In the last several weeks, this series on Tips to Finding a Job in 2014 has covered tips for using LinkedIn, Twitter, as well as ways to build experience. If you missed parts 1 & 2 of this series, click here to read. PART 1 PART 2 . This last tip may reveal some unknown tips and tools that could help your job search efforts.
Don’t forget Facebook. Because Facebook gained its reputation for connecting with friends before it showed value on the professional side, people are dismissing its contribution to serious job search. The average user has about 150 friends and the outreach through those connection number in the thousands.
Facebook Tips:
Check privacy settings. If you are currently job-hunting, one tip is to loosen your privacy settings so you’ll be seen by a wider network of contacts. If having a completely public profile is not something you are comfortable with, then adjust your settings to “friends of friends” who can view your posts.
Facebook has groups too. Groups are a great job search tool in Facebook. Check out groups that align with both your professional and personal side. Networking can take place in either arena on Facebook. Brad Schepp, author of “How to Find a Job on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google+” said he once made a business connection through his elementary school’s alumni group.
Best time of day to post. Mornings. People tend to skim their news feeds first thing in the morning.
Share work related news. Give your friends a sense of your professional skills and ambitions by sharing something about your work – a new website, product launch, sample of a just published book. As with anything, use prudent judgment on promoting your professional self. A good rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule. Share informative, fun facts 80% of the time and 20% on personal promotion.
Facebook’s graph search. Did you know about this cool Facebook feature that lets you see who shares your job title or works at certain companies (in your network)? It’s easy, just type in the search bar “friends of friends who work at XYZ company” or “friends who are ‘job title’.” The best way to contact these people is through Facebook’s private messaging.
Accuracy. Texting and tweeting accept abbreviations and don’t follow traditional grammar rules. Recruiters are very unforgiving when it comes to misspellings and punctuation errors. These errors reveal so much more than just a misspelled word to a recruiter and will reject a candidate if they find them in the career documents.
