BernieBorges.com Blog: Social Media and Web Marketing

5 Ways for Job Seekers to Get Found Online by Employers

If you’re an active job seeker, no doubt you have a full time job on your hands searching for a new job. If you work the social networks assertively and with wise tactics, you can position yourself to get found online by hiring employers.

Here are five ways to get found by hiring employers looking for talented job seekers like you.

Follow Company Facebook Pages

Identify companies in your industry that interest you. They probably have a Facebook page. Like their page and visit it often. Observe their wall posts and learn from them. You should gain insight into their activities. Post relevant comments periodically but don’t over do it to avoid appearing desperate. Look at the list of other people that like their page and seek to connect with those with whom you have common ground. If a company you follow also has an open group in Facebook, join it and similarly engage with the community in this group. Pay close attention to their events, especially career-centric events.

Follow Company LinkedIn Pages

Company LinkedIn pages are different than Facebook pages in several ways. One difference is that LinkedIn has a “career” tab where companies can display their job openings. More importantly, follow companies of interest and read their weekly digest to learn about new hires and recent departures. Seek to connect with as many people as you can within a company of interest. Avoid coming across like you need a job today (even if you do). Build relationships with employees at companies of interest. Allow them to learn your specialization so that when a job opportunity comes along, you are on their minds.

Engage Company Blogs

Progressive companies have a blog. When a company of interest has a blog, become a loyal reader. Engage with the bloggers through authentic conversation. Share your expert commentary. Seek to build relationships with the bloggers. Whenever possible give these bloggers a shoutout from your social networking updates. But, be sure your shoutouts are authentic.

Participate in Industry Groups (Facebook and LinkedIn)

Both Facebook and LinkedIn have groups. They behave differently in each platform. LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups. If you’re an active job seeker, join 50 relevant groups. If a group doesn’t have a job board, leave the group, unless it greatly interests you. Sometimes jobs are posted in a group that are not posted elsewhere. Engage in as many groups as possible and (likewise) seek to build relationships. Seek to make new connections with group members. Facebook groups are usually by invitation only. I favor LinkedIn groups over Facebook groups, unless you are fortunate to join an active group such as Back to Work Southwest Florida.

Experiment with Branchout

Branchout is an application that resides within Facebook. It’s somewhat like LinkedIn except it is 100% about connecting with people for job searching. You can look up companies and Branchout shows people that work at the company and how you might know them. Similarly, you can find friends and see which companies they are connected to. It’s a new application, but if you’re a full time job seeker, it’s worth experimenting with it.

There are other ways to get on the radar or your target employers. If you follow just these five tips, you’ll stay very busy. I’m confident that in due time, you can be found by an employer that’s a good match for you.

I invite you to share your success stories here (below).

Comments