Curating Your Social Media As A Job Seeker

Whether for business or pleasure, social media usage is on the rise. We’ve come a long way from the MySpace days, and now a social media presence is an expectation rather than a hobby. We’ve previously stressed how vital a strong LinkedIn existence is, but even your personal accounts across the web are relevant to your job search.

Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and even Facebook make up your digital footprint, and this is something all job seekers must be aware of. A 2018 CareerBuilder survey found that 70% of employers use social media sites to vet candidates, and that number has surely risen since then.

“70% of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates (on par with last year), while 7% plan to start… And that review matters: Of those that do social research, 57% have found content that caused them not to hire candidates.” –CareerBuilder

Make sure your profiles are helping rather than hurting your job aspirations. Keep your social media profiles safe for work by following these strategies!

Avoid anything unprofessional

Some of the basics should be fairly obvious. You might not be actively trying to generate “content” on every platform, but be wary of what you post. Even on accounts that are completely personal, you don’t want to share anything offensive, overly risque, divisive, or overly argumentative.

Your personal pages are your personal pages, but employers are wary about hiring a candidate that might make them look bad down the road, and the previous study mentioned that over 50% of employers that have researched candidates’ social profiles found something that caused them to look elsewhere.

Google yourself

If you want to see what your potential employers can see, throw your name into Google, or your preferred search engine, and see what comes up. You can use Incognito mode or a different computer if you’re afraid of your regular system’s biases.

From there, you’ll be able to see how an outsider will view you. What pops up first? And is it flattering? By Googling yourself, you may find questionable profiles or posts you don’t even remember, and you can take necessary action. If nothing else, you can see which accounts need to be made private.

If you want to be really thorough, David Cotriss recommends setting up a Google alert on yourself to regulatory see if anything comes up.

“If you appear on an undesirable website, try reaching out to the webmaster to remove you. Ask people who have tagged you in inappropriate posts on social media to remove you as well. You can be sure employers will do a Google search on you, so why not be one step ahead?” –Michael Moran, recruiter

Look into privacy options

Every major social media platform has some sort of privacy settings, so you’ll want to learn what they are and curate them to your needs.

For example, if you only use Facebook to keep track of birthdays and keep up with what your high school friends are up to, it may not matter. But if you regularly post pictures of nights on the town, you may want to keep an eye on who can see that content.

It can be worth having both a private and public profile on the same site, depending on your needs. A public-facing Instagram and a personal one can have completely different content, and only the public one will be viewable to employers.

Keep an online presence

Even if you have a few less-than-professional things pop up during your self-scout, your first instinct shouldn’t be to put everything on private and delete every account. David Cotriss writes that 1-in-5 employers won’t hire a candidate that has zero online presence. This can make it seem like you have something to hide. Cotriss also says that deleting a profile won’t always hide all offending content, and employers may be able to see cached versions.

Instead, keep some accounts active and engaged. Make sure all of your contact information is up to date Keep your LinkedIn profile updated regularly, have nice conversations on Twitter, and keep telling your friends happy birthday on Facebook. You’ll be able to connect with people that can help you, and you’ll seem like a real person.

Engage carefully

“The good news is you can leverage social media to build your image as much as to wreck it.” –Jeff Lipschultz

Now that you’ve curated what you’ve already put into the digital world, make sure you continue good habits by making your engagements worthwhile. Alessandro Biascioli says to be choosey about your likes and follows, especially on public profiles. It’s not hard to see what posts you’ve liked and who you engage with. If you’re liking divisive content, you’ll scare employers aware, but if you’re engaging with professionally relevant content, this can be viewed as a plus.

Meanwhile, Alison Doyle says that you don’t need to connect with everyone. Quality is better than quantity, and you’ll be much more likely to find value or offer value to others in a more curated network.

“Put aside all the trash talking and trolling on Twitter and consider using it to your advantage. Look for your tribe on the site. Seek out trending topics that align with your skills and background. Then, weigh in with your comment, offering your unique perspective.” –Jack Kelly, Forbes

Wrap up

Social media is an endlessly valuable tool that needs to be used correctly. At its best, you’ll show off your personal brand and make valuable connections. At worst, you’ll frighten potential employers. Google yourself to see what employers can see, and clean up as necessary. Avoid posting anything vulgar or unprofessional and familiarize yourself with different platforms’ privacy options. Keep an online prescience, and make your engagements count!

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How To Not Be Annoying On LinkedIn

No matter what industry you’re in, networking is the supreme principle in advancing your career. In most cases, modern networking means a strong LinkedIn presence. LinkedIn has cornered the market as the prime social media option for the professional world, and proper LinkedIn etiquette is a skill every professional needs to learn.

Part of that etiquette is knowing what NOT to do on the platform. LinkedIn isn’t the same as other social media platforms, and if you annoy your network, you’ll find yourself alienating your potential allies.

Your personal brand is important, and you don’t want that brand to be “an annoyance.” Unless you’re looking to be a nuisance, avoid these annoying LinkedIn behaviors.

Don’t spam

LinkedIn is a fantastic tool for getting in touch with people you otherwise may never speak to. You can research prospective employers, find informational interviews, reach out to those in new industries, or look into those previously employed at companies you’re interested in.

But you can’t simply fire connection requests and cold messages to every person on the website. You should take time to carefully craft any requests and take time to explain who you are and why you’d like to connect. Quality leads are better than quantity.

Josh Steimle uses mass tagging connections in posts as another type of spam to avoid. If you’re constantly looking for attention by overly tagging people, you’ll soon find yourself blocked.

LinkedIn itself, a pretty credible source on this particular topic, says to avoid coming across as “salesy.”The platform may be designed for professional development, but no one wants your service shoved in their face immediately. Treat your potential connections as actual people rather than pure customers.

Don’t be generic

Hand-in-hand with the above point, the more generic you are in your efforts, the less interested people will be in interacting with you. As Forbes’ William Arruda reminds us, spammers and bots are a plague on LinkedIn, and it can be detrimental to your efforts if you sound like one.

On paper, a high volume of messages sounds like a good way to get at least some positive responses. But like with applying for jobs, spray-and-pray techniques rarely work. Any pitch you’re planning on sending should be carefully thought out and provide value to your target. Make an effort to reference something they’ve done or how their experience inspired you. A generic pitch is wasting their time and yours.

“For some reason, people think it is effective to cold pitch people without any preparation or research. The funniest is when someone sends me a message on LinkedIn offering their totally irrelevant service and says something along the lines of “We see that at your company you do XYZ and thought you could use my product.”” -Hillel Fuld

Be honest

It should go without saying, but don’t lie to your potential connections about what you can do for them. While your pitch should have value to the connection, it needs to actually be something you can deliver.

Trickery on LinkedIn isn’t just lying about your skills, experience, or connections. William Arruda uses the example of deceiving your new connection by asking for time to get to know them or claiming you’re doing research for a project when in actuality you’re trying to make a sale or ask for a job opportunity. Once it gets out that you’re taking advantage of the generosity of others, you’ll find it harder to make connections.

“If your true intention is to make a sale, don’t imply it’s about the joy of just getting to know and learn about people. This subterfuge is beyond annoying.” –William Arruda

Don’t overshare

“Weird Al” Yankovic once wrote a song called “Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me” regarding chain emails and overshared images that plagued the early internet days. Unfortunately, the song is relevant once again as LinkedIn spammers fill your feed with unwanted content.

Alexander Krastev notes useless polls, irrelevant tear-jerking or viral videos, cringey memes, and overly shared stories as the types of eye-rolling content plaguing the platform. While it can seem cruel to vilify this type of content, a good deal of it is fake and overshared simply to generate clicks and engagement.

LinkedIn is supposed to be a place for professionals to connect and share relevant content. While it doesn’t hurt to have some fun, save the off-topic content for Twitter and Instagram.

Don’t use it as a dating site

Speaking of keeping it professional, while LinkedIn is a social media platform, it isn’t meant to be a dating pool. Save the cracking on for Tinder or Bumble, and let LinkedIn remain a safe place to grow professionally.

Wrap up

Good LinkedIn etiquette shares much in common with good social media etiquette, or just good manners in general. Treating your future connections like actual human beings and not just avenues for gain goes a long way. Be authentic and offer value to others, don’t bombard the platform with irrelevant content to get attention, and keep things professional and you’ll be viewed as someone people wish to connect with. Happy connecting!

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The Pros And Cons Of One-Click Apply

For job seekers, technology can be a wonderful thing. You can apply to jobs almost anywhere from the comfort of your home, you can stay in touch with your network easily through social media, and, thanks to the rise in remote work, you can even do a job from home.

But because of the ease of access, it can be much harder to stand out thanks to the high levels of competition. Experts say it can take 100-200 applications to get just one job offer, and your average job search could take up to nine weeks. To get a job in the traditional way, you’ll need to send a high volume of resumes.

That’s why job search websites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter offer “easy” or “one-click” apply options. For someone looking to get as many resumes out as possible, these features are a massive boon!

Or are they? Despite the convenience, using these features may not make you stand out from the crowd. We’ll cover what easy apply systems actually do, their faults, and when they can help your search.

What do they do?

The name sells the basic function well enough—an easy or one-click apply skips through much of the traditional application process to quickly get your documents into the hands of recruiters. They may or may not offer the chance to attach relevant documents like a copy of your resume or cover letter.

In most cases, this allows you to quickly submit a generic, multi-use resume. In LinkedIn’s case, you’ll instead be submitting your LinkedIn profile. This allows you to quickly scroll through online job boards and apply to anything that strikes your fancy.

The problem

Bypassing the conventional application process, which is often time-consuming and tedious, is an amazing idea, but it has its drawbacks.

“As with all quick fixes, the easier option has its drawbacks. Primarily, you’re trading customization for simplicity.” – Jaclyn Westlake, The Muse

This convenience leads to a lot of applications being submitted. In spite of this volume, you may think having the right keywords will get your generic resume picked by the applicant tracking system, but Mac’s List says that may not be the case. Around 40% of companies don’t use ATS, and if your resume isn’t tailored it will struggle to get noticed by the person reading it.

Data shows using one-click apply methods doesn’t have an impact on whether or not you’ll hear back from the employer, according to SmartRecruiters. Your resume will be added to a large pile of applicants regardless, and your content will have to speak for itself.

In LinkedIn’s case, the Easy Apply puts a lot of pressure on your profile. Regardless of whether you attached a resume and cover letter, your profile is the first thing the hiring manager will see. If you’ve been neglecting your profile or hoping your resume will carry you, you may be disappointed when your application is quickly discarded.

You can help alleviate this by having a well-developed LinkedIn profile, which is good to have regardless. Lewis Parrott says having a professional photo, strong headline, relevant details in your job history, and interesting personal details can help alleviate some of the issues with using Easy Apply.

When can it help?

While network connections and carefully customized resumes are a superior job search strategy, one-click applying does have its place and can help lead to a well-rounded search.

Volume does matter in your job search, especially for entry-level roles. The application process is often tedious, and constant rejection after spending significant time applying is discouraging. Quick applies can help you cast a wide net. You may not always bring in the best jobs this way, but it can help build momentum. Career Sidekick does recommend at least tailoring your resume for a specific industry if you choose this route.

If you’ve already tapped your network and carefully applied to your dream companies, then using easy apply functions can be a way to supplement that search. Use them to compliment your job search, not to be the heart of it.

Relying on one-click apply is NOT recommended if you’re looking for your dream job, but sometimes you just need a job. Whether you need a source of income, you need to learn a skill, or you’re just looking to get your foot in the door, these functions are a great tool to find a low-stakes job.

Kindra Cooper believes if you have a top-notch LinkedIn profile already their method can work. In fact, if you’ve spent time adding URLs, displaying endorsements, highlighting your skills, and you have a strong summary, your profile may be even better than your resume. But this requires you to have done all the work beforehand, and it’s best not to put all your eggs in one basket.

Wrap up

Job searching can be a long and arduous process, and any tool that can make the journey easier is appealing. But while they offer additional assistance, it’s imperative to understand the pros and cons of using one-click apply methods. There are times to use these features, and they can complement a thorough job search, but they shouldn’t be relied upon as your only job-searching strategy. For more in-depth job search strategies, check out our other great articles!

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Stand Out Digitally With These LinkedIn Summary Tips

In any sort of persuasive speech, your attention-getter sets the tone of the entire performance. An engaging introduction reels your audience in, while a boring one sends them looking elsewhere. Imagine walking into a hotel lobby and finding it unpleasant. No matter how good your room may be, that initial entrance soured the experience.

Your LinkedIn profile is the same way. Using LinkedIn is vital for the modern job search, and your summary is your introduction to recruiters. The website itself declares the summary as one of the most important pieces of information you can describe.

“Your summary or About section is the one place you define yourself in your own words, free of start dates and titles. Whether you use it to put career choices in context, highlight your biggest achievements, or show off your personality, the summary is your chance to put your best self out there. It strengthens your first impression in a way no other Profile section can.” –LinkedIn

If you’re doing some spring cleaning with your profile, we’ll go teach you how to craft an exceptional summary that shows the real you.

Prioritize the first few sentences

If your summary is the introduction to your profile, the first few words are the introduction to your introduction. Laura Smith-Proulx reveals that your full summary isn’t immediately displayed until someone clicks on “see more” (on both mobile and desktop versions).

That means your summary needs to “pop” immediately to catch the eyes of the looker. You want to hook your audience immediately by getting directly into your brand and making your objective clear right away.

Use keywords

The modern job search is all about appeasing the search engine. Realizing this is the key to making sure you’ll show up in a recruiter’s search at all. To do that, LinkedIn experts recommend using keywords throughout your profile.

Executive resume writer Jessica Hernandez simply defines these keywords as “Keywords are a list of words and phrases that are related to your work—they are the words that a prospective employer would search for when trying to find someone like you.”

Find words relevant to your industry and use them often. This will make sure you show up in searches AND make it easier for a prospective employer to get an idea of what you’re all about. While you should use keywords, make sure to avoid making your profile a jumbled mess of jargon.

Showcase your personality

A recruiter isn’t just getting an automaton worker when they look at your profile; they are looking at a complex human being. At the end of the day, not only does a recruiter want a qualified worker, but they want someone that is a good cultural fit for the organization.

Because of the nature of LinkedIn, you still want to be professional, but don’t be afraid to let a little flair or humor out. If you followed the above advice, your audience will get a view of you as a worker and you as a person. Having this insight allows the reader to have a more detailed picture of how you will fit in with the company.

Find a format that works for you

In keeping with the above advice, you can craft the style of your summary in a manner that best describes you. There isn’t a single cookie-cutter approach to take. SocialTalent reminds us that the summary is your chance to tell your story as you see it. Just like in an elevator pitch, you’re using that short space to say who you are and what you bring to the table.

The Muse’s Aja Frost analyzes different strategies for telling that story, including the mission-based strategy, the personal strategy, the short-and-sweet summary, the blended summary, and the accomplishment summary. These five example methods allow you to decide what’s important for you and the best way to summarize yourself. All five are great starting points, and you can click the above link for more details.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn itself goes over 14 well-designed and radically different summary styles and provides reasons why they work. All 14 off an excellent place to start and can serve as a template for your own story. It’s all about finding the best way to represent you!

Avoid third-person

Your LinkedIn summary is a summary of you as a worker, told by you. This is a chance for you to be yourself, and ideally, you don’t talk in third person in real life. Avoid this common pitfall!

Example

Aja Frost provides us with a great example of a short, detailed summary that follows all of the above advice.

“I’m a sales rep dedicated to helping local Oklahoma City services businesses grow their customer base and decrease customer churn. I have 6 years of experience in local sales and I’ve consistently met and exceeded my quota throughout my career. Within the last year, I’ve topped our leaderboard six out of 10 months. On average, I close business 10% faster than my peers.”

Wrap up

If you aren’t using LinkedIn as part of your job search strategy, you need to do so immediately! And a successful LinkedIn summary is the welcome mat to the rest of your profile. Make sure it’s clear, direct, and a good summary of you, the writer. There isn’t one successful must-use template, so do some research and some tweaking and find what works for you!

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Finding Remote Work In 2022

The workplace climate of the last two years doesn’t appear poised to change in 2022. As new variants of COVID-19 gain prominence, we’re still learning how to cope with the pandemic in our day-to-day lives. Thanks to adapting technology, remote work, in particular, has not only become a valuable tool to keep workplaces running, but it has become a new norm.

While discussing workplace trends for 2022, IDG Connect theorized that remote work will become the standard for most workers. They speculate the Great Resignation will slow down in 2022, and companies that haven’t adapted to remote work will struggle.

“For those that invested early in supporting remote work, they will see the problems settle down earlier compared to those that either have not invested or did so half-heartedly.” -IDG Connect

If you’re starting a new job search this year, chances are you’ll either consider or fully seek out a remote job. To help you land that new position, we’ll discuss the different styles of remote work and the subtle challenges you need to be aware of when applying for remote positions.

What are the types of remote work?

The concept of working remotely is intuitive; you complete your work off-site. But remote work is actually an umbrella of different forms of working away from the office. There is fully work from home (WFH), hybrid, and flexible work. As a job seeker, you’ll need to be aware of the subtle differences of each type and figure out what form is best for your needs.

The blanket term ‘remote work’ generally refers to WFH. Simply, the employee will be able to do their entire job from their home (or other remote location). Meanwhile, ZDNet’s Owen Hughes excellently defines the difference between hybrid and flexible approaches.

“Hybrid working refers to the idea of splitting time between working in an office and working from home or another remote location, whereas flexible working tends to incorporate models of work that offer more freedom around how and when employees work. This can include flexible start and finish times, split shifts and non-traditional working weeks.” -Hughes

Some positions may require you to be available at certain times to work with team members or customers. In addition, some organizations will still need team members to come into the office for meetings or group tasks. It all depends on the company, the industry, and your potential position. As such, you need to be aware of what the organization is offering and what will work well with your needs.

The additional challenge is when companies themselves aren’t clear on or aware of these differences. With remote opportunities and culture a bigger focal point than salary, companies that understand these differences will attract more talent. After all, advertising a ‘flexible’ job that requires a strict 9-to-5 schedule would be a major faux pas.  Job Hunt suggests doing additional research, including reaching out to employees and reviewing sites like Glassdoor to confirm what a company means when they say ‘remote’ or ‘flexible’.

How to apply for remote work

Once you’ve identified the type of remote work you yearn for, be aware the application process can be slightly different as well. While you’ll still want to practice classic job search etiquette (keeping your resume action-oriented, using keywords to get your resume into the hands of a real person), remote work requires additional soft skills, and you’ll have more competition due to the wider search area.

Kevin Kirkpatrick, CEO of We Work Remotely! told Buzzfeed that communication skills (especially writing ability), resourcefulness, and the ability to work independently are some of the most crucial soft skills employers will seek in remote workers. When you’ll be mostly communicating digitally, knowing how to clearly express yourself is key while being remote requires independent solution making. Finding ways to showcase these types of skills on your resume and in interviews is necessary.

“Resourcefulness is another attribute remote companies look for. Teams need people that are able to come up with creative solutions no matter the context. People that are able to solve problems on their own and take ownership of what they do are always attractive for remote companies.” -Kirkpatrick

Meanwhile, Yoh’s blog offers excellent tips to achieve the best remote positions, and it should be no surprise that many of these tips involved technological literacy. If you’re applying for a remote position, it stands to reason your interview may be remote as well. Having a working camera, a stable internet connection, and strong video interview etiquette will show employers you’re ready to use technology on a day-to-day basis.

Wrap up

No matter which form it takes, remote work is the new norm, but both employers and employees are still adjusting to what this means. Understanding the options available to you is vital to finding the right position, as is being able to show off the right types of skills. This knowledge should not only assist you in landing a great remote position but also to recognize which organizations truly ‘get’ remote work.

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