Four New Ways to Find That Perfect Job

Social networking has changed the way we look for work.

By harnessing the power of Twitter and Facebook you can increase your employment opportunities.  

Here’s how:

1) Let Facebook know you are looking

US software architect Brian Ward used social media to land a new job 11 days after he lost his old one.

According to Time magazine, Ward updated all of his online profiles. He uploaded a fresh résumé to LinkedIn, the professionals' networking site, and sent out a message his Facebook friends, letting them know he was job hunting.

Having a broad range of friends and acquaintances on Facebook can help when looking for work. You may have only met someone once at a party and ‘friended’ them – but these weak ties – are invaluable when looking for work, argued sociologist Mark Granovetter.

The gist of his groundbreaking research at Stanford was that you are more likely to find work through an acquaintance than a closer friend.

After searching through conventional job boards, as well as Twitter and LinkedIn – an acquaintance approached Ward via Facebook and said she knew of an opportunity that may suit him at her firm.

According to Time, ‘She passed along his résumé and within days he was having an interview.’

2) Build up your contacts

Twitter is an excellent way to follow people in your field of interest who are experts, doing interesting things or who hold strong opinions.

Use the search button to find people who you admire in the sector. They may be the CEO of a big Not for Profit or a small start-up. Regardless of the scale – Twitter will give you a real time insight into what they are doing through your live feed. If you get to a job interview with someone you follow, you’ll be up to date with the company’s new initiatives.

3) Use Twitter as a job search tool

Many employers are cutting out the middle man and advertising directly on Twitter for employees.

Media companies and Not for Profits are just two sectors that who’s 'Help Wanted' tweets have flashed up on my feed in recent weeks with posts like “Sydney-based copy editor wanted for annual report. PleaseRT (retweet )”

This is the strength of weak ties operating at lightning speed.

Campaign strategist Mark Textor recently told Fairfax he had hired two people to his firm Crosby|Textor in the past year through social media.

"It saves a hell of a lot of time," Mr Textor said.

"It is a very efficient means of filtering in, or identifying talent, quite early.

"You still have to go through due diligence, but it narrows down a better shortlist more quickly," he said.

4) Market yourself using social media

Get enough followers on Twitter by providing interesting and informative content (which is usually a mix of your own views and links to useful articles or information) and you may find that yourself fielding job offers.

Website Mashable advises that “your goal should be to become an industry expert — or at least tweet like one.”

This year Canberra public servant Greg Jericho was offered a job as a researcher on the ABC show Hamster Wheel after his blog and tweets became a ‘must read’ for anyone in the political or media worlds.

Just keep your tweets clean and nice – being aware that your reputation is affected by everything you post.