How Recruiters Are Looking Online For You…

Unless you have been living under a rock for several years you will be well aware of social media and the massive effect it is having on pretty much everything, especially the job market. Although there are more applicants for jobs than we have ever seen, recruiters are becoming more hands on when looking for potential candidates. Competition and expectations are high so it is the perfect time for recruiters to get out there and discover that perfect candidate.

Linkedin
Linkedin is an obvious choice for recruiters. Individuals’ profiles are designed as online CV’s showing their skills and experiences, even references, all in one place. It is a potential goldmine to headhunt the perfect candidate. A recent US survey stated that around 94% of recruiters are using Linkedin, showing a massive increase since passed years. As an ex recruitment consultant I spent most of my time searching Linkedin, messaging potential employees and using network information to reach more similar experienced candidates. Linkedin allows recruiters to search for desired individuals by job titles, skills, industries so it is vital you have all your professional information on your profile. Make sure your profile is completely filled out and include keywords related to your career in your title to make it easier for recruiters to pick you out. Not only are recruiters searching for individuals, but they are joining industry relevant groups to check out members. To make sure you don’t slip under the radar you should be connecting and joining conversations to increase your presence. You may not be an expert in your field yet but networking online is a great way to get exposure.

Twitter
Twitter is the largest growing social media platform in recent years, boasting over 100 million active users which is expected to increase to around 250 million by the end of 2012. Recruiters are using tools like Twitter Search and Followerwonk to track down relevant individuals. Similar to the advice about Linkedin, keep your profile relevant and use keywords to make it easier for recruiters to find you. Although there is a major potential for recruiters to reach out to specific people via Twitter the statistics show that recruiters are mostly using Twitter to post job adverts. With the help from companies such as Tweet My Jobs these adverts are getting promoted worldwide. Incorporating these platforms into your job search will increase your opportunities.

Facebook
Facebook has to be mentioned as it is the top dog in the social media world. Again like Twitter, recruiters are less likely to pin point specific individuals although this is on the rise. Recruiters are using Facebook like a job board by advertising vacancies with Facebook Ads and also on their company profiles and Facebook groups. The only warning I give to people reaching out to recruiters via Facebook is to make sure your profile is professional and not laced with Saturday night’s antics.

Not only are recruiters using social media to find people, but to check up on people they already have in their sights. For example when arranging a blind date it is more than tempting to bring up your dates social profiles to get an idea of your potential love. Imagine how tempting it is for a recruiter to quickly surf your online presence before inviting you to an interview. In the past recruiters weighed up candidates from their CV’s but with today’s online generation there is much more information available. Recruiters are regularly performing web searches and visiting your social media profiles even if you have not provided them. By law employees cannot judge you in regards to your political or religious views however they will still be difficult to ignore. A surprising fact is that people are not only being judged on their actions and opinions but on their spelling and grammar! My advice to you is to clean up your media profiles before starting your job search and remove anything that may put off a potential employer.

Author: Charlotte Critchley is an avid blogger and social media enthusiast working on behalf of Sentiment Metrics specialists in social media monitoring.

Sources: Social Recruiting Survey 2012, Jobvite.

This was a guest post for TheEmployable