In days past, job seekers benefited from posting a resume on employment websites including Monster, Dice, and CareerBuilder. The application would be visible to recruiters and companies looking to hire, and candidates were often called out of the blue for an interview. Today, the rules of the game have changed and continue to evolve.
In the June 7, 2009 The News Tribune article, “The Rules for Job Hunting Have Changed,” Dan Voelpel quotes Paul Anderson, a former hiring manager for Microsoft and Expedia, as advising candidates to physically remove their resume from all employment websites and instead place a higher priority on social networking as a search tool.
While these employment websites are not yet obsolete by any means, social networking websites have begun to shed their image of preteen hangouts and have taken on a more socially acceptable reputation – an effective strategy for the job hunt. Sites including Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter have become highly important and effective tools for anyone seeking work in today’s ultra-competitive labor market.
Finding Employment Through Social Networking: Linkedin
Linkedin is a business social networking website where businesses, employers, and applicants can connect. The candidate posts a profile with skills, work history, employment goals, and contact information so that companies who want to hire can contact the candidate directly. As the person’s network expands, so do the chances for viable leads.
Linkedin has become so important to today’s search that, according to a growing number of labor experts, is the first website many companies consult when assessing new candidates. What employers look for on Linkedin is not only the online resume, but also who is in the person’s network and recommendations from past and present colleagues.
Finding Employment Using Facebook
Facebook was once the online social networking domain of college students, but no longer. Those using Facebook can add handy apps that allow users to post and share a resume, view new openings, and expand the candidate’s professional network. If the person has an existing resume in HTML format, simply add an HTML app, insert code, and display it on a professional-looking public Facebook profile.
Twitter and the Job Search
While it may seem unlikely that a person can find work in 140 characters or less, the ever-expanding reach and popularity of Twitter makes the micro blogging site a powerful ally in the search for a new position. Using Twitter, candidates can
- write a brief bio indicating employment goals, skills, and accomplishments
- enter a link to an online resume (e.g., ResumeBucket)
- make sure updates are not protected
- include a professional-looking photo
- tweet daily, stating desired position, location, target company, and how the search is going
- use hash tags (#) to identify keywords that are picked up in searches (e.g., #techjobs)
- search people and follow recruiters and companies of interest
Using social media is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity in order to stand out in today’s ultra-competitive labor market. So in addition to posting a resume on websites such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Yahoo! Jobs, and Dice, all job seekers should begin using social media sites including Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter for an effective search strategy.
How to Use Social Media to Find Jobs Online
The recent economic slump in Canada and the U.S. has resulted in many people losing their jobs. With record numbers of unemployment, competition for work is fierce. Businesses and individuals offering freelance work are more frequently using social media and job marketplaces on the web to attract new job candidates. It is in the best interest of job seekers to find out how to use Twitter, LinkedIn, and other web strategies to conduct their job search.
How to Use Twitter to Find Jobs
Although Twitter is a social media application that is similar to Facebook, it is unlike Facebook in that the focus is more about connecting with like-minded people and organizations, rather than sharing photos with friends and family. As a result, more and more businesses are not only setting up Twitter pages, but are posting their latest job openings in “tweets” posted on Twitter. Read about how to set up a Twitter account here.
In order to hear about the latest jobs that a company is trying to fill, Twitter users should become a follower of that organization’s Twitter page. There are also particular Twitter pages that are devoted exclusively to job openings including the following pages with their Twitter names: @Jobs_Toronto, @Jobs_Calgary, @JobVancouver, @CanadianJobs. A recent scan of @TwitJobsToronto revealed job postings from Fidelity, Bell Canada, Sears Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum, and Sick Kids Hospital.
How to Use LinkedIn to Find Jobs
LinkedIn is a social media application where users create a profile page that outlines their credentials, as well as lists their business contacts or “connections” as LinkedIn calls them. LinkedIn users must first request approval to be connected to a contact. A user can request a connection to post a referral comment on her profile page. Many users leverage their LinkedIn network of connections to search for suitable job candidates.
LinkedIn users may also search for jobs that other users have posted by selecting the “Jobs” button on the top menu bar and conducting a search. Many large organizations such as the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) post job openings on LinkedIn.
Freelance Marketplaces Online
Online job marketplaces such as Elance, Guru, and ODesk are sites where employers post job specifications for freelance work including web design, programming, accounting, legal, marketing, and writing, and job searchers place bids on jobs. Job searchers may take online tests to verify their skill proficiency. ODesk charges a 10 percent fee, but they guarantee payment to successful job candidates who charge an hourly rate.
Searching for a job in the Canadian and U.S. job markets can be difficult these days, but job searchers who find out how to use social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as online freelance job marketplaces like Guru, ODesk, and Elance to find jobs will reap enormous advantages. Learning how to use the web for job searches not only results in discovering greater job opportunities, but it also builds on job searchers’ social networking and technical skills, which are skills most employers value.
