By Luz Lancheros, MWN
Just as we use Instagram and Twitter to post about our family and upload pictures of food, work is also moving to social networks.
In fact, more than half of the people searching for a job do it online, while the second most popular option is to be referred by friends. Almost 98% of Fortune 500 companies use algorithms such as Tracking Systems for Applicants like Taleo and Workday and according to the Jobvite portal, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn continue to be used by approximately 660 million users in more than 200 countries and territories around the world for hiring every year.
Despite these facts, some people feel that using the Internet is confusing and could become a waste of time. And that’s the key: to be able to manage a profile that is not inflated but that gives key information to future bosses and recruiters about the person’s professional profile.
And, of course, for free:
“Paying LinkedIn Premium is like buying a Ferrari, but first you must learn to drive it. Then, the first thing you must be clear about is what you expect the social network to deliver and who your ideal customer is. Our goal is not only to make ourselves visible to a recruiter but to a future boss. But, above all, to show what you can offer,” Guillermo Gonzalez, expert in H2H marketing and in this social network, explained to amNewYork Metro.
And that implies being concise because as in real life, on a social network invented skills are noticed more than a thousand kilometers away.
“You have to understand how your profile fits what your future bosses and/or recruiters are looking for. Examine your competition, look for positions as if you were a recruiter and observe how they handle keywords, what they are searching for; study other profiles,” Gonzalez added. “More than 75% of vacancies are never published since human resource search engines look for certain words and characteristics of a profile and those are the ones they call. Therefore, one must know what one is facing and what keywords to use.”
This is just the first step. Job seekers must also be ingenious when creating the profile: a photo, a confusing account, zero interactions, unsuitable wording… many things can bore a recruiter.
“The average time a person decides to leave or stay on a profile is seven seconds. So you have to work the profile thinking about the search algorithm, but you also work on the photograph, on your promise of value (clear and concise) or it will not be coherent. You also apply to your achievements the keywords that are searched in your field to be read by the person you are looking for. Give recommendations and have your own. That’s important,” he said.
Being visible on all social networks is a constant, hard work and, above all, one in which you can tell at first sight if people are trying “too hard” to the point of despair. Only 0.5% of users generate content that is worthwhile for colleagues or bosses. They also know how to handle messaging without offering services in a way that irritates other users. But above all, says the expert, the ideal is that they publish interesting content three times a week because the algorithm, just like on Facebook or Twitter, automatically rejects saturation.
