Utilizing Social Media: 6 Platforms You Can Use to Get A Job (and How to Use Them)
It’s difficult to think of life without social media. Whether you browse through TikTok or Twitter endlessly or use Facebook to communicate with friends and family, social media has had an extremely significant impact on everyone.
The many uses of social media have extended to professional business use through digital marketing, but so many have missed the opportunity to utilize social media for purposes other than personal and professional means. For graduates or anyone looking for their next job, did you know that using social media can be a practical method for job searching?
More than just LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a highly useful tool for job searching, and its purpose is to help job seekers meet employers. However, options can often dwindle depending on the type of role you’re looking for, so it is best to also look elsewhere.
By using hashtags, open communication and videos, we can help you enhance your job-seeking skills by using all major forms of social media available online!
Facebook has been an effective communication tool for families and friends, as well as connecting strangers through an online social space. Facebook has recently incorporated a job board feature that allows employers to post jobs directly on their company page.
We have outlined a few ways you can use your Facebook account (or an alternative business account) to make the job-search process easier.
Networking - List companies you want to apply for
The number one feature that Facebook can do right out of the box is the way its users can communicate with others. This is why networking in Facebook is effectively used by everyone, with the use of groups and other features that Facebook can provide to its users.
What we suggest is to list out the companies you want to work for, find the company’s Facebook profile, and contact them directly and professionally. The standard way to communicate with companies are usually through emails, and by conducting this method, you could potentially stand out from the crowd.
Optimizing your Facebook Profile
Facebook also handles their privacy settings relatively well, and you need to optimise your profile to the best it can look for employers. First things first, set your chosen profile to a public setting so more employers can see your profile.
Second, make a profile with professional elements. What I mean by this is that you control what your profile looks like. So this means making a Facebook profile with a professional profile picture, an appropriate banner photo, and watching your activity around the platform.
This also means that you should watch what you follow, post, or even like. As potential employers may also decide to follow your profile or send a friend request, they can also see what type of activities you do on Facebook. This is also an opportunity to show your passion for the type of work you’re looking for!
Facebook Marketplace
Like Craigslist, Gumtree and other online marketplaces, the Facebook marketplace is also a useful tool for job hunting.
There’s not much to say here as you can simply search for what type of job you want to find. Looking through your local listings can allow you to see the description and who has posted the job, which can lead you to network with the posters as well.
Instagram is a great platform for a variety of creative jobs due to its photo-sharing features. Here are some of the best ways to use Instagram in securing a job.
Creating a Professional Instagram Account
Whether you’re new to Instagram or have used it for a while, it’s become an easy task to create another profile for any business needs. Like Facebook, it’s better to make your professional profile public to allow others to see who you are and what you’re all about.
In a similar notion, your Instagram professional profile should also contain a professionally-made photo. If you can, add a website link too (or your LinkedIn profile), as well as a bio section for you to sell yourself in under 150 characters - a challenge that I’m sure you can overcome.
Search/Use Hashtags
In a similar fashion to Twitter, Instagram also uses hashtags to find content or other profiles. In any case, you can use hashtags on Instagram to find some work.
While it’s generally effective to use hashtags such as “#jobsearch” or “#remotework”, it’s much more useful for you to focus on hashtags that are also specific to your chosen career. For example, if you’re looking for a marketing job, it’s best to look for hashtags that apply to that, such as #marketingjobs, or if you’re a visual engineer looking for a job in film making, look for #filmjobs or somewhere along those lines
Utilize The Photo Editor in Instagram
This is targeted more towards those who are looking to present their portfolio to potential businesses and employers. Instagram has a dedicated photo editor that allows users to optimise their photo content for everyone to see.
We would simply recommend playing around with the photo editor, or use Instagram’s separate photo editor app which is also free and delivers more tools for editing.
Twitter is an online news and social networking platform that allows people to communicate effectively with short messages, or “tweets” for a quick and easy message. There are lots of examples of how you can use Twitter for job searching, and we have picked the most effective methods.
Build a Network - Twitter has lots of active companies!
Lots of companies use Twitter nowadays as a promotional tool for their business. This gives job seekers ample opportunity to make better connections, and therefore apply for the jobs they want.
Engage with others in your industry to make a quick name for yourself, and your chances of being found for a job might come soon!
You can find job vacancies
Did you know you can find job vacancies on Twitter? By using hashtags (similar to Instagram), you can generally find the most effective ways to search for jobs on the platform.
You can also use Twitter’s search tool. One of the most effective ways to do this is to use the combination “location” + “level” + “hiring”/”vacancy”/”career” +industry.
So if you’re a junior designer looking for a job in graphic design, you can input the search term “Manchester junior hiring graphic designer”
Use Twitter to prepare for an interview
We always recommend following companies you’re interested in, as well as thought leaders in your chosen industry - they won’t exactly offer you a job, but following these people can give you something interesting to talk about. This way, you can always be prepared for the trendiest talks around your industry.
Tik Tok/YouTube
YouTube is a video-posting platform, and TikTok is a short-video-posting platform. Both of these networks can be used to help you search for jobs!
Use TikTok’s #TikTokResumes hashtag
TikTok has a dedicated hashtag for job applications. More graduate students have been utilizing TikTok, which has resulted in other companies using the same platform to find new hires. Luckily, TikTok has a hashtag (#TikTokResumes) that allows you to upload your TikTok resume to apply for jobs directly.
Create a video to introduce yourself
This ties in quite well with the recent TikTok resume entry. You can post videos of yourself that allows you to show off your skills with communication, as well as convince your company on why you should be hired.
Some example topics that people include in their videos:
- Reasons to hire me
- My skills
- What I can offer you
- My recent experience with [Industry].