How to Use Social Media for Your Career
Social media was once used solely for finding new friends and sharing memories. Today, businesses are taking their entities online, while HR. personnel is posting jobs on these platforms to find the right talents.
If you are a student, a graduate, or a professional looking to advance or change your career path, it’s time you consider going social. Here are few pointers on how to use social media in your career:
- Use Few Social Media Platforms
As much as you want to gain online visibility, it is not a smart move to be on all of them. Why? Because it can be tedious. You see, creating a social media account comes with some demands if you want it to work. Keep posting consistently to have algorithms working in your favor. You can choose to focus on Facebook and Instagram, for example, and keep sharing your interests and knowledge.
So, joining all social media platforms can be draining and time-consuming, which leaves you with little time for private stuff.
Being on a few social media platforms helps you understand how they work and you can navigate them with ease. You also find a lot of information such as the advantages of buying essays from a writing professional. Your education journey becomes more enjoyable and easy when you are well informed.
- Maximize Your Profiles
There are billions of social media users, and each person has a reason they are online. Approximately 80% of hiring managers get their candidates on these platforms. LinkedIn is their favorite place to hang around and it has established itself as a platform for professionals. So, you may want to create a striking impression on the recruiter, especially if you are planning to apply for a position using your LinkedIn account.
Most students are tempted to put funny information on their profiles. This becomes a blow in your future career if that is the information you are going to put yourself out with. Serious employers are interested in working with professionals.
Consider adding relevant information such as where you schooled, if you have attended any internship and if you are actively searching for work or not. Some platforms such as LinkedIn have a provision where you can have your profile showing you are ‘open to work.’
If you have some experience, whether part-time, shadowing or a few years, consider adding it to your profiles. This information help recruiters have an idea of who you are even before inviting you for an interview.
- Know What to Share and with Whom
It is easy to feel like you can post anything on social media because you technically own the account. Wrong! It is the things we consider small that end ruining our future careers. So, before you put something for everyone to see, remember there is the power of screenshots.
That video you saw on TikTok of people doing nasty things and found it funny, and you decided to share. Or that Facebook meme about an employee being rude to the employer, and you decided to add a cheeky comment. These can have a negative long-term effect on your career.
To be on the safe side, make your account private if what you want to upload is not something you would like a potential employer to see.
- Use Social Media for Networking
Most people do not understand the power of networking. Just because you have your excellent academic papers isn’t a reason to overlook this tool. Some platforms like Instagram are thought of as places to show off the best photos. But, they can give you quality leads to your next big job or business.
Because creating a network and influence is not an overnight exercise, consider starting as early as when still a student. It will help you build genuine connections with people that matter. LinkedIn is particularly known for these and people have landed their dream jobs by creating a relevant network.
Connect with people in the field you would like to work in in the future. First, engage with them and ask questions so they can notice you. Then, when you have established a solid connection, you can ask them to refer you to opportunities.
While networking, it is wrong to limit yourself to people you only know. They may not have the leads you want. Social media breaks the barriers of location limitation, and the purpose of networking is to meet other professionals.
Take it as a job search. You do not apply for a job in a particular company because you know the owner at a personal level. Instead, you apply there because the company aligns with your career expectations.
- Proofread Your Posts
Some typos can change the meaning of your messages. Some of them are so bad that you look so careless and unprofessional. Nobody wants to risk having an irresponsible person in their business.
Do not be in a rush to post anything. Go through your post before posting. The surefire way to proofread and edit your work is some hours or the following day after creating that content. You may not spot such errors when you proofread the work immediately.
Let your network see you mean business. Most errors are hard to get away with, while some can be excused.
- Personalize Your Messages
When you meet with new connections, send them a personalized message after accepting your request. This concept also applies when sending a direct message to a recruiter who has posted a job on socials.
You do not want to look like a spam sender. Instead of using copy and paste messages to your connections, try being creative. Most people will be interested in taking the conversations further when they feel some authenticity in the message.
But, when your message feels like it was a forward to 10 other people, you are likely to be blocked or unfollowed. Let the person know you have taken time to go through their profile. You can include their recent achievement on the personalized message and congratulate them on the milestone!
- Use Hashtags
If you are hunting for a job, learn how to use the relevant hashtags. LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram are specifically strong at these. Although other socials use the hashtags, these stand out.
Hashtags help with filtering information available online. Recruiters use them so they can reach a wider audience too. So, instead of reading everything in your feed, narrow your results by filtering using hashtags.
- Clean Up Your Accounts
If your social media accounts have questionable content, consider pulling such posts down or hide them. Today, hiring managers are keen on what you share on your timeline. It is notable because they mostly ask you to share a link to one of your social media accounts.
When job hunting, go through your posts to see if they can hurt your credibility. If you feel the content is too much to delete, you can consider creating fresh accounts. Let them be oriented to your career. Start posting relevant and professional material. If you are uncertain about the content that can hurt your reputation, here are some examples:
- Complaining about your job place/boss/teacher publicly
- Posts/comments that bully other users
- Offensive videos
If you decide to create new accounts, be ready to answer why you have very few connections. Some recruiters are cautious about new accounts, and you should have an intelligent answer. Indeed, creating connections is not an easy task either.
Social media is a goldmine to people planning to start or advance their careers. You get to meet people, business owners, and business opportunities when you use it well. Unfortunately, some people may never understand how it works because they refuse to see it from a different angle. Instead, they stick to finding it as a place for fun. Use these tips and discover what other beneficiaries of social media are enjoying today!