Hey!

So we've talked about job hunting and interview skills here before, but did you know it's possible to land a job based on your social media presence?

We've seen it happen. In fact, it kind of happened to us, which we'll talk about at the end of this video, but social media can be a path to landing your dream job! So here are seven tips to do just that!

First: the obvious!

Create profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or any other site where you use your real name. If you're going to use social media as part of your dream job strategy, keep in mind the potential future employers may and should be looking at your various profiles. So create the kind of posts and content that will compliment the position you're looking for.

Number two: just like IRL, network with your friends online.

Even more important than basic contacts and friends, get to know the movers and shakers in your industry. Follow them and interact with them online. By interacting with them and their content on a regular basis, you become an acquaintance.

Now, be sure not to go overboard with this. Don't like and comment on every single post, but contribute where you can and often enough to get your name to stick.

Number three: in addition to following friends and higher-ups, follow the companies you'd like to work for. By engaging these companies, you're kept up-to-date on new projects and possible new openings within the company.

Some companies even post new job openings on their social media profiles before anywhere else.

Number four: showcase your personality! Without being a self-promotion robot, talk about your work in a way that's unique to you and your passion. 

US News claims that about half all hiring managers take into account the applicant's online personality when deciding who's going to be the best fit for the job. You should also ensure that the personality you're projecting aligns with the type of job you're looking for. So, professional or casual, etc.

Number five: demonstrate good communication skills in status updates, posts, and comments.

By keeping your updates and comments clear and concise, you can demonstrate beyond a doubt that you would communicate effectively at work too.

Number six: become the expert.

This is a big one! If you only take one thing away from this video, become the expert. 
Become the expert.
Become the expert.

Help others in your field, answer questions when you can, blog about relevant topics relevant to your desired position.

For example, if you want to be a graphic designer, don't just showcase your work, but showcase like a Photoshop tutorial about how you made the work. Discuss your design decisions while posting a work in progress.

Or show a before/after if you were hired to update a logo or website design. Show that you know your work inside and out. Become so helpful and knowledgeable that your followers can't hear the phrase "graphic designer" without thinking of you and your work.

And finally, number seven: also keep in mind that career builder has reported that 40% of all HR managers strive to find, kind of, well-rounded applicants when they're looking for someone to fill a position.

So make sure your social media isn't all about work. Include some of your hobbies and interests. Maybe some travel photos, etc. Focus is good, but tunnel vision-not so much.

And that is all we've got for you today! If you guys have any tips on this sort of thing, please let us know in the comment section below, we would love to hear from you!

In the meantime, we're gonna talk over the credits. Emma, we're talking over the credits. Words are a-scattered.

Okay. I'm ready!

So we were gonna talk about how the interwebs helped us professionally. Like how it helped us get a job, or two, actually, I think.

Yeah! Well, so, for me... First, um, I was, you know, I was online, making vlogs in college, and through those blogs I met you.

Yes.

And at that time I was trying to find an agent for my first novel and Mike helped me revise my query pitch-Have we talked about this before on here?

Yeah, that's pretty-

Yeah that's how we first, you know, our first collaboration was on my query pitch to help me find an agent, and so I did find an agent, so indirectly, I would say, social media led me to you, which led me to that.

Yes! Man, it's uh, I'm really proud of you, by the way. I've like, been there from the beginning, from like, baby Emma up through as a professional writer. So it's nice to see you walking and talking.
Aawe!

Um, for me, like, I mean, How to Adult obviously came from the interwebs. Umm, and also like, umm, some publishing success came from the internet because I made a video about, like a Thoughts from Places video. Which is a format that John Green invented and he saw it like, the first time I put it up, and he retweeted it.

And from there he kind of became a fan of my videos and then my book and then How to Adult happened. Eventually. Over the course of many months, but yeah! It's pretty amazing. The interwebs can be a scary place, but also a magical place.

Agreed!