Using social media for job searching is an excellent way to broaden your selection of options and expand your professional network. Nowadays, many employers seek prospective candidates on social media, creating a broad array of exciting career opportunities.
In addition to using social media for job hunting, you can leverage your online presence to highlight your qualifications, experience, and expertise and increase the likelihood that hiring companies in your sector will take notice of you.
To benefit from the many perks of social media for job seekers, you need to learn how to best use them to your advantage. Let’s explore this subject in detail and gather some useful tips for your professional development.
Key Takeaways
- Employing social media in job searching expands the selection of both prospective jobs and professional networking opportunities.
- Using social media to promote your abilities and experience can help you attract the attention of hiring companies in your industry.
- Cleaning up and managing your profiles correctly is paramount for making a professional impression and ultimately benefiting from social media in your career.
- LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are some of the best social media sites for job searches.
- Consistency and conciseness are keys to using your social media presence for career opportunities and advancement.
Why Should You Use Social Media for Your Job Search?
You should use social media for your job search for several reasons, including increased exposure to potential employers, as well as professional networking. Let’s detail how your career can benefit from your online presence.
- Showcasing your expertise. Since resume formats only allow for a brief description of your qualifications and skills, you can use social media platforms to get creative and elaborate on your expertise and talent.
- Expanding your job search. Although you have numerous reputable job search sites at your disposal, you can only find so many job ads on them. Expanding your search to social media platforms broadens your pool of prospective jobs and allows you to reach more people.
- Demonstrating your engagement. Commenting on relevant topics from your industry on social media demonstrates your engagement and activity in the field. It’s a great way to showcase your knowledge and attract recruiters’ attention.
- Putting you on the map. Since many companies post their ads on social media platforms and scout for potential applicants there, your online presence and engagement put you on their radar. By employing your networking skills, you can increase your number of professional contacts and raise your chances of a hiring company reaching out to you online.
How to Create Social Media Profiles for Your Job Search in 5 Steps
Creating social media profiles for your job search means cleaning them of any content recruiters may deem inappropriate. They need to be professional, decluttered, and properly managed to present you as professional and knowledgeable. Let’s see which steps you can take to make your social media profiles presentable.
#1. Clean Up Your Profile
Whichever platform you want to use for your job search, remember to clean up your profile before you start sending applications.
Over the years, social media has collected user data, including location information, interests, and social activities. Since hiring managers and recruiters often look into those details, make sure you delete anything that might divert them from hiring you. It’s also one of the crucial things to do to pass a background check your prospective employers will conduct on you when you apply for a job.
Firstly, eliminate these red flags:
- Negative posts about your previous jobs and anything that seems confidential
- Anything implying your resume is fabricated
- Content about illegal activities
- Discriminatory and offensive posts
- Content displaying poor writing and communication skills
- Inappropriate photos and videos, such as those from spring break parties
- Content promoting competitors of the company to which you’re applying
#2. Demonstrate Knowledge & Skills
The primary purpose of using social media sites for job hunting is to demonstrate knowledge and skills in detail, so make sure to list and elaborate on your qualifications and experience.
Use the space provided to describe your professional experience and milestones in great detail. Make sure to proofread everything you’ve written, as your social media activity demonstrates your writing skills as well.
Speaking of social media activity, remember to keep up with discussions about important topics in your field. Your likes, shares, and insightful comments demonstrate your professional knowledge and can lead hiring managers and recruiters to your profile.
#3. Update and Declutter Your Profiles
Another step to making your profiles presentable involves updating and decluttering them. Some of your accounts, such as Facebook, have probably been online for years, so there may be a lot to unpack for anyone who visits them.
Here are some things you can do to update and declutter your profiles:
- Limit who can see your previous Facebook posts
- Hide your friend list
- Disable search engine indexing to stop search engines from caching your content
- Protect your Tweets
- Lock your Instagram profile and create a list of close friends to prevent potential employers from seeing your personal content
- Take time to delete old posts and content irrelevant to your professional exposure
- Update your profile photo and description
#4. Use Relevant Tags
When using social media for job searching, you should use relevant tags. The trick to online exposure lies in social media metrics, some of which include reach and engagement. Increasing them means reaching a broader audience and getting more people to engage with your content.
Therefore, research keywords relevant to your industry and use them in your posts. Additionally, you can share news articles and post tips regarding your area of expertise. All these actions help put you on the map of other professionals in your field, including prospective employers.
#5. Post an Elevator Pitch
To further customize your profile, post an elevator pitch on social media. It’s a brief introduction that authentically highlights your skills and qualifications. Think of your target audience and tailor your post to them, but use your unique style. The point is to set yourself apart from the competition, and you’ll accomplish that by being the real you.
Your elevator pitch can take several forms, including written posts, photos, and Reels. On LinkedIn, you can write it under your profile photo; on Facebook, you can pin it as a post; and on Instagram, you can pin it as a photo or Reel.
How to Use Social Media for Job Searching in 5 Simple Ways
Now that your profiles are representative of you as a professional, you need to know how to use social media for job searching. There are several tricks and catches to promoting yourself and developing your career online, all of which enhance the likelihood of landing the job you want.
#1. Share Your Achievements
Think of your social media presence as an extension of a job interview, so make sure to share your achievements with your friends, followers, and connections.
Be active online and update your profiles regularly with news about your professional accomplishments. Let your audience know whether you get a new certification, successfully complete a volunteer project, or make an impact in your field.
You can add them to your LinkedIn biography, post them in writing on Facebook, or turn them into a photo album on Instagram.
Ultimately, your achievements will form a timeline, showcasing your professional development and learning skills.
#2. Network
Make sure to network, as online networking is one of the most significant benefits of using social media for job searching.
Building and maintaining rapport with people online can do wonders for your career, from increasing the number of connections on LinkedIn to engaging with your friends on Facebook and even letting them know you’re looking for a job.
Here are some networking tips to help you engage with people online:
- Connect with other professionals from your industry with whom you have common interests
- Enable the open-to-work option on LinkedIn to get on recruiters’ radar
- Politely ask for endorsement from relevant connections on LinkedIn
- Stay in touch with your friends and followers
#3. Join Groups
Another way to connect with people online is to join different groups. There are numerous channels dedicated to job searching across social media, and you should select a few to broaden your professional network and have access to more job ads.
When you join a group, use relevant keywords to filter through the content and pinpoint interesting job ads or discussions you can take part in.
#4. Build Skills
Why not use your social media job search to build the skills relevant to your industry and the position you’re aiming for? There’s plenty of educational and otherwise useful content on social media, so you can use it to improve your hard skills.
Search for relevant industry-related topics and news and see what comes up. When you identify people who regularly post educational and informational content about your industry, follow them and check out their previous posts to gain some extra professional knowledge.
#5. Research Companies
Many businesses have gone online lately, so you can use your social media presence to research companies in your industry. While there’s a lot you can learn about them on their websites, social media content can give you a new insight into their culture and practices.
Locate businesses that interest you on social media and read their posts to sense the tone in which they’re written. You should also keep up with their updates to learn more about them. In case you get an interview, you’ll have current knowledge that can help you leave a positive impression.
How to Use Different Social Media Platforms for Job Searching
Now that you know how to create social media profiles for job searching, let’s see how you can use specific platforms for the same purpose.
#1. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is among the most widely used social media platforms for job seekers. Therefore, it’s naturally one of the first ones to come to mind when people think of using social media for job searching.
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of LinkedIn in your job search:
- Upload your resume to LinkedIn to have all your career information in one place
- Update your biography regularly by adding new certifications and experiences
- Connect with people from your industry and engage with them
- Turn on job alerts for positions and companies that interest you
- Post regular status updates about news in your field
- Share relevant posts, tagging people who originally uploaded them and companies that may have been mentioned.
#2. Facebook
According to Search Engine Journal’s statistics, Facebook is among the most widely used social media platforms overall, amassing 57.2% of all internet users. That means there are numerous people networking there, which further implies you can significantly raise your chances of landing a job if you employ Facebook in your search.
Here are some ways you can do that:
- Turn on follow under follower settings to allow people to follow you and post public updates on industry-relevant topics
- Join groups and follow pages where you can find educational content and job ads
- Communicate with your friends regarding your job search
- Use industry-related hashtags in your posts to increase reach and engagement
#3. Twitter
Twitter is a great social media platform for career advancement and exposure. It allows you to express your professional opinions, discuss recent news in your field, and connect with other professionals in your industry.
Explore the following tips to use Twitter for professional development and job searching:
- Use the Twitter handles of other industry professionals to expand your network and demonstrate your expertise
- Follow the Twitter accounts of businesses and conferences in your field to keep track of recent news
- Attend live conferences
- Use hashtags to designate Tweets from conferences and check out the content your colleagues have shared
#4. Instagram
You shouldn’t disregard Instagram when using social media for job searching. It’s not just a storage place for cool pictures and Reels but also a powerful career advancement tool.
Look into the following options to learn how to use Instagram for professional exposure:
- Create a professional account and use it to post industry-related news or promote your personal brand
- Research popular tags, such as #jobsearch, #remotejobs, and #jobs, to connect with hiring companies
- Use specific tags to your field of expertise, for example, #virtualassistant and #virtualassistantjobs, to narrow down your search
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Using Social Media for Job Searching
Now that you know what you should do, let’s examine some common mistakes to avoid when using social media for job searching:
- Fabricating your qualifications. Don’t exaggerate or embellish your experience and knowledge. Your social media profiles should paint you as an honest and professional person, so always synchronize your resume and LinkedIn biography.
- Posting too frequently. Your content should be relevant to your industry, and posting too frequently comes across as spamming. You should be active, but ensure your posts have value.
- Being too pushy. Reaching out to people online and politely asking for endorsements is advisable. However, don’t be too pushy—be respectful, and don’t spam people with messages.
- Posting during work hours. Choose your posting time carefully to reach as many people as possible. Avoid posting during working hours or late at night since not many people are active during those times.
- Ignoring analytics. You need to figure out what works best for you when it comes to using social media for job searching, so don’t ignore analytics. Otherwise, you won’t be able to measure the reach of your content and your audience’s engagement to see the results of your efforts.
Final Thoughts
Using social media for job searching has many benefits, including professional exposure, career advancement, and business networking.
On social media, you can share a lot more about yourself than in a resume and come across as both professional and personable.
However, to profit from these benefits, you must know how to use your social media presence correctly to raise your chances of landing a job. Manage your activity, update your profiles, post relevant content, and avoid common networking mistakes, and soon you’ll see your metrics skyrocketing.
