Social Media Tools for Job Seekers

Kerry Turcotte, M.A.© 2013 Welcome Inn Community Centre

What is social media?

SOCIAL MEDIA refers to a collection of electronic/online tools that facilitate interpersonal interactions.

Social Media

The interactions themselves vary, depending on the media.

Examples of social media applications

… there are literally hundreds

Key Social Media TypesExamples

Consumer Reviews Chowhound.com*Yelp.com*Epinions.com*Google MapsYouTube

Content sharing Flickr*Slideshare*YouTube*Pinterest*Instagram*

Group Buying Groupon.comWagJag.com

* Denotes that this is the primary purpose of this site.

Key Social Media TypesExamples

Location based FourSquare*Facebook Places

Q&A/ knowledge generation

Yahoo!Answers*Quora*

Social bookmarking StumbleUpon*Digg*Del.icio.us*Reddit

Social networking FacebookTwitterLinkedInGoogle+

Social media for job seekers The social media types that are most

likely to be useful to job seekers (and used or searched by employers) are: Content sharing Q&A Social networking

Do I need to be on social media?

NO!

Do I need to be on social media?

But…

Do I need to be on social media?

According to Forbes.com, “more than a third of all employers utilize these sites in their hiring process. “

Do I need to be on social media?

Social media affords you an opportunity to learn about jobs not advertised other ways, and to have your resume seen by employers who might not otherwise see it.

If I AM on social media, what sites will help me in my job search?

Email (is also social media!)

Content sharing (online portfolios; resume sites; search alerts; blogs)

Networking (e.g., Meet-up; groups thru FB; twitter; google+; LinkedIn)

If I’m on social media, how can it HURT me? Poor use of email for connecting Oversharing Inappropriate content – self-branding! The internet is forever.

EMAIL common way to apply for a job

EMAIL Make sure you include a resume AND a

cover letter as an attachment Be business-appropriate in your email

and subject line Provide non-email contact info at the

end of the email

EMAIL Remember the attachments! Double-check the email address and

recipient’s name(s) Set up a “job-friendly” email address

(gmail is free) Check your email often

CONTENT SHARING Online job sites and search alerts Online portfolios blogs

ONLINE JOB SEARCHwww.workopolis.comwww.monster.cawww.eluta.cawww.charityvillage.comwww.jobs.gc.ca

ONLINE JOB SEARCH Keep resume UP TO DATE Make use of search alerts Remember that not all positions are

posted on these sites

ONLINE PORTFOLIOS & BLOGS If you have portfolios and blogs online that

are RELEVANT to the jobs you’re applying for, mention them in your resume

If they are NOT relevant, don’t mention them

If the content could hinder your job search, you might want to deactivate them while you search

SOCIAL NETWORKING

This is really what most people think of when they think of social media. These applications tend to incorporate several of the functions/purposes outlined previously.

MEET-UP Social networking portal that helps

bridge the online-F2F gap. Join groups/create groups based on

particular interests and attend/plan gatherings of group members.

Using Meet-up is free, but the events may not be.

LINKED IN Love it or hate it Groups are a way of trying to make LI

appeal to biz users of FB, more than anything, new timeline feature is similar.

Can be a great tool for job search IF you have relevant experience and a complete profile

Good source of jobs not otherwise advertised.

FACEBOOK Depending on your connections, FB can

be a great source of information about the “invisible” job market

DO NOT approach companies on their FB pages asking for jobs

Make sure your privacy settings are TIGHT – prospective employers do not need to know what you did last weekend (but they might hold it against you)

Remember – your profile and cover pictures are publically viewable by default. Make sure they’re job-friendly!

TWITTER“…short bursts of

inconsequential information” (Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter.

If you’re looking for a job, your twitter feed is potentially of great consequence!

Strategies for a job-friendly Twitter feed: Make it private Close the account Delete tweets that might turn off a

potential employer Make sure your Twitter handle isn’t

publically linked to your real name

GOOGLE+ You can create a separate google+

identity for each google account you have, if you like

Networking capabilities are realtime (video and hangout feature), multi-user, and much better than Facebook.

GOOGLE+ Networking for job search is great, if you

have established network

Make profile as private as possible, if content will not help job search

Is your social media presence job-search-friendly? Google yourself. Log out of FB and Google+ and search for

yourself – what comes up? Look at your FB and Google+ feeds as

“public” and tighten up privacy as appropriate.

Set up a new email account for job applications.

Create complete profiles on job sites and LinkedIn, if you use them.

Questions?