So you want to find a job via Social Media?

By: Neysa Herrera

If you are in the job market: got recently fired, soon to graduate from college or university or looking for career opportunity; this information might be useful for you. All you need to keep clear is that searching for a job is all about marketing a product, you.

Immediately, when you are looking for a job, an entire process begin. You build your resume obsessed by applying to every opening you find, to make sure you find something that fits well in you background. You also begin to remember and contact old friends to let them know that you are in the market and to ask for placement help. Then, you have created all a networking campaign emailing your contacts, using online tools like LinkedIn, hoping that someone knows of a job opportunity that feeds your needs.

Since many people find jobs in the traditional way: chasing jobs and companies through webpages and newspapers, you need to know that Social Media offer an interesting new way to interact and meet potential employers. An example case of the above is David Murray’s who found his ideal job via twitter as assistant webmaster of client services for the Bivings Group; several months later, he was promoted to director of social web communications.

As people interact and connect with many others, Social Media offers very powerful opportunities to network. David Meerman, in his article The New Rules of Marketing and PR, makes an analogy to cocktail parties: “(…) Just like a physical cocktail party, if you are unemployed and looking for work, the people you meet may be I a position to introduce you to that perfect employer”. The best part about Social Media is that the opposite is also true: Nowadays, smart employers are looking for the perfect asset to their companies in a certain job via online.

So, knowing that employers are looking for employees through the Social Medias if you want to make Social Media part of your job search, you have to know how to market yourself in the virtual world. The most important things for you to pay attention the most  are: First, content, (what you publish should be interesting for employers and should show your abilities and skills); and second, the ability to understand that Social Media could be a great instrument to get job opportunities, as long as you use them in a strategic and professional way.

In conclusion, if you want to get a job, go viral in social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn. In order to do it, instead of being ad advertiser, you have to become a publisher of content that employers are eager to consume. Keep always in mind that, once you decide doing your job research though Social Media, you have to realize that it is not for make friends, and post hot photos. Remember that you want to target employers, not to increase your list of party contacts.