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Social media is great for keeping in touch, sharing photos and watching hilarious cat videos, but how can it best be used to help you find a job?

Whether you’re a graduate preparing to take your first steps into work or simply looking for a career change, there are lots of ways you can use social media to your career’s advantage.

Twitter is a brilliant way to promote yourself and network with key players in your dream career field. Create the all-important good first impression with a professional-looking profile picture and include your job pitch in your bio along with a link to your CV or LinkedIn profile (see below).

Next, follow the movers and shakers of your industry and engage with them via @
replies and re-tweets. Tweet regularly about news and trends in your business area to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise.

TwitJobSearch.com is a handy Twitter search engine which only shows jobs in
the results. Broaden your search by using hashtags to find jobs on Twitter itself, such as #jobs, #recruiting, #jobhunt and #jobsearch.

Want to be more specific? Try #teachingjobs, #marketingjobs, etc. Follow companies you want to work for and you’ll be the first to hear about their career opportunities.

LinkedIn is a form of Facebook for professionals, although those you connect with will be more interested in your resumé than ‘poking’ you. It’s likely that potential employers will be Googling you, and a professional LinkedIn profile shows you are taking your career search seriously. To make yourself more search-friendly, make sure your profile is as complete as possible. You should also personalise your URL by going to ‘edit profile page’ and scrolling to the ‘public profile’ section. Click ‘edit’ next to the URL to choose a new one.

Join groups related to your industry to stay up to date with news and make connections with people working in that area. Look at profiles of people who have the sort of job you want to get an idea of the skills and experience you need to reach that level.

Ask for LinkedIn recommendations from your colleagues or university tutors. A strong recommendation highlights your strengths and shows your work is valued by others.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to get the word out that you’re looking for work via LinkedIn’s ‘status updates’. The more people who know you’re looking, the more likely you’ll find a job. Good luck!

I was invited to write the above piece for the University of Plymouth alumni magazine, where I did my BA English degree some years ago… Click here to see the article in full.