Active approach: Use your social media accounts to your advantage

Think that your LinkedIn profile is everything you need to find a job? Think again.

Chaim Shapiro, M.Ed, a career services expert and director of the Office for Student Success at Touro College, says today’s job seekers may realize that social media is an integral part of the modern job search — but that doesn’t mean they know how to use it. “Sadly, many seem to believe in a notion I call ‘social media magic,’ the misconception that creating social media accounts will magically produce endless job opportunities,” says Shapiro.

“Social media is an exceptionally powerful job search tool, but there is no magic,” Shapiro says. “To be successful, job seekers need to create powerful social media profiles and then develop and execute a strategy to convert their social media activity into job opportunities. That takes time and effort as opposed to hocus-pocus.”

Aaron Rise, a career consultant in Boston, says he asks his clients to find social media profiles that they admire and then to emulate those in their own accounts. “If you find a person on LinkedIn who is engaging and professional, it’s likely that they’ll have a strong Twitter presence — and one that’s authentic and consistent, which is important,” he says. “Look at what they do and write, note what you like about it and try a similar strategy.”

Shapiro says it’s important to use social media to eventually land in-person contact. Rise agrees, adding that today’s “in-person” encounters include video calls and phone conversations, although he prefers the former, not the latter. “If you truly want to engage with someone, you need to make a face-to-face connection,” he says. “Even if current practices make that difficult, you should do what you can to make it as personal a connection as possible.”