Having a robust social media strategy for your job search is one of the most cussed and discussed career transition subjects.
If you have a narrowly focused search at the highest of levels, then this may not be critical for you, but if you are in a competitive job market with a jobs to available talent imbalance, then the use of social media is a must. I know some people feel that it cheapens their brand. But consider this:
- LinkedIn is widely used by corporate recruiters to identify talent for searches
- Increasingly the ranks of corporate recruiters and associates at search firms are populated by Millennials
- Millennials value social media platforms. They know how to use it to leverage success
We all have something in common. Unless you are very lucky, your career will be punctuated with periodic ventures into the job market — to advance your career or when you are laid off or terminated. I, on the other hand, am in the job market every day; I am constantly looking for work/new customers. If I don’t find work, I will not be able to sustain my business; no money no lights, internet service or food on the table. So I have to be aggressive every day whether I feel like it or not.
When it comes to social media, I know that this is one of the most powerful, cost-effective marketing tools to expand my brand, and to make new contacts with potential customers. It is not enough for me to create a nice LinkedIn Profile with a great photo and then sit back and wait for people to find me. That is not how this works. It is all about engagement with networking conversations and posts (news articles, case studies, videos or written blogs). If you sit back in hopes that someone will find you, you are going to be disappointed and monumentally frustrated because, more than likely, the only thing that will find you is continued unemployment.
Here is an example of a post that I put up this morning. It is an article I found in a morning briefing from The Muse. My message is targeted to the Generation X and Y cohorts — people of my children’s age as well as the aforementioned Millennials.You can see that in addition to the article, my photo and a brief description of who I am, what I do appears to my more than 8,000 contacts. Social media has been integral to my efforts to launch a new service line: career transition advisory services.
If you have any questions you can reach me at careertransitions@johngself.com.