How Social Media Can Make You a Professional

Increase Your Networking and Interviews with Social Media

Networking is the key to setting yourself apart from other applicants for any job. If you want to rise to the top of the stack of applications, you have to know someone or have the company aware of your existence beforehand. The newest way to introduce yourself to a company apart from your application is through social media. Follow that company on Twitter and LinkedIn, find out who your interviewer or future boss would be and connect with them. This shows initiative on your part and that you are willing to do the necessary research prior to your interview so you are best prepared. When a company is looking at multiple candidates and it comes down to you and someone else with the exact same skill set, but you took the initiative to follow their company online before the interview process – you just gave yourself a leg up on your competition.

Be Professional and Know Your Industry

In 2012 a study showed that 37% of employers now use social mediums to pre-screen job candidates; what you think is your personal profile might make or break your next job. Before posting anything, think twice. HootSuite tells a great story about how a potential employee ruined his own chance at being hired….

A few years ago, a promising candidate for a job here tweeted this from his personal Twitter account: “going to a phone interview with @hootsuite and I am drunk after a few hours in the #congress2012 beer tent.” Needless to say, he was not hired.”

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Just as NOT posting inappropriate content is important, so is posting industry related content on your social platforms. Employers want to see that you stay relevant within your specialty and industry trends and are looked at as a “know-it-all” when it comes to your skills. Follow the top companies in your industry on LinkedIn, get a subscription to New York Times via e-mail, or make your internet home page an industry trend website. Until it becomes a habit, make it impossible for yourself to ignore what’s going on in your professional world.

Don’t Be Annoying. Be Informative.

By continuing a professional image on social media you may have people interacting with you for other job opportunities that you did not know were available. Social networking can be the easiest way to land a job, all from your couch. Keep it professional, relevant and consistent. Don’t be the person who goes silent for a week then comes out of the gates with 10 posts in one day – that person is annoying. Be considerate of your followers and post things with substance, along with a little humor then and there. Just remember, the more you know the more hire-able you become; but be careful to not cross into the “jack of all trades, master of none”.

Written By: Adrian Johnston