Do you have a good social media profile for job hunting? Do you know that you were stalked on social media before you were hired? Okay, enough questions, now we will learn how to make an optimized social media profile for job hunting. Let’s get started.
According to San Jose State University, social media is a very important marketing method for marketing yourself, developing network connections and receiving job offers in your field of interest.
Because when you apply for a job, recruiters can directly look at your social media accounts. Of course, this does not mean that they are looking at your Snapchat account. The most viewed social media platforms are Facebook and LinkedIn.
Therefore, it is recommended to make sure that both your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts are optimized for job hunting.
How to Optimize Your Facebook Profile for Job Hunting?
In the beginning, there was Facebook, our primary tool for personal connections. However, with the advent of platforms like Instagram, Twitter (or its new name, X), Snapchat, and various others, our usage of Facebook has shifted predominantly towards business purposes.
When it comes to social media profile for job hunting, it is quite normal that Facebook comes to mind first. Because Facebook has its own business network. Employers can check candidates for their overall professionalism on Facebook.
This is why social media profile for job hunting become important here.
1. Aim for Professionalism
If you want to use Facebook for job hunting, you need to edit your profile accordingly. The first priority of social media profile for job hunting is to be job oriented. This means targeting your business environment.
Take a look at your photos, profile photos, videos, posts you’re tagged in, and more, and remove posts that include too much of your private life. Aim to create a more professional and clean profile.
2. Unlock Your Profile
You have created a very clean profile, you have fun photos from your social life, you have informative posts from the business world, in short, you are the candidate an employer would want. But what’s that, because your profile is private, no one can see it.
Therefore, make sure that your profile is public during job hunting. Even if you share private things, let the employer see it. After all, your life is not just about work. Those who can maintain a balance between work and private life always have a successful career.
3. Update Your Profile
You are applying for a job in 2024 and your last post on Facebook was in 2018… This will not make you a very ideal candidate. Update your cover photo, profile photo, posts you’ve shared, posts you’ve been influenced by, and all other profile information.
Try to share posts from recently. So, convince your employer that you are not a ghost. Being active on social media helps employers get to know you better. You can share your hobbies, social activities or photos with your friends, just share current posts.
4. Create a Reliable Account Profile
Reliability is perhaps the most important criterion for social media profile and job hunting. So how can you achieve this? For example, you should pay attention to your number of friends. If you have 5 friends, you may most likely be perceived as a fake profile.
Of course, we are not saying that you should add the person you meet to your network, but you can also consider buying Facebook followers to increase the credibility of your profile. Thus, you will take your place among the popular accounts preferred by employers.
5. Join Groups That Match Your Interests
If you want to use your Facebook account for business, it may be helpful to join groups based on your interests. The latest information about your industry is generally shared through groups. It is also possible to catch many job postings through groups.
One of the most useful ways to develop your career, Facebook groups are also great for growing your business network. Isn’t there a group that suits your interests? Well, then you create a group and wait for people to join your network.
6. Follow Companies
The Facebook algorithm places posts in your feed based on your interests, just like the algorithm of other social media platforms. In this case, following companies according to your area of interest can help you discover job opportunities near you.
This way, you can also discover updates and job opportunities from companies related to your industry. You can also expand your business network by taking advantage of the companies’ target audience.
How to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile for Job Hunting?
Are you ready to hear the most important tips for social media profile for job hunting? These tips will be about how to get more followers on LinkedIn.
Officially launched in 2003, LinkedIn has helped hundreds of thousands of people find jobs. It currently takes its place among social media platforms as the largest business network.
Therefore, your LinkedIn profile is probably the thing you should give the biggest focus to during the job hunting phase. Do you want to find your dream job in your industry? Look carefully at the tips below.
1. Complete Your Profile
Your LinkedIn profile is vital to finding a job. Filling out all your information completely helps employers find the information they are looking for.
These include your previous work experiences, your profile photo, your contact information and the LinkedIn bio in which you introduce yourself. Make sure you fill them all out completely and accurately.
2. Customize Profile URL
LinkedIn automatically provides your URL address. This can create a cluttered appearance and make it difficult for employers to find you.
You can customize this address by clicking the “Edit URL” option at the top right of the profile page. As a recommendation, it is recommended to use only your first and last name. Plus, you can also add your profession.
3. Make Sure You Choose the Correct Profile Photo
Your profile photo is the first impression for your LinkedIn profile. Therefore it is very important. If you choose your profile photo correctly, your chances of finding a job will increase. You ask why?
Because you show how professional you are with your profile picture. A picture of you lying on the beach probably isn’t the ideal LinkedIn photo. A photo of you with a friendly smile in an outfit that makes you sure you look neat and clean may be appropriate.
It would be logical to choose an office for the background. You can also get help from artificial intelligence to change the background. This may give you a clue about the use of AI in social media. It is even possible to change your outfit with artificial intelligence!
4. Choose Your Headline Carefully
When employers look at your LinkedIn profile, one of the first areas they see is your headline. Therefore, your headline is the most important stage of your social media profile for job hunting.
Your headline simply defines who you are. You can think of it as a clear and concise definition. For example, you can be an engineer, project manager, public relations specialist or freelance graphic designer.
It is recommended that you write your title in combination with skills specific to your profession. For example, if you are an SEO-focused copywriter, it may be useful to make your title “SEO Content Writer”. You can think of this field as giving keywords about yourself.
5. Make Your Summary Attractive
The summary section on your LinkedIn profile is a summary of your CV. Therefore, an employer who checks your profile will first look at this area.
We understand that you want to add a long text to give an accurate summary to your employer. You may think that the more information, the more likely you are to be hired. However, this is wrong.
First of all, this is the “summary” section. Secondly, a recruiter often does not have time to spend reading a long article…
Information such as your current job title, areas you specialize in, skills related to your job, tools you use, and years of experience can be written in this field. However, you do not need to write down your experiences one by one. Remember there is a separate area for this!
6. Keep Your Experience Section Updated
After the Summary section, one of the most important sections is the Experience field. If your Summary is interesting enough, your employer will want to examine all your experiences in detail.
Note that you should include your most recent work experience here. If there is experience that is irrelevant to the position you want, do not write it down.
Working multiple jobs does not mean having a lot of experience. It can mean that you still haven’t decided what to do.
7. Complete the Skills Section
An employer will definitely take a look at the Skills section. Additionally, this section also serves as a kind of keywords. So there is no limit here. You can add all the skills you have related to your industry to this field.
The limit in the LinkedIn skills section is 50. You can also ask your employers, friends and colleagues to give you approval. It won’t take much of their time.
8. Engage with Your Connections
Engaging with your LinkedIn connections increases your chances of landing on their homepage. In other words, you can benefit not only from your own target audience but also from theirs. Additionally, the more active you are on the platform, the more likely you are to stand out.
You can like, comment or share your connections’ posts. You can also prepare interesting posts about your industry.
9. Try LinkedIn Premium
LinkedIn Premium feature aims to facilitate this process by providing you with various analyzes during your job search process. You can see who viewed your profile and be instantly informed of job postings that are closest to your skills.
Additionally, if an employer sees that you have a LinkedIn Premium account, they will understand how professional you are.
10. Add More Connections
You can add other people as Connections or follow them on LinkedIn. This is very important to show that you are active on LinkedIn. So do your best.
You can follow anyone connected to your industry or add them as a connection. You can continue until you reach 500+. This way, you can show your employer how wide your network is.
Bonus Tip:
If you have a job you want and you don’t have enough followers, you may be afraid of leaving a bad impression on your employer. This is normal because followers show how long you’ve been on LinkedIn, how actively you use the platform, and how much you interact with people in your industry.
It is difficult to reach 500+ followers in a short time. However, buying LinkedIn followers can save you time and energy. It’s easy to have an active account in minutes!
In conclusion, a social media profile for job hunting is very important. You should closely follow the news about your industry, expand your network and regularly update your profile in line with current information. We are sure that you will find the best position in your field!
FAQs
How do you use social media profile for job hunting?
Social media profile for job hunting is used to follow current information about the job field, see the latest job postings, interact with relevant people in your industry and be informed about new opportunities.
Which social media to use for recruitment?
LinkedIn and Facebook are the most used social media platforms for recruitment. Here employers and job seekers can communicate directly with each other.
Are recruiters looking at your social media?
Employers can check social media accounts to both verify the candidate’s information and measure industry knowledge. Therefore, keeping social media accounts constantly updated can be important, especially during the job search process.
