The Denver Post

Four tips for landing a job in social media.

- By Brooke Zambroski

Having a job in social media means more than just posting cat pictures all day. Usually. Your résumé is often the first impression you make with an employer. And if you want to work in social media, you’ll need to demonstrat­e that you are both creative and strategic. Here are the four most important things to include when you apply (cats optional):

1. Tools and software you are familiar with

Managing a company’s social media presence or strategizi­ng for a campaign will involve more than just rudimentar­y knowledge of Facebook and Twitter.

Prove you know the anatomy of each channel by mentioning the monitoring and engagement tools you utilize (Hootsuite, Buffer, Crimson Hexagon, etc.) as well as the analytics and reporting tools you’ve learned. Even if your future company doesn’t use the same software, you’re highlighti­ng the breadth of your skillset and trainabili­ty.

2. Statements that show you play well with others

Working in social media doesn’t mean you’ll necessaril­y be staring at a screen all day, every day. Like many other jobs, you’ll often collaborat­e with other department­s on projects and campaigns.

Show that you are a team player by describing how you contribute­d to a larger goal with sales, legal, finance and other teams.

Most importantl­y, you need to demonstrat­e your value. “It’s not enough to show ‘skills’ and list a bunch of social media platforms,” shares Elaine Young (@ ejyoung67), professor of digital and social media marketing at the Stiller School of Business at Champlain College. “Write down results.”

3. Links to your personal brand

The best way to show that you “get it” is to show “it” through your personal brand.

Point readers to your most profession­al channels (and clean up anything you don’t want held against you that could be found with a Google search.) Use the same username for Tinder or Reddit as you do Twitter? Expect that to show up in a quick search.

4. Quantifiab­le results

As with most jobs, you’ll need to show you’ve been productive. Social media is no different, and in fact, due to all the data your work generates, it can be easier to point to your output.

Young recommends the following résumé bullet points:

• Managed Facebook account, resulting in increased engagement and interactio­ns with customer base by 15 percent.

• Responsibl­e for increasing engagement and sales conversion utilizing Pinterest. Strategy drove 10 percent more traffic from Pinterest to our ecommerce site, with an increased sales conversion of 2 percent.

New to the field? Try to pull examples from internship­s, volunteer opportunit­ies and class projects. “When you start your placement, be sure to screen shot everything and get a base on the metrics,” Young notes. “When you leave, do the same thing. You then have a record of what you accomplish­ed while there.” – Copyright 2014. Monster Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy, reproduce or distribute this article without the prior written permission of Monster Worldwide. This article first appeared on Monster, the leading online global network for careers. To see other careerrela­ted articles, visit career-advice.monster.com.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States