“Job Hunting? Face-to-Face Trumps Online” |
| Job Hunting? Face-to-Face Trumps Online Posted: 20 Dec 2010 09:07 PM PST Social media like Facebook and LinkedIn are being used in ways many never imagined. How critical are they in finding a job? KERA's Aida Ahmed is an SMU student who will graduate and join the job hunt next Spring. She wanted to know just how far social media will take her in finding the perfect position. Here's what Aida found out. This year, employers expect to hire 5% more new college graduates than they did in 2009. That's according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. But some still can't find a job. That includes David Crawford, a Southern Methodist University student who's cranking out his last paper for the semester. He's been counting on his social media skills to land a job. Crawford: The day after I graduated I started going online and researching and seeing what was available. Crawfords' been using LinkedIn and SMU's online job search tool, MustangTRAK. He's also started following companies on Facebook and Twitter for possible job postings. A recent student survey says that about 37% of college seniors say they use a social media profile in the job search. But less than 6% have ever been contacted by an employer through that profile. Crawford has experienced the same frustration. Crawford: It's been a couple of months of rigorous searching but nothing, nothing solid. SMU's career development center offers students advice and an online job database. Director Darin Ford says social media networking can be productive if done properly. He recommends following companies on Twitter and the more professional social media site LinkedIn. Ford: When using LinkedIn, develop your website, develop your profile and try to create pieces of information, areas, your resume, to where when companies use LinkedIn, they can find you real easily. With Twitter, I think it's more of an information gathering source like I said before, but follow the people that you consider in some way a mentor, either through just what they write or how they behave or where they're working. But Ford says that no matter how much you network online, it will never take the place of a real life relationship. Ford: Networking, whether it's five years ago or five years from now, and I mean networking when they can hear your voice in some way, one on one networking, over the phone networking, it will be the most valuable piece of what we do. Advertising recruiter Kelly O'Neill agrees social media is only one tool you should use in a job search. O'Neill works at the Dallas-based advertising company, The Richards Group and uses social media in the hiring process. She receives hundreds of job inquiries through the company's LinkedIn and Facebook pages. O'Neill says it's not about how many contacts you make using social media, it's how you portray yourself online. O'Neill: I would say probably more than half of the inquiries that we get are either pending graduates or recent graduates. We will certainly use the LinkedIn and other avenues to find out information about how an individual is presenting themselves out in the social media space. So what kind of an image are they portraying? What are they wanting us to know about them, based on the presence that they have out in the social media space as well. O'Neill advises graduates to do a lot of research into the companies they want to work for. But, for some like Crawford, that may not be enough. So if you're using social media in the job hunt, you may want to remember that it's not about how many companies you Retweet or friend, but making a personal connection with employers as well. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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