Social Media boils down to one concept. It is all about “the view!”
Social Media is about being viewed and viewing to convey information. If you are a jobseeker, you want your resume viewed as many times as relevantly possible to help you connect to the people who will be involved in helping you get your next position. You want colleagues, recruiters, friends, employers, fellow networkers and others involved in the search process to view your brand to see that you are the best candidate for the job. If you are a company, you want your open positions viewed by as many people as possible so that you can attract candidates to apply for your job. If you are a recruiter, you want to be able to view potential candidates in different dimensions to get a better idea of whether the candidate is a good fit for the position you are recruiting. The best way to get these views is by using Social Media. Now that you understand this concept, embrace it and use it to your advantage by strategically positioning yourself to get the maximum number of valuable views as possible.
So, how do you get these views? You can start by incorporating the following 5 things that every jobseeker can do in Social Media:
1.Set up an account on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You do not have to do anything more but get it all established to start. Shorten your Value Proposition for Twitter, use it all on LinkedIn and use parts of it for Facebook. If you are unsure, get help in creating your profiles because your profile is your “face” to those people who view you. It is the place for you to reinforce your brand and establish yourself as an industry expert. It is also a place for you to let people know that you are in search and what types of positions you are seeking.
2.Social Media channels are great research tools. Once you have set up your Twitter account, start to follow targeted companies. Companies are out there, tweeting information about their brand and their company. You do not have to “like “them or “tweet” them. You can just lurk in the background! This can help you get a feel for the culture of the company. LinkedIn can be used for research by searching in the upper right-hand corner. Use the people selection and put in the names of companies to find connections. Use the company selection to get more company information. Company pages on Facebook give additional insight into company culture and current events.
3.Now that you have your Social Media links, put them at the top of your resume or wherever you put your email and other header information. This lets recruiters and others know that you are Social Media savvy as well as helps them get a 3-D look at you as a candidate. Your resume starts the process and provides a two-dimensional look. Social Media transforms you into a 3-D picture of who you are as a subject-matter expert in your field.
4.Join groups, get involved and get noticed. Being a member of a group affords you the opportunity to connect with other people in your field in greater numbers than would be possible on a regular basis. It helps you establish your brand and promotes your expertise as an industry expert in a different forum. It also helps you enlarge your professional network.
5.Finally, more and more companies are posting their open positions on Social Media channels. Use Social Media like a job board. Jobs are listed on LinkedIn, tweeted on Twitter and posted on Facebook. As more and more HR departments have been able to determine that they can recruit for free using Social Media, they are embracing it because it makes economic sense. You may find out about an open position before it gets to the aggregation sights or big job boards because Social Media affords the most real-time access to job postings and has become another component in the recruiting process.
So here you have the 5 Things that every job seeker can do in Social Media. More than one million positions a month are put out on Social Media channels. Can you afford to ignore this?
Certified executive career coach Linda Van Valkenburgh is the owner of My Executive Career Coach, LLC. Based in Stamford, CT, My Executive Career Coach offers comprehensive services to executives seeking to overcome a job loss or make a smooth career transition. She works one-on-one with her clients to identify and articulate career goals and options, and then tailors an individualized career campaign to help her clients succeed in today’s challenging job market. My Executive Career Coach also provides clients with job searching skills, networking advice, interview techniques, and contract negotiation guidance.
Linda Van Valkenburgh earned her undergraduate degree in education and psychology from Marymount College. She completed her Master of Science in education at Fordham University, and pursued additional advanced studies at Purdue University. Linda Van Valkenburgh is a Certified Career Management Coach and a Certified Job Search Strategist. She is also certified in multiple social media platforms and is a Twitter Certified Career Strategist. Regularly invited to speak at professional events, Ms. Van Valkenburgh has lectured MBA students on interview techniques and strategies at the Yale School of Management. She is a member of, and a regular speaker for, the Society for Human Resource Management, and she has appeared as a Career Expert on NBC Connecticut’s WVIT Channel 6.
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