Social Media: Friend or Foe?

Since I became both a Facebook and Twitter convert (in 2007 and 2011, respectively), all I have ever heard regarding both social media outlets is to be careful about what I post and to monitor my page. Certainly that is wise advice as anything on the internet is easily accessible by essentially, well, the entire world. And though that advice is sound, I do think that sometimes it creates a divide between the idea that social media has to be separate from the job search and from your professional life in general.

I came across an article on the Newsday website when job hunting that speaks exactly to this kind of apprehension and calls for utilizing social media to all of its advantages. Social media doesn't necessarily have to hurt your job search -- instead, it can enhance it. It not only has become a crucial tool in staying connected with your friends and family, but it has become a strategic marketing tool as well. Sure, you might say, a strategic marketing tool for businesses and organizations, and YES that is true. However, Facebook and Twitter can be utilized to build yourself as your own brand, and ultimately, that may assist in your job search. You can be a self-actualized individual as demonstrated through your Facebook, Twitter or even blog (shameless plug for my reinforcing the importance of my own blog?).

I had a friend once tell me a story about a friend of hers who took advantage of social media, specifically Twitter to get a job, not much unlike the story in the article linked above. She became engaged in conversations on Twitter with organizations she was interested in potentially working for and when it came time for her to get a job, she tweeted about her job hunt. And then, like any great social media fairytale, her tweet got a reply mentioning a potential job and needless to say, she was happily ever after employed.

Of course, this doesn't happen to everyone and there are some people who still have profile pictures of themselves at a party double-fisting beer cans while drinking from a funnel -- but I guess it's just another aspect of the job hunt that is important to keep in mind. And until then, keep your tweets and posts professional! You never know who could be reading them...