Social media. A term we hear so often in today’s hyper-technology driven world. But, what does it really mean? According to Urban Dictionary, social media is defined as the, “participatory online media that utilizes the group to write and direct content, rather than a read-only media. Allows for direct contact between participants.” The final sentence in the above definition is the most important to understand when seeking to utilize social media in your job search efforts. Read that last statement a few times out loud to yourself. Starting to see the connection between social media and the job search? I thought you might, but just in case you didn’t…
It’s about contact. It’s about being a participant. It’s about networking. Joshua Waldman, author of Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies, states in the first chapter of his book:
“As you may already know, most jobs come about through networking, not applying on job boards or aimlessly sending out resumes. Social media tools make networking much easier and much more powerful due to their interactive nature. Thus, when a job-seeker really learns to use social networking well, her chances for finding opportunities multiply exponentially.”
Now that I have your understanding of why I recommend utilizing social media to land your dream job, I’ll share with you 5 actions (and added details) you can take now to increase your chances of reaching your job goals via the use of social media.
Find Your Direction, Establish Goals, & Envision Job Search Success.
- Without direction, the path to success is unclear. Figure out where you want to go and where you want to be. Let that be your guide.
- Establish your job search goals before you dive in – “Do I want to be a business consultant or do I want to be a full-time employee at Intel?”
- Believe that you will reach your career goals and envision yourself at the finish line. As the great Walt Disney says, “If you can dream it, you can do it!
Join LinkedIn and/or Maximize it to its Full Potential.
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- Fill our your profile completely; don’t leave anything of importance out!
- Make sure your profile picture is professional and of only you.
- Your summary should reflect: who you are professionally, where you’ve been (think accomplishments), where you’re going, and include your “specialties” in list format.
- Exhaust your list of “Skills & Expertise” – your network can endorse you for these, increasing your visibility when recruiters perform keyword searches.
- Connect, connect, and connect some more – friends, colleagues, teachers, mentors, professionals within your career field (think those who are in the job you want), and recruiters (oh, and me too!).
- Ask for recommendations. More recommendations = higher credibility factor.
- Find professionals with whom you’d like to conduct an informational interview to learn more about a job, company, or career field in which you’re interested.
Use Facebook to Interact with Future Employers & Establish Your “Brand”
- Search for businesses you’d like to work for and “like” their pages.
- When businesses post information of interest, “like” and comment to engage and increase your visibility with them.
- Post content related to who you are professionally and never post controversial material.
Join and/or Utilize Twitter to Follow Businesses of Interest and Those Who Offer Industry Related Information and Jobs.
- Create a Twitter handle reflecting your brand (mine is DMCareerPro).
- Search industry keywords, cities, or companies to find people and companies to “follow” and learn from – recruiters and companies post jobs on Twitter!
- Share interesting, industry related articles, facts, or quotes to let people know you’re interested, up-to-date, and engaged in the conversations surrounding your industry.
- Tweet individuals of interest (think industry experts or article authors) to start a conversation, send a shout out, or give recognition to so as to make yourself visible.
Create a Blog Related to Your Industry of Interest to Showcase Your Expertise.
- Decide what it is that you’re passionate about and start brainstorming topics that are important to know about to be successful in your industry.
- Increase your blog writing skills by brushing up on correct grammar usage and paying attention to great writers in your industry – we learn best by seeing what others do!
- When you’re writing, make sure that your content is relatable to your audience and not too long – people like conciseness and things important to their bottom lines.
- Make sure to share your blog posts on your other social media platforms to spread the word about your amazing new blog!
Don’t be the person who is anti-social media; rather, be the person who seeks to exhaust the best possible avenues in landing the career you’ve always dreamed about. Think of social media as your job search ninja sidekick. It doesn’t do ALL the work, but if you give direction to and take advantage of its presence, it may just sneak in and make your job a whole lot easier.
Good luck to you on the search for your dream job!