Utilising such social websites as Facebook and Twitter, which you may only regard as purely for leisure, can in fact be incredibly successful in marketing yourself to potential employers, and finding new job opportunities. Despite the familiar horror stories we’ve heard of employers firing employees following “inappropriate” content on social media sites, social media can be used to accelerate the tedious process of job hunting. Networking, researching and keeping up to date with new opportunities are three major benefits of using social media in order to find the job you want.  You don’t need to be necessarily interested in pursing a career in social media to benefit from using social media as tool to discover new and upcoming job opportunities.

The importance of social media in business is becoming more and more acknowledged amongst companies and business’, as the world is more and more entwined with media and technologies that lead to the creation of online virtual communities. As the masses congregate to social media websites, businesses are viewing an opportunity to take advantage and target the large demographic of Internet and social media users. Maintaining an online presence shows the interviewer that you are proactive in what is vastly becoming a social media revolution, the majority of businesses have their own twitter or Facebook account in order to circulate publicity, so why not follow suit. Careers are becoming more and more prone to “who you know, not what you know” so keeping connected and building connections is essential in order to determine your future success as a potential candidate for a job.

Social networking allows you to create links that have the potential to benefit you in future, so if looking for a job in PR following someone in the industry is useful in the sense that it may lead to a job opportunity if taken advantage of properly. LinkedIn is a popular social media website that is predominantly more work orientated then various other social media sites, focusing upon your professional profile. Many applications today are online or sent via email, so posting a direct link at the end of your CV or covering letter is an efficient way of displaying your qualifications in a more inventive format, as opposed to the traditional repetitive list found on your typical CV. Employers are bombarded with hundred of CV’s so standing out is crucial, the same format won’t entertain the imagination and will probably go straight to trash. Marketing yourself online is easier and simpler then ever; on LinkedIn you can link your account to twitter so whoever visits your profile can also view your tweets and blog posts. Self-promotion at the simple click of a button, taking advantage of sites like LinkedIn pushes your profile out there in reach of business’ and companies. Similar to Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to update statuses, by updating often and keeping information up to date you are immediately a more appealing candidate for employers, showing you’re on the ball and not one to lag behind.

Business’ recruitment staff will need to be impressed straight away to avoid the risk of them losing interest, which is probable considering the large volume of applications they have to filter through. Luckily on LinkedIn your profile has a headline where you list your role, so be sure to use the correct terminology in order to grab attention.  So instead of “Sales Assistant” try “Incredibly hard working Sales Assistant open to flexible hours”. You may have an eloquent bio underneath full of brilliant references, however unless your headline is eye catching the chances are it probably won’t be read.

Trending topics on Twitter enable you to connect with people you won’t necessarily know, but people with mutual interest and potential links. The instant communication of tweeting and DM’s allows you to move incredibly fast, and simply tweeting in response to ad posted about a job vacancy will take you seconds. Twitters apps such as Twellow and Followerwonk allow you to search for users in a certain profession by searching their biographies on twitters users profiles, allowing you to more directly filter through twitter users to a useful contact. Which is why you should treat your biography on your profile as a compact self-advertisement, aswell as your tweets. Another app that is useful in finding a job is Twilert which sends you constant email updates of certain tweets that are in connection to any tweets that contain any of your desired words like “CEO” or “Visual Merchandiser”. Using common hashtags and keywords that relate to the industry or field you wish to find work in is a successful way to appear on these companies radars. By incorporating trending topics you may get retweeted, automatically increasing your virality and reach to other users. By searching key works particular your desired profession you’ll come across conversations on twitter, which you can join in with, doing, so may increase your number of followers and increases the rate at which you are seen and heard through maintaining an online presence. What you tweet is incredibly important as it dictates the way you are portrayed in regards to your professional profile, so convey passion for your chosen field of expertise and incorporate specialist knowledge and terminology in order to establish your capability and interest. With Twitter your Twitter name is an important aspect of building up your profile so be sure to use your real name as it will increase the chance of you appearing in a simple search, and remove any risk of confusion in regards to your identity.

People are resorting to new lengths in order to pitch their skills and qualifications to potential employers, using social media sites like YouTube as a way to broadcast a short video CV is becoming increasingly popular. A new generation of CV- Curriculum Vitai Interactive Video (CVIV) are emerging as a more inventive and innovative approach to catching attention. If your field is graphic design or animation then a CVIV provides a brilliant opportunity to display your skills whilst marketing your professional profile, in a more visual and enticing manner.  The more inventive the clip, the more interest it will produce, and by publishing it on a public site it is more likely to reach those outside your immediate circle. Facebook is also a beneficial social networking site to engage with during the hunt for a job, by posting statuses and joining groups a Facebook user can easily broadcast their status as currently searching for a job, notifying their friends.