Strategies To Find Job Search Success in the New Economy

I read in the news that Apple announced it has sold over five million of its new iPhone 5, just three days after its launch and to sweeten Apple’s products demand, more than 100 million of Apple’s latest operating systems devices have been updated.

Apple’s success is an important indication that the Internet has taken over the new economy. The latest trend of using social media to find job has moved to a dynamic speed. Savvy job seekers knows that they cannot solely rely on traditional means in looking for jobs.

Traditional job search includes strategies such as looking in the newspaper classified advertisements, searching through ‘help wanted’ notices on bulletin boards, going to recruitment or job agencies, and write in for jobs opportunities directly to the companies. All these traditional ways of job search involve an individual reacting to a job that has already been publicly offered.

Although, traditional methods are still necessary, creative, well-informed and socially Internet savvy job seekers will take a step further to stay ahead of their competition by creating an online presence to reach out to more prospective employers. That is because they know that more and more recruiters use the web as a place to search for talent and conduct employment background searches. This trend will set to increase over the years.

Here are 3 ways you can use social media to enhance your job search success:

1) Build your online presence on social network sites.

Make employers find you easily online and thus open doors to more job opportunities. Without an online presence, you will not appear to be as relevant as those who has and you will be passed over for more savvy applicants that have online visibility. Creating online presence include

• LinkedIn- A networking tool for professional connections. Also used to recommend job candidates, industry experts and business partners. Employers use LinkedIn as a search tool to find talent, and job seekers use it to leverage their network in support of their search.
• Twitter – Social networking and instant messaging that allows users to post 140- character updates. Employer can use Twitter to post for job opportunities.
• Facebook – A social network that connects people, to keep up with friends and share ideas. Depending on their privacy level, some job seekers have successfully secured a job through their Facebook network.

2) Create a blog to demonstrate your expertise

Another good way to further boost your image and demonstrate your experience, expertise and passion in a particular field is to create an updated blog. Keep it professional, creative and update it with value add contents for readers. The articles that you post may include tips and advice on issues in your area of expertise, also be mindful that everything you write and post online is up for judgement.

3) YouTube and Pinterest Marketing

Internet savvy job seekers are making use of video marketing to promote themselves. This is a creative approach to job hunting that has become increasingly common in the social media arena. You could create a video resume, such as a short and traditional video that include a general rundown of your work experience, educational background and skills.

While Pinterest is not a networking platform, as it does not allow direct communication, it is becoming increasingly popular with businesses. It is a powerful tool to demonstrate your knowledge, organisational skills, and creativity to prospective employers. You can create boards which relate to specific skills-sets you have and use it as a portal to link to work you want to showcase – like an online portfolio.

4) Online Resume

In the new economy, it has changed the way employers review resumes, the Internet has also made it possible for job seekers to post their resumes online, on their own hosted web sites. This change is particular helpful to those persons whose resume presentation will be greatly enhanced by being able to take advantage of the graphics and interactive capabilities that an online resume on a personal web site can provide.

In a nutshell, in these times, a paper resume is not enough. It is essential to be creative and a well-designed electronic, or online version of your resume combined and linked to a strong social media profile, is usually ideal for a successful job search.