The use of social media can be a fantastic tool for job seekers, if used appropriately. Almost everyone has some kind of social media profile. From Facebook to LinkedIn and from Plaxo to Twitter, the average person has to work very hard NOT to jump headfirst into the social media swimming pool. What this means for job seekers is that you have direct access to your audience. Here are a few methods to help you engage them:
1) Following people on Twitter. More and more recruiters/hiring managers are utilizing Twitter to post their positions. This is becoming more effective because: there is no cost to advertise openings; the hiring managers have direct contact with their preferred audience because the average person following these tweets will most likely be highly interested in the industry/company.
2) Conduct a company/person search and not a job search. I will refer to LinkedIn primarily because of the sheer volume of professionals currently using it. LinkedIn has the capability to search by company and by individual. If you are interested in working for Honeywell, for example, do a search on Honeywell by company and you will be able to identify if you have a connection within the organization. If you are provided a name, do a search for that person to find out how you may be connected. In my role to help unemployed professionals, I am amazed at how quickly I can connect someone through my network.
3) Set up a blog about yourself. The cost is negligible and this is a fantastic method to showcase who you are professionally and personally. Hiring managers are doing their due diligence on candidates as well. By having a blog demonstrating your strengths, you will become more familiar to your audience. The benefit is to reduce the employment risk. By getting your audience more familiar with you, your value and your character, you will slant the playing field in your favor to position for the employment opportunity.
4) Joining groups. LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. all provide the opportunities to join groups that are relevant to what you are looking for. As an employment coach, I participate in over a dozen forums/groups that are specific to my target demographic. Conduct your research on these groups. Look into what the purpose of the group is, how many members there are, how long it has been active and ask a couple of introductory questions to make sure the group is an appropriate place for you to be.
You can spend an incredible amount of time online. Be diligent in earning an appropriate return on your time investment. In my opinion, you can spend too much time on social media, especially Facebook. Facebook primarily has a social focus with business being secondary. LinkedIn primarily has a business focus with the social component being secondary. Obviously, the latter is preferred when you are looking for employment opportunities.
