How Your Social Media Profile Can Make Or Break Your Next Job Opportunity

Social networking is a recent invention that has the Internet still at the edge of its seat due to its popularity with people. This is mostly because it really is for the people. If you do not utilize any of the several forms of Social Media you risk falling behind your competitors who use Social Media. A survey conducted in the US last year revealed that close to 90% of employers either recruited, or were planning to recruit, through social media. According to the 2012 annual technology market survey conducted by Eurocom Worldwide, “Almost one in five technology industry executives say that a candidate’s social media profile has influenced their recruiting decision. Managing your social media profile has become even more important as it can make or break your chances of being hired.

Social media can give you an opportunity to hunt down the job of your dreams, but they won’t do it on their own. You need to be strategic and proactive in how you use them.

Here are some ways by which Social Media can be utilized:

• Highlight your professional self on social media: LinkedIn is undoubtedly a great tool to showcase your professional aspect as well as network with other professionals. Twitter can be used to talk about relevant subjects, follow industry experts and engage in conversations with them.  You can also follow organizations that interest you and stay updated with their activities, in case you are planning to apply for them.

• Connect with Right People/Organization: Becoming friends with any company that you are looking to work for or already working for is another smart use of social media. It also becomes an added advantage if the HR Executive or CEO of the firm which you are thinking to apply is already in your network.

• Keep your Eyes Open: Don’t overlook any opportunity that may come across in any form. Be it a question, advice, Discussions etc. make sure you participate in all conversations that can fetch you eye balls.

• Create your professional profile on LinkedIn: Many recruiters now use LinkedIn as their primary tool for sourcing candidates, so having a well-written and keyword-rich LinkedIn profile is essential. Make sure your profile reflects your area of expertise.

•Build a recruiter-friendly Twitter bio: Twitter is a force to be reckoned with, and both employers and recruiters now use Twitter on a regular basis to search for candidates and advertise vacancies.

•Network: The great thing about social media is that they let you communicate with people you might not meet in real life. Create your own networks by making contact with people who work at companies you’re interested in. Building networks is a long-term process but it is worth investing the time. Interact with people, learn from them, and show what you can contribute. You can join LinkedIn groups or specialist forums and share knowledge, have conversations with like-minded people and build virtual relationships – in fact, this is often easier online than in person.

However, if you want to ensure a potential employer never rejects you, make sure your online social profile depicts the type of employee a company would want to hire.

Finally, if you plan to use social media as part of your job search, remember that recruiters regularly carry out internet searches on the names of potential employees. So, keep your personal life private and make sure that all your online content is positive and professional and it depicts you as the type of employee a company would want to hire.
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