7: USING THE INTERNET & SOCIAL MEDIA
In general, social networking services first ask you to create a profile that has information about your interests, activities, career and education. Once you complete your profile, you can search for people you know. You can request that certain friends and acquaintances become a part of your network, and they can accept or reject the offer. Post meaningful tidbits from your life or job search. Skip useless information about what you ate today or anything that doesn’t add value to goal of finding a job. Include links to photographs, articles, videos and other content related to your career or personal interests. These are far more valuable to your social network. Connecting through the internet may relieve some of the stress of traditional face-to-face networking because it can be easier to communicate through a typed message than to call someone you don’t know very well. When you meet people, ask which social media they use and if you could connect with them that way, too. Social networks also offer a way for you to build your personal brand, a strategy discussed in Chapter 3 . By having accounts on major social media platforms you can build a perception for yourself as an expert in a field, which may be helpful in your job search.
Keep your image on social networking sites professional. Some employers may look you up online, and what they find could impact their hiring decision.
Now let’s take a closer look at four popular social media sites.
135 Creative Job Search | CareerForceMN.com/CreativeJobSearch
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