16 Social Media Networking Sites to Find Your Next Job

With the epic rise of social media networking platforms over the last few years, more and more candidates are conducting their job search by means that were a few years ago simply not possible. There may be lots of social media networking websites on the internet, but some are totally useless, with others being vital to your job search. In this section we’re looking at those social media networking sites that will really add value to your job search.

Social Media Networking Sites

Below are my top social media networking sites that either I have used to find candidates for my clients or I have heard being used to find new jobs. Some of these social media platforms can be linked together, such as LinkedIn and Twitter, whilst others are completely independent.

If you are serious about finding a new job, it’s a great idea to combine as many job search strategies together as possible and social media needs to be part of that strategy.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn.com

All Internal and External Recruiters use this social media networking site so why shouldn’t you. You also have the added benefit of over 200 Million Business Professionals at your fingertips. If you’re looking for a hiring manager to send your resume to, LinkedIn should be your first point of contact. The Job boards are also a great place to start, given they show who posted the job advert and in many cases, this will be the hiring manager.

Twitter

Twitter

Personally, I don’t use this tool so much, however I know people that actively use twitter to advertise jobs. Run a Search in Google for “how to get a job using twitter” and start reading. Currently there are over 500 million users on twitter and over 350 million tweets per day. How many of those are companies advertising their new positions?

VisualCV

VisualCV Maker

VisualCV is self-branding website that allow you to create your own branded webpage where you can add not only information about your career, bit also videos, images and presentations allowing you to stand out from the crowd. Once you have created your profile, you can publicly show it across the internet using its URL and even apply directly for jobs on the site. This type of interactive CV works creates if you’re working in Media where you can showcase your skills

Facebook

Facebook

Any website that can give you access to 1.2 billion users must have some use. Firstly, Facebook has a “marketplace” section where you search for jobs in your location. Secondly it allows you to update your “status” and get the word out that you’re looking for a new job. Finally, you can use it as a networking tool, which could help you, stand out from the crowd.

Craigslist

craigslist

Craigslist is one of the best places to find a new job in your local area. Craigslist has two sections where you can find a job, The Jobs Section and the Gigs Section. The jobs section is designed for companies to place specific role, whilst the gigs section is more for freelancers looking for their next project.

Job Fox

Job Fox

Instead of searching job boards, JobFox works in the opposite way, by emailing jobs directly to you each week. Jobfox searches through over 50 major job sites throughout the USA and selects jobs based on a set criteria that you choose. Best of all its completely free.

Google+

Google

Google+ allows you to create a profile and then add connections to your “circles”. Once you have added people into your circles you can then start networking with them. Google+ is very much an up and coming networking platform, however with the mighty Google behind it, it’s a force to be reckoned with.

Execunet

ExecuNet 

Execunet is a private members club with over 250,000 members that offer networking and personal introductions to Senior Candidates and Key Decision Makers.

Alumni

Alumni NET

Alumni is a global alumni registry that connects school and work friends from all over the world together. The register has millions of users from over 100,000 different companies all over the world.

Gadball

GadBall

Gadball is a one-stop shop for job searching where user can create a profile and then interact with other users, provide and ask for recommendations, network, create resumes and search and apply for jobs. Gadball has built in integration with many other social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

StackOverFlow.com Careers

Stack Overflow

Careers 2.0 is a social site dedicated to the I.T. and programming industry. Users create profiles showcasing their work and allowing potential employers to have an in-depth look at their expertise, Knowledge and Talent.What other Social Media Networking Sites can you recommend? Do you have any other favourites that you could add to this list, as whilst I have a good few, I am sure there are some other great Social Media Networking Sites out there?

Your Own Blog

The Career Advice Guy

Very similar to Visual CV above, you can create your own blog that will allow you to showcase your skills and knowledge. If you need help, we have written a section on creating your own blog and developing your own personal brand.

Xing

XING – For a better working life

Xing launched at a very similar time to LinkedIn and whilst it has not got the same publicity or user base to LinkedIn, it’s a great European competitor that allows you to create a profile and find jobs or network with potential employers. Membership is free for search and contact people, however if you want full access to the site, you will need a premium membership.

Data.com

Data com

Data.com has been developed as a professional networking website mainly to be used for commercial sales. Given that Data.com provides both the phone number and email address for companies, it’s easy to use this information to get your CV in front of the right person using out simple CV reach out strategy. Joining data.com is free, however you will be limited in the contacts that you can see, however with a premium membership starting at around $250 per year, this is a small price to pay to get your CV in front of the right person.

Sumry

Sumry is part of the new breed of job searching portals and allows you to build an online CV that highlights your education, knowledge, work experience and can even facilitate candidate references from people that you have worked with in the past. Candidate references are very important to a potential employer and therefore can really add value to your application. Once you have created a profile, use the job search facility to find a position that you’re interested in and apply directly through the app.

Follow Up

LinkedIn is firmly the largest professional networking site in the world today and if used in the right way will add value to your job search. That said, there are other’s that you should be spending seeing if they can add value to your job search.

One-point, social media is brilliant for your job search, but it’s also very easy to either get distracted or waste time creating a profile that’s not going to be beneficial to your job search.

As an example, Careers 2.0 is a fantastic website for IT professionals, however if you’re not looking for a job in IT, don’t spend time creating a profile and researching companies or you’re likely to waste a lot of time with very little effort.

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Nick Jones

My name Nick Jones, I am a professional Head-Hunter with over 20 years of experience working all over the world. I specialise in out-of-the-box job search strategies to get your CV directly to the hiring manager, thus skipping any ATS portals or recruiters who think they're important.

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