Using Social Media in Your Job Search – Confidentially

We often work with people who are still employed but who have seen the writing on the wall for the future of their companies.  They seek us out to proactively start their job search process before they find themselves in a desperate situation.  Many who are currently employed are nervous about sending any signals that they are seeking new opportunities.  So what can you do to keep your job search confidential while using social media?

LinkedIn

LinkedIn offers many helpful ways to prevent your current coworkers from suspecting that you’re looking for a job.  For instance, when you join groups on LinkedIn, you can choose to not have those groups displayed on your profile.  You can also set your privacy settings so that people can’t tell when you’ve looked at their profiles—although the tradeoff is that this will disable your ability to know who’s looking at you.  Lastly, you can choose to not have your news feed publicly displayed, so it won’t be obvious that you’re adding new colleagues or connections.

Facebook

If you keep your personal Facebook account and your professional contacts separate, Facebook becomes a very easy place to seek out information related to new career opportunities.  Many companies and organizations have Facebook pages that you can “like” to get more information about the company.   Some even have a “We’re Hiring” tab with job opportunities posted right on their page.  Facebook is also a great place to get in touch with old school friends or neighbors who may not be professional contacts on LinkedIn, but who might have a great way to help you land your next job.

Twitter

Twitter is a great place to get yourself noticed as a voice in your field.  If you’re looking to stay in your current field, posting articles or other content related to your work on a Twitter account shouldn’t raise any eyebrows among your colleagues.  If you’re looking to change industries into something where you have a personal interest, no one can really question your tweeting about your hobbies and interests.  The good news is that other people in whatever field interests you can come across your tweets, start following you, and build an online relationship based on your common interests.

If you become savvy with social media display and privacy controls, these sites can offer you a fantastic opportunity to put yourself out there as a passive candidate.  Just make sure you’re updating these sites on your own time, so no one can accuse you of wasting company resources.

Recent studies show that 70-80% of people are not leveraging LinkedIn efficiently. Are you one of those job seekers who are getting lost in the shuffle? The fact of the matter is, if you don’t have a noticeable online presence you do not exist for some hiring authorities. If you’re in a job search it’s time to invest in professional LinkedIn profile development and start getting noticed.