Getting a job is difficult. Job-search sites have many job postings but actually landing a job through these services seems almost impossible. An alternative to the traditional job search is to use social media to build your personal network and help you land a job.

Steps

Simple version

1. Find people for whom you would like to work.
2. Interact with those people on message boards, by replies, through private contact. Make it your goal to be helpful to them and demonstrate your knowledge.
3. Ask if they can help you get a job either by appealing directly to them or posting in a space where they are likely to read your comment.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional social networking site.

1. Join LinkedIn.
2. Create your profile, making it as complete as possible. Remember that your profile will be the first thing any potential boss sees, so adhere to the standards of resume-writing.
3. Add people to your network with whom you know on a professional basis.
4. Solicit recommendations from members of your network. Concentrate on those who know you best and those who have the best credentials themselves.
5. Answer questions on LinkedIn in the questions section.
6. Join groups related to your career interests. Participate on those groups. Add people you develop relationships with to your contact list.
7. Search the job listings on LinkedIn.
8. Update your business card to include your LinkedIn information.
9. Advertise for yourself by handing out your business card at networking functions.

Twitter

Twitter is a great tool for finding all sorts of jobs.

1. Join Twitter.
2. Complete your profile, including links to your other networking pages or your blog. Including your real name, a brief summary of your resume, and your location may help make your Twitter page seem more professional.
3. Follow people who are in the industry you want to be in. Make sure you can actually keep up with everyone you are following; do not allow your follow list to expand excessively. Only follow people who have something to contribute to your job search.
4. Interact with the people you follow by @replying to them and engaging them regularly.
   • Keep in mind that some people receive huge quantities of @replies and direct messages. Make sure that all your interactions are unique, meaningful, and memorable.
   • Reply to all messages in a timely manner. Neglecting to do so makes you seem unprofessional or incompetent and will severely hurt any job prospects you may have.
5. Post tweets that demonstrate expertise in your field.
6. Ask questions of people you are following regarding the area in which you are trying to get a job. Example: If you are an electrician, ask people you are following if they have heard about recent changes to code inspection in your area and how that will impact what they are doing.
7. Update your business cards to include your Twitter profile information.
8. Attend tweet ups in your area. Hand out your business cards when you socialize, and concentrate on people who can contribute to your job hunt.
9. Ask anyone with whom you have communicated about job leads.
10. Watch for tweets about job leads and reply to them promptly.
11. Follow other people who apply for the same job and try to contact them about their own job hunt.

Tips

• Connect your online activity with your real name and other online names where you think you can benefit from having an employer knowing about that activity.
• Always try to be helpful and polite. If you can help some one else by connecting them to a person who can help them get a job, do it. It builds good karma.

Warnings

• Remember to keep your real name separate from the name you use with other forms of online interaction where you may not want a potential employer to discover those interactions.
• Separate your professional accounts from your social accounts. Potential clients don’t need to see pictures of your latest wild party or heated political debates with your friends.
• Never appear overly pushy or unprofessional in asking people about job leads. If someone tells you that he doesn’t think you’re the right person for a job, accept that gracefully or ask what they might be looking for. Never become hostile or angry.
• Guard all your account information carefully now that you are using social networking professionally. The spam and trolling that can ensue after you lose your password can quite quickly ruin any job prospects.

Article used and modified from WikiHow. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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