Wondering how your social media profiles are relevant to a job search? Well, you’d be surprised to know that 87% of recruitment managers use social media to find and screen relevant candidates. This fact in itself is enough to emphasize the need to have proper social media profiles for every job seeker out there.
Now the main question is: how do you leverage social media to land your dream job? Before we begin, let’s have a look at the three leading platforms where recruitment managers hunt for relevant candidates. The first is LinkedIn – the formal social media platform filled with job and networking opportunities. Facebook and Twitter follow closely.
Almost 62% of talent managers said that they relied on professional sites to look for potential candidates, while 35% took the help of social media platforms. This also means that both your personal as well as professional networking profiles are just as important.
Tips on Optimizing Your “Online Brand”
1. Create a Professional Brand
If you are looking for a job, you need to revamp your existing social media profiles. Take off all posts that you feel would hinder your chances of landing your dream job. If you recently created a new profile, make sure whatever you post is relevant and not something that would raise eyebrows.
As per a research paper stating the relationship between social media profiles and job search, you need to use social media to build your personal brand. If relevant to your job profile, you can also create a website. This website would act as a portfolio for your work.
2. Let People Know That You’re Looking for a New Job
Once you have your social media accounts set up, put up a post to let your followers know you are looking for a job. This is the best way to generate leads. Even if your friends or followers on social media may not have any immediate job openings, when they do find something that fits your requirement, they may reach out to you. If you don’t post anything, you’ll never even get a chance.
3. Connect With Recruitment Managers
Quite a lot of recruitment managers themselves have social media profiles, as it’s easier for them to track prospective job seekers. They update their accounts with job postings regularly, which is a great way to connect with them directly. All you need to do to access these job postings is to follow the recruitment managers on social media.
4. Boost Your Network
The great part about social media profiles is that there are no restrictions on who and what you can follow. Make use of this option and build your network. Like and follow career experts, founders of startups, and CEOs of companies you wish to work for. This would not only help you gain access to job hunting tips and tactics but would also boost your visibility on social networking sites.
Summing It All Up
These tips work just as well for entry-level as well as senior-level candidates. If you are a student looking for a job, you definitely need to consider using social media for a job search. When you keep these tips in mind and make an effort to implement them, your probability of landing your dream job will definitely increase.
About the Author
BCjobs.ca is Western Canada’s largest job board, and host of “Innovators” a weekly podcast interviewing top recruiters in BC and across Canada. Check out our recent interview with Mike Monty, Director of Enterprise Sales at PayPal Canada (Podcast link) and Beier Cai, co-founder and CTO of Commit (Podcast link).
