We are living in the age of the internet and finding a job today is not difficult provided you use the social media judiciously. You may however need a lot of patience and perseverance and a determination to succeed.
With social media, every professional from a fresher to a senior level executive has access to the same tools and resources that makes the job search process easy. Here are seven ways to use social media to find the perfect job that best meets your needs.
- LinkedIn permits you to join up to 50 groups, take advantage of this feature and become active in as many groups as possible. If you join a group, LinkedIn allows you access to connect with members of the group and communicate through direct messaging. As job seekers, you must gain access to as many recruiters/hiring managers as possible.
- Top LinkedIn groups for job seekers include: Linked:HR (#1 Human Resources Group), Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connections (1.7 million members) and the Recruiter Network (#1 Group for Recruiters)
- Twitter chats are a fabulous way to engage in dialogue with job search experts, mostly recruiters, and grow your network too. Twitter chats such as #JobHuntChat (every Monday at 10pm EST) #HFChat (Friday’s at noon EST) and #TChat (Wednesdays at 7pm EST) are free and feature career advice from HR professionals.
- Writing and creating content on your own is one of the best ways to convince your prospective employer that you should be in a certain role even before interviewing. Blogs provide for great validation as against a traditional resume or portfolio. If you are not familiar with WordPress or Tumblr, inquire about guest blogging for a site that aligns with your expertise.
- Many may not be aware of Facebook usefulness as a resource for job hunting. Many noteworthy brands have an active Facebook presence for recruiting. Most brands maintain career pages to post job vacancies. Further, most recruiters use Facebook as a search tool to screen candidates.
- In addition to job openings, you can use Facebook pages to learn more about the company/brand. Some highly useful career pages on Facebook include: Home Depot Careers, Verizon Careers and Publix Careers
- Use less known sites like Meetup or Eventbrite to search for job events in your area and attend them without fail. These job events provide great opportunities for you to hit on the perfect job.