There’s so much more to social media than sharing food pics and life hacks. If you use those resources right, social media can be a powerful tool in your job search. With such a competitive job market, candidates are looking for new ways to set themselves apart. From networking to researching potential employers, there are a ton of smart approaches to using social media to fortify your job hunt.

Why Use Social Media?

Recruiting methods have evolved over the years from a candidate dropping their resume off in person and circling classified ads, to digging deep to determine how you can leverage your professional acumen on a digital scale. Here are a few reasons it is good practice to have at least one or two profiles:

• Demonstrates your ability to use technology.
• Allows you to connect with people you could not connect with in person.
• Gives you more visibility to recruiters that are searching for candidates.
• Allows you the opportunity to research companies you are considering working for.
• Gives a foundation to your personal brand.
• Gives a sample of writing skill.
• Nearly half of the respondents in a CareerBuilder survey stated that if you aren’t online, you are less likely to be called for an interview. (CareerBuilder, 2018)

Don’t Take Our Word for it – Here Are the Stats!

Close to half of the world’s population is on social media and that has a profound effect on how recruiting is done. Here are some statistics to consider (Kunsman, 2020):

• 84% of organizations use social media to recruit.
• 73% of millennials (18-34 age group) found their last position through social media.
• 70% of hiring managers say they’ve successfully hired with social media.
• Job seekers rank social media and professional networks as the most useful job search resource.

Getting Started

A go-to platform for this specific topic is always LinkedIn, but employers are not loyal to just one venue. Research includes spaces beyond LinkedIn and how you are represented can affect your appeal as a candidate. Platforms you may want to include are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Don’t know how to get started? Here are a few resources:

• LinkedIn suggested reading – From Beginner to All-Star in 9 Easy Steps!
• Twitter suggested reading – New to Twitter? We’ve Got Your Back
• Facebook suggested reading – A Short Guide to Facebook Job Search
• Instagram suggested reading – How to Use Instagram to Find a Job

Social Media Profiles

There are a lot of ways to use social media profiles in your job search. One of the best ways is to acknowledge your accomplishments and demonstrate knowledge. Here are a few items that you would benefit from sharing:

• Significant wins – final project successes, supporting your team in their achievements.
• Certifications – all those hours spent completing a course is valuable and reflects dedication and motivation.
• Engage in discussions relevant to your field – this will position you as an influential and high-quality contact others want to engage with.

Of course, one of the more obvious ways to use your social profiles is to leverage your friends and contacts to help you find a position that you may be a good fit for.

Keep Your Profiles Clean

You may already have a few social media profiles. For those of you that do, here are a few tips for refining them, but even if you are new to the social game these are also great rules to keep in mind:

• Make sure your content represents you in a way that a potential employer would not be put-off.
• Delete or hide any old posts that are questionable. More than half of employers have found content on social media that caused them NOT to hire a candidate. (CareerBuilder, 2018)
• Remember that the more transparent, honest and thoughtful your profile is, the more attractive you are to an employer.

Google Yourself

It is always a good idea to take a look at how your online presence may look from the outside. Googling yourself using your full name as well as any profile names you may use that are different can give you an idea of what potential employers will see. This gives you the opportunity to clean up anything you find that may cause a recruiter pause. Whether it is an old photo or an angry post you may have forgotten, take this opportunity to finish tidying up any leftover items you may have missed.

No matter what your strengths are and how you choose to use your social media presence, take advantage of the benefits of using social media to help you reach super star public visibility. Take your career to the next level!

If you need a second set of eyes to review your LinkedIn profile page, give TriMech Services a call and one of our recruiters will gladly provide constructive feedback on how to position your social media to support your job search!