Social media

How does social media fit into a job search?

Social media helps you learn about industries and companies. You can also meet networking contacts who may help you find work. You can make yourself available to companies that search social media to find candidates. And many employers scan candidates’ profiles before they make hiring decisions.

Effective ways to use social media:

• Use employers’ social media pages to connect. Search your targeted employers’ social media pages for job postings. Follow them to learn about their company culture and current priorities. Take time to review their posts and share, comment or like as appropriate.
• Connect with people: Reach out to people in your industry, recruiters, and employees at companies you're interested in and ask them to connect. Ask people in your network for advice and contacts. Research the people who might be involved in the hiring process at companies you want to work for. Engage with their posts to form more of a connection.
• Join groups. Participate in relevant industry groups and join in discussions. They can be a great source for learning about an industry and job leads. Before jumping in, read any FAQs available and follow the group’s protocol for interacting.
• Post on your own profile(s). This can help you reach more people. You could post your own articles and projects, or high-value items related to your field. Ask colleagues and others to recommend you and your skills on social media platforms.
• Create a portfolio: Portfolios let you share work samples and content you’ve developed, and help you make a memorable impression. Check out Portfolios to learn more.

Make your profile work for you

Social media sites are a great way to market yourself. A professional profile can amplify your positive image. But unprofessional language, poor spelling, political posts, or pictures that show questionable judgment can leave a negative impression on employers.

Use these guidelines for your profile:

• Use a recent, professional-looking photo.
• Emphasize your skills and experience, especially on career-focused social media such as LinkedIn and keep your profiles up to date. Use keywords that reflect current terminology in your field.
• Check that your privacy settings limit what the public can view in your profile. Do an online search of your name to see what information and/or images of you come up.
• Only list the kind of personal information, comments, posts, photos, connections, and videos that you would be comfortable with an employer seeing.
• Delete images/comments related to alcohol or drug use, political content, discriminatory content, negative comments or confidential information about previous employers.
• Check your grammar, spelling, and writing. Read through all of your postings to catch errors.
• Use the tools you’re most familiar with. If you’re new to social media, try a couple tools to see which give you the best results.  The most-used tools for job search include LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).