Social Media for Dream Job Seekers

Wondering why you should bother with social media? What’s in it for you? Do you really need to be on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook? I hope you are pleased to hear that I’ve given it some thought, on your behalf… 

Firstly, let’s get the worldwide web into perspective and imagine it as your town. You live in your house, go to your job (if you have one) and you are on the look out for your dream job (or maybe your dream client, if you’re in business). Now, let’s go for a virtual walk down the High Street. The purpose of the walk is to get you noticed by someone who may have your dream job on offer and/or for you to do some research about what might be available. 

As you walk along the High Street, you bump in to folks you know; friends, acquaintances and people who you would like to get to know. Each time this happens, you have fleeting conversations called tweets – you’re on Twitter. You find out who did what, who’s doing what and when. You might even hear about a job opening that you can research later! Quickly though, because we’re all in a hurry! 

Next stop is for a coffee at the Facebook Café. We can relax in here with our friends, have a proper catch up, look at someone’s baby photos, see someone else’s wedding pictures and even watch a funny video of a cat being cute. You’re also likely to hear someone having a moan about their job, their boss or their colleagues and you make a mental note to avoid working there… Or you might think that what they are moaning about sounds trivial to you and watch to see if they are going to leave because that would mean there would be a vacancy, wouldn’t it? On the other hand, someone may have just started somewhere and you hear how brilliant it is! Horses for courses, as they say. 

There’s a notice board in the Facebook Café where businesses can advertise what they are up to so you have a quick scan over the Business Pages fluttering on the board to see if there’s any potential dream job companies or jobs on there. 

Time to go! Next stop is the LinkedIn Conference Centre on the edge of town. It’s a fantastic, professional place where everyone is looking their best because this is where business gets done. It’s like the biggest, best networking event you’re ever likely to attend. People can get a bit bored of you banging on about your job search in the Facebook Café but not here! They’re all at it! It’s the place to go to tell people what you’ve achieved in your career so far and what you are planning to do next. You go here to see and be seen. You can ask for introductions to some of the people you probably wouldn’t meet anywhere else but that you know could help you get where you want to be. You can also catch up with previous colleagues and bosses and even ask them for recommendations and endorsements. 

Better still, being a member of the LinkedIn Conference Centre, the management team even suggest who you should meet, which groups to join and what vacancies you should investigate. 

You can even write your blog here as there is a free platform on which you can write Articles. 

LinkedIn and Google like one another so if your public profile is up to date, the chances of you being found in a search by your profession/dream job will sky-rocket. 

Posts and other content are permanent but also editable and downloadable so no need to get paranoid! 

So, what exactly can you share? Everything really. Questions and answers, thought-leadership, advice and tips, links to articles, resources and your own website, other social media, photos and videos, including YouTube videos. Anything that’s going to show you in a good light to the people who can help you get to where you want to be. 

That advice goes for the facebook café and for tweeting on the street too, doesn’t it? You never know who you’re going to bump in to and who might be watching you and who might be about to make a decision about you, based on that experience. 

Let’s have a look at how you can present yourself on each platform: 

You have a personal Profile on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. 

You attract followers on Twitter. (You can follow people and companies without them following you back.) You make friends on Facebook and connections on LinkedIn. 

You can have a Business Page on Facebook – if you are in business – and it will attract fans or “Likes.” 

Ideally, you want to tweet with people on the street, call into the Facebook Café for a gossip and make connections at the LinkedIn Conference Centre. All of these places could be where you find a lead to your dream job. 

LinkedIn is the place where you can stand out though. Time to step up and stand out from the crowd!  

Thanks for reading. If it’s your first time here and you like it, please do follow the blog. That way, you’ll never miss a post! 

Best wishes,  Louise.   

Copyright 2014 Louise Jenner