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Social media has taken the world by storm over the past decade, and has revolutionised the way we perform everyday tasks, and even how we spend our spare time. One of the biggest areas that social media has impacted recently is the job search. Where was before it was a time consuming task that required plenty of effort and spare time to perform, the job search can be done more effectively in half the time using the digital tools at hand.
The following series will focus on helping you to make the most of social media in your job search, and this first article will focus on the professional social media platform, LinkedIn.
Your Job Search and LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the only social networks that was developed to be used as a solely professional networking tool, and is one of the biggest social networks of the current day. Any company or recruiter that is looking to hire someone will be using LinkedIn to seek out and learn more about potential candidates, all before the application process even takes place. So for a job hunter, it is one of the key places to be if you want that dream job.
But simply being on LinkedIn won’t secure you that job or even get you looked at twice. You have to ensure that you are using your profile and your connections to their full advantage. Here’s how to make the most of LinkedIn in your job search:
Treat Your Profile Like Your CV
The most important aspect of job hunting on LinkedIn is to have an up to date profile. When you are searched by potential employers and recruiters, or when you contact people about job openings, your profile shows them everything they need to know about your current and past work history. It is in effect an online version of your CV, which is visible to all.
With that in mind, it is important to fully complete your profile. LinkedIn will tell you how far to completion it is with a percentage. Your aim is to get it as close to 100% complete as possible. This can be done by filling out details about each past and current work position, adding a profile picture, including contact details and listing your skills and expertise. You should also ensure that you keep it up to date, making sure contact details are all current, as is your current work and past work history.
Make Connections and Use Them
Connections are easy to make, and are potentially your ticket to a new job. Start by importing your contacts from your email address book, and build from there. You can add relevant connections by searching, for instance you could search ‘recruitment’ and you would find all the people working for recruitment agencies. You can then narrow the search by specialism and location, and start connecting with those that seem relevant to your search.
Send connections who you think could help you in your job search a message, letting them know your situation and asking if they, or anyone they might know, could help you out in any way. You could also send out a public status update asking all your connections for help. You would be surprised how many people might not be able to help directly but know someone who can.
Search Jobs On LinkedIn
There is a search function on LinkedIn that allows you to search all job listings based on your keywords, location, and industry. You can then narrow the search using the Advanced Search Options, which will let you search within a certain mile radius of your post code, as well as searching by salary, experience level, and the job title. It’s a great free tool, and more companies are using LinkedIn as a primary tool for posting vacancies.
Get Recommended
Recommendations are a great way to show you are a viable candidate, in the same way that references are provided as a way to back up your character and skills on a CV. Connect with your past employers and ask them to recommend you on LinkedIn, very few will say no without good reason.
You can also get ‘referred’ for a position that is advertised as a job listing on LinkedIn. If one of your contacts is connected to the person in charge of hiring for this position, you can request a referral from your contact. This is a great way to get noticed by employers and build relevant connections, even if you don’t get the role the first time round.
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