It’s no secret that social media can open a lot of doors for your career. In fact, your professional social media profile may tell your employer a lot more than your resume or cover letter does. As you’re browsing through endless posts and pictures, why not put your scrolling time to good use and set up your professional profile for career success. Your social media profile can help you stand out from the competition and even help you land your next job!
Job hunting isn’t easy but using your social media presence to position yourself for your dream job might help you get an “in” during your job search. However, take caution on how much you want to put out there for the universe. This is where we step in to help you perfect your online presence.
5 Ways to Use Social Media while Job Hunting
Follow our top 5 tips to help you land your next job using your social media profile.
1. Update all your profiles
Step one to land a job via social media is to go through your profiles, especially your professional ones like LinkedIn, and update them! Add your current role, experience and any other missing pieces that could be relevant to your job search. Before you start adding any professional websites, make sure your portfolio is up to date with all your work including any blog posts, videos and pictures.
2. Join groups and participate
Research your networks and interest groups online and join ones that are industry and career-focused. These groups will give you insight into job opportunities as well as information and insights from industry leaders. Keep up with industry news so you can join in on the discussion and get noticed. You want to establish credibility and participate in thought-provoking discussions to get your name out there.
3. Research the company and hiring manager
Social media is a great tool to help you during your interview process. If you land an interview, head straight to the company’s or hiring manager’s profile and take notes. Taking the time to learn more about the company will help you understand how they work, get an idea about their culture, and keep you prepared for the interview.
4. Build relationships
As you network and participate in groups, it’s a good idea to keep up with your connections and check in occasionally. Building relationships in your industry is important because these connections could lead you toward a job opportunity, and they will also help you stay up to date in your industry. Your connections will also be able to help you improve your profile and portfolio and may even give you important advice that can help you in your career.
5. Position yourself the right way
You need to make sure that your profile looks good for every job you apply for. Ask for referrals and endorsements and take the time to post thoughtful blogs or discussion questions to build your activity. You want to be seen as someone who contributes actively but make sure the information you share is valuable to your community. Recruiters will see this as a strength and will be impressed by the knowledge and experience you have just by going through your online profiles.
As you get started on working on your profiles, you might want to keep in mind some tips on what you should avoid doing on social media.
5 Social Media Don’ts While Job Hunting
As much as social media can help you out on your job hunt, some slip-ups could actually hinder your job search. Here are 5 you must avoid.
1. Poor etiquette
Your digital personality is a reflection of who you are. You need to engage in proper etiquette online which means avoiding posting mean and unnecessary comments, making fun of people (especially prospective employers!), and customers, and even plagiarizing other people’s work.
2. Grammatical errors
Part of having proper etiquette on social media includes making sure your posts are free of typos and grammatical errors. You want to come across as a good communicator, so having many mistakes or an unprofessional tone can pose as a red flag to recruiters.
3. Over posting
You do not need to post about what you are doing during every waking moment. Avoid posting too much at a time, especially on networking groups. These groups are meant for sharing industry insights or having thought-provoking discussions. Therefore, you might want to share your menu for lunch just among close friends.
4. Inappropriate pictures or status updates
While certain platforms are for sharing more of your personal life, be mindful of what you share – especially publicly. Avoid posting inappropriate pictures of yourself and your friends. A rule to remember is if you don’t want your parents to see something, you might not want to have it out there for the rest of the world to see either. This includes what you post on your status. Keep the language you use in mind before you post. Once something is out there, it’s online forever.
5. Rants or strong opinions
Jumping off of our previous point, it might be a good idea to avoid going on a rant online or being too heavily opinionated. Opinions can be shared but you don’t want to post things about your previous or current employers and coworkers. This just sheds a bad light on you when your future employer is going through your profile.
Whether your profile is updated, or you have some deleting to do, take the time to ensure your online presence is in order. A good tip is to have a professional profile that is separate from your personal one that you can use to show employers, showcasing your professional accomplishments and talents.
Roth Staffing has specialized business lines to help find you the right role in the industry you want to be in. From administrative, to finance & accounting, to technology or legal staffing, discover how our recruiters can help you take that next step in your career.
Good luck with your job search!
