Using social media to land a job, hire someone

Looking for a job or looking to hire? Experts say you may have to look no further than social media.

Experts say there’s three things every job seeker should know when crafting their own social media brand:

1. Be different.

“If you’re into the environment, saving the environment, put that on there because then companies that also believe that will look for those types of things,” said Justin Foster, a brand strategist with Napma-based Price Associates.

2. Talk about your specific skill sets.

“It’s okay to talk about what you know how to do, especially on LinkedIn. Facebook’s a little different,” said Foster.

3. Be yourself, but not too much.

“A negative social media presence for an individual is like having a face tatoo. Maybe some people won’t care, but a lot of people will,” said Foster.

If companies aren’t immediately drawn to you, Foster said you can always try a more direct approach.

“It’s completely okay to tweet at a company, ‘Hey, @ so and so, here’s the kind of person I am, do you have any job openings?'”

As far as online recruiting, Foster said companies should focus on creating a good culture, and employees will flock to them.

“If you have a good place to work and your employees are happy, you’ll do fine on social media,” said Foster.