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The following is a guest post by Eva Wislow. Eva is a writer and career coach at CareersBooster.com. She helps others gain insight into their career search and achieve the most ambitious life goals. Connect with Eva on Twitter.

Almost every article you read on the Internet will tell you that people are being headhunted on social media all the time, but are they? Online articles are eager to tell you that companies are searching out employees on social media, but do you know any companies at all that are doing it? Have you ever met a person that got a job because a company contacted him/her over social media?

Think about it logically? If you are an established company and you advertise a job, you are going to have hundreds (maybe thousands) of applicants, so why would you go searching out strangers on social media? The only way social media is going to help you get a job is if you make all the effort. Here is how you make the effort and use social media to help you get a job.

Get First-Hand Information on Which Jobs Will Become Available

The job market is very competitive, especially if you want a good job. Most positions are filled very quickly, and some companies list adverts for jobs despite the fact they already have somebody in mind. Why would they do this? They do it because the HR managers have to prove they “Looked” and/or that they didn’t show favoritism to people without giving others the opportunity to apply.

Social media may help you get firsthand information on which jobs will soon become available. You may start romancing the company before they list the job vacancy online. You can find out by keeping up to date with the company’s social media feeds, or by befriending people in the company that are privy to such information.

Make Contacts in A Company You Wish to Work For

Don’t think of the company as a faceless organization, it is packed full of people who want to make friends, who want social validation, and who wish to reach out to others. Make friends with people via social media and they may help you get a job. People fall in love over social media, so is it so difficult to believe that you could make friends in a company and end up working with your friends at a later date?

Your Social Media Profile May Count as A Due Diligence Check

When an HR department receives interesting applications, they have to do a certain number of checks to see if you are who you say you are, and many companies consider a social media check to count as a due diligence check. If your social media profiles echo what you say on your application, then you are one step closer to getting the job you desire.

In addition, why wouldn’t you improve your social media profiles to show off your best side? Remove the photos of you drinking and/or acting a fool, and replace them with images of a person that is suitable for the job you are applying for. Post the sort of things that would impress your future employer.

Using LinkedIn To Help You Get a Job

It is very easy to use LinkedIn to help you get a job. Upload your CV and a great picture, and you are done. You can make connections and such if you wish, but it is not 100% necessary. Simply having a good resume and a good picture on LinkedIn is all that is needed.

LinkedIn isn’t making it easy for employers to find good people (try it if you don’t believe me), but it is far cheaper and easier to use LinkedIn to find employees than it is to use recruitment agencies or online job websites. The sheer expense of online job boards is enough to push employers towards LinkedIn. The least you can do is make your LinkedIn CV look presentable, easy to read, clear, concise, and above all, make it easily accessible for employers.

Make Your LinkedIn Account Easier for Employers To Find

Using LinkedIn to find a job is fine, so long as you make it easy for employers to find you too. Make your LinkedIn profile more accessible by posting links to your LinkedIn profile on your website, your blog, and your other social media profiles. Even if you do not have a website or blog, you can comment on other people’s blogs/websites and link them back to your LinkedIn profile.

This will make it easier for employers to find your profile on Google, which will consequently make it easier for them to find you with apps that use the Google search engine as a database. If Google has your LinkedIn profile on its database, then you should be able to Google your own name, look at the Google images section, and see your LinkedIn profile picture in there.

Using Google+ To Help You Get a Job

Show your future employer that you associate with suitable people. In addition, if you are trying to rework your blog or personal website to become more search engine friendly, then Google+ integration will take you far.

Just like the section above, if you are on Google+, you should be more easily accessible via Google. Again, if you type in your name to Google and go to Google images, you should see your Google+ picture on the image results.

Using Facebook To Help You Get a Job

Make contacts with people that work in the company you wish to work for, and create a profile that makes you look suitable for the job you are applying for. When HR staff checks up on your social media profiles, they are likely to check your Facebook profile first, then your LinkedIn profile, then your Google+ profile.

Blogs and Personal Branding

If you have a blog, it cannot hurt to promote yourself through it. If it is suitable, you should direct your future employer towards it. Try to make your personal branding sync up with your social media profiles so that you are creating the same (good) impression across the board.

Using Twitter to Help You Get a Job

If you already have a Twitter feed, then post about things that are job-related. If you are lucky, a future employer will start following you, and your posts may help convince your future employer to give you an interview.

Posting about job-related and industry-related matters will make you appear more professional and employable after your first contact. Your future employer will conduct research into the type of person you are and will see you have numerous intelligent, pointed, usable and professional posts on Twitter…and it will create a very positive impression.

Conclusion

Social media is a powerful tool that may help you get a job. Go through the pain of changing your social media profiles at a fundamental level to make yourself appear more suitable for a job. Remove the dirty jokes and half-naked pictures of your partner, and replace them with images and posts that make you look ideal for the job you just applied for.

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