How to use social media to advance your career

These days, social media is for more than sharing memes and staying abreast of the news. It can also be one of the most beneficial tools for job hunting.

Most recruitment agencies have Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok, so it is time for you to use this to your advantage. First of all, create a page purely for professional use (with the exception of LinkedIn) and make all personal social pages private. The last thing a recruiter needs to see is what you got up to last weekend. Put up a professional photo of yourself and really take your time looking at spelling and grammar.

Get social

If you have a smart phone, get each app and use them regularly, updating, following, retweeting and liking. You need to set yourself out from any other candidates, so think about what you are tweeting or what you are updating your status to – you really want to catch a recruiter’s eye and make them want you! Do make sure you make your posts short and sweet; they need to be noticeable and attract the attention of others, and simpler posts are often the most shared.

Remember

This is the 21st century, social media is crucial to most people’s personal lives, but can be seriously beneficial to your career. Your Twitter account, when filled with positivity and career-driven tweets, can be such a selling point, and exactly what a recruiter wants to see. You will need to brand yourself, almost as though you are branding a product – why should a company want you rather than anyone else? What makes you their perfect choice?

Interaction

You need to interact with recruiters, respond to Tweets and status updates, and make your name one to remember. Negativity is not welcome online, so be careful about what you are typing and make sure you are positive. Self-promotion is key – it is rare to be head-hunted, so tell recruiters who you are, let them get to know more and more about yourself. Acknowledge new ‘friends’ and followers – they are the ones who will be boosting your interaction and social coverage, so ensure they are remembered – even if it is a quick thank you.

Do not boast

There is a fine line between promoting yourself and being big headed, so be careful to make sure you are not coming across in an arrogant manner. Be passionate, not only about yourself, but about your career or industry. When speaking about your accomplishments, you need to find the right mix between professional and personality-driven. Your bio or about page is crucial to social networking – it is your second step (the first being your photograph). Write it as though you are having a fifteen-word interview –what do you need to say about yourself in so few characters?

The must haves

Recommended top social networking sites:

• Twitter

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• TikTok

All of the above sites are so simple to use, so if you are a technophobe – have no fear. With apps and websites available, these are so easily accessible and so simple to update.

Help yourself

Not only is social networking a great tool for recruiters to scout out potential employees, but you can also use it to your advantage to keep an eye on what opportunities are available. Checking websites can often be time consuming, however by clicking that follow or friend button, you can easily flick through your timeline or newsfeed to find your perfect role. Remember to use hashtags when using Twitter, as it can boost your interaction massively. Keep your username as close to your real name as possible, that way you are easily recognised and your name can be related to any further correspondence. Why not mention your social accounts on your CV? By showing you are active on social media, it shows you are up to date with current technology and networking means.

Breaking news

Do not only post about yourself; it’s integral to keep your profiles fresh. Post about your latest blog, or even the latest news stories. You can do this by following respected news sources and simply retweet posts that you find interesting. The more you update your social pages, the more you will get noticed. Keep your pages up and running and build relationships with other networkers. However, be weary of over-posting – followers as they will soon get tired of flicking through a news feed clogged up with your posts. Aim for posting once a day.

Language

On your professional social pages, it’s essential that your language is kept to a high standard. The odd swear word may not be offensive to you, but it almost certainly be offensive to others. In order to keep up an appearance, be pleasant, polite and think about what you are typing – if you feel like you should not be posting something, the likelihood is that you should not. Never post about politics or religion – do not give followers a reason to unfollow you.