{"id":5781,"date":"2016-09-04T06:44:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-04T10:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5781"},"modified":"2016-09-04T06:44:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-04T10:44:00","slug":"8-ways-to-use-social-media-to-find-your-next-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=5781","title":{"rendered":"8 Ways to Use Social Media to Find Your Next Job"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"images\"<\/a>When Sree Sreenivasan, 45, left his job as chief digital officer at New York\u2019s Metropolitan Museum of Art in June after three years there, it wasn\u2019t his choice. \u201cThis decision has been made in the context of the recentering of the Museum\u2019s work and our current financial restructuring,\u201d the museum said in an internal memo. But Sreenivasan, previously chief digital officer at Columbia University, didn\u2019t miss a beat after he was laid off.<\/p>\n

Immediately, he jumped on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter to tell his thousands of social media followers the news. On Facebook, Sreenivasan subtitled his post, \u201cOnward and Upward.\u201d On Twitter, he brazenly gave his job search a hashtag: #sree3oh<\/p>\n

A Bold and Smart Move<\/h3>\n

That\u2019s bold. It\u2019s also really smart. These days, if you lose your job, spreading the word on social media<\/a> could be one of the best things you can do to get your next <\/em>job. I\u2019ll give you some tips on how to do it shortly.<\/p>\n

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Sree Sreenivasan Photo Credit: Deidre Schoo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Here\u2019s more on what Sreenivasan did: When posting the Met\u2019s memo, he also voiced his appreciation to the museum for getting the opportunity to usher it into the digital world and social media realm. Then he sketched out some of his plans \u2014 consulting, writing a book and taking a family vacation to India.But here\u2019s the best part of what he wrote: \u201cIf you want to invite me to anything, I now have time, including for meaningful cups of coffee and drinks. I\u2019d also love to go walking with anyone available. I try to walk 5 miles a day, I plan to make it 8-10 miles this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Sreenivasan posted his job-loss news on June 17, he received nearly 500 comments and over 1,000 Likes on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Read column on Forbes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sreenivasan also included a link to a form asking his social media friends and fans for advice on what he should do next. Talk about a very public networking strategy.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Lay Low After You\u2019re Laid Off<\/h3>\n

Most people with his lofty status would have discreetly laid low. They might have felt ashamed or self-conscious to be out of a job. Or they might not have wanted to seem needy by asking for help<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since Sreenivasan posted his news on June 17, he received nearly 500 comments and over 1,000 Likes on Facebook. Roughly 1,000 people sent him suggestions, too. (He has around 5,000 Facebook friends, is followed by another 221,903 people and has 80,000 Twitter followers.)<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t surprise me that within weeks, he was snapped up to become New York City\u2019s Chief Digital Officer. His audaciousness also caught the attention of the media. (Watch Roben Farzad\u2019s\u00a0PBS NewsHour story <\/a>on Sreenivasan\u2019s digital strategy to land a new position.)<\/p>\n

While few people have the social media footprint Sreenivasan does, I believe there are many ways the rest of us can use social media to help land a job.<\/p>\n

How Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter Can Help<\/h3>\n

For starters, being active on Facebook. LinkedIn and Twitter \u2014 and announcing the news that you\u2019re now available \u2014 makes it easier for recruiters to learn about you. For workers over 50, an online presence is also a way to show potential employers that you\u2019re not intimidated by technology. That\u2019s something some are wary about.<\/p>\n

\u201cTools such as Facebook and Twitter enable employers to get a glimpse of who candidates are outside the confines of a resum\u00e9 or cover letter,\u201d says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer of CareerBuilder.<\/p>\n

8 Tips for Job Hunters<\/h3>\n

As I noted in my latest book, Getting the Job You Want After 50 For Dummies<\/a><\/em>, there are a few other ways to let as many people know as possible that you\u2019re looking for work. Here are eight of them:<\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t be shy.<\/strong> Being out of work no longer carries the stigma it once did, so it\u2019s perfectly fine to tell people on social media. And these days, most people get jobs through referrals from people they know. Be bold, like Sreenivasan, and ask for help and advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no interest in talking about myself in a moment of weakness,\u201d Sreenivasan told Farzad. \u201cMy goal was to get a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Use your weak ties on social media.<\/strong> Marc Miller, of Career Pivot, recently wrote a Next Avenue article<\/a> on the importance of weak ties in finding a job \u2014 weak ties are people you once worked with or knew in the past or who you know a little.<\/p>\n

Colleagues from three decades ago or high school classmates may be among your Facebook friends or among your LinkedIn contacts. What\u2019s the point of not taking advantage of all the years you have spent in the world \u2014 and all those whose lives have intersected with yours who might be in a position to help you?<\/p>\n

Unless you were really prickly to work with or incompetent (not you!), most people will want to help. It makes them feel good. You\u2019re not asking them for a job per se. You\u2019re telling them you\u2019re job hunting and perhaps asking them to connect you with others, or to brainstorm about possible opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople may not always know what\u2019s the right thing, but they want to help,\u201d Sreenivasan told Farzad.<\/p>\n

3. Tap into Twitter.<\/strong> I\u2019m a Twitter fan for many reasons, but one selling point is that this social network doesn\u2019t require a personal introduction or recommendation, as LinkedIn and Facebook do. Just by following others on Twitter, you can get the scoop on organizations and people you may wind up interviewing with or tapping for mentoring <\/a>advice.<\/p>\n

Twitter also is a good way to share ideas and tips with other job seekers and pros. As you follow others and post interesting tweets, you build your own following and broaden your personal network.<\/p>\n

I chat daily with Twitter friends I\u2019ve never met or worked with. We help each other out. In my case, they might suggest sources for stories I\u2019m reporting or point me toward research on a topic.<\/p>\n

4. Search Twitter for job feeds<\/strong>. There are dozens of job feeds for particular companies, industries and locations. Conduct a Twitter search to find relevant ones starting with \u201c#jobsearch\u201d and then your keywords. Or just type in keywords directly.<\/p>\n

5. Get Twitter apps<\/strong>. CareerArc Job Search<\/a>, for instance, delivers targeted job openings directly to you. Type in the job title you\u2019re interested in or the skills you have, along with the city, state, and ZIP code of where you\u2019d like to work. If you have the app, you can have your targeted jobs sent to you on a direct Twitter message. CareerArc will also send email them and send them as text messages.<\/p>\n

6. Build out your LinkedIn profile<\/a><\/strong>. If you\u2019re serious about job hunting today, a LinkedIn profile is non-negotiable. Unlike your one-dimensional print resum\u00e9, it highlights all your skills and interests in a far richer fashion. You can even feature videos, slideshows or work samples.<\/p>\n

Check out LinkedIn profiles of other professionals in your field and see how they\u2019ve done it. You might get ideas of the right keywords to enter in yours.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for work, I recommend including a mention of this in your LinkedIn profile as a signal to recruiters and hiring managers that you\u2019re on the market. You could write something like: \u201cActively pursuing new opportunities X, Y and Z.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conclude your Summary with a sentence starting something like, \u201cI am currently looking for new opportunities . . .\u201d followed by a description of the work and situation you\u2019re pursuing.<\/p>\n

7. Follow prospective employers you\u2019re interested in<\/strong>. They\u2019re more likely to be interested in you if you show a genuine interest in them. So \u201cfollow\u201d or \u201cLike\u201d them on social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google + and Pinterest. Following an organization also keeps you informed about what it\u2019s up to and what\u2019s going on in its industry.<\/p>\n

Visit an organization\u2019s page on LinkedIn and look at the How You\u2019re Connected panel. It displays people you\u2019re connected to there. Also, search for people you know who are employed at places where you\u2019d like to work and invite them to connect. Once they do, ask if they can lend you a helping hand or offer advice.<\/p>\n

8. Conduct a Facebook search<\/strong>. In the search bar, type \u201cpeople who work at\u201d and the name of an employer that interests you. You\u2019ll likely find someone you know. Then click on \u201csee more\u201d and you may find other friends or acquaintances there.<\/p>\n

Worth Doing if You\u2019re Not Looking, Too<\/h3>\n

Even if you aren\u2019t job hunting now, it\u2019s wise to manage your career with a social media strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure that you use this opportunity to build out your network, to continue to build the digital skills that are relevant to your industry, your kind of work now, because one of the things we have learned is that jobs come and go,\u201d Sreenivasan told NewsHour. \u201cBut your network never leaves.\u201d<\/p>\n