4 Social Media Tasks for the New Job Seeker
December 14, 2011 
12 Comments
We all have to start somewhere. Whether you’ve just graduated from college or you’re between jobs, being a new job seeker can be pretty overwhelming.
What do you do? Where do you start? You’ve probably been hearing a lot about social media in the job search, but how does it all fit together?
Anything is toughest at step one. Make social media work for your job search by starting with these four tasks:
Take inventory
If you’ve been online in the past ten years, you probably have at least one social media profile. Take a minute and write down every social media website you’ve used. Google your name to make sure you’re not missing a long-forgotten MySpace or Friendster page.
For the beginner, I recommend profiles on the big three sites: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. If you already have too many profiles to keep track of, delete them. No profile is better than an abandoned one.
Comb your profiles
It doesn’t matter what you do, you need to make sure your profiles are appropriate for potential employers’ eyes. Examine every single photo, comment, group or page — analyze every nook and cranny of your profiles to make sure all red flags are gone.
Identify your goals
Social media can be an amazing tool for the job seeker and can help them accomplish a lot of great things. But, what do you want to get out of using it? Want to connect with a new mentor? You need to make the first move to get a conversation going. Want potential employers to be able to find you based on your skills? Spend some time elaborating your accomplishments in you’re “about me” section.
Be consistent
This is the most important (and sometimes the trickiest) part of building a social media presence. Whatever you do, keep at it. Joining a weekly discussion or blogging every other day can do wonderful things for your job search, but once you commit, you have to keep at it. The best strategy is to start slowly and add on once you get a strong base and understanding of each tool.
When you started looking for a job, what happened to your social media profiles?
by Heather R. Huhman on August 15, 2011 in Candidate Advice
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Categories: College Graduates, Featured Articles, Internships, Job Hunting Strategies, Job Market, Social Media
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Excellent tips! Thanks!
Relevant and helpful tips. Thanks, Heather.
John Hileman recently posted..Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask …
Superb advice – nothing we haven’t heard before, but broken down into steps anyone can follow. Especially the bit about deleting any profiles you can’t keep track of.
Susan Critelli recently posted..God is never wrong!
I have a good friend who was interviewing with a large company. His inside contact told him to take anything down that had the potential for causing concern in the recruiters/HR/hiring mgrs. That included anything where he had a drink in his hand. Eventually after being hired he was asked to delete his fB account entirely.
Denise Sonnenberg recently posted..Better Blogging: 5 Quick Tips That Will Get Your Articles Read
I personally use social media for my business and to promote my career planning/job search books and can say that consistency as the author of this article indicates is in fact one of the most important aspects for success. I would also say that the quality of contacts is more important than quantity. I have practiced this concept in my executive search business for the past 27 years. Consistent networking using a targeted list of quality contacts with proper follow up is key to landing a job in today’s hyper competitive job market.
Sounds like too much work
Consistency is key among what you recommend above. Be who you are, it’s why you got in front of the company in the first place.
Mike Shields recently posted..B Roll, The Movie!!!
Great tips! I know a few people who’ve gotten leads or actual gigs through social media.
Debbie Miller recently posted..Foursquare Unveils City Badges
What great tips. You need to know what others will find out about you and check out your profiles so they don’t stop you from getting what you want.
So interestng!
Great points. I am a massive fan of goal setting and consistency! So important in the age of social media and the job search!
Debra Eckerling recently posted..New Poll: Winter Break
Very good, most useful