A recent CareerBuilder article tells the story of Allie McCormick—a former public relations professional turned stay-at-home mom—and how a single Facebook status update announcing her return to the workforce led to interviews, job offers, and finally, a PR position for an intellectual property software company. While the value of a company’s social media presence cannot be understated, job recruiting through social media outlets—or “social recruiting”—has changed the employment landscape for both recruiters and job hunters alike.

  1. Be clear on what you want. Job hunters need to know what kind of position they are looking for, even if they are flexible with their career prospects. If you are looking for a writing job, use your social media outlets to post blog entries or writing samples.
  2. Give help. Give honest and sincere recommendations or references to your social media contacts, and they will do the same for you.
  3. Consistent branding. If you are active on several social networking sites, make sure your personal brand is consistent throughout those sites. Don’t list “marketing expert” in your Twitter biography when your Facebook page states that you are a chef!
  4. Protect yourself. Most employers will do a quick name search before you go in for an interview, and if your online profiles are made public for everyone to see, you may be giving away more information than you—an your potential employer—are comfortable with. Many sites will allow you to specify which parts of your profile are private, which gives you the advantage of divulging only the information you want recruiters to know about yourself.
  5. Be social. The key to social networking is staying in constant communication with others. Participate in conversations or leave a congratulatory note on a contact’s page when appropriate to engage with others while still getting your name out there.

But overall, use common sense when networking with people you might not know. Be sociable and polite, and these steps will come naturally. For more information on social recruiting and more social networking tips, check out this article.

Have you used social networking in your job search?  Has it been effective?