Social media is having a huge impact on both how candidates are searching for jobs and how employers are screening candidates. If you’re on social media, it’s beneficial to be aware of what employers can see. You should also get to know how you can use social media in aiding you in your job search.
If you have personal social media sites, you should ensure that you are aware of the privacy settings. It’s advisable to make your personal profiles as private as possible. Many employers and recruitment agencies now search for candidates on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, so don’t give them a reason not to invite you to interview.
We advise job seekers and professionals to join LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the professional social media platform where you can connect with all your business contacts and network online. Your LinkedIn profile should be an online and up-to-date CV that potential employers and business contacts can view. Having LinkedIn shows that you are keeping up with technological business developments. When applying for managerial positions in particular, not having a LinkedIn profile might even be a cause for concern for potential employers and recruiters.
Not only can you now research companies via their websites, but you can also research them by visiting their social media sites. Reading social media posts is a good way to get a feel for a company and the image that they are trying to portray. LinkedIn will show you if you are connected in any way to a company’s employees.
We suggest that you like/follow pages of specific companies or recruitment consultancies that post jobs relevant to you. This way you won’t miss any deadlines for great opportunities and rather than actively searching everyday, jobs will simply appear on your social media. You should also keep an eye out for various recruitment tools and add-ons popping up across social media. LinkedIn already offer a job search facility and all the sites are continuously adding new technologies.
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.
Did you know that when people view a photo of you, they form an impression within 1/10 of a second? It’s very likely that there are plenty of photos of you online. Where? On your social media of course.
LinkedIn is essentially there to help professionals find and maintain contact with one another, the main aim being to build business relationships. You can reconnect with old colleagues, connect with others in your industry and follow ‘Influencers’ such as Richard Branson or Mark Zuckerberg, who regularly post articles that provide an insight into their success.
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