Social media isn’t just a tool that allows you to stay connected to friends and family. It’s not just for influencers, either. It can be a powerful resource that allows you to network and further your career. It can even help you find a job!
Do you want to learn how to be social media savvy? It’s not difficult. You just need to take a little time to up your game, and you’ll be ready to find the job of your dreams.Â
#1 Manage Your Brand
When it comes to your career, YOU are your own brand. What message does that brand communicate? What are your photos, memes, and public posts communicating to a potential (or current) employer?Â
If you want to keep a public profile, you might want to delete anything you don’t want a recruiter to see. Otherwise, you may want to switch to a private setting. A third option is to have a public page to show off your career attributes and a private page for friends and family who get to see a different side of you than the professional image. Just remember that you don’t need to remove all traces of your interests or personality, but you do want to make sure that what’s visible presents you in the best possible light.Â
#2 Use Your Professional Name
If everyone in your personal life calls you by a nickname, but your full given name at birth is listed on your application, you’ll want your social media to match the name you go by at work. Otherwise, it might be hard to connect your social media with your work persona, which defeats the purpose of using it to find a job. This is especially important if you have a cute nickname that may not be work-appropriate or isn’t on-brand for your image.Â
#3 Follow Career-Related Hashtags
Follow career-related hashtags if you really want to up your social media game when job hunting. This approach can help you stay in the loop on industry trends and changes, and it may even connect you to new job opportunities. You can curate the content to get as specific as you like, and you may find yourself picking up tips from other professionals in your career that could benefit your career long-term.
#4 Make Your Presence Known
You can follow the companies you want to work for on social media and engage with likes and comments on their posts. The more you interact, the more you’ll get their attention. With larger companies, you may need to work harder to stand out from the crowd, but it could be worth it to snag the boss’ attention and let them know about your investment in their mission.
#5 Build a Strong Network
Once you’ve cleaned up your account, accept the friend requests of those mutual acquaintances who work in your field or send out a few friend requests of your own. Follow social media accounts of people who work at the companies you’d love to work for and get to know other people in the same field by joining groups and pages where you can interact and engage with other career professionals.Â
You may just hear of a wonderful job opportunity or find someone willing to help you get a foot in the door. Plus, you could make a friend or two in the process.
#6 Show Off Your Skills
Social media is a great place to show off your areas of expertise in posts, pictures, and videos. It also shows that you can keep up with technology and stay on top of trends. Why is this step important? Employers will want to know that you’re teachable and willing to embrace change. Plus, they’ll be able to see from your content what you can do and how you stand out.
#7 Be Consistent Across Social Media
You’ll want to make sure your public profiles reflect the same image across all social media platforms. This consistency is important. You may be a multifaceted person with many interests, but you’ll want to keep your private image out of the public eye if it could influence a potential employer’s opinion of you.Â
#8 Be Teachable and Supportive
You don’t know everything, and life isn’t actually a competition. Be open to learning from other professionals and heeding their advice. You may get some great tips that help you out down the road. Don’t think of it as using other people. Think of it as learning from them. You could build strong friendships while potentially improving your career prospects.
You can also be the one to share what you know with other professionals. Being willing to help and offer your own insights could be invaluable in helping someone else along their own career journey. It can be immensely rewarding to offer the kind of help you’ve received to others. Treat your career goals as a collaborative effort rather than a ruthless competition by cheering for others’ successes while still working toward your own.Â
Finding a job online is about more than just filling out applications and emailing resumes. Your social media isn’t just an entertaining place to stay connected. It can also help you get your foot in the door of your dream job.
