In a survey conducted by CareerBuilder 45% of Employers said they use social media to research job candidates. So how do you turn the tables and use these same tools to research employers, market yourself effectively and professionally build and leverage your network? In a recent presentation to IEEE group members, coordinated by Silicon Halton member Leyden Martinez-Fonte, my colleague Ashley Stevens and I addressed these questions.
Avoiding the Perils of Social Media
Social media can be a powerful tool that can be used to create a marketing campaign to promote you, your career accomplishments and your expertise and as many unemployed Facebook users can attest, it can also be very detrimental when not used with a proper filter. In the same CareerBuilder survey 35% of Employers responded that they have chosen not to hire candidates based on content they found on their social networking profiles. So how do you leverage these tools and avert the minefields?
Building Your Personal Marketing Campaign
Shaping and building the public image you want to portray to potential employers is much like designing a marketing campaign or selling a product. Make a list of your features and benefits, determine your customer (employer) demographic and decide how you want to strategically promote yourself and create your brand. Building a resume or a LinkedIn profile is a great place to start. By taking a step by step walk through your career history and accomplishments you are able paint a better picture of what you’ve done and what you can do. LinkedIn is an effective, professional promotional platform that has multiple tools that allow you to display your expertise and build a strategic network that can connect you to the Hiring Manager or influencer at the company you are seeking employment from. In addition, when an Employer or Recruiter is searching for their next hire, the time you’ve invested into building a full profile and marketing yourself could increase your chances of getting found and making an impactful first impression in what has now become the 1st phase of the interview stage.
Always Remember (more than ever) Big Brother is Watching
Regardless of whether you choose to Tweet, Facebook or Link up to promote yourself and find your dream job, always do so conscientiously. Indiscriminate pictures and comments you post anywhere on the internet can be searched on and found long after you’ve hit the delete button and assumed they dissipated into cyberspace. Despite the potential for negative press, social media has provided incredible empowerment to the job seeker to provide a full 360 degree view of their capabilities and individuality as opposed to being just another piece of paper to be shuffled through on an Employer’s desk. Take advantage of Social Media by leveraging all the available tools to promote yourself strategically and professionally.
Click to view our "Leveraging Social Media to Job Source" Presentation.
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