the top of everyone’s mind. Did a colleague just get a promotion? Did an ex colleague find a new job? Did someone you just met at an event write a really great article? If so, give your feedback, click on the like button and show some interest; this is a great, easy and quick practice to adopt which ensures recognition and promotes your networking presence.
Looking for more connections to find a new job? As a job-seeker, joining LinkedIn and Facebook groups should be at the forefront of your social media agenda. Joining groups can rapidly help candidates connect with new professionals (in a much more natural way) and get more engaged with great discussions in your industry.
Social media is a great place to show off your professional experience as well as thought leadership knowledge and skills.
Twitter is a brilliant platform for sharing articles about your field, commenting on news in your industry and starting conversations with other major players. When a person positions themselves as an expert in their specific field, or a specific subject, then noticeably others will begin to follow you for advice, inspiration or expertise.
Additionally, being active on platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn is great whilst searching for a new job; your feed will be constantly updated with the best advice, latest news and inspiration that’ll help a candidate land that next job.
Nothing looks worse and will make a candidate lose followers quicker than just promoting their own personal news or thoughts. Adapt to the notion that by mixing up how you interact, and what content you interact with, you’ll create an interactive community. Share links that are important to your industry, retweet articles that someone else wrote which inspired you and comment on other people’s success – it looks great to recruiters/employers looking for a respectable candidate.
To make the most of your social media accounts, it is best to learn how to use every tool provided that is unique to each different channel; by making yourself more findable, clickable and likable, you’ll be more hireable.
Social media tools include:
. Switching your profile to ‘actively seeking jobs’ on LinkedIn
. SEO and Keyword your profiles to appear at the top of your field in a candidate search
. Regularly research trending hashtags to know which topics to discuss/share
. Use hashtags
. Create twitter ‘lists’ to group together (privately or not) specific accounts you wish to follow
. Gain ‘endorsements’ on LinkedIn from current or ex-employees to strengthen credibility of your skill-set
. Tag people in posts and statuses to initiate conversation, or appear on their news feed
With social media, it’s recommended to think long-term and remember to take note of what’s working and not working, then adjust as necessary.
After you've found jobs to apply for, it's important to improve your CV.
