Use social media in your job search

If you aren’t using social media in your job search, it’s time to start.

Social media is deeply inte- grated into most of our per- sonal lives, but it can also be a powerful job search tool, no matter where you are in your career. According to Social Talent’s Global Recruiting Survey, 37 percent of recruiters found new hires through social media in 2016.

But the social media land- scape is also a confusing world. Do you need a Twitter account? Should you be on Instagram?

The answers vary, depend- ing on your industry and what you’re trying to achieve. From building your professional brand to connecting with influencers who could help your job search, each platform has its own merit, and ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how much effort you want to devote to each one.

To get a better sense of what each one has to offer, we answered some of the most commonly asked questions.

What platforms should I use?

Of all the social media options, experts agree that LinkedIn is the most profes- sionally important. “You absolutely need to be on LinkedIn, and you need to be utiliz- ing the platform to its fullest extent,” says Frances Reimers, founder of Firestarter, a brand consulting firm.

“It’s very surprising to me when I run across a CEO’s profile and they don’t have a profile picture or they’re not even listing their cur- rent position.”

If LinkedIn is all you’re comfortable with, that’s fine, says Reimers. “I am a big believer that it’s okay to be a one-trick social media pony.

If the online world makes you unsure, find one platform that you’re comfortable with and learn everyHow often do I need thing about it.” to be on social media?

If you want to add a second You’ll have the most impact platform, Twitter is a good if you’re using social media option, but not low main- on a regular basis. “Your tenance. “Twitter is one of social media is an excellent those platforms that’s very brand tool if you’re using it time-consuming, and if you consistently,” Reimers says. don’t have the time to put “It’s not a pot roast, you can’t into it, you won’t get much just put it in a crockpot and out of it,” says Talaya Waller, be done with it. You have to personal branding consul- be working on it daily and tant and founder of Waller making yourself relevant & Company. with the times.”

For Twitter, you’ll want to That means checking your follow the top influencers in Twitter feed and interacting your space, as well as exec- with or re-tweeting interestutives you’ve worked with ing articles or posts from or would like to. Re-tweet- thought leaders in your ing and sharing your own industry. Or it might mean thought leadership pieces posting something interestas well as others are a must ing to LinkedIn or Instagram. here, so this is why it’s not Because mai n taining a passive option. your social media presence requires time, Waller recommends focusing on no more than two platforms unless you have a team to help you manage it. What about Instagram and Pinterest?

It depends on your field. In certain visual industries — design, fashion, entertainment — these kinds of platforms matter more.

“If you’re in the design business — home décor, architecture — Pinterest matters a lot,” says Tim Collins, a social media advisor with Grisdale Advisors. “If you’re working in an industry that really caters to the under-35 crowd, being on Instagram really make sense.”

There’s also wisdom in choosing the platforms that make sense for future professional you. “You have to think about the job you’re looking for and the industry you want to work in,” Collins says. “Which ones make sense for that job in that industry?”

The biggest social media mistake?

Executives must under- stand that everything they post can be seen by everyone. “If you post something embarrassing or funny, it has the possibility of spreading far beyond what you orig- inally intended,” Reimers says. “Any time you post anything, you need to think to yourself, ‘I’m posting to this audience, but would these four audiences over here be offended or confused or concerned about this post?’”

In general, avoid topics that are potentially divisive, such as those that are political in nature. “Unless you are absolutely certain that your entire audience base thinks in one direction or another, you have to be very careful about how you word things,” Reimers says.

It’s also important that you establish a social media presence before you’re job hunting. “The last thing you want is to have a recruiter go out to Twitter and see that you launched your profile two weeks ago and you have 15 followers,” Collins says. “It just doesn’t look good.”

Whether you’re starting an active job search or just thinking about making a move, it’s never too early to cultivate a social media presence that supports your professional brand. It’s one of those career-building activities that you can work on now that will reap rewards later. And if you want to stay up to date on jobs using social media, join Monster, and we’ll send you the latest job alerts, as well as career advice tailored for you.