Social Media and the Job Search

by Jennifer Devine, Senior Assistant, INALJ Maryland

Social Media and the Job Search

Jennifer DevineToday’s internet driven world gives a whole new component to the job search! When applying to a job or if there is an institution that I want to work for there are several actions that I take with social media. One of the first things I do is login to Facebook and “like” the companies/ institutions page. For instance you can “like” the INALJ page. My next step is to go on twitter and follow the companies/institutions twitter page. Like you can do for INALJ. I usually get followed back and I get excited when it’s a job I’ve applied to. Make sure to keep your facebook and twitter profiles professional if you do this. I personally have a public professional twitter page and a private personal twitter page. My last step is to follow the companies’ page on LinkedIn if they have one for instance you can join INALJ’s page. These are some basic steps in using social media for your job search but there are many others!

Pinterest for example can be a great place to not only follow associations such as ALA or local institutions, but many information professionals and job related information can be found here. To see an examples take a look at my pinterest page. Skillpages is another example of a social media type tool that you can use. They help job seekers connect with searchable skills such as librarian. You can view my page here. Blogging site such as WordPress and tumblr have become some of the most popular sites to find information professionals along with carried interfere at. You can view my tumbler along with other blogs I follow here and my wordpress blog.

Speaking of wordpress it is not only a great blogging platform, but also a good personal website platform. I use wordpress along with many others as a personal website to host my portfolio, resume, and work samples, virtual infographic, along with my contact information and links to all of my online work for potential employers, colleagues and other informational professionals to view.

Going back to the infographs vizualize.me has a great visual resume platform. Mine can be viewed here. I use this platform to use the old objective statement as more of a summary of my skills along with a colorful graph showing the amount of time I worked at each job. Hovering on the graph allows the viewer to see a summary of job duties. A second graph shows education. Next lists skills and the years and expertise of said skills. Following skills is interests and awards/honors section. Lastly, the resume highlights statistics of years of work experience and social networking connections.

All of these social media tools are not only ways to help you find a job, but can be used as networking tool. Social networking in today’s world is imperative. Going back to twitter you may not get a job that you apply for at that time, but perhaps it can help the institution to recognize you from twitter if you apply again. Make sure to network with people that have a job you want or work at places that you want to work as such as company pages. Follow fellow information professional blogs, twitter feeds or facebook feed. Don’t forget to join in with professional sites and conference listservs and twitter chats. There are several chats that occur either weekly or monthy such as New Member Round Table with ALA and Student and New Archive Professional from SAA. Don’t forget to join @INALJChat every Monday from 9-10pm EST and you can also view past chats. If you plan to use these tools make sure that you keep everything professional! One last note, about social media is to be active and not just a lurker so that your interactions lead you to find your next job!