Job seekers are often reminded about how damaging their social media can be. When you apply for a job employers and recruiters will look you up, but what will they find when they do?
We have seen plenty of photos of candidates falling out of clubs and looking a little worse for wear. It does not make a great first impression. In fact, what your social media reveals about you is highly likely to influence an employer’s or recruiter’s decision in whether to take your application further or not.
The solution, job seekers are advised, is to make your social profiles private so that employers and recruiters either can’t find you or can’t see a whole lot if they do. However, should invisibility really be the aim for job seekers? Surely what you really want is to be seen by potential employers and social media can actually help you in this area.
Recruiters no longer only use social media to screen candidates, they also use it to source them. In an increasingly competitive market, recruiters are constantly on the hunt to find suitable candidates who will be a great match for their roles. They are looking on social media, so this is where job seekers need to be.
Which social channel should you be using to make yourself more visible while looking for jobs?
1. LinkedIn
Recruiters love LinkedIn and they often use it to seek candidates with specific skill-sets and qualifications. If you haven’t already, get yourself a LinkedIn profile set up and up-to-date. You should then ensure that your profile includes keywords (words relevant to your sector or what you are looking for). Recruiters will then be able to find you when they conduct their keyword searches. Adjust your security settings to ensure that your whole profile is visible and wait for the recruiters to come!
2. Facebook
While you don’t want your Facebook profile to be visible to recruiters you should still fill out your location and professional information. This will be helpful as when recruiters run targeted ad campaigns, relevant ones will be able to pop up in your newsfeed. The opportunities will come to you.
3. Twitter
Twitter is the best place to engage and spark a discussion with recruiters. If you can manage a professional Twitter profile it is definitely worth doing so, as it is far easier to network and converse with new people there.
Follow accounts, employers and recruiters that are relevant to what you are looking for. Make the effort to reply to some of their tweets and see where the discussion takes you.
If you can be a more visible job seeker on social media, then the jobs will come to you. Good luck!
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