How To Use Social Media To Further Your Job Search?

My aim with this first newsletter edition is to help you understand how you can be seen by - and appeal to - those recruiters who hold the key to you securing your ideal next career move.

There is a lot you can proactively do on social media that will materially impact your chances of success. So let’s take a look at four things you could do in the coming days that will really make a difference to you and your job search.

Keyword optimize your LinkedIn profile

This is arguably the most important thing you can do as a candidate on social media, to improve your chances of appealing to recruiters who are recruiting for the roles you aspire to secure. Keywords impact whether recruiters will find your profile, plus influence how your job applications are ranked when you apply for vacancies listed on LinkedIn.

So let's get a better understanding of both these points - and what you can do to improve your chances of success.

The first thing to know about LinkedIn is that its search functionality is binary, meaning your profile either contains the exact keywords used in a search and therefore appears in search results, or it's missing those keywords and so doesn't appear in search results. By way of simple example - if your profile contains the word "selling" but a recruiter's search includes the keyword "sales", you will not show up as a candidate match even if you are an expert in sales. So, this is an exercise in plugging as many of the keyword gaps as possible that could be costing you in terms of being found by recruiters.

By strategically incorporating relevant keywords throughout your profile—in sections like your headline, summary, and experience—you can significantly enhance your visibility in search results. This practice increases the likelihood that your profile will match recruiters' search criteria, leading to more recruiters considering you for vacancies they are working on each week.

So, brainstorm all the relevant keywords you could conceivably include in your profile and start incorporating them. A good source of inspiration for keywords to include comes from job listings, where recruiters will often list out the skills and experience their ideal candidate would have. Look at multiple job listings and use these "must have" criteria as an ideas bank of keywords you ought to try and include (without misrepresenting yourself).

One other point worth noting is that recruiters placing job ads on LinkedIn receive applications ranked in order of fit to the vacancy. That ranking is based on an assessment of how closely your LinkedIn profile matches the job ad specs. So, again, the keyword strength of your profile has the potential to really impact how much you are actually seen and considered by recruiters.

Proactively network with others in your industry

Optimizing your profile's keywords is not the only thing you can do to ramp up how much you are seen by recruiters using LinkedIn to find candidates. Expanding your network with industry-specific contacts also plays a part in raising your visibility.

That's because if two people conduct the exact same search on LinkedIn, they don't get back the exact same set of search results. Instead, they are each presented with the search results that are most likely to be relevant for them - based on the composition of their respective LinkedIn networks.

In simple terms, the more connections you have in the industry and locations you are targeting, the more frequently you will appear near the top of people's search result pages. So, start being more proactive in building a tailored network of contacts on LinkedIn and you will appear higher in the search result pages of more recruiters on LinkedIn.

Be mindful of how you are perceived on social media

It should go without saying that your LinkedIn profile should be professionally written, with a good profile photo, with wording that conveys both your expertise and a bit of personality too.

But the impression you create on social media extends far further than this. As a candidate, you can use social media to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field by sharing relevant content such as industry news, interviews and reports. Depending on the type of position you are trying to secure, this not only shows your knowledge and interest in the industry but also helps you stay top-of-mind with recruiters.

What you engage with, and the comments you post, also leave a trail of insights about you as a candidate. It's definitely worth reviewing your past activities across social media, to ensure there is nothing overly political or confrontational that might deter a would-be employer from considering you.

Leverage social proof

Think for a minute about buying something online. Which are you more persuaded by, the manufacturer's sales copy about the product... or the online reviews where other people share their experiences of having bought and used the product?

What other people say about the product carries a lot of weight, doesn't it? Well, the same is true of you as a potential hire. If you have former colleagues and clients who have added written recommendations about you, then your LinkedIn profile is far more persuasive and more likely to convert initial interest into a request for you to interview for a role.

So, if you haven't done so already, take a moment to reach out to a few former colleagues, classmates and clients to see if they’d be willing to add some social proof to your profile.

Conclusion

As has hopefully become clear from reading this newsletter edition, there is a lot you can proactively do to ensure that social media is really helping in furthering your job search. These tactics collectively will help you stand out, ensuring that when opportunities arise you are well-positioned to be discovered by recruiters - and to win them over.

Good luck in your job hunt - and please do add a comment if you feel this advice could help others in your network.

P.S. At Lincoln Strategic, we work with leading Mining companies around the world, helping to recruit game-changing leaders and the teams that support them. Feel free to contact a member of our team anytime you need help.