The Master of Science in Strategic Communications online program at Arkansas State not only enhances your ability to strategically further your organization’s mission, but it also enables you to strategically position yourself in the job market as someone with the unique credentials to drive results for organizations.
One of the ways this program helps you to position yourself in your career is through its emphasis on social media, interwoven throughout the curriculum and the subject of two courses: Social Media Measurement and Social Media in Strategic Communication.
Social Media Is Changing Hiring
Hiring has undergone a metamorphosis, due in large part to social media. It enables recruiters to more easily source ideal candidates through LinkedIn or targeted advertising on Facebook and Twitter. Employers are no longer limited to active job seekers; now they can find passive candidates who are currently working and not looking for a position.
Hiring managers and HR departments discern quite a bit from your profiles, including your work history and education, industry knowledge, communication style and personal interests. They also use it as a screening tool to confirm qualifications and conduct background checks. Therefore, it pays to have the knowledge to be in control of your image on social media.
The social media skills and knowledge you acquire can be used to help you find your ideal position with a company you are targeting. In addition, it can help employers find your profile when you are not actively searching for a position.
Here are just a few of the strategies you may employ in your job search:
Use Your LinkedIn Profile as a Centralized Hub
Your LinkedIn profile page is where many employers start to research you online. Make sure it serves as a jumping off point to your presence elsewhere online. Point recruiters to your personal website, blog and any multimedia presentations, podcasts or writing you have done. If you have been featured or quoted in industry news stories, link these from your profile. Assuming your Facebook and Twitter accounts have been carefully scrubbed of any material you do not want potential employers to see, you can link these accounts as well.
Finally, make sure that your profile contains the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) keywords that recruiters use when they seek candidates for the position you desire.
Become an Online Thought Leader
Starting with your LinkedIn profile, publish articles that demonstrate the range and depth of your industry knowledge. First, consider the position for which you want to be hired and demonstrate that you have precisely the knowledge and skills employers seek. Next, publish a variety of articles, as well as other forms of content (infographics, video and podcasts) including how-to pieces, your take on important industry developments and interviews with other industry thought leaders.
Once you produce professional content for one platform, post it across your internet profiles, from your Facebook and Twitter accounts to your personal website. Use your Twitter and Facebook profiles not only to post your own content but to engage with others in your field about relevant industry news and to share valuable information. Be sure to engage with others’ posts as often as you create your own.
Join LinkedIn Groups and Professional Associations
These groups have forums where like-minded professionals share information, help one another solve problems and learn about upcoming professional development opportunities. Join and engage with these groups; use them to form valuable professional alliances. Be helpful, not self-serving, and you will attract industry professionals to your LinkedIn profile. Actively engaging in these groups alone helps you to establish a presence as a thought leader, especially in local groups.
Request Introductions Through Your Social Contacts
LinkedIn enables you to see mutual connections between professionals you have a relationship with and people you may want to connect with at your target companies. Once your profile is set up and ready to impress, you can ask for career introductions from the people you know. Just be sure to contact people who can honestly vouch for your skills and qualifications. Of course, you can also contact people through your other social platforms if you know them well enough to ask for this favor.
Social media is a valuable job-hunting tool because it expedites many of the steps job seekers traditionally take while networking in person. It also enables new possibilities like self-publishing and making deep industry connections without leaving home. There is no doubt that mastery of social media is an extraordinary advantage for job seekers.
Learn more about Arkansas State’s online Master of Science in Strategic Communications program.
Sources:
SummitSearchGroup: How Social Media Can Affect the Hiring Process