How to Use Social Media to Find a Job

Or Freelance Work

First, the facts…

It’s an ugly job market.

So, where should I start?

Assess your personal brand.

Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or

company.Some people distinguish the psychological aspect or brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, etc, that become linked to

the brand.

Is your digital footprint consistent with your personal brand?

•Search for yourself on Google. What’s out there?

•Set a Google alert to monitor your brand

•Remember the Mom rule

Conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself

S – StrengthsW - WeaknessesO - OpportunitiesT - Threats

Decide on your personal statement

Figure out how people describe you already and how you want people to perceive you in

the future. 

Stay true to yourself, remain authentic and be completely transparent because that’s how

people are going to relate to you.

A is for Avatar

Select an avatar that best represents you and the brand statement you wish to portray.

Consistency is key.

P is for Profile

Fill out the typical profile fields that you will find on the majority of social networks (i.e. a

summary, work experience, personal interests, etc).  When possible, your profiles should be

optimized.

Your personal brand statement isn’t a job title, like financial analyst or marketing manager.  Instead it tells the world two things:  what you

do and who you serve. 

T is for Tools

Be strategic in which social tools you choose.

Pick according to: •Volume

•Credibility•Relevance

VolumeChoose social networks that have high traffic. This is where you’ll find people who are searching for

people like YOU.•Twitter•LinkedIn•Facebook•FriendFeed•Delicious•YouTube•Delicious•Digg

Choosing sites with high volume allows your brand to go viral. That exposure can help

you land a job without applying.

Credibility

 The credibility of social networks helps you consider only the tools that have successful

individuals you’d want to network with to help your career.

For instance, LinkedIn is known to have many executives on it, including Bill Gates. Gates

probably doesn’t spend a lot of time on Facebook, taking quizzes and posting jokes.

Relevance

 Are the social networks you’re using worth your time?

Does your industry have a specific social network (ie: Active Rain for real estate agents or Medical

Mingle for doctors)? Check Ning for social networks in your industry.

Assets are Essential

Personal digital assets are non-negotiable.

You should have a blog, website or online portfolio. Your blog or website should be registered under

your name or the topic you want to own (with keywords). 

Content is…well, you know.

Constantly share interesting articles that you create or that you find on your topic

and distribute them throughout all of your networks. This includes creating interesting and relevant content and publishing it, over and over again. You have to be committed, confident and passionate about what you

do or you’ll give up.

Now comes the heavy lifting.

Just generating content isn’t enough – you have to market yourself.

•Become a member of a special interest group•Speak to organizations

•Comment on blogs in your industry•Guest post on other sites

•Interview bloggers•Be part of bloggers’ and journalists’ stories

•Join forums, Facebook fan pages and groups to meet

other people that may want your services. 

Regardless of the way you get your name out there, make

sure it’s consistent with your brand.

So why use social media?

• Connect

• Connect

• Connnect

Words to live by

Social media is a strong resource but certainly not to be used as the only resource. Also, Have a value-based profile, source information strategically, take your SM relationships off-line, careful of what you post.

- Jeremy Worthington @JobSearchCoach

Words to live by

Job seekers need to be perceived as state of the art ... Lack of involvement in SM says a lot about young job seeker. Also, LI critical research tool..Important to have LI presence..Twitter posts jobs! Free to employers and recruiters to post.

- Janice Worthington @ExecJobCoach

When connecting within your industry, focus on value.

Thank You!

t: @sbarton1220

http://sarabarton.wordpress.com