How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search

By Heather R. Huhman - http://heatherhuhman.com/

Networking has always been a key to success in the job search—and social media is a prime way to build mutually beneficial relationships while on the hunt for a new job. These relationships can lead you to unadvertised job openings, help you gain knowledge and understanding of your industry, and even land you a referral to a company you’d love to work at.

Getting Started

If you don’t already have a presence on the top social networking sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook), set up an account on each one you plan on using for your career and job search. You might also choose to blog—so search around for the right platform for you. If you already have accounts on any of these sites, make sure that it’s appropriate for your job search. You never know when a potential employer might be looking! Delete the questionable content or change your privacy settings to make your online presence as professional as possible.

Completely fill out your biography, about me section, interests, skills, etc. Many recruiters and employers use search tools to find candidates that match the job description using keywords and phrases. Share your experience, education and accomplishments in your profile to help employers learn the most they possibly can about you.

Use a similar handle across networks. Make it easy for others to find you on whichever platform they use by using your first and last name in your unique URL or as your handle. If you have a common name, consider differentiating yourself by incorporating your skills or profession into your username. To check username availability across multiple platforms, use tools like KnowEm or NameChk.

Upload a professional profile photo. Help others get to know you by putting a photo in your profile. A close-up, professional headshot should do the trick.

Social Media & Your Job Search

Why do you need social media profiles to be successful in your job search? Well, there are a few reasons:

Networking opportunities. Eighty percent (or more) of job opportunities come through some form of networking—and I truly believe that networking is one of the most important tools in your job search toolkit. Meet new contacts from across the world by engaging in conversation on social media and participating in chats, groups and more.

Professional online presence. Employers today are screening candidates based on their online reputational data—profiles, search results, websites, photos, and anything else they can find that’s attached to your name. Proactively creating professional results shows that you’re serious about your job search and career.

Thought leadership. Show that you’re committed to your career by positioning yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Write blog posts pertaining to recent trends in your field, share advice from other thought leaders and participate in online groups and chats.

Connect directly with employers. Recruiters, hiring managers and CEOs are now active on social media. Read their blog, connect with them on LinkedIn or Twitter, and comment on the content they share. It’s easier than ever to build relationships with folks you might never meet in real life—take advantage of it!

Tips for Successful Social Networking

·      Focus on building mutually beneficial relationships—don’t just connect with people that can help you. Think about how you can help them, too.

·      Regularly post interesting articles, photos, videos and other content to stay visible online.

·      Don’t spam your network by constantly talking about yourself.

·      Look for folks in your industry and geographic area to follow and connect with.

·      Dedicate a portion of your day to your maintaining your online presence, following new people, thanking others for sharing your content, etc.

Be Your Own Best Publicist: 7 Job Search Lessons From PR

If you find it difficult to present your best talents, maybe you need professional help in promoting yourself.

Two public relations executives, Meryl Weinsaft Cooper and Jessica Kleiman, have written a new book that combines public relations and career advice. They believe today’s job seekers must “find ways to be creative and resourceful so that you rise to the top of anybody’s list,” said Kleiman.  “They have to work a little harder to stand out.”

Called “Be Your Own Best Publicist”, the book draws on their 30 years experience: Kleiman is a top publicist at Hearst Magazines and Cooper who works for a New York PR firm, DeVries Public Relations, and once represented the Screen Actors Guild. “We took our PR expertise and are trying to help people apply them to their own careers,” said Kleiman, who also contributes to their blog.

Here are seven tips from the PR duo and their book:

• Develop your pitch. It could be your 30-second elevator pitch, or it could be a thoughtful creative way to answer the sometimes-tough question ‘Tell me about yourself,’ said Kleiman. Either way, this succinct story about you and your talents must answer the question: “What do I bring to the table?” It also should highlight why you are unique and where you really excel. If you have trouble with this, ask your mother, your best friend and a professor for suggestions.
• Keep it to three key points. Be clear about your main message. In an interview or conversation, it’s better to focus on two or three focused topics or selling points, and repeat them a couple of times so they stick. Write them down and make sure you have specific examples to back them up for the job interview.
• Become the answer person. Position yourself as a resource and someone who will give good guidance and make connections. Or become the ultimate expert in one subject – and hope that subject is important to future employers. Serving as a connector or information source increases your value – and makes it more likely you’ll be clued in on something big as it’s developing.
• Build a backup plan. Your dream job may not be within reach right now. Or your first choice for a best company may have just filled its only opening. “Have a contingency plan,” they say. Explore other companies or sectors; “you always want to be ready with another route to success.
• Answer without answering. If you’re asked a difficult question, say something like “That’s a really good question, Bob, but what I think is more important today is ….” and go back to a topic or area that you feel shines a positive light on you and your talents. Or if you’re asked what you dislike about your current job or situation, you could reply by saying you’ve learned a lot there and worked on “a number of interesting projects.”  That way you don’t insult anyone or anything in your response.
• Learn to spin your experience. Whatever job you had taught you something that will be worthwhile to future employers. If you worked as a waitress when many other college graduates were toiling at summer internships, make the best of that. You learned to thrive in a fast-paced environment, to handle difficult people, good customer service skills and to be outgoing. Said Klaiman: “It’s not so much the job you’ve had, it’s about how you take that experience and skillet and spin it as a PR person would do.”
• Show a little humility. Confidence is important, but too much and you end up sounding like someone who no one will want to work with. You don’t want to sound boastful or crass, even if you have had some great successes. Ask for help and admit you need some guidance. Allow yourself to make mistakes – and learn from them.  In an interview, this means you wait until the second interview to ask about the career path and moving up “I haven’t even finished asking you questions about your resume and you’re asking how soon you can advance here,” said Kleiman.

Her final advice, also based on convincing journalists to cover stories or people she represents, is simple: “Don’t give up. Keep going on your pitch.” You will lose out on jobs, and you will be rejected. But you can learn from that and still end up with success if you keep working on your career goals.

Originally published on the Glassdoor Blog by  Nancy Mann Jackson, Glassdoor.com Contributor

Headhunters Reveal 11 Ways To Ruin Your Chances Of Getting A Job

Holding back information can make you look sneaky.

It’s important to be as honest as possible with your recruiter about your career, preferences and anything else that could affect your job search. “Job seekers sometimes fail to tell their recruiter when their company, position, or compensation preferences change. Second, job seekers hurt themselves by not telling recruiters about personal obligations and other things that might interfere with their job searches,” says Katy Keogh, of the staffing firm Winter, Wyman. “Bring these things up at the last minute, and they can be a deal-breaker. Why? Changing the game at the last second with a hiring company makes you look sneaky or complicated for no reason at all.”

Providing a vague description of your accomplishments makes it harder for a headhunter to place you.

 “Leave out the jargon,” says Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach and co-founder of SixFigureStart. “Show specific and measurable results."

"Don't make me as the listener/recruiter/prospective employer have to translate what you're saying into how it will benefit me or fill my needs. Talk to me in terms of my needs and what you will do for me.”

Don’t assume that a headhunter will do all the work for you.

Jennifer Lenkowsky, a managing partner of The Corporate Ladder, sees it all the time. “The biggest misconception a job seeker makes is that they assume because a headhunter agrees to meet them, that headhunter will find them a job," she says. 

"And then, they (job seekers) tend to put all of their eggs in a headhunter’s basket. Unfortunately if the companies that we work with don’t pick up on your resume, it’s out of our hands.”

"A headhunter's job is to find the right candidate for the client (company) who hired the recruitment services - not to find a job to every single job seeker who contacts the recruiting firm," adds Laurent Guerrier, CEO of the staffing firm, Luxe Avenue.

Not tailoring your resume to a specific job tells a recruiter that you are either lazy or the wrong candidate for the position.

“Whether you’re using a headhunter or applying directly through a company’s website, gear your resume towards the position," says Lenkowsky. "There is nothing wrong with having different versions of your resume as long as everything you list is truthful. If you are applying for a position that requires event planning experience, then be sure to include all information that’s relatable.” 

"A job summary should consist of 4-5 sentences on what you can bring to the table,” adds Terri Lee Ryan, a career coach.

Don’t waste time by applying for jobs that you are not qualified for.

Be realistic about the jobs that you apply for, say recruiters. "Don’t apply for jobs that you want or think you can get (when you know you can’t) … rather apply for jobs that you are qualified for," says Lenkowsky.

“For example, I was recently recruiting for a position as the Executive Assistant to the CEO of a multi-billion dollar hedge fund. The salary was listed at $150-200K and asked for candidates will similar experience to apply. Many of the responses were from people who just graduated, had never been an assistant, or were overqualified but unemployed. This is just wasting the job seekers time as well as the headhunter/hiring manager’s time,” she says.

A poor online reputation will torpedo your chances of getting a phone call from a headhunter.

“Recruiters don’t work for you, we work for the employer. When we submit a candidate we are putting our reputations on the line. We are risk adverse, so make our lives as easy as possible so that we don’t consider you to be a risk in any way, shape or form,” says Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing.

Remember to monitor your online presence on networking sites such as Facebook and by simply Googling your name. Another way to keep track of what shows up about you online is to create a Google Alert for your first and last name.

The best time to contact a headhunter is when you are employed.

"Headhunters don’t typically work with job candidates that are unemployed," says Terri Lee Ryan, a career coach and author. "Companies don’t pay them big money to present workers that aren’t gainfully employed. In this market there are many good workers on the sidelines, yet companies still want to see candidates that are gainfully employed and on the 'top of their game.' This is why I tell workers to never quit their job until they have a new one." "These days, you never know if your job could disappear tomorrow," says Erik M. Tomasi, Chief Operating Officer of DTG Consulting Solutions Inc. "Anticipate the problem before it happens by networking and responding to headhunters, even when you're happy with your current job."

It is not a headhunter's responsibility to tell you what you're good at.

"The biggest mistake most job hunters make when they approach a headhunter is not knowing what job they want," says David Perry, an executive recruiter and co-founder of Perry-Martel International. "It's not a headhunter's responsibility to tell you what they think you might be good at -- that's the job of a career counselor. The headhunter's job is to find that opportunity. When the job hunter says that they are 'open to new opportunities' a headhunter hears, 'I'm clueless.”

"They'll ask you to 'send us a résumé and you'll never hear back from them."

Not revealing your compensation requirements or being inflexible is a huge turn-off.

"I typically ask for this [a job seeker's required compensation] in the first or second phone call and it is usually to make sure that the candidate and the position in question are in the same ballpark," says Patricia H. Lenkov of Agility Executive Search LLC.  "If not, there is no sense in wasting anyone's time so it is best to make this as clear as possible early on. It is usually the least-experienced candidates who resist this."

“More companies now prefer to try an employee out as a contractor, with the possibility of hiring them full-time.” Job seekers should be open to various forms of compensation.

Not personalizing your cover letter practically guarantees your letter will be recycled.

 “I get hundreds of cover letters every day and I’m more likely to respond to a personalized cover letter addressed to me,” says Greg Ambrose, president of Catalyst Search Group.  Also, make sure you have the correct spelling and gender of the person to whom you are writing.

"If you can’t do some research to market yourself as a candidate, why would I think you would take the initiative for my client?" he says.

Don't harass the recruiter.

Following up with a thank you note or email to remind the recruiter of your skills is appreciated. What is not appreciated are numerous phone calls or emails requesting an update on your status. Being assertive is a good thing, but be careful of coming across as desperate, warns Ambrose.

"Being desperate or overly insistent can make a candidate seem insecure about their abilities," he says. "Even if you're unemployed, the secret to getting a job is acting as if you don't need one."

SOURCE: www.businessinsider.com 

Read more: http://read.bi/mcrB67