Social media affects job searches one share at a time

Social media sites have the ability to get someone hired and get someone fired.

Social media is becoming more prevalent in the job searching world thanks to sites such as LinkedIn.

In today’s society, the Internet is riddled with social media sites where people are able to share basically everything in their lives. What many people don’t keep in mind, however, is that while friends and family may be looking at their newsfeeds, so are employers.

“It can be hard because you’re trying to live the life of a college student but you also want to build your professional brand, and your professional self is not going to the bar every night,” Katie Kreis, a fourth-year journalism and communication major with a focus in social media, said. “You want to look like what you would at a job interview or to your parents or to your grandparents and that’s not always what people portray on social media.”

Unlike 20 years ago where employers did not get a sense of the applicant until they met in an interview, today it is as easy as a Google search and looking at a person’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other forms of social media. It is always important to remember that social media can be a tool used in the job searching process just as much as it is used to share life events.

“Some people will use sites like Facebook where they don’t regularly post on to post comments or articles about the industry they are going in,” Derek Solheim, the director of Pathways Center, said. “You can actually craft a Facebook profile that would highlight you lifting up the industry you want to be a part of.”

There are sites like LinkedIn that are catered to helping create a professional profile and find potential jobs. According to Solheim, it is the strongest job searching platform, it is very easy to use and looks similar to job searching websites.

“As we’re [students] starting to build our network, LinkedIn is a really important resource,” Kreis said. “We’re interacting with people all over the place. Whether it’s through your job on campus or your internships you have off campus.”

When creating a LinkedIn profile, a person can add professional experiences. There are places to input past jobs, skills, volunteer experience, education and clubs. It is important to maintain an updated page and upload a generic resume that can be used to apply to various jobs.

“Your goal is to paint a picture through your LinkedIn profile as to what are your skills, why are you a good candidate, why you would fit in this job,” Solheim said. “You should have a professional looking LinkedIn profile and have a nice headshot.”

There is also a function that allows users to put in jobs they are searching for, and LinkedIn will recommend positions based on their preferences.

“I recommend creating a Gmail account used only for job search and send job search agents to go to that account,” Solheim said. “You don’t send anything out through it, it’s just a repository that you can quickly scan for internships coming in and jobs.”

For more information on career counseling at Warburg, go to https://www.wartburg.edu/career-services.

Originally published in the Wartburg Trumpet.