Social media is everywhere these days, there is simply no avoiding it, some people may see this an an annoyance, but it also has it’s uses – one such use could be finding your next job a recent study revealed that 1 in 6 workers use social media to get hired…
We have compiled a collection of the best online recruitment tools available which you can start using right away to help you on your quest of obtaining your dream job. The tools we will be covering include twitter, facebook and LinkedIn.
Find a job using twitter
Twitter is commonly referred to as a micro-blogging platform which allows registered users to ‘tweet’ 140 character statuses to their followers and as of Tuesday 15 May 2012 the site had 10m users. Thus, making it an ideal place to scout for new vacancies and follow influential people within your industry.
One way to find a job using twitter can be to use the social networking site’s inbuilt search engine – try searching for the hashtag of your industry prepended by the word ‘jobs’ e.g. enter #manufacturing jobs or #manufacturingjobs and you will more than likely be served with dozens, if not hundred of the latest recruitment vacancies in your sector of interest.
If you already have your mind set on working for a particular company, you should follow them on twitter. It doesn’t cost a thing and provides you with an instant insight into their world and along with that you will be the first to hear about their latest news, updates and hopefully… vacancies.
There are also a number of third party websites which have been setup for the sole person of searching and filtering through twitters vast amount of tweets, helping you filter out only the relevant ones e.g by sector or location. A popular twitter job search site is – http://www.twitjobsearch.com/
Find a job using Facebook
Facebook is one of the worlds leading social networking site which enables people to connect with friends and others who work, study and live nearby. The most popular use for Facebook is to keep in touch with friends, post links and share photos with each other. But Facebook shouldn’t just be limited to social purposes, it can also be a useful tool for finding a job as recent studies suggest that 50% of job hunters in 2011 used facebook to find a job.
To get started with finding a job on facebook be sure to “Like” as many prospective companies from within your sector. By liking a company page, you are now exposed to recent news and job openings directly on your Facebook feed. Next, for this to work you need to start participating in conversations by commenting on interesting posts which will, in turn increase your visibility with employees at the company. Also, as the company shares their trends and happenings with you, you will begin to discover the company culture which can prove very advantageous when you decide to make formal contact with them or apply for a position within the company
Here’s a facebook infographic which highlights the studies mentioned above and helps to put things into greater perspective for you.
Find a job using LinkedIn
LinkedIn provides access to a large network of professionals and as of March 31, 2012 it had 161 million members in over 200 countries and territories. With such a large user base it can be a great way to connect with like minded professionals and their companies with the intention of finding your next job.
To begin your quest in finding a job on LinkedIn, start of by performing a search for/connecting with past and present employers, colleagues and clients – these newly connected contacts can a) be helpful when you require a reference and b) open up new connections and opportunities with potential employers.
So there you have it! The first steps you need to take to find a job using social media – good luck!
