Social Media & Job Hunting

Social Media has become one of the most amazing and powerful tools of our generation. We can communicate with our friends and family in far flung corners of the world, share photos and videos, and snippets of our lives with our loved ones, all instantly, through the world wide web.

However, with social media being a way of life now, not only socially, but professionally, we have to realise that social media is one of the best ways to find out about, and apply for job vacancies.

Not only this but we can also put ourselves out into the job market by using our social media. Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter can put us in direct contact with hiring mangers at companies we would love to work for. Not only this, but by keeping your profiles up to date, you can be viewed as an influencer in your area.

What it is essential to remember, is that although we want to let other employers know we are available, we do not want to directly say so. Mainly because this will not go down too well with our current employers, should they get wind of the fact that we are putting out our feelers.

So here are 3 subtle ways, that you can say that you are open to new and exciting opportunities, on your social media profiles, without ruffling your current boss’ feathers.

Industry Buzzwords.
Update your social media profiles with your title and company, and be specific and pad your job description out with key words and phrases. This will help your profile pop up in any industry related searches. If you’re unsure take a look at the LinkedIn people of other successful people in your field, and see how they identify themselves and what they do.

Define your long-term goals.
Writing a sentence or two about your future goals in terms a career, will show that you have ambition and a sense of self regarding of your professional intentions. Whoever is reading it won’t think you’re immediately looking for a change of employment but they will see that you want to progress.

Leave a direct path of contact.
Always leave a direct path of contact for prospective employers to contact you. Something simple and quick such as “I’m always open to learning about new opportunities and experiences in my field, feel free to email me on (insert email address here).” This doesn’t blatantly say that you’re looking for a job, but gives any employer the green light to contact you with any potential job opportunities.