Get Your Next Job Using Social Media

Social media is prolific, with nearly 700 million users on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn alone. Useful for finding and staying in touch with friends, keeping up with local events and businesses, social media has become the hot place to network and find jobs. In fact, up to 75% of all large corporations use some form of social media to find and hire new employees, according to a new study by Jobvite.

Having an online presence is important, and your online profile is an excellent place to showcase your abilities. A good online profile will give you credibility, help spread your information to multiple sources and give you a step ahead of the competition. Don't post complaints about former employer and inappropriate photographs. Instead, post your accomplishments, community service, and any training and education you have had. Post your interests as well because many conversations and networking relationships begin by sharing common interests. It also pays to list any business organizations you may belong to or any charity work you perform.

LinkedIn is the best site to network with others in your field. This is a huge social community specifically designed to link those with like business and career interests together. Job listings can be found at LinkedIn, and conversations can take place between employers and employees even before the first interview. Job leads, statistics, salary averages, resume and job search advice are easy to find in the community.

Facebook is also another way to promote yourself, although it's important to distinguish between a profile that is mainly for friends, family and fun and one that is created to promote you or your business. It's never a good idea to have your vacation pictures from the beach and that party you went to last week, along with gripes about a local political figure, to be shared with potential employers. Many people establish a separate profile on Facebook that shares a resume and employment needs with chosen friends and business associates. It's also a great place to establish a separate page for your business to do a little self promotion to gain clients.

Corporations are also starting to Tweet job listings available at their company. They have learned that Twitter, along with the other social media sites, are a fast and inexpensive way to reach potential employers. Many college graduates and business professionals use social media as part of their daily lives so it makes sense that posting job opportunities within social media communities can get a position filled quickly with qualified candidates.