19 Jul in Working with PDF, Business trends

How to Use Social Media to Get a Job

We’ve done our research to bring to you the best tips to help you further your career, and improve your social media profile.

Social Media has become a platform for us to share thoughts and snippets of our personal lives, as well as to further our careers. You can get to know someone’s interests, skills, and behaviors just based on their social media accounts. Knowing this, employees have now turned to social media to gather information on candidates. But, as an employee, you can learn how to use social media to get a job.

Our social media profiles are an extension of us, or at the least the persona we choose to present to the world. We carefully curate a selection of personal facts, images, videos and so on to share with the world. We share snippets of our lives, while following friends, celebrities and other influencers to keep up to date with snippets of their lives.

While the entertainment aspect of social media is quite clear, the business aspect is just beginning to develop. Keep reading to learn some ways in which you can use social media to get a job by tailoring your profile, keeping up to date with your industry, and applying to positions.

Tailor Your Social Media Profile

Your social media profile is a reflection of yourself. While social media can be a place to share hobbies and parts of your everyday life, you can also use your social media profile to showcase skills and market yourself to potential employers or clients.

The first step to knowing how to use social media to get a job is knowing how to tailor your profile so that it showcases the right skills and traits to potential employers – Almost like a visual resume. Create relevant profiles that showcase specific skills, experience, strengths, and even future goals. Your biography should be clear and concise, and content should reflect the skills and interests you want to showcase.

Nowadays, it’s very likely that employers will search through your social media profiles before making the decision to hire you. Knowing that you should promote your skills and support the claims you make in your resume.

Use links from your social media profile to your samples of work, or out of work activities that may link with organizational values. These can include volunteer work, sports, artistic or community involvements.

Keep Up-to-Date with the Industry

Apart from your own social media profile, you can also use company social media profiles to help you get a head start in your new career. Most companies in 2018 have some form of social media, be it LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Follow companies in your industry on social media to keep track of available positions. Viewing companies’ posts on social media may also give you a better idea about company culture, values, history etc.

This is all information you can use to charm your way through an interview! Essentially, learning how to use social media to get a job is about learning how to research.

Network

In the past, networking was done face-to-face. Professionals would gather around in large spaces for wine and cheese under the pretense that they were networking with individuals from their industry.

With social media, networking is easier than ever before. To get a potential employer’s attention, you can now simply follow them on LinkedIn and slide your way into their DMs! Too much? But, really.

Take the opportunity to send personalized messages directly to hiring managers or executives for companies you’re trying to impress. Make sure you change up the messages though, authenticity is key.

Search social media sites to find groups, individuals and employers related to your work search or industry.

Join groups to easily meet people, repost from companies, and contribute to forums to get your name out there. This is the 21^st century equivalent to career fairs and wine and cheese networking events where people stand around awkwardly attempting small talk and really thinking “please hire me.”

You can also inform your online network when you’re looking for work or work-related connections to grow your network. On sites such as LinkedIn, employers may come looking for you if they see that you’re looking and that you’re qualified. It’s the online dating of job searching!

Apply to Positions

Next step in learning how to use social media to get a job is applying to jobs.

If you’ve been keeping up to date with companies in your industry, following them on social media, and have stated that you’re open to opportunities, finding open positions should be easy.

The next part is applying. On sites like LinkedIn and Indeed, you can apply to jobs directly from the application. There are just some things to keep in mind when applying.

Look into the company: Before applying, search through social media sites to find out about the organization and the people who will be interviewing you. This will give you a better idea of how to word your cover letter, and which skills to emphasize.
Check the sample job application: Every company is different, and your application should reflect. Look into sample applications to find the right format for the industry you’re in.
Write your information beforehand: Write your information before applying, and never type directly into the online application form. Write your cover letter and resume on applications like Word so you can check proper formatting, grammar, and spelling.
Save & Review your application: A job application is the first thing an employer receives when hiring, so you want to make sure it’s as compelling and professional as possible. Have others read over your resume to catch any errors you may have missed. It’s also important to make sure that your cover letter has the right tone you want to express.

Once you’ve found and applied to a job, the rest is up to you, kid! I mean, you just have the interview process left. No stress.

Learning how to use social media to get a job is a key skill nowadays. People are using social media to market themselves like never before. Why not get more than just followers out of your Instagram addiction?

Download Soda PDF to create the most professional resume and cover letter possible. When your dream job becomes available, you’ll be ready!