Below if our latest submission for this week’s 24 hour newspaper: Using social media for job search.

Using social media for job search

With constantly changing technology, it’s time for you to open your mind to using social media as a job search tool. Social media isn’t a replacement for traditional methods (e.g. resume to job banks, corporate websites, job agents, job fairs etc.), rather just another tool to add to your repertoire.

Here are some secrets you should consider when using social media:

1. Search people instead of a job search
Since the majority of jobs aren’t posted online you want to get yourself out to people before the job ad goes external. Many studies have noted that 80% of jobs are taken through social networking. Use the web to search people in companies you would actually enjoy working for.

2. Track employees that currently work there.
You can search through corporate groups, pages and people on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Once you find a contact name, Google it to see if there is any additional information about that person.

3. Connect with the person directly.
Social media gets rid of communication barriers, so go ahead and message someone you aren’t friends with and don’t have contact information for, without any hassles. Before you message a target employee, realize that they receive messages from people asking for jobs all the time so wait until the 3rd or 4th messages, before asking if there is an available opportunity.

4. Sell yourself by creating a blog
With free blogging services out there such as WordPress, it is easy to market yourself online. This does however take some work and passion to be committed to a lot of writing, creativity and consistency in order for it to actually help you. A blog is a non-intrusive way of getting recruiters and employers interested in your brand, without you even asking for a job! Best of all, you can attach your blog to various other social site profiles within Linked, Facebook etc. So you always have an electronic profile available.

5. Be proactive on Twitter
Twitter (Twitter) has become the ultimate utility to connect directly with recruiters and employees at companies you want to work for. Most people get jobs on Twitter by already having hundreds or thousands of followers. Build trust, credibility and strong relationships with your followers over time, so they were more willing to help you in time of need.

6. Capitalize on LinkedIn
Employers and recruiters are starting to use LinkedIn as the main place for sourcing candidates because it’s free and the top professionals use this site religiously. In order to use LinkedIn to its best ability, I suggest completing your profile entirely, such that it says “100% complete.” Do not, sell yourself short.

Remember, import all your contacts to Outlook, Gmail (Gmail), etc, so that you can start to build your network or grow your existing network. The more people you’re connected to the better.