What Can You Do on Social Media to Help Your Career?

Posted February 14, 2017

You may have heard the old cliché, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

Sayings become clichés for a reason and getting to know the right people is easier than ever now, thanks to social media.

Using LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and any other social platform is fantastic for promoting your individual brand, sourcing job prospects or advancing within your field. If you're changing jobs, planning a new career path or trying to get ahead, your professional network can have a major impact.

Below are a few ways social media can help your career.

Showcase your personality

You may not think your personality is as important to your career as your skills and experience. However, employers are increasingly placing a priority on hiring people that fit into and improve their company culture.

Social media is the perfect way to show off thoughtfulness, sense of humor or other attractive aspects of your personality, increasing the likelihood you can find a job where you'll fit in with those around you.

Reinforce your resume

Your skills and experience might be impressive, but the standard resume format won't make them really pop off the page. Social media can help you connect those skills and years of experience into real-life events and achievements.

If you participate in a company function, pay a role in a newsworthy development or attend a work conference, be sure to post it to social media to let hiring managers know what you’ve been up to throughout your career so far.

Show you are a professional

Social media can also be used to show how much you value quality and professionalism. If your profile has bad grammar and blurry images, it gives the impression you don’t care about quality, presentation or have an eye for detail - major attributes of a consummate professional.

Put a lot of thought into the way you describe yourself and the images you feature. Then ask a few people you trust to give you honest feedback on how professional your profile looks.

Show you are a well-rounded individual

When facing a choice between two different candidates with the same qualifications, hiring managers say they prefer to hire someone who seems more well rounded on social media. This means that sharing your volunteer activities, participation in community events, physical activities and hobbies can actually give you an advantage over someone who doesn't.

A word of warning: Avoid sharing any interests or hobbies that might be controversial, political or extreme in nature.

Interact with companies in your field

Somebody once said "corporations are people," which is a great mentality to take when networking on social media.

Companies want people to engage them on social media, and surveys have shown many hiring managers like it when a candidate has interacted with their company's social profile.

When interacting with companies in your field, do more than just ask about job openings. Celebrate companies' successes with them and ask questions about how they do things or aspects of their company culture.

At Ambassador Personnel, we help people with the countless aspects of the job-seeking process. If you are looking for a new job, contact our team of recruiters today to work with a full-service staffing agency!