Social Media: 10 Ways To Get Recruiters To Find You

 Marie Raperto, The Hiring HubSocial media is an important way of life now.  You put your company and your clients out there to be found but do you put yourself out there?  Recruiters and hiring managers use social media to find potential job candidates.  Here are some things you should be doing:

1.  Make sure you show up in searches.  Ensure your profile contains the keywords for the jobs you want.  Remember that internship you had way back when?  Make sure it doesn't have keywords or you will be showing up in searches  in an area you left a long time ago.  Current keywords and no old keywords.
2.  Add contacts.  You want to be seen as much as possible and have anything you posted, shared.
3.  Get a good headshot.  You want to look as professional as possible.  PhotoFeeler is a program that will review your online photo to make sure you are sending the right message.
4.  Stay active.  Update your profile.  Use any summary section to your advantage.  Let the reader know who you are and what you do.  And post regularly.  It can be a business article you read, something about your company or client.
5.  Beware of personal sites.  You might think a recruiter will only look at LinkedIn or Twitter but we do check candidates out on Facebook and other sites.  Having one professional profile and another showing questionable posts or photos will not help you land a job.  So clean up your sites and only post want you want a potential employer to see.
6.  Be consistent in your branding across all platforms.
7.  If you are employed, keep your search confidential.  When editing your profile, turn off the 'notify your network' section.  This way you won't be calling attention to the fact that you just redid you profile.
8.  Use groups and chats to connect with other professionals and get involved in industry discussions.
9.  Be a thought leader.  Start building your brand and posting about your areas of expertise.  You can share your thoughts and articles but also those of others.
10.  Follow company job sites and recruiters.  When you are on a site that uses hashtags, search using the hashtags and your area of interest.

You can and will be found online.  Just follow the rules so you pop up!