There are some really good reasons to tread carefully when it comes to social media, but these sites could also be your ticket to your dream job. It does not matter if you are currently looking for a new position or happy as a hog in mud with the position you have. How you use the social media options available to you today and what you communicate on these sites can have an impact on your job search and your career.
 
So if you don’t have a social media presence, should you jump in with both feet and sign up on multiple sites? Or if you currently have social media accounts, do you need to clam up and tread extra carefully? One thing is certain, the trend continues to be that companies are increasingly monitoring social media usage and hiring managers are embracing these new tools as ways to evaluate candidates. In fact, according to research recently published by First Research, more than 70 percent of employers surveyed planed to try recruiting through online social networks. But before you get started, here are a few things to consider:
 
1.                   It facilitates networking - It’s the best reason to be involved in the social media scene, and it’s a good reason why the leading social media site used by business professionals is LinkedIn. According to a recent survey of hiring managers, 85% maintained a LinkedIn account. Furthermore, a study performed by CareerXroads surveying companies with 5,000+ employees showed that roughly 75% of the respondents maintained a LinkedIn account to search profiles and post jobs.
 
If that is not enough to sell you on maintaining a professional profile on LinkedIn or another social media site for the purpose of networking, this might. The same study has shows that over the last four years, in good times and in bad, that an average of 27% of positions are filled through referrals. Compare this to the average of 12% of position that are filled through job boards and that works out to more than doubling your chances for a new opportunity by actively maintaining a good network through social media!
 
2.                   It’s where the jobs are increasingly posted – Pretty much every active candidate is familiar with the job boards, which is one reason why some employers are turning away from them or augmenting their talent search with social media. According to the September 8 article in The Wall Street Journal, A New Job Just A Tweet Away, “as online job boards have grown crowded amid the recession, many big companies, including Microsoft Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Raytheon Corp. and Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks, now list job openings on the Twitter microblogging site.
 
With so many people looking for jobs now, some employers say they like that Twitter yields just enough job leads — but not too many. Job boards have "become saturated," says Mike Rickheim, vice president of global talent acquisition for Newell Rubbermaid Inc., a global manufacturer based in Atlanta.
 
"With Twitter, we don't have to go through that huge pile of résumés." Mr. Rickheim says the company uses Twitter to fill positions that tend to attract tons of applicants on job boards, such as administrative roles, as well as to share company news. “
 
As a staffing firm, Partner Professional Staffing has also begun using social media to reach out to candidates. In September, the firm began using TweetMyJobs.com to Tweet out hot jobs directly to candidates that have signed up to hear about those specific opportunities. “We have had a tremendous response to our Twitter job postings,” says Ben Dolan, Marketing Director at Partner. “It’s a way to get our best positions in front of an audience that is both qualified and connected, meaning they can reTweet the opportunity to a connection in their network if they are not personally interested.”
 
Another benefit for the active and passive job seeker is that you can easily follow feeds from just the companies you are interested in. This saves you the chore of searching through hundreds or thousands of posting on numerous job boards.
 
3.                   It can establish your brand – One of the trickiest parts of social media is managing the brand that you are creating for yourself online. Most people are aware that companies are increasingly monitoring what their employees are saying, particularly about the company. Many organizations have even created social media policies. But what a lot of people aren’t aware of are the products coming on the market to make that monitoring even easier. Microsoft, for example, is beta testing a new “social media listening” product called LookingGlass.
 
Probably your best course of action is to separate business and personal accounts. Since 70% of employers plan to look at your online social media profiles as part of the hiring process, as mentioned above, you could even give yourself an edge over your competition for the position you worked so hard to get an interview for. These sites offer you a great opportunity to establish yourself as a thought leader in your area and appear technically savvy and engaged.
 
What social media also does is allow employers to learn information about you that they could not otherwise ask in an interview. If you are bad-mouthing your current or previous employer or discussing serious personal issues your dealing with at home, a prospective employer may feel you would be too much of a risk or too distracted.
 
While getting started with social media can be daunting for someone just dipping their toe in for the first time, there is no arguing that has become a regular activity for a many professionals. According to Facebook’s own statistics, of their 300 million active users, 50 percent log in to Facebook on any given day. Whether this is old hat or a new venture, just remember that attitudes towards and uses of social media are continuing to change, and so should yours. When you are aware of what you’re communicating, you are likely to have a rewarding social media experience.
 
 
By: Ben Dolan, Marketing Director, Partner Professional Staffing
 
About Partner Professional Staffing
Partner Professional Staffing is the fastest growing staffing firm in the Southwest Ohio region and a recipient of the Fast 55, Emerging 30 and Small Business Excellence awards. Their professionals use proven methodologies to identify and match the best candidates for contract, contract-to-hire and direct hire opportunities in IT, Accounting, Finance, Healthcare, and Scientific. With offices serving Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, and a team that averages more than 10 years of experience in the industry - it’s easy to understand why the area’s top companies and top talent use Partner.