Using Social Media to Find a Job

We met up with Joshua Waldman this week who spoke at Kean University about how to use social media to find a job.

He gave the students an important message that we think you should hear:

“Social media is the number one way to increase your chances of getting hired”.

It’s a common misconception that going socially incognito while job searching is the best route to take. In fact, many employers will turn away from a candidate who opts out of a public profile. Check out some of our key learnings about job searching and social media.

There’s a Formula for a Perfect LinkedIn Profile Summary

Many people struggle with this section on LinkedIn, but it’s a very concrete formula that Waldman lines up for with only four steps: 1. Who are you? 2. What do you do and what problem are you solving? 3. What are you best at? and 4. What kind of job are you looking for? These four questions give the employer a great representation of you as a worker and hey—they’re not easy! Take your time and consider really great responses that will wow any employer into an interview.

(Social) Networking is Key

Waldman says that people want personal connections more than ever—yet so many students still don’t do it. There are tons of ways to make meaningful connections online. Reach out to employees at your dream job on LinkedIn and Twitter. Request informal interviews to get to know the company way before you work there. Follow as many accounts that you’re interested in as you can. As Waldman discusses in his book Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies, the resources you need to get hired exist and you know how to use them! It’s up to you to start branching out.

Your Social Profile Should Reflect Your Personality

According to Waldman, employers save around $7 million each year by using LinkedIn as a hiring tool—odds are they’ll take a look at your profile. Because of its fast, free, and effective nature, it’s important to have your profile up to date at all times.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t show a little individual flair! In fact, Waldman encourages everyone to develop their personal brands on social media to give employers a great sense of their social presence. Use your better judgment here—if you’re looking for a job in retail, rock that fun photo of you with creativity and style. If you’re looking for a job in finance—best to keep it suit-and-tie professional.

More is More!

Waldman stressed to students that hidden social profiles are a red flag for employers. In fact, interesting photos and social content is way more compelling than nothing at all! Think twice before you hide all your content and change your name on Facebook—that’s not always the safer move.

There are also tools to review your posts and clean up old content that you want to forget about. These programs are very helpful for deleting literally anything that you think might not be appropriate for an employer to see.