How to deal with social recruiting

LinkedIn, which has amassed 100 million members, is the site companies turn to first when they are looking to hire staff. Following the launch of the “Apply with LinkedIn” button last month, jobseekers can now send their profile directly to an employer, dispensing with a conventional CV.

But Facebook, with 750 million members, and Twitter, with 200 million people signed up, are also becoming more popular for recruiting. How can jobseekers take advantage of these sites?

1. Keep your profile updated
You don’t have to be actively looking for work to be spotted by an employer scanning the talent pool. LinkedIn is said to have predictive algorithms that can can tell when someone wants to move in – when they start updating their profile in a certain way. So keep your profile up to date.

Jared Goralnick, founder of email management service AwayFind, believes social media can empower jobseekers. How people present themselves online, he says, is “a huge opportunity to put yourself in a position of authority,” he told the Guardian.

2. Build your own brand
You can raise your profile and build your own brand on social sites. LinkedIn allows you to draw up a public profile. Structure it carefully and keep it concise, including key search terms, treating it like a CV. You can also paste in presentations or link to your blog or website, and use status updates to let the world know what you are working on (similar to Twitter and Facebook). LinkedIn has some useful tips on how to build a convincing profile. But don’t make too much noise – keep to the point.

3. Start networking online
Participating in professional online networks, for example on companies’ Facebook pages or on industry-specific websites, is becoming more important.

4. Understand how to use different networks
Social sites mean there is a lot of personal data about you out there. You might want to use Facebook simply for fun – but you never know who is looking at your profile. Always make sure you don’t say anything that could be held against you, or post any embarrassing pictures. Employers might also take an interest in who you are friends with.

Twitter is widely used by media, advertising, PR and technology. It allows you to bypass official channels and communicate directly with people from a company you are interested in. Check out this video of The Twitter Job Hustle experiment, a campaign concocted by Bas van de Poel and Daan van Dam. By creating separate Twitter accounts with images that spelled HIRE US on the pages of advertising executives, they managed to catch their eye and land a job at a leading agency.

5. Look at the other side
To find out more about a company you want to work for, take a look at this site. GlassDoor.com lets employees rate their employers anonymously on a range of criteria including management structure, career prospects, salary and staff morale.

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