Tag: social media

LinkedIn: 4 ways to make the most out of your profile

Posted on by Beth Ridley

Whether you love or hate it, LinkedIn is a necessary form of social media for professionals to connect, share, and learn. The site can be used for various reasons, from finding a new career opportunity to promoting your business.

Utilising the site all depends on how you want to use it. However, regardless of if you’re on a job hunt or if you want to use it to grow or communicate within a business, there are several things you should do as standard when using LinkedIn to its full potential.

1. Upload a profile picture

By this, we don’t mean stick any random photo of yourself from a party ten years ago. In contrast, the image you choose doesn’t have to be a professional headshot (although always favoured); always make sure it looks professional.

Try taking a neutral photo of yourself with a background that won’t overly distract the person looking at it. Another approach could be to upload a candid shot; for example, this image could be you hiking in nature or you enjoying a day out with your family. Likewise, the photo you choose for your LinkedIn profile picture can also depend on the industry you work within or the sector you wish to work within. If you’re applying to be a photographer, for example, why not choose a candid shot that captures you in the moment of doing your job (an image of you taking a photo).

While you’re there, why not go ahead and upload a cover photo/banner too? Suppose you are already attached to a business. In that case, your LinkedIn banner should reflect this- the company will usually provide you with a suitable image to use that reflects their brand. If not, you can put another image in its place- use your common sense to choose a photo (keep it simple and try and match the colours and tone of your profile picture.

2. Avoid clogging up your feed.

Try not to connect with every single person you know (or don’t even know); while it is good to have a lot of connections on LinkedIn, try to keep them relevant to your industry. Even though it’s inevitable to some extent, you don’t want random content clogging up your home page feed, especially if you’re trying to find a job! https://www.zenithpeople.com/three-ways-to-utilise-social-media-in-your-job-search/

Try to keep your connections on LinkedIn, either industry-relevant or your friends (you probably want to keep up with them as well!); this way, your feed is a good mix of work and other content you’re interested in. In the same respect, make sure the content that you’re posting is also an even good balance of work-related content and personal. If someone has connected with you on LinkedIn because you’re a respected recruiter, they expect content around recruitment, not 100 snaps of you on your most recent holiday. You’ve got to think, if you would be cringed out by someone else doing it, then don’t post it yourself. Check out this article by ranker.com. 28 Of The Most Cringeworthy LinkedIn Posts We Found On The Internet (ranker.com) 

3. Share relevant materials

Do not let the abundance of people oversharing on LinkedIn stop you from sharing at all. No matter the industry you’re in or the job you’re trying to bag, consistently share relevant materials to your page. These materials could be insightful posts by other people or marketing materials to raise awareness around your business or the business you work for.

As we’ve discussed, keep the clogging to a minimum when it comes to sharing posts; only share what you actually think is quality material, and you have an interest in. You never know, a news article or video could be discussed within a job interview as small talk!

4. Use it!

A little bit self-explanatory, but actually use LinkedIn to your advantage and for its intended purpose. If you want to utilise LinkedIn, then don’t just log in once a month for a quick check but actually consistently use the site. That doesn’t mean you have to spend hours a day on LinkedIn but check in daily- it could be an excellent morning task to ease yourself into your work day!

Three ways to utilise Social Media in your job search

Posted on by Beth Ridley

Social Media is always there, it’s there for your mid-day scroll, there when you’re walking your dog, and you probably even reach for the mindless distraction of it when on the toilet. Since its inception, social media has also gotten a pretty bad reputation; all we hear about is creepy people online and how the internet fries your brain with memes and compilations of cats. However, social media isn’t all bad; it can sometimes provide an outlet for creativity and opportunity. Would you ever think of looking for a new job on social media?

While yes, technically, sites like Linkedin are classed as social media, for the average person, it’s probably not the first thing you scroll through on a morning. Social media such as Linkedin are often used with purpose, whether that be to find a job or keep up with your industry throughout the work day. We’re talking the classic Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram- but mainly Facebook.

  1. Check out the Facebook Jobs page and marketplace.

This is your best first port of call for finding a job on social media; businesses utilise these areas of social media to advertise any roles they may have available. Often, jobs posted here will have to include a brief outline of the duties of the job, as well as salary and working hours-sometimes including a link to the business’s website for further information.

  1. Join job boards and groups

Job boards and groups are also good for clear role outlines to be posted; an advantage is that these groups on social media sites such as Facebook can be made especially for your industry. For example, if you are looking for a job in marketing, you could join a group or job board that focuses on marketing in your area. Make a good impression in these groups; this way, social media can become social networking, and many businesses and recruitment agencies also hang around in these groups to lend a helping hand in your job hunt!

  1. Ask your friends

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen individuals post jobs on Facebook for a business they work for; even though these job postings, compared to the others, may not seem like the most professional, they can be a good lead toward a role- word of mouth works. A lot of the time, these jobs are for quick starts.

Regardless of how you choose to find a job on social media, always make sure you clean up your page by erasing any offensive content or anything you would not want a potential employer to see. This doesn’t only mean your personal profile but also any other profiles and pages you have interacted with; with a simple name search, employers can find any post you may have interacted with in the past, even if your personal profile has no connection to it. This may all seem like a lot of effort, but it could be the difference between a job offer and rejection.

Give social media a chance throughout your job hunt! You’d be surprised at the opportunities you may find.