The Key to Implementing Social Media into Your Job Search

Social media can help you form friendships and stay in touch with old acquaintances, but those part-time, casual, or past tense connections can support your job search more than you may realize. So can your blog posts, comments, and pictures on Instagram. Here are a few simple ways your social media feed can contribute to your career growth.

Your social media shares can help you shine.

The blogs you publish and the comments and posts you share can help you show off. Prospective employers come in many forms, and not all of them are immediately recognizable. Your next boss may be your friend’s friend’s uncle, or an old acquaintance’s former coworker. Anyone who sees that you’re looking for work and passes your name along invites a stranger/hiring manager to look you up. Recruiters may also peruse your information without warning. And when they do, they’ll see a vibrant, available history of industry expertise. Or maybe a bustling Linkedin page. Or maybe nothing at all. Make sure you’re showcasing your most employable self.

Social media helps you gain insight into your target employers.

Social media can inform and prepare YOU for a potential working relationship, not just your employers. If you check out your target company’s blog or follow them on Instagram, you’ll learn a lot about their culture that you might not otherwise know. You’ll learn about the kinds of values they embrace, the kinds of skill sets they admire, and maybe even a little bit about the company’s history and goals. These tidbits can help you get on the same wavelength as that of your potential interviewers. And just as important, they help you understand if this really is the kind of company you might be proud to work for. If not, you can just move on.

Social media connects you to those who would otherwise be total strangers.

Social media can turn the whole world into friends, acquaintances, or tenth-degree contacts. Check with Linkedin and see if you already know someone (or someone who knows someone) who works for the company or department you’re trying to get into. Sometimes careers can be made by just one personal link or a contact on the inside who can speak for you.

Social media help you learn more about companies.

Social media can alert you to new products, innovative service offerings, mergers, scandals, controversies, failed rollouts, big stock jumps, or anything else that might cause you to place your faith in a little known employer – or withdraw your interest.

For more on how to use your online networking skills to your advantage, contact the experts at Extension.