Job Searching: How to Expand Your Online Presence

By Joshua Waldman from Job Searching with Social Media For Dummies

As your online presence grows, so do your chances of getting discovered by a recruiter and receiving an unsolicited call during your job search. The more engaged you are online, the better off you’ll be.

Social media has also become an important tool for job seekers due in part to the new ways people are finding out about (and earning) jobs. As you may already know, most jobs come about through networking, not applying on job boards or aimlessly sending out résumés.

Social media tools make networking much easier and much more powerful due to their interactive nature. Thus, when a job seeker really learns to use social networking well and continues to expand his online presence, his chances for finding opportunities multiply exponentially

But where exactly do you start when you’re looking to expand your online presence? Getting yourself on Twitter and Facebook, if you aren’t already, is worth your while. Twitter is hands down one of the most active recruiting tools (aside from LinkedIn).

Not a day goes by that some HR recruiter or hiring manager doesn’t hit up Twitter searching for talent. As for Facebook, you can discover the personality of the organization you’re interested in by “liking” its Page, and you can even start engaging in conversation with it. That’s a shortcut way to stand out from the crowd.

To cast your social media net even farther, start participating in some of the lesser-known networks. Your options range from general professional networking sites to niche networks, such as those for creative professionals and people seeking international employment.