Social media websites provide a new way to build a resume. According to Career Builder, 59 percent of hiring managers search for information about a candidate online, and social networks are one key way to mine important data about a potential hire. If you haven't started building your personal brand through regular updates on networking websites, it's time to take the leap.
Initial Strategy
Before you dive head-first into social media, determine the goal of creating your personal brand. Are you trying to move into a managerial position? Do you want to land a job with your ideal employer? Do you want to own your own company? Once you figure out your end game, it's time to ramp up your online presence.
LinkedIn is the most obvious choice for starting your social media adventure. Create a complete profile with a professional-looking head shot. Fill in as much information as possible. After that, it's time to remain active in several ways.
Reach out to people within your industry with whom you relate. These can be colleagues who work in the same company, attended the same college or live in the same hometown as you. Develop these relationships over time, because you never know when one of these people could turn into a lead for a job.
Write a blog post for people to read on LinkedIn. Discuss other blog posts that you find interesting. Engaging in discussions on LinkedIn is another way to form relationships through social media. Once you master LinkedIn, it's time to expand your options.
Twitter allows you to share links, photos and videos in short snippets of 140 characters each. Twitter lets you connect with businesses, influencers and hiring managers by following their Twitter feeds. You can call out influencers in targeted posts in hopes that the people respond to you. That's why having something relevant to say is important. People respond to your posts when they feel passionate about something, so Twitter is a natural choice for developing relationships over short nuggets of information.
Maintain similar, consistent messages across social media. Share your LinkedIn posts on Twitter as a way to expand your reach. This also gives your colleagues and any hiring managers a more complete picture of your ideas.
Instagram is a great way to give hiring managers a visual look at your professional life. What do you do every day to accomplish your goals? Do you sit in a cubicle, attend sales meetings, set appointments or talk to other leaders in your industry? Giving hiring managers a glimpse into your daily life lets them see the real you at work.
Your overall social media strategy takes time to develop. The more posts you create, the better idea a hiring manager has about whether or not you're an ideal fit for a company. Consider this as a living, breathing resume that you can update in just minutes per day.
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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