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Do you know that there is more to social media than just scrolling through funny posts?
If you strategize well, then you might just be a few posts away from landing the job of your dreams.
The truth is that the job market is highly competitive, and job candidates are putting in the effort to ensure that recruiters, employers, etc. notice them.
No doubt, almost everyone is active on one or more social media platforms, but many are not aware that they can achieve much more.
Improving your social media presence and being smart about what you post on social media can help you land a job.
Are you surprised? Let us show you how:
1. Be Visible (Create a social media account)
Gone are the days when someone somewhere will discover your skills, abilities, talents, etc. With the fierce competition these days, you have to make people know what you can do
One of the ways that you can make your skills/abilities known to people all over the world is through social media. Do you know that recruiters/employers search for job candidates on social media?
According to research, 89% of recruiters use social media for recruitment.
You can create a profile on LinkedIn, your profile on LinkedIn can serve as your online CV. LinkedIn is a great platform for you to showcase your skills, qualifications, professional experience, and even your personality.
LinkedIn works well for job candidates with complete profiles. It is good that you update your profile up to 100%. Add a professional profile picture, and fill in all the information that is required.
We know that you need to be strategic about what you do on social media especially if you are looking to land a job.
It could be tempting for you to focus only on the people that you want to attract and forget to engage with people like you on social media. While you are trying to reach top companies, don’t forget to comment, like, and share other peoples post that you find interesting and helpful.
A great way that you can engage with others is to participate in debates and trends in your areas of interest. You can be aware of trends by setting Google alerts for major topics, searching hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.
Building a personal brand online is one sure way that job candidates are using to attract employers/recruiters all over the world.
It is no news that the way companies recruit job candidates is changing especially with the coming of social media. Many start-up employers no longer place job adverts for random people to apply, most of them already know the kind of job candidates they want.
They go to look for these job candidates on social media platforms. This means that they look for the job candidates that have projected the image they are looking for.
For example;
If you are a graphic designer, you should put your designs on your social media page. It may not just be your designs, but also your ideas on designs.
Why?
It is simply because you never know who is searching, watching, reading, etc.
Groups and communities on social media come in handy when you are trying to build your knowledge in a particular field.
You can join different groups on LinkedIn and Facebook based on your field of interest. Joining a group allows you to share your ideas with people of like minds, engage in industry-based conversations, etc.
There are people at different levels in their careers in a group. So it is a great avenue for you to learn grow and build great relationships.
Many groups on LinkedIn and Facebook post job vacancies. If you want to see only-industry based job opportunities, then you should join a group.
If you want to get the best out of social media while job-hunting, then you should update your profile frequently. Make sure all your public posts reflects your present profession, it could be your career or skills.
It is good you check all your contact information from time to time to ensure that people can reach you easily without stress.
If you want to attract recruiters/employers, then your social media profiles should show recruiters what they want from a prospective hire at a glance. Make sure you are projecting your skills and abilities even when you make “seemingly” random posts.
You should also keep your social media clean, do you know why?
Recruiters also judge job candidates from their social media presence.
A CareerBuilder survey showed that 60% of employers use social networks to screen potential candidates.
This simply means that what a recruiter finds out about you can affect your job application.
6. Job search on social media
Asides from positioning yourself to be discovered by recruiters searching for job candidates on social media, you can also search for jobs.
LinkedIn is a great social media platform that makes it easy for you to search and apply for available job vacancies. LinkedIn has specific “jobs” sections that you can click to view job vacancies in your preferred location.
You can filter your job search on LinkedIn- this way you get to see more specific job adverts. You can also create an email alert, and apply for jobs on LinkedIn.
Twitter is another useful platform. You can use hashtags to search for the jobs that you are interested in. If you are interested in a company, you can follow them on Twitter and other social media platforms.
This way you would know when they have a vacant position that you are qualified for.
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