Are you looking for a job? If so, job hunting sites aren’t the only places you can turn to apply for jobs in your field or even in you area. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can also help you find a job. Here are a few tips to help you network your way to the perfect career.
- Fill your network with people in your desired industry.
If you want to find a job using social networking, you need to be networking with the right people. While it is true that one of your high school friends or you old college roommate might here of something open and tell you about it on Facebook, people who are actually in your desired industry typically hear of openings all the time. These are the people you need to network with online. So don’t be afraid to follow people, especially on Twitter, and get to know them.
- Interact often.
As you add people to your network, some may automatically follow you as well. However, many won’t unless you actually interact with them. If you want to get to know people in your industry, you have to take the first steps, rather than letting things up to them. Interact often, commenting or liking what they have to say. You can even ask questions, tagging them (as long as you don’t do so annoyingly). If you don’t interact with people, you won’t pop into their minds when they hear of a good job.
- Follow the companies where you want to work.
Many large companies and even small businesses have a social media presence. The person who runs this account depends on the size and structure of the businesses, but in some cases, you may be able to connect with top-level employees. Social media is a great way to connect with companies to learn more about them and make your name known, even before you apply. Companies love to hire people who know about their business. Beyond that, many companies even advertise open positions via social media before they post elsewhere online, so you can apply quickly and have a better chance of getting hired.
- Be on your best behavior.
Online, it’s easy for things to get heated when debating topics like politics and religion. While friendly debate might be fine, always have good manners online. Potential employers can and will check out your social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and even if you have your settings set to private, people who are your friends can share your messages, so they become public anyway. Your potential employers will very likely do a background check, but even if your record is clean, if you have a bunch of partying pictures online or send angry messages to others, they might be concerned that you won’t represent their company well. When online, always remain extremely professional. Have fun, debate with others, but be aware that others may be watching.
About the Author
This guest post is from Allison with BackgroundCheck.org, where you can do a search on yourself to see if anything mistakenly pops up on your report that could prevent you from getting a job.
