If you are looking for a new gig, you will want to be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date. According to a new survey by Bullhorn, almost 99% of job recruiters use social media to find job candidates. This is up 5% from 2011.
You may not be shocked to know that LinkedIn is the most-used social media site for recruiters, especially with all of the new tweaks to the LinkedIn site. However, 51% of recruiters use Facebook, and 49% use Twitter. So both Facebook and Twitter also have a big effect on hiring. Also, many recruiters are planning to use Facebook and Twitter more in 2013 for their candidate hunts.
So, the thing to remember here is it is not merely LinkedIn that matters for job hunters. Your Facebook page and Twitter feed also are important. Many people may not view these two sites as purely professional so they may not think Facebook and Twitter matter as much, but they really do.
Here’s the thing about Facebook and Twitter – it’s not so hard for employers to find people with the right technical skills. It can be more difficult to find a person that is going to be a good fit in the company culture. Twitter and Facebook provide recruiters with a better idea if your personality will mesh with that firm.
So if Facebook and Twitter matter so much, how can you make them work for your job search? Here are a few tips:
- Make your social media profile professional: Be sure that any pictures that are published on Facebook and Twitter are professional. Nix any unprofessional posts or tweets, too.
- Tweet about topics in your industry: Talk about new articles in your industry, talk to others in your field, and say things that are reasonably intelligent.
- Be confident on salary: Salaries are going up, according to recruiters, so do not be afraid to post higher salary requests.
- Don’t forget traditional job search methods: You still are most likely to get a job through regular networking, so never neglect that, no matter how ‘hot’ Facebook gets with its new Graph Search, or how ‘everyone’ is using Twitter.