Culpwrit

“Forget about your resume. Focus on social media.”

Those two bits of advice have been heard often by most of my students at DePaul as well as other aspiring PR pros whenever I discuss job searches.

Of course, I really don’t mean you can seriously wad up and throw away your resume, but social media engagement will definitely make you stand out from the overwhelming number of applicants for most job openings. And the best place to laser focus your job search is LinkedIn.

Unfortunately, far too many soon-to-graduate students have not developed a significant LinkedIn presence. Most of my students (and a lot of young professionals) have heard me insist they need to enhance their LinkedIn profiles. I hope these “secrets” to getting the attention of hiring managers might help help you differentiate yourself:

• Set LinkedIn Connection Goals. More connections increase your LinkedIn visibility to posts about job searches. Start out by sending LinkedIn connection requests to all your classmates, professors, guest speakers. You’ll be surprised with how fast you can get to the coveted 500+ connections.
• Include Personalized Messages with LinkedIn connection requests. Without a personal note, a connection request is like a cold call and often ignored. The message demonstrates genuine interest in being LinkedIn.
• Develop a Professional Profile. Great head-shot, well-written About and Experience list that carries some detail, not simply job and title.
• Engage. Like and comment on LinkedIn posts by friends and leaders of organizations where you might like to work. They’ll notice.
• Network. Besides having a great jobs postings for every imaginable career, many individuals on LinkedIn will post openings at their firms so you’ll be the first to know.
• Show Your Interests. Don’t overlook this part of your LinkedIn profile. Follow individuals, companies, brands and groups that interest you. I’ve seen many instances where this alone has landed interviews for positions aren’t even posted. Proof Point: A highly creative Chicago advertising agency called one of my students about his potential interest in an entry-level job. The student told the caller he had been following the company for a couple of years, but had never seen a job posting. The agency recruiter said the job wasn’t posted. Instead, they found him through LinkedIn, and decided he’d be the first candidate they would consider since they noticed he was following them on LinkedIn. By the way, he landed the job and was the only person interviewed.

Remember X and Facebook, Too

I have several more stories about how students landed jobs through other social media, including X (which I prefer to refer to as Twitter) and Facebook. Like LinkedIn, show your interest in the organizations where you might like to work. Like and comment on their posts.

One of my former students followed agency leaders who are actively engaged on Twitter. He occasionally commented on their tweets. Then, one day “out of the clear blue” the head of Edelman Chicago invited the student to join him for coffee. Even though the agency didn’t have an immediate opening, the student was hired as a part-time consultant to work on social media accounts. Within three months, the student was moved to a full-time position.