social media job search

Tips for Using Social Media as A Job Search Tool

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As a leading staffing agency in South Africa, we understand how finding your dream job can be a daunting task. The older search methods may not always work, and you may find yourself submitting countless job applications with no response. Therefore, it may be time to switch up your job search strategy and consider using social media to find your dream job.

In this article, we’ll share some tips on using social media as a job search tool. By building your online presence and leveraging various social media tools, you can stand out from other job candidates and increase your chances of finding your dream job. Read on to learn how to upgrade your knowledge and maximise your chances of success with these practical job-hunting tips.

 

How to Use Social Media as a Job Search Tool:

 

Building Your Online Presence

Social media is transforming the recruitment process, and building an online presence is now an essential step in the employment industries for both companies and job seekers. By having a strong online presence, you can increase your chances of being noticed by hiring managers and get your foot in the door. Here are some benefits of building your online presence:

  • Increases visibility to potential employers
  • Helps you stand out from other job candidates
  • Demonstrates your professionalism and expertise in your industry
  • Provides an opportunity to showcase your personal brand
  • Enables you to connect with recruiters and potential employers directly

Building your presence on social media is like working on your personal brand. Enhancing your profile on a platform like LinkedIn can help you experience all the above benefits. Let us explore this job-hunting approach below.

Create a Professional LinkedIn Profile

As you begin your job search on social media, one platform you shouldn’t overlook is LinkedIn. It is the go-to social media platform for professional networking, with over 700 million users in over 200 countries worldwide. By creating a professional LinkedIn profile, you can showcase your skills, experience, and education to potential employers and recruiters. Here are some tips and best practices for building a strong LinkedIn profile:

  • Add a professional headshot: Your LinkedIn profile picture should be a high-quality headshot that showcases your professionalism. Avoid using selfies or casual photos.
  • Optimise your headline: It is the first thing people see when viewing your profile. Use it to showcase your skills and experience, and make it catchy and concise.
  • Provide detailed work experience: Provide detailed information on your work experience, including your job title, company name, location, and a brief description of your responsibilities and achievements.
  • List your education and skills: Include your education history and relevant skills. Be specific and use keywords that recruiters and hiring managers may be searching for.
  • Customise your URL: Customize your LinkedIn profile URL to include your name, making it easier for people to find you.

Following these tips, you can create a professional and complete LinkedIn profile to help you stand out to potential employers and get closer to your next position.

Using Social Media for Job Searching

Social media platforms have recently become a treasure trove for job searching. Here are some practical tips for leveraging social media to find your dream job:

  • Follow companies and recruiters: Follow the companies you are interested in working for and recruiters in your industry. This will help you stay informed about their job postings and hiring needs. LinkedIn is a perfect platform to follow companies and recruiters.
  • Use hashtags: Hashtags can help you discover job postings and connect with recruiters. When searching for jobs, use industry-specific hashtags in your posts and search for them as well.
  • Join relevant groups: Join LinkedIn and Facebook groups related to your industry or job search. Engage with members by sharing content, commenting on posts, and building your network.

By following these tips, you can enhance your job search on social media, enabling you to reach out to a broader range of recruiters and potential employers.

Engaging with Potential Employers

Engaging with potential employers on social media is an excellent way to stand out from other job candidates. Here are some essential tips for engaging with company leaders and hiring managers who may be actively looking for their next person:

  • Comment on their posts: When you see a potential employer post on social media, take the time to read and engage with their content by commenting thoughtfully and respectfully. This can demonstrate your interest in their company and help you build a relationship with the employer.
  • Share their content: Share an employer’s content on your social media platforms, briefly noting why you found it interesting. This can help you get noticed by the employer and showcase your knowledge and expertise in the industry.
  • Message them directly: Reach out to an employer directly through LinkedIn or email. Introduce yourself and express your interest in working for their company. Personalise the message by mentioning a recent post or news about the company.

Pro tip: Remember that the key to success in engaging with potential employers is to be professional and genuine. Avoid spamming or pestering employers with multiple messages.

By engaging with potential employers, you can stand out from other job candidates and increase your chances of finding your dream job. Engaging with potential employers is only the first step, so let’s explore how to monitor your online reputation to ensure your social media presence doesn’t negatively impact your job search.

Monitoring Your Online Reputation

Your online reputation can impact your job search efforts. Employers are increasingly turning to social media to screen job candidates, so it’s essential to monitor your online presence regularly. Here are some tips for monitoring your online reputation:

  • Set up google alerts: Set up Google Alerts for your name and any variations. This will notify you when your name appears online. This tool will also help you monitor any mentions of your name, so you can respond or take action if necessary.
  • Review your social media profiles: Regularly review them to ensure they are professional and appropriate for potential employers to view. Check your privacy settings and adjust them if necessary. Delete any inappropriate posts or comments.
  • Google yourself: Search for your name on Google to see what information comes up. Review the first few pages of search results to ensure no negative mentions of you or your brand.

Remember that your online reputation is crucial, and employers can form an impression of you based on your social media presence. By monitoring your online reputation, you can ensure that it stays professional and appropriate for potential employers to view.

Final thoughts

Using social media to find your dream job takes time and effort, but the payoff can be worth it. You can increase your chances of finding your dream job by building a strong online presence, using social media for job searching, engaging with potential employers, and monitoring your online reputation.

As a leading staffing agency in South Africa, MASA offers both companies and job-seekers opportunities to get ahead. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for assistance with your job search and career development. Job seekers – you can immediately head to our website to upload your CV and search for available vacancies.

Hiring companies can also visit our website to explore MASA’s staffing solutions and contact us directly to take the next step in the recruitment process.

WORD DOCUMENTS AND FILE SIZES

WORD DOCUMENTS AND FILE SIZES

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What is a WORD document and how can I make sure it is 2MB?

 

A lot of our candidates are unsure when it comes to us asking them for a WORD document that is a certain size. We hope that this short blog article will help you better understand what we mean when we ask you for such a file to be uploaded to our database.

When reading this blog, we suggest you have a look at your CV, and check if it matches the information below.

WORD is a program created by Microsoft and it has a logo that looks like this:

WORD DOCUMENT LOGO

 

Our free online application process only accepts CVs that have been typed out in WORD format. You can also make sure your document is a word document by looking at the file name. If it says the file name and ends in .doc, you know it is a word file. Unfortunately, you cannot upload a scanned image or a PDF.

In order to make sure it is within the 2MB (2 megabytes) size limit, all you need to do is right-click on the file, go to properties and it will give you a file size. If it is over 2MB, you may need to take out some information or compress the file. You can find compress applications online, and they are free.

Microsoft offers some more information about how to reduce the size of your word documents here.

If it is a WORD document and less than 2MB, you are ready to upload your CV  to our online application!

 

Looking for a job?

 

Please visit our jobseeker page, and upload your C.V  to our nationwide database! Should a potential job offer open, and you are considered, we will contact you!

 

Looking for staff?

 

Let our dedicated and hard-working team of consultants find you the perfect candidate. Please visit our employer page and tell us what you are looking for!

Nail that Video Interview and Get the Job

Nail that Video Interview and Get the Job

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Nail that Video Interview and Get the Job

 

It’s safe to say that the last 18 months have been a challenge for jobseekers, employees and employers alike with the onset of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent shift in the professional work environment. In many industries, where possible, a remote working setup has been implemented to best protect ourselves and the people around us.

This was previously thought to be impossible but all of us, all over the globe, have been forced to adapt and it’s become quite clear that remote working is not only possible, but in many ways beneficial.

Families are able to spend more time together, employees save money on transport costs and employers can even save on their overheads for office space and infrastructure.

 

Having said that, it also comes with its very real challenges which we’ve been forced to overcome on a personal and organisational level. We’ve all had to learn and master the online meeting, the use of personal messaging software and the use of video calling services such as Skype and Zoom.

 

One aspect of the professional realm that has also been forced to shift is the recruitment function, with many companies choosing not to or being unable to interview face-to-face, thereby making it necessary to interview via the digital channels mentioned above. The preparation process for a video interview differs slightly from that of a tradition interview, let’s have a chat about how to best prepare for a video interview.

 

Nail that Video Interview and Get the Job

 

It goes without saying that for any interview the standard rules for success will apply.

Make sure to do your research on the employer that you’re interviewing with, this will allow you to ask intelligent questions and have informed discussions with your interview or interviewers, immediately putting you in a favourable position.

The next step is to ensure that you’re dressed for the part, make sure you’re in the appropriate dress wear for the position and arrive neat, a good first impression is extremely valuable.

If you’re interviewing in person be sure to arrive timeously, with enough time to complete any documentation that might be necessary before the interview. The experts at Greys Recruitment recommend arriving 15 minutes prior to your interview.
In the event of a video interview it’s best to be ready to join the meeting a few minutes early, in case your interviewer is ready early. You also need to be mentally sharp to stand out from the crowd so it pays to get enough rest the night before.

Make the effort to brainstorm and visualize the interview prior to entering it, prepare any questions that you may have and try to pre-empt any questions that you may be asked. Write them down. This will allow you to confidently address any questions and will likely impress you interviewer.

Finally, and most importantly for video interviews, is to understand the video calling platform that you will be using for the interview. Your interviewer will likely be extremely busy and may have multiple interviews lined up for the same day; you cannot afford to have problems entering the meeting due to technical issues. Taking the time to set up your account and test the system beforehand will ensure that the video interview goes smoothly.

Following the above advice will place you in the best possible position to nail that interview and land your dream job. Remember, looking for a job is a job within itself and the more work you put into the preparation stage the better chance of success you’ll stand.

Best of luck to you!

 

Looking for a job?

Please visit our jobseeker page, and upload your C.V to our nationwide database! Should a potential job offer open, and you are considered, we will contact you!

Looking for staff?

Let our dedicated and hard-working team of consultants find you the perfect candidate. Please visit our employer page and tell us what you are looking for!

WRITTEN REFERENCES - WHY DO YOU NEED THEM?

JOBSEEKER – HOW TO GET FOUND BY RECRUITERS

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Job-search

Recruiters are very busy individuals and time is of the essence in this industry. When it comes to sourcing candidates that are looking for jobs, this process takes a while, especially when it comes to finding contact information! This blog post will highlight briefly, how the recruitment process works and some of the best practices when it comes to making yourself easy to find.

Here is a crash course in how the recruitment process works:

Summed up, a client needs a staff member, so they request the assistance of a recruiter in finding them the perfect candidate. The recruiter then needs to find candidates by any means necessary. The first way, is to go online, and try and locate candidate C.V’s. After they have found a few viable candidates, they need to contact those candidate. Now the problem is, a lot of people do not have enough of an online presence for them to do so, and then miss the opportunity to find a job or a better one in most cases.

recruitment sourcing procedure

How to increase your chances of being found: 

Online Job and Jobseeker Portals:

As you can see, recruiters use various online portals to source their candidates. This can be done by advertising and having the candidates apply, or actively looking for them on job seeker portals.

Here is a list of some of the portals they use:

One way of always making sure you can be found is having your UPDATED C.V on the various jobseeker portals, one example being Pnet. This is a portal where you can upload your C.V, elaborate on your qualifications and skill set, and leave contact information! This allows recruiters to save time by finding your updated C.V and having your contact information ready for them to call you.

Social Media:

Facebook and Linkedin are the primary social media portals that recruiters use to try and find extra information about the candidates they are trying to source. They look at:

  • Education (qualifications etc)
  • Employment History
  • How you present yourself

Advice to you is; always keep this up to date, and remember that your social media profiles speak volumes about you, and if you are in the job market, you want to make sure that your profile gives off a professional feel.

recruitment statistics

See how important social media presence and profiles are?

Looking for a job?

Please visit our jobseeker page, and upload your C.V to our nationwide database! Should a potential job offer open, and you are considered, we will contact you!

Looking for staff?

Let our dedicated and hard working team of consultants find you the perfect candidate. Please visit our employer page and tell us what you are looking for!