Get Social: 5 Simple Social Media Tactics That Lead to a Job

By Arnie Fertig

Do you stay up till all hours of the night, posting your résumé and responding to ads on job boards like Monster or CareerBuilder? Is this the essence of your job hunt? If so, you are far from alone.

If you haven't been successful using this tactic, there is a good reason: Companies report that while 42 percent of their applicants come via job boards, only 14 percent of the people they hire come from this source. These numbers, and others in this article, were first revealed in Jobvite's 2013 Social Recruiting Survey of more than 1,600 recruiters and human resources professionals.

Across all industries, there is a whopping 94 percent adoption of social recruiting. These days, recruiting and hiring are all about networking, both in-person and online. It is hard to overstate the importance of your online presence as key to a successful job search.


As you might expect, 94 percent of recruiters use LinkedIn and 65 percent use Facebook. Lest you focus your energies only on the big two, bear in mind that more than half of recruiters and HR staffing specialists are using Twitter. And Jobvite identifies other "specialized, localized and up-and-coming social networks" that recruiters utilize to source talent: Instagram, Vimeo, GitHub, Stack Overflow, XING, Yammer and Pinterest

Understand what sites are used for what purposes. Companies use different websites differently. For example, Twitter is great for a company showcasing itself. It is easy and free to send out tweets announcing open positions in an effort to gain corporate visibility and draw you to a company's website.

Facebook's company pages are used to create a following, to put out much more information about the values, products and services of a company. This way, it builds its own employer brand and reputation. More than half of all companies utilize Facebook as a means of bolstering their own employee referral programs where they reward current employees for bringing to their attention others who are successfully recruited to come on board.

Tip: Look at what companies are saying about themselves on Twitter and Facebook. Follow them, and begin to interact with them to gain your own credibility. Build relationships, followers and friends as a means of networking yourself inside a company.

Tip: Ignore LinkedIn at your own peril. This website does it all. Recruiters use it to search for candidates, contact them, keep tabs on people and vet them as well as posting jobs. Make certain that your profile is complete and up-to-date, join and become seen in LinkedIn's groups, and look for posted opportunities both in the main "Jobs" tab as well as those different jobs posted within the myriad of LinkedIn's groups accessible only to group members.


Understand what recruiters look for on social networks.

More Tips, Tactics, and the complete article


Arnie Fertig is the head coach of JOBHUNTERCOACH.COM, where he utilizes his extensive background in HR Staffing and as owner of a recruiting company to help mid-career job-hunters land their next job. Arnie provides one-to-one coaching services to individuals throughout the U.S. in all aspects of the job hunt, including: resume writing, personal branding, utilizing social media, enhancing networking skills, preparing for interviews, and negotiating compensation.