Sometimes it can be easy to forget how helpful social media is when it comes to shaping your career but also how effective it is as a tool to help you connect to that career. We’ve recently done a visit to University South Wales, where we were invited to chat about this topic to their BA Primary students. So, we came up with an insight on how to make the most out of social media and thought we would share the basics to the rest of you guys too! Read on to learn about branding yourself online and building your social media network. Most of us use social media on a daily basis. We’ve basically become obsessed with the thing, so it would be pretty rude not to use it to its fullest of advantages- right?

BEFORE WE START, HERE'S JUST A QUICK LITTLE FYI:

Although traditional job boards such as Reed and Indeed are a great way to job hunt, there is an enormous growth in recruiters resourcing candidates through social media platforms. Did you know that 92% of companies use social media to hire? Oh, and that 3 out of 4 managers check the candidate’s social media profiles? This study carried out by The Muse (2017) pretty much sums up the reason why you should make sure you’ve got your social media up to scratch!

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS: 

Job hunters, make sure you keep it in mind that your social media platforms are an extremely useful mechanism to brand and market yourself to potential recruiters. It’s probably worth mentioning within your social media bio’s the industry you are involved with/aspire to be involved with. Something as simple as that allows recruiters to explore your profile knowing that you may be a potential candidate for the role without having to unnecessarily lurk loads to just find out your #careergoals.

On the note of lurking profiles, it may be time to step back and have a social media detox. You never know when those social media faux passes might come back around, so even deleting those Tweets from your teenage years moaning about your part-time job may just be a good idea. Also, it is probably worth pointing out that just because you’re being careful with your social media it doesn’t mean that your friends are. So, double check what embarrassing photos they have tagged you in and if you think a recruiter may not like them REMOVE TAG.

You’re probably wondering what sort of content you should be posting on your social media platforms. Recruiters like to grab a sense of your personality from your social media so showcase that with whatever content you are posting! But it is also a great idea to post content related to your career field and have an opinion on important topics. Just make sure those opinions are not offensive! A blog is a great way to do this, and if you need inspiration for content Pinterest is incredible.

The best thing about social media is that it allows you essentially network online and build your contacts. It’s a great idea to follow the types of companies/individuals associated to your career field; journalists, direct companies, recruitment agencies etc. So get joining those groups, like those pages and follow away! The more related accounts that you’re involved with, the more chance it gives you to engage with them by initiating conversation. Conversation is great for recruiters – it shows that you’re confident and on the ball whilst also giving them an open free pass to check out your social media accounts without having to put in too much hard work trying to find them.

Initiating conversation and engaging is crucial to get your social footprint recognised by recruiters. Don’t be afraid to drop a message or Tweet companies about specific roles, perhaps the role doesn’t exist just yet but chances are they will remember you for future ones. We do however recommend engaging before you attack for the role so engaging by just replying to other generic content they have posted is a great idea. Oh and, get searching those hashtags that are relevant to your job too. SEO is extremely clever when it comes to connecting the recruiter to the ideal candidate as each party understands a common ground on what they are searching for.

If you need any advice in regards to social media and your job hunting then drop us an email over at info@staffroomeducation.co.uk. Or if you fancy, you can Tweet us!