As has happened in many other areas, the labor market has been involved in the technological and digital transformation of today. Human Resources departments have already joined the change and apply digital techniques to speed up and optimize their personnel selection processes , through the Internet and Social Networks .
As far as candidates are concerned, the traditional practice of taking CVs to companies in hand and on paper has passed into history. In this context, Social Networks play a very important role, as recruiters can obtain a lot of information about possible candidates on them. New ways and platforms for job search appear and the way of understanding this process and the steps to follow are transformed.
1.Importance of Social Networks in the job search
Social Networks are a source of information with great potential for Human Resources departments looking for professionals to incorporate into their company teams. If we find ourselves looking for a job, we should not neglect our Social network, since they may be responsible for us getting a job or rejecting our application.
2. How to use your Social Networks to find a job
1. Account that you are looking for work
Both in your Social Networks and in your professional networks, let all your contacts know that you are looking for a job. Share your career goals and interests. In this way, you will facilitate the search work for recruiters, who will be able to find you, get to know you and even be the ones who contact you.
2. Check your fingerprint
It is very important that you take care of the privacy of your networks . Remember that you should not mix your professional life with your personal life if you want recruiters to notice your profile. Of course, you have to be very careful with what you post or share. Avoid content that could embarrass you or publicly embarrass you.
3. Build your own personal brand
Try to reflect your essence and the added value you could bring to a team or company in each post or content you share on Social Networks. Your profile is your brand. Therefore, choose well the image, the words, ideas and information that you want to convey in it.
4. Generate your own original content
It is important to be active and interact with other professionals and, to the right extent, also with the companies in which you are interested. The more original and useful what you share is, the more impact it will cause and the more attention it will attract. Try to be creative and generate your own content that talks about you , that tells who you are and what you are capable of.
5. Create a network of contacts
It is advisable that the contacts in your networks go beyond known people and companies. Spending time searching for interesting contacts that can really be useful to us is one of the best practices when looking for a job.
6. Make yourself seen
Don’t be afraid that others will see you. That’s what it’s all about! Share, comment, recommend… interact with other professionals and companies. When you decide to create a profile on a social network, don’t abandon it, worry about it. Always keep it updated and strive to position yourself as an expert professional in your sector or subject.
3. Frequent errors when using Social network as a job search tool
SEARCH FOR A JOB IN A SINGLE SOCIAL NETWORK
It is not advisable to have only a professional profile on a job portal, or to carry out an active job search through a single channel. Opportunities multiply if we expand our reach.
NEGLECT PERSONAL BRAND
The image that we show publicly on our profile is very important if we want to find a job. Many recruiters claim to consult the RRSS of the candidates before deciding whether to hire them or not.
MIX THE PROFESSIONAL WITH THE PERSONAL
If our goal is to find employment using Social Networks, we cannot use them for merely personal purposes. We must convey our professionalism and willingness to be captured by companies.
USE INAPPROPRIATE LANGUAGE
Getting into controversies, criticizing or sharing compromising content can play tricks on us and make recruiters not even want to grant us an interview.
NOT INTERACT
If we want to be visible to companies , we have to be active on the networks, participate in groups, conversations and debates that are related to our sector or professional career.
HAVING AN OUTDATED NETWORK OF CONTACTS
Contacts, especially professional ones, need to be kept up to date and updated frequently. If we want to establish new relationships, we cannot keep searching and consulting the same profiles over and over again.
NOT RESPONDING TO MESSAGES OR REQUESTS
If someone interested in your profile starts a conversation with you, don’t keep them waiting . Even if you’ve already found a job, Ella answers . You never know what may happen in the future and if you will need to contact that someone again.
4. Conclusion
In today’s job market, Social Networks are essential in the job search process. Therefore, it is very important for the candidate to know how they should be used and how to navigate through them in order to arouse the interest of recruiters and companies that, in turn, are looking for professionals to incorporate into their teams.
Something very important to keep in mind is that not all offers and vacancies are found in the most popular job portals. In addition to LinkedIn, which is an employment-oriented social network, many companies already use other Social Networks such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to recruit talent. We have to join the change and do everything possible to keep our network profiles careful and updated. Only then will we be prepared when our job opportunity arises.