How to Find a Job Using Social Media

How to Find a Job Using Social Media

Are you in the process of looking for a new job? Read this blog post to find out how you can best use social media to help you make your next career move.

Job hunting is always stressful but, thankfully, social media has made the job search process a bit more convenient than the days of pounding the pavement with a stack of resumes in hand. Today, career tips, job listings, and networking opportunities are plentiful on the internet. We highly recommend taking advantage of social media when seeking a new position. Here’s our guide on how to use different social media platforms to your advantage to find a job.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn should be your first social media destination when job hunting. It’s a platform specifically designed for professional use and has many resources for job seekers. Today, having a LinkedIn profile is widely considered a must for professionals whether or not they are actively seeking new employment. We recommend always keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date and accurate. Having a high-quality profile photo, an eye-catching headline, endorsements, and recommendations will help you stand out on the platform. As you meet people throughout your career, we suggest connecting with them on LinkedIn. And don’t be afraid to request people you don’t know! LinkedIn is a great way to make a first connection with a potential business contact.

When actively job searching, LinkedIn’s job listings are a great place to start. It’s not necessary, but springing for a LinkedIn Premium membership can be a big help when job hunting as it allows you to message recruiters, features you among other candidates, gives you insights as to how you compare to other candidates, and more. Even without taking advantage of LinkedIn’s paid features, the site’s combined status as a social media platform and job board allow you to easily leverage your network when applying for jobs. LinkedIn can show you if you have any mutual contacts with employees of the companies for which you’re applying, which can help you ask for introductions or even referrals.

Facebook

Though Facebook isn’t a social media platform dedicated to the professional world, there are many groups that are dedicated to certain fields, professions, and even job listings. It’s a great idea to join groups related to your field and participate actively in discussions, as this can help grow your professional network and make your name familiar in case a job opportunity does arise.

Often times the job listings that come up in Facebook groups will be for positions that need to be filled quickly, so we recommend acting fast when you see something you’re interested in. It’s also worth noting that these posts are often fairly casual, so do your homework and make sure that the position and company are legit before agreeing to do any work.

Twitter

Just like Facebook has dedicated groups for job searchers, Twitter has dedicated hashtags, such as:

  • #Hiring
  • #NowHiring
  • #Jobs
  • #Careers
  • #TweetMyJobs
  • #JobOpening
  • #JobListing
  • #JobPosting

It might be a little overwhelming sorting through these tweets, but you’re likely to find job opportunities through Twitter that aren’t posted on other, more traditional job boards. It’s great to engage via Twitter with the companies and contacts you’re interested in working with but, if you do so, make sure your Twitter profile is a reflection of your professional brand. It might even be worth creating a Twitter account dedicated specifically to your career. Just make sure that you keep the account active, engaged, and not too self-promotional.

Social Media is What You Make It

One final word of wisdom: be sure to take actions that are appropriate for your particular field. It might make more sense to search for a marketing job on social media than a job as an aerospace engineer. Ultimately, social media is just another tool that you can (and should) leverage when you are searching for a job. Recognize that job hunting is a full-time commitment in and of itself and the suggestions above should be taken in addition to more traditional job search methods. Good luck!