As the Social Media Manager here at Career Services, I wanted to share a task on my to-do list: investigating the latest social media platforms for one’s job search. I encourage you to add this to your own to-do list, especially if you’re a heavy social media user like myself. One of the most distinguishing characteristics about social media is its dynamic nature; there is never a dull moment and its always changing. There are new tools coming out all the time to help your job search. As a job seeker, this means you have a variety of tools at your discretion BUT you need to do your homework before you sign up for something new.
Adopt a buyer-beware mentality. Sites like In the Door, StartWire or BranchOut are well-intentioned – they want to help you tap into your social network to find a job. But what else is involved? You need to consider the pros and cons to their service. Here are some questions to ask:
What is their privacy policy?
What information of mine and my friends can they see?
Who can access this information? Just me, just my friends, employers, etc.
Is there a cost?
Where do the jobs on the site come from? Are they from an aggregator like indeed.com? Do employers post directly?
Once I have a job, what does my affiliation with the site entail? Can my employer see my account?
Here at Career Services, we don’t endorse or partner with any of these sites. They are resources out there for you to utilize. So if you decide to use them, make sure you take the necessary pre-cautions before signing up.
If you’re new to social media and want to explore how you can use these platforms in your search, check out our resource pages for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
