How you can use social media in your job search
Like it or loathe it, social media is now a huge part of everyday life. Not only used for holiday selfies and food pictures, Jobvite’s recent annual survey on job search trends revealed that 48% of job seekers used social media in their most recent job search and 58% used social media to research companies of interest. With the use of social media ever increasing we’ve shared our top five tips for using social media in your job search.
Research company culture
Many organisations now have company profiles on social media, which is a great way to not only keep up to date on news and vacancies but also have a glimpse into the company culture to see if this is the right organisation for you. You can also use this information when applying for a role at the company as you can incorporate it into your CV or cover letter.
Follow up on an initial meeting
Social media is a great way to stay in contact with people you’ve previously met an industry event or networking session. Social networks such as LinkedIn are intended for business networking and are a great way to engage with other professionals and continue to build your relationships.
Networking
Social media is also useful for finding industry networking events within your local area. Networking is an easy way to build lasting relationships with other driven and ambitious people and will help you grown both personally and professionally.
Not only will this help boost your personal profile but you may also find that you find out about potential new opportunities.
Gain an insight into career paths
Business networking sights such as LinkedIn give a unique opportunity to be able to view the career paths of those already within more senior roles within your industry, which allows you to gain a sense of your long term career path.
Social media can also help when applying for a role as you can see the types of career backgrounds and experience that the organisation look for.
Search for jobs
Pretty obvious this one but social media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter are full of job postings – all you have to do is look! LinkedIn is used by recruiters all over the world to post job vacancies and connect with potential candidates. You can use LinkedIn to connect with recruiters in your local area and see what potential opportunities they may have. You can also follow organisations on LinkedIn and many regularly use this to promote vacancies.
Twitter is also a great social network for finding job roles, try looking up relevant hashtags such as ‘#MarketingJobs’ or ‘CSharpJobs’ and you’ll find a range of job ads which could be relevant to you.