How To Successfully Use Social Media To Get A Job

How To Successfully Use Social Media To Get A Job You have been searching for that graduate job since June and you are starting to get a little frustrated. You have perfected your CV, updated it with some very impressive experience as well as your university degree grade. Each cover letter you submit has been personalised with relevant facts and figures. So, where are you going wrong?   Social Media A  lot of peoples time spent on Social Media involves showing off photographs of holidays, family, friends, possessions and more. Some people like to use it as a  place to publicly  express their opinions and consequently, cause trouble. People seem to forget that writing something online is NOT the same as saying it between your friends at the dinner table. You are documenting it, publishing it and storing it in the deep dark land of the web! Whether it was something that you wrote five years ago or something that you just posted, this can affect your chances of employment. It is very easy for a recruiter or an employer to search your name into a chosen platform, so when and if they do make sure you make a good impression.        1. Privacy Settings If you want to keep your private life private, change your settings. Make sure that the stuff you are sharing is only available for your friends and family to see. Make life easier, only share respectable things.     2. Use appropriately Before posting something, you should think about the effect it will have on you. Think about what you would think if you saw someone else post it. Consider family members, friends or whoever you have on Social Media and consider how they would feel seeing it.    3. Be professional Its all very well sharing inappropriate jokes on your Facebook or twitter, posting photographs of food on your Instagram but what you need to think is (this is particularly aimed at people looking to get a Digital Job)  If your dream employer looked at your profile would they think, this person is a motivated, experienced and educated individual? or would they think this person  needs to find better things to do than posting food and jokes online. (Unless your a food blogger of course, keep up the good work!) Here are some tips on how to utilize your profiles: Facebook, keep it private but think before you post. You never know, one of your friends might capture something that you post and pass it on. You have no control over what others do with your content unfortunately. Is there something that you specialize in? If so, make yourself a Facebook page or Group, start educational discussions, share your work and maximise your exposure for free. Therefore, if the employer or recruiter searches for you, they come across impressive work rather than drunken photographs from University. Twitter, exactly the same, if you are going to tweet something try saying it out loud and see if you think its appropriate first. Try not to be too opinionated, at the end of the day you are publishing it online and someone could hold it against you one day. Considering Twitter was initially intended for Celebrities, follow useful and inspirational pages News pages, Famous bloggers, Factual pages, Significant people within your chosen field. Then when your employer looks on your profile, they see you are following relevant and significant people  and you are effectively, using  Twitter in a mature and professional way. LinkedIn, sign up! If you dont have it, get it. LinkedIn is a great source for Social Recruiting. Its effectively, an online resume. A place to display all of your achievements and experience. Make sure you keep your profile professional, no vain  selfies and no photographs of you getting drunk on the weekend. Share current and  educational articles, share your achievements and network with relevant companies and individuals. LinkedIn is definitely the right kind of Social Media exposure. YouTube,  in the past couple of years there has been a high demand for Vloggers. Post some professional discussions. Your knowledge and confidence will immediately make you stand out. Instagram, if  you are a creative, make  two separate accounts. One for your work and the other for your personal life. Keep your work professional, create a brand name, follow relevant people and use relevant hashtags. Then you have the freedom to  upload your personal photographs to your account  without ruining your brand image.