I’d like to share some notes from a presentation I delivered at a recent international career conference called Cannexus in Ottawa, Canada.
During my presentation I asked the audience four questions and elaborated on each one. Here’s the first question…
1. What are the best social networking sites to use for your job search and career management?
First, decide what your goals/objectives are.
- What do you want to achieve by using social networks? Job leads? Connecting with industry experts? Building relationships gradually?
Second, take a test drive. (Example: Twitter)
- Find other Twitter users who tweet about the same topics you’re interested in, such as career change, résumé writing, interviewing, etc.
- Use Twellow to search for experts in your desired field.
- Ask for leads from contacts on Twitter.
- Join Twitter lists.
- Use hashtags (#) to funnel down your area of interest. Some examples include: #careers #resumes #hiring #jobhunt #jobhuntchat #careercollective.
The next three questions I asked are as follows:
2. How do social media sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) differ?
3. Should job seekers focus on two or three main sites or “cast a wide net?”
4. What advice would you give to job seekers and career builders for managing their social media strategy?
Click here » to read how I responded to the final three questions regarding how to design a social networking job search strategy.
Melissa C. Martin is a bilingual career coach who specializes in offering career counseling by phone.
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About Melissa C. Martin
Thanks Melissa, for the insightful post! It’s surprising how many people don’t understand how social media can get them hired. These steps are great for any beginner. Another great benefit of social media is that your activity will develop your overall presence online, which employers totally notice.
Great post, Melissa! It’s so important that everyone understand the point of using social networking sites. Having one just because everyone else does is not the way to go. These are some great tips for thinking about your social media presence before it exists. Social networking is a major part of building your personal brand.
Good post. It definitely pays to create a solid job search strategy that incorporates social networking.
http://www.jobvirtue.com
Good post and Q&A. I see you went in to more detail on how to use Twitter. Do you think twitter is better for job searching than Facebook and LinkedIn? I am getting some good success stories from job seekers who use all three in a combined effort. Looking forward to future post.