By Emily Connor
Muhammad Ali made it quite clear from the start that he was going to be ‘The Greatest’. Sir Alan Sugar knew he wanted to be a business tycoon.
What do they both have in common? They both knew where they wanted to go, loudly told everyone who would listen and then put a plan in place to get there.
Career development is not just about getting your head down and working hard. As much as you may tremble at the thought of ‘networking’, to achieve career success you have to do a certain level of schmoozing. And it seems social media is where it is all happening.
73% of under 34-year-olds found their last job through social networking
In the last ten years, social media has become a pivotal part of recruitment; both to source candidates and to research the credibility of candidates who are already in the interview process. Companies want the best candidates in the market, and social media is an inexpensive way of attracting them.
The figures behind social media recruiting will astound you. In 2017 a survey by Jobvite, a recruiting software company, found that employers are spending 29% of their recruiting budget to attract high-quality candidates from social media in comparison to 28% planned spend on job boards.
A study by the Aberdeen Group found a whopping 73% of under 34-year-olds found their last job through social networking. Additionally, 87% of recruiters vet their candidate’s social media postings as part of the selection process.
How do you get noticed by organisations you want to work for?
You could try jumping up and down in front of their office building with your CV taped to your body, but somehow I don’t think it would work. You need to target the companies on social media intelligently. Let’s say there are ten companies who recruit for your ideal role then you need to follow all ten on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
And here is the key bit- you have to comment on the groups to get your name known.
Surveys have found that employers give slightly more importance to an employee being a good culture fit than their actual skills and experience. Comments you make on the companies social media pages should reflect just how perfectly perfect you are for their business.
Let’s say you’re an Accountant for a small manufacturing company. Your ideal next career step is to manage an Accounting team for a similar sized manufacturing company. You should follow and regularly comment on all the local manufacturing companies on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
It is likely that hiring managers of these companies post and read comments on their social sites. The more they see your name on their site and interact with you, that’s the more likely they are to give your CV that essential second glance when recruiting.
Be the first to hear the news
If a company, that you want to work for, posts about how it has just won a massive contract. Be bold, send a congratulatory message asking if this means they will be doing any recruiting? By keeping your finger on the pulse, you are in prime position to be first through the door if there are any opportunities.
Have an up to date CV ready to ping over to the hiring manager
Whether online or at a local event, you meet one of the hiring managers you so desperately want to impress. You tell them how great you are and eloquently gush about how you’d love to work for them.
They are suitably flattered and impressed and ask you to send your CV over. All your efforts will be wasted if you make them wait two days for you to write a CV. Have an up to date version of your CV on your phone and ping it over to the hiring manager while they are online / stood in front of you.
Happy schmoozing.
About
Advice on how to make your CV great can be found here.
Emily Connor is a market leader in CV writing. She is known internationally for her success in writing CVs that place candidates in their dream job.
Contact her at her company, CV Folks, for free initial advice on writing your CV on 02032877719.
Her company, CV Folks, has helped hundreds of people receive 3+ job offers just by having their CV professionally rewritten by her and her team. Call now for free initial advice: 02032877719.
