How to Leverage Social Media for Your Job Search

Who isn’t on social media these days?

With so many social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and LinkedIn, it makes it hard not to have an online presence. And while the majority of us use social media for personal or business use, there are several ways to use these platforms to leverage your job search as well.  

Here are some tips on how you can use your Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter account to accelerate your job search process.

Linkedin

The easiest ways to get noticed on LinkedIn are pretty simple but will take some time to get just right.

Have a professional photo. I’m sure you already know this but…

no selfies!

Have an impactful headline that goes beyond your job title and current company. Have a headline that explains what you do and how you add value or differentiate yourself from others.

Here is an example of mine: Career Coach & Executive Recruiter | Helping YOU find career clarity and land your dream job.  

Have all the appropriate keywords. Recruiters are looking for specific words when filling positions you might be looking for so make sure those words are found in your profile. The easiest way to do this is to make sure you have every section filled out completely and that the job titles you use are equivalent to the industry title as recruiters primarily search for candidates by using job titles. 

Have a completed profile. LinkedIn is a professional networking site and a place where you can make professional connections but you can also find and apply for jobs directly using your profile. So, you really want to have a completed profile or you will run the risk of being by-passed completely. 

Linkedin is a BIG one, so check my blog dedicated to this platform to ensure your profile is optimized and so recruiters can find YOU!  https://careerrealtalk.com/top-makeover-tips-to-optimize-your-linkedin/

Facebook

Did you know that Facebook has a job board built into their platform?  

It’s true!  

Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/jobs.  

Jobs on Facebook allows you to search different categories and job types (Full time, Part-time, etc) and you can even apply using your Facebook profile. Cool eh?

To use this feature you will want to make sure your Facebook “Resume” is filled out completely. You can do this by making sure that your career and education information is filled in. There is even an option to include accomplishments/key projects and so on. Also, you will find a skills section that is often overlooked which is located right under the education section.  

If an employer is searching for key skills such as massage therapy, and this is listed in your profile your name will appear in their search.  

And of course, you want to make sure you have an appropriate profile photo if you will use this for job searching (again…no selfies!). 

Privacy. Privacy. Privacy. Make sure your privacy settings are set properly so your previous posts, photos, comments are not visible to recruiters.

Instagram

Consider having a personal and business account, especially if you’re an entrepreneur or freelancer. This will allow you to really establish your personal brand. 

If you’re a corporate professional, you may not be using Instagram to apply for a job per se, but you can use it to check out your target company(ies) profile and get insight into their corporate culture.

Pro Tip: it’s very impressive to bring up something you saw on Instagram in an interview.

Again – Privacy. Privacy. Privacy. You will want to make sure your personal account is either appropriate or private if you think it might offend your future employer — you don’t want to risk getting a job offer.  

I’m sure this goes without saying but I’m going to say it anyway — make sure your main profile picture is not offensive.

A good place to showcase your skills that might be interesting to your future employer is in your bio so make sure you have it completed. 

Hashtags! There are instances where Instagram is used to find candidates, so remember to use relevant hashtags so you can be found based on your expertise and location.

Also, you can search for hashtags to see what jobs are out there combining your city and words like jobs or job search. Most popular combinations are #torontojobs and #torontojobsearch

Twitter

Twitter is another opportunity to build up your brand especially if you are an entrepreneur and tweeting and retweeting things that are aligned with your brand. 

Once you ensure your profile picture and bio is professional and complete, you want to start by following your target companies and influencers. You can look at Twitter’s suggestions as they will recommend similar companies such as competitors to also follow. Just like Instagram, you can search for jobs by hashtags combining the city and industry for example #torontotechjobs.

Social media is a great tool to help in your job search but there are a few hoops to jump through to get it working for you. So, if you are going to use these social media platforms to help with your job search, you want to make sure you do a social media detox, clean up your accounts, and double-check those privacy settings so that employers don’t see anything you wouldn’t want them to see.  

And of course ensure that your main profile photo is appropriate and/or professional (did I mention no selfies?) and that you are mindful of your bio and activity if it can be seen by the public. 

True story, I have been paid to check the candidate’s social media profiles and provide a summary of my findings before an offer was made. Although this does not happen too often and it was for executive positions only, this is still something to keep in mind, just in case.

If you need help with social media makeovers or have any questions, always happy to help!

Jen

careerrealtalk.com

[email protected]