If you
haven’t heard of DirectEmployers.com, let’s just say that the more than
670 member companies in the organization have had a significant impact
on the way that job seekers engage with employers, principally in the
space of digital and on-line recruiting. For years they
have been way ahead in the digital recruiting front, developing
strategies and technical tools to help connect those seeking employment
to the employers that have openings in the most seamless and organic way
possible. In addition to customizing experiences for
member companies, they have also provided support to a large number of
state workforce agencies, disabled workers and most notably connecting
veterans with improved career opportunities and actively encouraging
their hiring.
Employers
at the meeting described how they are utilizing social media and other
digital platforms in order to engage and target candidates with the
skill sets they are seeking. The growth in how
organizations are using social media to recruit talent, entry level as
well as experienced, is staggering and, as experts from around the globe
discussed, is no longer just a U.S. phenomenon. There is no doubt that
social media is emerging as a vital tool in how employers recruit talent
to their organizations. Consequently, it’s essential that
job seekers learn to understand and effectively navigate the “social
space” in order to improve their chances of getting noticed by employers
and ultimately enhancing their job prospects. Whether you are looking
for an internship or full-time job, or just thinking about a job change,
here are some important things to make sure you are leveraging in the
social media space:
1. As
simple as it sounds, look at all of your digital profiles and make
certain that every one of them is complete and professional. This includes a professional looking headshot and timely updates to your profile information. Recruiters
repeatedly mentioned at the conference how turned off they were to “the
silhouette”, a reference to LinkedIn and Facebook profiles that don’t
contain an appropriate headshot.
2. Make
sure to post content relevant to your career interests and passions.
Recruiters follow relevant trends and your insightful engagement in
trend discussions might get you noticed and result in invitations to
consider employment opportunities.
3. Fully
use all of the capabilities that LinkedIn has to offer. Whether you are
an experienced professional or college student, LinkedIn is quickly
emerging as one of the most important professional networking platforms
available to job seekers. If you are a college student,
visit your career center, as most are offering services to help students
build their on-line brand. For more experienced job seekers there are
many free on-line tutorials to help you maximize the capabilities of
LinkedIn.
4. Increasingly Facebook is positioning itself in the jobs space. This might be your largest network and you should consider how to use this incredibly powerful platform in your job search. Be careful to use the privacy settings correctly, so employers do not find content that you are not interested in sharing.
5. Twitter
has also emerged as a very powerful resource, but you need to master
the 140-character limit to include clever, but professional observations
and hash tags of career interests that are trending to help you get
found. You should also follow important leaders in the companies and
fields you are interested in. Employers are tweeting links to job posts
and other job seekers are sharing jobs through sites such as
“Tweetmyjobs”.
6. Google
is well established as the most powerful search engine on the planet,
but Google plus and hangouts provide additional modalities to engage
with people and organizations and more importantly be found by potential
employers.
7. Although,
there were differing viewpoints at the conference about whether blogs
are an effective strategy for job seekers, writing interesting posts in
your field can attract readers with similar interests and they may be
recruiters or others who can help connect you professionally. You
can also read blog posts of leaders in different industries and comment
when you have something to add to the conversation that may help you
engage with new contacts.
8. Search
employer web and mobile sites to keep up with important developments,
such as new clients and projects as well as job opportunities.
Although
it may seem overwhelming at times, today’s job seekers have many
important new ways to engage with employers, get noticed, and unearth
new job opportunities. The use of the social space to
recruit qualified talent will only increase and the faster you perfect
your digital strategy, the faster you will find a great position.
