A lot of us already use social media for personal reasons, but it is also a good source for your professional world as well.  More and more recruiters are using these networks to find potential candidates for open positions.  These social media tools are a great way to save time while searching for a job.  Instead of spending hours on job sites, you can generate searches and find open jobs and reach out to recruiters who are more than willing to help you find a position that fits your skill set.

LinkedIn is the obvious one.  This is a great professional tool and can connect you with people all throughout your industry and recruiters in the industry.  You can read more about utilizing LinkedIn to its full potential on our LinkedIn blog.

Twitter is also a great way to stay in front of recruiters and employees of companies that you are interested in working for.  Follow them and make sure to interact with them!  Many companies and recruiters will post their job openings right on Twitter.  This is a great way to reach out to them directly and let them know you are interested.  It’s smart to follow people in the industry you are interested in and try to make as many connections as you can.  The more people you interact with, the better!  I have heard of stories where people have tweeted that they are looking for a specific job and they were offered an interview.  It is possible to land a job through interaction on this network!  

Facebook is more of a personal social media tool.  Most people utilize this for their personal relationships with their close friends and family.  There are a couple ways that you could use Facebook as a networking tool while looking for a job.  As your status update, you could put what positions you are interested in or information about the interviews that you are going on.  Perhaps this would make your friends and family aware that you are looking and if something that you might be interested in comes their way, they could forward it your way.  It would also be helpful to become a fan of the companies that you are interested in working for and also recruiting companies that are in your industry.  If you want to incorporate professionals with your Facebook account, you can create lists to determine what they can and cannot see.  This is important to help maintain a professional relationship.  

Another great idea is to create a video resume and upload it to YouTube.  Create a short video that describes the value that you will contribute to a given position and explain why you would be a great candidate.  Be creative and make sure you are outgoing and have a lively personality!  You can redo this as many times as you want before you upload the final version to YouTube, so make sure you are happy with it.

All of these social networks are great tools for meeting people, especially the right people.  You can’t just sit back and relax.  You need to take the initiative and show these companies or recruiters why they need to hire you!  Developing and building relationships with these important people is great for your network and is a great advantage for you and your future.  If you are interested in IT and engineering positions, make sure to check out our career section!  

Sources:

http://mashable.com/2009/01/05/job-search-secrets/#

Source: http://bit.ly/fwl1NT

Recruiters are a great source for finding a job that will fit your need and skill set.  They help you through the interview process and try to help prepare you for your interviews.  The best thing about having a recruiter help you is that they have already done most of the leg work.  They know the right contacts for certain companies and have built relationships with the people that work there.  

Social networking is extremely important in today’s society.  It’s a good way to introduce yourself to large groups of people and also a great way for people to find you.  The more contacts you have, the better chances of you receiving a great job opportunity.  LinkedIn is one of the top social networks to use right now, because everyone is a professional and looking to make connections with other professionals.  It’s extremely successful in helping to build relationships and helping with your job search.  Most recruiters use this LinkedIn to find candidates with the right experience for the positions.  Since your profile is basically your resume, make sure it’s accurate and up to date!  That way recruiters can find you easily and reach out to you.  Recruiters can search the database of information for people with relevant skill sets and experience pertaining to specific job requirements.

Here’s what you need to do to get started:

1) Create a profile.  Include current and past employment, education, and any other information that details your skills or qualifications. 

2) Make sure to use keywords!  This way, you can be found when those keywords are searched for.

3) Post a picture.  Make sure it’s just you in the picture and professional looking.  People with profile pictures get more connections.

4) Build your network.  Connect with colleagues, friends, family, etc.  The more people you are connected to, the more opportunities will come your way.

5) Join groups of interest to you.  This is a great way to meet new people!

6) Get recommendations from previous colleagues and bosses.

You don’t have to wait for the recruiters to contact you.  Find out which company the recruiter is working for and visit their website.  Most of the time, jobs will be posted in their career section and you can check and see if there are any open positions that support your background.  If you find a position that you are interested in, try and reach out to the recruiters and let them help you get the job!

Sources:

http://mashable.com/2009/01/05/job-search-secrets/#

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/networking/a/linkedin.htm