Social media has become such a powerful platform for sharing ideas and information freely that it could actually get out of hand sometimes. Social media can become distracting just as much as it can be informative. Social media has the potential to get you fired just as much as it has the power of getting you hired.
Your different social media accounts can help you get a job in many ways. Even your math performance could influence on your future salary and job conditions. Let’s see how each social media platform can increase your chance of getting that job.
An obvious first choice for a social network platform that can get you a job is LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a platform designed specifically for networking with business associates and making new connections as your career grows.
You can use your LinkedIn profile to show other users your skills and experience in your field of work. Connecting with the right people can open doors to new job opportunities. Employers looking for new employees often use LinkedIn to scout for qualified people.
LinkedIn allows you to use your profile as a platform for displaying past work. If you are a designer, film editor or photographer you can use LinkedIn as a living art portfolio to display you work to the world. LinkedIn also has features to help you see who has looked at your profile.
This way you can see how many employers or companies are interested in you. They also have features that can help you create the best online Cv. For example LinkedIn can give you a summary of the most used word on LinkedIn profiles. For example if every second person calls themselves efficient you can rather choose other words to describe yourself that will help you stand out from the LinkedIn crowd.
Another thing to keep in mind is to join groups of companies you would love to work for or join LinkedIn groups made to help users find job opportunities. These are only some of the tools that LinkedIn provides its users.
The things you share on Facebook reveals a lot about your character and personality. If potential employers do a Facebook search on their job applicants your Facebook profile needs to reflect a good character. If employers like what they see on your page this could be to your benefit and can get you hired more easily.
Other ways Facebook can be beneficial to your getting a job is if you manage a Facebook Page of your own or if you are an administrator or editor for a company’s Facebook page. This is especially of benefit to writers or people in the communications industry that manage company marketing on social media platforms. In this way your Facebook presence can be like a living CV of work you have done in Social Media.
If you are a writer, artist, designer, builder, architect or are in some line of work that you can build a page of your work, you can use Facebook as a platform for building your brand and showing off your skills.
Twitter is another platform for sharing ideas and mixed media. If you are in the copywriting or marketing industry a popular Twitter account can help you get that new job you want.
If you already have proof of a working account that generates followers and leads this can convince your new employer to hire you. You also clearly have all the necessary skills for using social media platforms if this is important in your line of work. If you are going to use your Twitter account to build your professional brand you must remember to keep the content you post professional and appropriate.
Social media platform like Twitter can also be a confirmation of your identity (if you use your real name and details) and can help employers find you and contact you for an interview.
YouTube
YouTube can also be used to create your visual resume. Your own YouTube channel can be especially be of help if you are in the filming industry. If you are a new graduate from film school you can use YouTube to upload your short films or other projects you have worked on so far.
This would also work great for anyone in the performance industry like dancers or for anyone pursuing a career in TV or radio. Alternatively you can make a visual CV of yourself where you tell people more about yourself, your career, your skills and ambitions/goals in your career.
This is a fresh and new way of getting people to know you.
The above are just some basic ideas of ways social media can help you get a job. How you use each platform will depend on which career you are in. Such platforms allow for a little creativity that goes beyond a boring old paper CV.
Ideally it would work best if you could have separate account for personal and professional use so you can ensure the right content will appear on the right page. It is also important to remember to use your real name and to add your latest contact details. This makes it easy for employers to find you online and gives them the necessary tools for contacting you.
Julie Martin is a tech student from California University. She works as a career adviser for freshmen students in her university. Basic career tips from the article for social media behavior were tested during last 2 years and results shown the success in 8 of of 10 cases.