Question from TG: What are your thoughts about doing the classic looking for jobs post on social media? is this to desperate style?

Closed mouths don’t get feed. Silent wheels don’t get oiled.  Closed legs catch the bus.  Wait! What? Jobs, jobs, jobs.  If you have said an aggressive ‘No’ to the idea of connecting with current co-workers on social media, I see no problem with announcing to the world that you are tired of your current employers’ shyt, and are looking for a new opportunity.  Is it desperate?  Who cares?

Upside:  Folks start hitting you up about opportunities.  Folks start passing your name to folks who having hiring power.

Downside:  Folks start hitting you up about opportunities for which you are not interested or over-qualified.  Folks start passing your name to folks who don’t have hiring power, make promises, and waste your time.

Consider whether your friends and contacts know what you do for a living.  Most of my friends have no idea what I do or a living.  I am equally unaware of exactly what they do.  I can tell you names of companies, their degrees (sometimes), who holds an elected office, and maybe if they ever work from home.  Truth is, I have read things and heard things (including podcasts), where my friends were quoted and was shocked.  Side Note: One of my girls is a fancy artificial intelligence person.  I literally just paused to make sure she alerts me to when the AI is on the cusp of turning on women.  Don’t trip!  AI is gonna turn on men first because of the sex robots.

If your friends know what you do, tell them, repeatedly, that you’re looking.  You know why?  Most companies give referral bonuses.  Promise them a night of drinks, coke, or hookers.  Whatever they’re into.

Build a Foundation for Your Future Employment Prospects

If you went to college, hit up those alumni networks.  Does your job send representatives to university job fairs?  Volunteer to go.  Use it as a time to look for candidates AND network.  Don’t go in with the hard sell but keep in touch with everyone you meet there.  Connect with them on LinkedIn whenever you can.

Outside, of your immediate friend circle…Follow social media accounts related to your industry or the industry you’re looking to get more into.  Follow social media accounts for professional organizations related to your industry.  Both avenues will lead you to jobs that you may not see (not that they aren’t posted), during your typical job search.

It should go without saying but don’t use your ‘fun’ social media account for this. Don’t use the same picture for your ‘fun’ and ’employment’ accounts.  Do Google image searches to make sure that if an employer (not to be confused with Black Twitter CSI), does a reverse image search, the picture from your ‘fun’ account doesn’t come up.

Use your professional social media accounts to engage with folks in your industry.  This creates familiarity.  That way, if they post a job you’re interested in getting, there’s some name recognition so if you get past the applicant tracking system, there are some good professional feelings associated with your name.  Make sense?