7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media

Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, and owner of the award winning Personal Branding Blog.  From Mashable.com

Between current economic conditions and the technological evolution
of the Internet, the traditional approach most job seekers have taken
in the past is no longer viable.

The approach - developing a resume and cover letter, locating jobs
on and submitting your resume to corporate sites and job banks, and
crossing your fingers in hopes of receiving a call from a hiring
manager - is, for the most part, a thing of the past. The new approach
is far different. It boils down to the fact that there are fewer jobs
available, more competition for those jobs and more touch points for
recruiters and seekers to interact.

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The current environment

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In 2008, there were 1.2 million job losses,
unemployment is currently at 6.5%, and the largest companies are
shedding as much as 10% of their workforces. There will be 1.5 million
college graduates this year, yet the job growth rate is at a six year low, at 1.3%! The amount of jobs posted online is decreasing at over 13%, which has all led to the ratio of 3.3 job seekers per each job.

Social networks are starting to become part of the criteria that
both hiring managers and college admissions officers are using to weed
out applicants. One in five hiring managers conduct background checks using social networks (primarily Facebook), while one in ten college admissions officers do the same.

It's time for you to be open-minded and think differently about how
you're going to get your next job and keep it. I'm not saying you
shouldn't submit your resume to job banks, corporate websites, vertical
job agents (Simply Hired/Indeed)
or attend job fairs, but these should only consume 10% of your time.
The other 90% should be concentrated on the following seven social
media secrets, which will not only get you a job, but help you create
your own dream job!

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1. Conduct a people search instead of a job search

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The majority of jobs aren't posted online. Hiring managers get a
list of employee referral candidates before they even bother to view
resumes from those who submit them online. Sometimes the listed jobs
aren't available or never existed in the first place. Many studies have
noted that 80% of jobs are taken through networking, but few have
sought to use the web to search and locate people they would actually
enjoy working for at companies that they get excited about.

The 3-step people search:

1. Identify the top five companies that you would like to work for.

Use a focused approach instead of flooding thousands of inboxes with
spam. You want to brand yourself, not just as the person of best fit
for a job, but as someone who is eager and ecstatic to work for the
company.

2. Use search engines to track employees that currently work there.

There are over 130 million blogs in Technorati
and you can search through them to possibly find someone who works at
one of your top five companies. You can search through corporate
groups, pages and people on FacebookFacebook reviews. You can even do the same on Twitter. Then there are people search engines such as pipl, peek you, and wink. Once you find a contact name, try googling it to see if there is any additional information about that person.

3. Connect with the person directly.

Social media has broken down barriers, to a point where you can 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 and that
they might not want to be bothered on Facebook, where their true
friends are. As long as you've done your homework on the company and
them, tailor a message that states who you are and your interest,
without asking for a job at first. Get to know them and then by the 3rd
or 4th messages, ask if there is an available opportunity.

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2. Use attraction-based marketing to get job offers

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The traditional way of searching for a job was proactive, forcing
you to start a job that you might not have enjoyed. The new approach is
about building a powerful personal brand and attracting job
opportunities directly into your doorstep. How do you do this? You
become a content producer instead of just a consumer and the number one
way to do that on the web is to launch a blog that centers around both
your expertise and passions.

You need to be passionate to be committed to this project because it
requires a lot of writing, creativity and consistency in order for it
to actually help you. A blog is a non-intrusive, harmless and generous
way of getting recruiters interested in your brand, without you even
asking for a job! Make the recruiters fall in love with you and only
send you opportunities that are related to your blog content, so you
end up happy in the end.

This works a lot and is expected for new-age marketing jobs that
require experience in social media and can even help you jump-start a
new business off of your blog platform. By pulling recruiters into your
world, you are able to impress them with what you want them to see and
they can make a quick decision whether to hire you or not, without you
hearing about rejection. Start a blog today using Wordpress.com (for beginners) or install Wordpress.org onto your own host (such as GoDaddy or Bluehost).

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3. Be proactive on Twitter

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TwitterTwitter reviews
has become the ultimate utility to connect directly with recruiters and
employees at companies you want to work for. By conducting Twitter
searches, following recruiters on your account and using the "@" sign
to communicate with them on occasion, you will start to learn a lot
about them and their companies.

Before you follow anyone on Twitter, you HAVE TO have a completed
profile. This means, you should have a short bio, the location where
you're from, a link to a site that recruiters can go to for more
information (I recommend your blog or your LinkedIn profile) and an
avatar of yourself (not a clown or Homer Simpson please). This way, you
stand a better chance of securing an opportunity or a relationship with
people who care enough to read your profile.

Most people get jobs on Twitter by already having hundreds or
thousands of followers. For example, I've heard of at least ten people
getting a job by tweeting "just got laid off, looking for a job in
finance" and then receiving a few direct messages with people who want
to help them. Of course, these individuals had built trust, credibility
and relationships with their followers over time, so they were more
inclined to come to their rescue. You can do the same, just start right
now!

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4. Capitalize on LinkedIn

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It's no surprise that LinkedInLinkedIn reviews
has been extremely profitable and successful as of late. Recruiters are
starting to use LinkedIn as the main place for sourcing candidates
because it's free and the top professionals are on there. Many people
don't use LinkedIn to the best of their ability and fail to complete
their entire profile, such that it says "100% complete."

Just like any other search engine recruiters are using, keywords are
extremely important. You want to fill out your entire profile, just
like you would a resume, but include the same avatar you are using on
Twitter (see above) and ensure that the summary section is complete.
You'll also want to get at least one recommendation from a supervisor
or friend, which will give you a "1″ next to a "thumbs up" graphic when
people search for you.

Then, you should import all your contacts from Outlook, GmailGmail reviews,
etc, so that you can start to build your network or grow your existing
network. The more people you're connected to the better because you're
only able to reach other people in your network (1st, 2nd & 3rd
degrees) by having these connections. You may want to pay for a premium
account, so you can contact other recruiters that may help you.
Finally, you should conduct searches on there for jobs that you may be
interested in and reach out to those individuals that may supply you
with an interview or referral.

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5. Advertise your brand using AdWords and Facebook Social Ads

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Google AdWords is Google's
advertising platform, which offers CPC (cost-per-click) and CPI
(cost-per-impression) pricing for advertisements on GoogleGoogle reviews and partner sites. Some of their partner sites are newspapers, radio and TV.

Before running your advertisement, you need a landing page. If you
have a website or blog, then use the resume page within it to display
through advertising. This works beautifully because recruiters can see
that single resume page and notice all the other pages/options on your
website, to get a better sense of your brand.

Here's how to create your ad:

1. Title. When you create your ad, label yourself as
   a specialist, expert or guru on the title tag. You might want to state
   the fact that it's your resume first.


2. Description. In the next two description tags,
   pull out your biggest achievements in 6 words or less and list your
   personal brand statement or a few descriptors.


3. URL. For your URL, don't use the URL for your resume page. Instead use yourname.com for personal branding purposes. Drop the "www" from the domain you want to promote because it's unnecessary.

Facebook Social Ads
allow businesses and individuals to advertise using Facebook's news
feed or left rail (will change to 2 ad spots on the right when the new
interface swaps over). This program works similar to Google's but you
can use a picture and it's more "word-of-mouth friendly" because ads
travel through the news feed of friends.

Here's how to create your ad:

1. Title. What is the ad for? The title is the most
   important piece of your ad because it has the most "text" emphasis. I
   would say "I want to work for <insert company name>" or "Resume
   for <insert position type>." Try and be as specific as you can.


2. Picture. Just like your Facebook picture, don't
   use a picture that you wouldn't want shown to your future employer. I
   would go for a professional yet personal picture.


3. Description. Don't write your resume, but instead
   give the viewer a quick description of who you are, what you do and
   what job you want in 25 words.

Once you create your ad, either link it to your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile or blog/website.
These ads are all about targeting a specific group that would care
about your resume or hiring you for that matter. When you select your
target audience, keep your major in mind, as well as the company and
location.

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6. Construct a video resume and upload it to YouTube

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A search for "video resume" on YouTubeYouTube reviews
will give you over 1,700 results. Many video resumes are good, while
others are so amateur and rehearsed that they subtract from a given
candidates marketing program. The key with a video resume is that very
few people have actually created one, so they serve as a differentiator
in the recruiting process.

A good video resume is short, describes the value you can contribute
to a given position, explains why you're the best person for the job
and talks about your background in a story-like format. If you aren't a
person with an outgoing and lively personality, then don't bother
creating one. Since you're filming yourself, don't rush because you can
always try it a hundred times before you upload the final version to
YouTube.

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7. Subscribe to blogs that have job listings

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We all subscribe to blogs to receive information based on our
interests, at least I hope. Over time we rely on these sources for
information to keep us updated on what is happening in certain
industries or different trends that are developing. In the past few
years, the larger blogs have started to integrate job banks into their
own websites, using software/hosting from companies such as Job-a-matic.

Blogs that have taken this approach include Guy Kawasaki's blog, GigaOM, and Jeremiah Owyang's Web Strategy Blog.

Other blogs, such as Darren Rowse's Problogger Blog offer blogging jobs, and MashableMashable reviews has a job board highlighting jobs in social media and tech.

This targeting will save you from hours searching and help escort you to jobs that you'd actually want.

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Integrate the traditional and social media approach

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These
seven secrets are extremely important in your next job search. The most
successful job searches come from those who have already built up
strong networks, both online and off. You need to integrate this
new-age approach with the traditional approach you've already been
using, in order to be consistent, so there are no surprises from the
recruiter's perspective. They want the candidate they see on paper or
online.

I would recommend that you use a link to your blog, LinkedIn profile
and YouTube video resume on your traditional resume. You'll also want
to link your existence on all social networks together. You need to be
where recruiters are searching, as well as become a content producer so
you can attract them directly to you. That is how you have a successful
job search and stand out for years to come.

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Interested in more personal branding & career resources?

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- "Career Toolbox: 100+ Places to Find Jobs Online"

- "10 Ways Personal Branding Can Save You From Getting Fired"

- "HOW TO: Get the Most Out of LinkedIn"

- "Twitter, Facebook, Digg: Can You Join Too Many Networks?"

Imagery courtesy of iStockphoto, peepo, FugeSpot