Although I am of the generation which grew up as social media was taking off I still find myself hesitant and curious about the ability to find work using tools such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Part of this hesitation comes from having never tried however some of my hesitation is based on the requirement to post your life (or professional) resume on these sites therefore making a lot of personal information public. I have seen a number of blog posts discussing the security of online information and the fact that you have to be very cognizant about what you post. I have also had a first encounter with a new boss start with the link “so I googled your name and this is what came up..”. All of this makes me wonder how safe (and successful) it really is to look for work using these tools.
As I’m sure is obvious to most, there are an endless number of references on this subject. After reading a few, the main tips I picked up were:
- Frequent updates and current information. Keeping your accounts up to date with current information is crucial. Also, frequently visiting your profile or using the tool (following on Twitter or posting questions on Facebook) is very important as it’s usually quite obvious when an account has been inactive for a period of time.
- Networking and being proactive. Simply having a profile or account set up on social media tools is not enough. You have to be proactive (vs. passive) in searching for jobs and learning about employers as well as using your network to meet ‘friends of friends’ who may share your interest or have information in a field you are considering. You need to send out or post inquiries about what you are looking for or hoping to find.
- Don’t use just one form of social media. Before I did any research I assumed that Linkedin was the tool that should be used for job hunting. While this is correct, it is not complete. Facebook and twitter (and probably a number of other tools I am still not familiar with) can be equally as useful in providing information and new connections. In fact, using all at once will maximize networking.
Now that I’ve written out my 3 main take aways I feel as if this is really common sense. However without going through the research process I know I wouldn’t have realized them all before starting a job hunt. So I am curious if anyone has had any experience (and success) in using social media to find work. And if so, or even if not, do you have any recommendations or tips that would boost the chances of someone being successful.
Sources:
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/socialmedia.htm
http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/technology/articles/pages/socialmediajobs.aspx
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
Hey Jules,
Good questions and awesome post!
I’ve actually had more success connecting with employment on social media than I have on social networking sites. Sometimes people mix the two notions together when, in reality, LinkedIn is a social networking platform and Facebook, etc. are social media platforms. To be perfectly honest, I find LinkedIn’s job-seeker platform to be utter garbage. It doesn’t cater well to people not in business, finance or some other popularly general field that everyone seems to work in.
Because I do web design and writing work, I often use social media to do research and I have at one point or another been hired by people (such as magazines) over social media because they have seen the accounts I run and have liked/appreciated the content. It’s quite simple to find work even on Instagram, though as with everything, you have to be cautious and know a scam/bad thing when you see it. Regarding LinkedIn; social networking sites like that one don’t usually make it mandatory for you to include a resume or personal info. You can even make the barest of profiles and simply include an email or website address. I have been using Levo which is more secure 🙂
Hi Jacalyn – Thank you for your comments. It was very interesting to read about your different experiences with the different types on social media or networking platforms. And I wasn’t familiar with Levo but will definitely check it out.