Using Social Media To Support A Job Application

Recruitment experts advise that, when submitting a CV

, candidates for a post should do everything they can to make it stand out against the competition.

This can be difficult when the guidance is also that the information it contains should be presented in a prescribed way, with personal details followed by a summary of key skills relevant to the position being applied for and then career history and finally other relevant information such as hobbies and voluntary activity, all of it to be fitted into a maximum of two A4 pages.

For the first time applicant who may have recently graduated and be looking for their first position it can be even more challenging.

Recently there have been some suggestions that candidates should forget the formal CV altogether and use their social media activity as a way of standing out, because companies are less impressed by a career history that includes having worked for some prestigious and well known companies.

However, if a candidate has been the PA or EA to a senior executive at such companies it says a great deal about the skill level and personal presentation that they have achieved.

While including illustrations of their use of social media could enhance their profile, candidates need to do so with some care.

The number of followers a person has on twitter, for example, is not entirely relevant unless there is some connection between twitter activity and the interests of the company the applicant is interested in. Following named people within the company and responding to their tweets may get a candidate noticed, but only if they have been careful to study that person's posts or blogs and are confident that their own responses do not conflict with that person's views.

Similarly it is likely that a personal Facebook page will contain all sorts of irrelevant and personal conversations that may not be at all helpful. On the other hand a separate profile page that focuses only on the professional may help, especially if it shows that you have participated in discussions on topics of professional interest.

For professional purposes the best social media site to use is LinkedIn. This online resource is designed purely for businesses and professionals so that you can create an online CV. It also includes among its options the opportunity to receive job alerts. Participating in relevant discussion groups will also enhance your profile and provide an opportunity to demonstrate intelligent responses to issues raised in these groups. Another good idea can be setting up a discussion group of your own on a relevant topic because it shows that the person is engaged and thoughtful about the issues that matter within their profession or sector.

It can be positive to add a link to the LinkedIn profile in the contact details section of a formal CV or application form since it allows the recruiter to find out more about the candidate without compromising their reputation in a way that the more personal social media activities might.

Similarly, you could create an online CV as a well-designed web page with a blog as an innovative way of using the internet and again the URL can be added to the conventional CV.

Copyright (c) 2012 Alison Withers

by: Alison Withers

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