Social media for job search, making contacts and building your brand

Social media is a free, fast and dynamic way for employers to communicate key messages to large audiences.

How social media can support your job search

  • Follow organisations and recruiters and look for job alerts.
  • Keep up to date on company news and products.
  • Create your own content to build an online portfolio.
  • Connect with professionals, alumni, and industry contacts to expand your network

Creating a personal brand

Recruiters often respond to a strong, positive personal brand online so be wary of any online presence that deters from the professional image you want to convey. Many employers "check out" job applicants and could find information about you that you would rather they didn't know. Check your privacy settings carefully!

Having a platform can increase your visibility, and when it’s done well, can contribute to a body of evidence or portfolio for some career areas such as media and marketing. Just be aware of who can see these and any other content that may be on your channel.

What won’t impress potential employers:

  • Poor grammar and spelling (think of your public social media profiles as an extension of your CV)
  • Inappropriate photos
  • Information about drinking and drug use
  • Lying about qualifications or experience
  • Unprofessional screen names (e.g. sexyvicky)
  • Racist, sexist or offensive comments.

What will impress potential employers:

  • Excellent communication skills
  • Professional image portrayed
  • Good fit for company’s culture
  • Wide range of interests
  • Positive recommendations, achievements, qualifications, experience, awards etc.

To ensure you maintain a professional online profile:

  • Keep your personal and professional social networking profiles separate.
  • Set your privacy settings to the maximum on any profiles you want to maintain for purely social purposes.
  • Do a regular Google search on your name (while logged out of your social networking accounts) and look at the search results through the eyes of a potential recruiter.
  • Clean up any “digital dirt” that you find. Remember that other people can sometimes add you to groups or post photos of you on social networking sites without your consent or even knowledge.

Head to our page on cyber security for more information.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a key global professional networking site and is an invaluable tool for networking with alumni and recruiters. Employers are also using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool.

LinkedIn is useful for:

  • Developing a professional online profile to complement your CV.
  • Making contacts with people working in your chosen sector.
  • Searching for organisations to target by your location of preference, or industry sector.
  • Researching jobs and different types of job and career paths.
  • Connecting with alumni around the globe for insight and guidance.

Find out more about using LinkedIn.

Instagram and TikTok

  • Use them as a search engine to find specific information.
    Look up the companies, industries, or roles you’re interested in. You’ll find plenty of content showing what different jobs are like, insights into working for specific employers, and practical application tips.
  • Look up the companies, industries, or roles you’re interested in.
    You’ll find plenty of content showing what different jobs are like, insights into working for specific employers, and practical application tips.
  • Get networking.
    Follow relevant job site accounts, influencers in the field you are interested in, and any brands or companies that are relevant.
  • Build a portfolio.
    If you’re looking to break into a creative field, these can be powerful platforms for showcasing your skills. They allow you to demonstrate your creativity, which is especially valuable for those interested in social media, marketing, or content creation roles.

X and BlueSky

There are some organisations who use X to post about job alerts.

For example @JobCentrePlusmanchester have a really good jobs feed. Great for local full-time and part-time work.

BlueSky is used by a predominantly academic audience. If you’re looking to progress in academia and research, this could be a useful channel to set up.