Job Search Social Media Tricks You Need to Know

Job Search Social Media Tricks You Need to Know Job Search Social Media Tricks You Need to Know 6When it comes to social media and job searching, there are now some well-established ground rules: Job seekers need to have professional social media profiles. Job seekers should have a profile on LinkedIn for networking. Those are the bare necessities. But there are some more  interesting tips and social media tricks to make your job search social media efforts truly worthwhile. And that’s what we’re covering here today. If, like many job seekers, you’ve cleaned up your Facebook account, created a basic LinkedIn profile, and maybe dabbled a little in tweeting, it’s enticing to take the passive approach. Sit back and wait to see what happens. But this approach almost guarantees that nothing will happen, and the lack of results makes people swear that job searching with social media just doesn’t work for them. Here’s where our tips come in. The following five  job search social media tricks will take your efforts from passive to active. And you’ll actually start to see results- engaging more with recruiters and employers, finding more job leaders, and keeping in better contact with your professional network. 5  Job Search Social Media Tricks You Need to Know 1. Start engaging with people and companies. Terri Rutter writes on Northeastern University’s alumni blog that it’s not enough to quietly read social media posts from the people and companies you admire. If you want to work for them, you’ve got to interact with them, too! “Social media is the new cocktail party- everyone is there, and anyone can talk to almost anyone,” Rutter writes. “Follow or like organizations and individuals you’re interested in, and engage with their posts: like what they post, respond and ask thoughtful questions, share and repost.” I’ve been doing this more in my own professional social media pursuits, specifically on Twitter, and I’m amazed at who’s responded to my tweets. So put yourself out there- tweet a smart message to a recruiter at one of your top company choices, or congratulate a company on a new achievement. Ask a thoughtful question of a company’s manager, and see what happens. And yes, if you tweet at me, I will respond! 2. Showcase work projects and accomplishments with LinkedIn bling. LinkedIn has a lot of newer, flashier features for your profile. Hannah Morgan at Career Sherpa calls these options bling because they make your LinkedIn profile richer. Morgan writes, “Your LinkedIn profile can support embedded files and media. This means that you can upload PowerPoint, Excel, and Word files under a job in your ‘Experience’ section.” And with documents like that, your experience section gets a whole lot more interactive and visual. It’s more likely to leave an impression in an employer’s mind. Heres what to look for if you want to add media to your LinkedIn profile: Morgan suggests, “One idea is to show samples of your work to prove you have the necessary skills for future jobs. Better yet, add video or pictures to your summary to highlight your career successes.” 3. Ask for and offer recommendations. Another great feature LinkedIn offers is the recommendations section of your profile. People you’ve worked with (peers and superiors) can leave quick blurbs that sing your praises, and you can do the same for them. If you’re currently working, you might suggest a “recommendation swap” with your coworkers, where you each write positive recommendations for each other. Choose your recommenders wisely, so that you’re sure they will write positive things about you. But more so because you need to be able to write something positive about them! Another way to ask for recommendations is to write a recommendation for someone on LinkedIn first. Choose someone you’re connected to and  worked with closely enough to merit a recommendation. When viewing their profile, scroll down to the recommendation section where a button asks you, “Would you like to recommend this person?” When they receive notice of your recommendation, they’ll be asked if they’d like to return the favor, and hopefully your kind words have encouraged them to do just that! 4. Use information from social media to show companies you’re paying attention. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are particularly well-suited to help you keep up with industry and company happenings. At the very least, follow all of the companies to which you’ve applied for jobs. This way, you’ll see messages and receive notifications when they post something new. Whenever you see a bit of news or information to celebrate with that company, use it as an excuse to reach back out to them. Email the hiring manager or recruiting contact to let them know you’re still interested in the position and that you saw the company received an award, launched a new product, or did something else newsworthy. This shows that you’re paying attention, and that your application  is worth a second look. 5. Find recruiters names and contact info through social media. One of the most common job search tips is: Always try to find a real person to contact when submitting an application, rather than just sending it “to whom it may concern and into an online applicant tracking system. But it can be really difficult to find the right person’s contact information. Try these steps for using social media to do just that: On LinkedIn, use the search box to search for “recruiter,” “human resources manager,” and similar job titles, along with the company’s name. The results will show you anyone who holds that title and works for the company. Then, on LinkedIn, find out which of your connections works for the company, or knows the people you found from your initial search, and ask them for the name and email address of the hiring manager or to introduce you. On Twitter, look for recruiters of those companies, many of whom are now using Twitter to advertise their open jobs and source for applicants. On Google, the Muse recommends doing a variety of searches to find the right email address. “Let’s use Joe Schmo who works at Starbucks as an example. Try Googling: Joe Schmo email and Joe Schmo @Starbucks.com,” suggests Alexis Grant. If you want to move from passive to active job seeker, try incorporating some or all of these job search social media tricks into your efforts. Start Your Job Search Readers, what job search social media tricks do you use with success? Which of these options will you try? Leave a comment and let us know!