Nowadays, social media is incredibly influential within society, and that is no different when it comes to job hunting. With 92% of recruiters using social media during the recruitment process, it is crucial to manage your own accounts carefully.
Keep privacy settings high
Keeping your privacy settings on the top setting is a good idea for all year round, not only does it protect you in general from scams, but it also restricts strangers being able to view your profile. However, you may think that just because your privacy settings are set high, you can post about your wild weekend antics or rant about your current job – unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Some companies are still able to see past all these privacy settings, so be careful what you share. Cleaning up your social media before you apply for jobs is always a good idea too, removing any pictures you wouldn’t like to be judged on or any interactions which aren’t appropriate. Although it isn’t ideal to clean up your accounts every time you are job hunting, it does unfortunately happen whereby candidates can lose job interviews and offers due to their online history.
Creating a professional LinkedIn profile
89% of recruiters have hired someone through LinkedIn. It is a great way to get matched and appeal to a company without having to do a lot. Creating a professional profile and keeping it up to date is a great first impression to any company. There are often workshops to help with setting up a profile, as it can be intimidating at first. Universities often run workshops that help students create their profile, for example the University of Suffolk offer workshops on how to use LinkedIn and social media for job hunting. If you don’t have access to these types of aids, then there are simple things you can do yourself. Use your biography to inform recruiters and visitors to your page of your career goals, location, and then of course listing your qualifications, experience, interests, key accomplishments etc. However, be careful in over-sharing. Some interests or work experience may not be relevant, and instead just distract from your key qualities. Following relevant companies and individuals of interests is also key to building the right following and interest, and you yourself will then be able to see posts which match your interests.
Keeping your eyes peeled
Companies often use their social media to advertise jobs. Here at Opus, we use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to post about our vacancies. It is important to be vigilant and keep your eye out for ads, as applying sooner rather than later is always advisable. Searching key hashtags like #jobs #vacancies #hiring, and even key words about your desired job role, such as #socialworker can provide you with a selection of appropriate vacancies.
Scouting out!
Social media is a blessing and a curse! But, in terms of scouting out potential businesses and companies you would like to work for it can be a great help. Although many companies don’t share everything, being able to look at what they are getting up to, how they interact with staff , and what they share, can be useful. Many companies have blogposts with regular updates about their team, the company and what’s going on, and this can be a great insight into their working environment.
Final Do’s and Don’ts:
Do: use a variety of social media, check your privacy settings, keep your profile up to date and honest, be interesting, and finally…network – it’s called social media so be social!
Don’t: only talk about how you want a job (it won’t hold attention!), just focus on job hunting online, avoid spamming people (it’ll only get you blocked or deleted!), give up – it may take a while, but persistence and patience will pay off.
Working with Opus will give you a service you can trust and is guaranteed to successfully assist you in your job search. For more advice on temporary work or information on vacancies in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire or Milton Keynes, please get in touch. Send us your CV or queries torecruitment@opuspeoplesolutions.co.ukor call us on 03301 242800.
Follow us on our Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to be kept up to date with with job news and to find out about any careers fairs we will be visiting in your area.
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