In those “good old days” that the old folks speak wistfully about, jobs were found by looking in the newspaper and sending in a CV by post. But this method has been outdone in the digital age. The internet is now the place to find your next job.
Sure, there are the big recruitment websites like Indeed and Glassdoor, but social media is also a great tool for finding work. While there are a number of specifically careers-oriented social platforms such as LinkedIn, our everyday social media channels can be just as effective for finding yourself a job.
Here are eight social media sites where you could land your first job.
An obvious one to start off, but it’s also the best. LinkedIn exists exclusively for people who want to showcase their work, and make the right connections to find their next job. It’s got around 250 million active users, so it can be a happy hunting ground.
The trick with LinkedIn is to use it effectively, making useful professional connections, and by making use of their job search function. Luckily for you, we’ve also written a handy guide to making the most out of LinkedIn.
Twitter can be much, much more than witty quips, political arguments and people shouting into a void. Believe it or not, it’s a fantastic place to find a job -- provided you use it the right way.
A lot of businesses, pretty much all recruitment agencies and most job-search websites have official Twitter pages, and will post when they have a job available.
Another great way of using Twitter for finding a job is by searching certain hashtags. A few common ones are #jobboards, #jobopenings, and #joblistings. You can refine these hashtags by adding geographical and career indicators, for example #mediajobsUK.
Since Twitter is very much a world of immediacy, it’s best to search these threads everyday, even multiple times, to get your application in early.
Even Facebook is a very useful place to find work. It’s the world’s most widely used social medium after all. Much like with Twitter, companies may advertise job openings on their own pages. But there are other ways as well. Facebook Marketplace lists job openings, while another, and arguably better way to find opportunities is by joining public and private groups for your desired field of work.
A word to the wise though, and this should apply to all your social media job hunts: Companies can and do check you out on social media while considering you for an interview. So if you’re dropping DMs to say, a law firm in search of a job, but your profile picture shows you partying up a storm, you might scupper your own chances!
The Dots
The Dots was founded in 2014 in the USA, but it’s been growing in strength around the globe since 2018. In founder Pip Jamieson’s words, The Dots is the “LinkedIn for creatives”. So if you’re emerging with a university degree in Medicine or Mathematics, it might not be for you.
However, for those wishing to work in the creative industry (advertising, copywriting, design etc), The Dots could be a fantastic resource for you. It works in a fairly similar way to LinkedIn, connecting professionals, freelancers, creative teams, and businesses -- from small startups to giants like the BBC and Apple.
Pinterest, in case you didn’t know, is an image sharing social network -- similar in some ways to Instagram. But unlike Instagram, it’s much more “discover and inspire” oriented. This is another social medium which, when it comes to finding a career, is more suited to creative types.
It’s got over 300 million users, many of whom are artists, designers, creative engineers and so forth. It’s also mostly used by women, so it can be a phenomenal place for female creators to discover each other’s work and collaborate with one another.
Overall, Pinterest isn’t a job site. It’s not even remotely close. But by showcasing your work and following the right people, brands, or boards, you could find yourself making some career-boosting connections.
Jobster
As the name suggests, Jobster is all about jobs. It functions by and large like a regular job website, with a strong search function. But there are a few nice things to set it apart.
Users create their own profile, upload a CV, and can even record a video introduction. They can add links to their own website or portfolios, and can also “pin” or “tag” their skills -- using these to collate a more refined list of suitable job openings.
Unlike with many other job search sites, Jobster users can network with employers. They can also check out the profile of the people who post openings, connect with them and approach them for more information. In a nutshell, Jobster is just a much more personal careers website.
When used the right way (or the wrong way…) Reddit can be a tool for finding just about anything online. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that it’s also a pretty useful place to find work. The self titled “Front Page of The Internet” is made up of over a million “sub-reddits”, i.e. channels on a particular topic. Naturally, there are hundreds of channels for jobseekers, and indeed hirers.
It’s just a case of figuring out how to navigate the site. On the homepage search bar, you could simply search r/Jobs, r/Recruitment, or r/Forhire, (the r/ indicates a subreddit). You could also search for career specific subreddits.
You don’t necessarily have to just trawl these threads for job opening either. You could make a post yourself, seeking advice on finding a job or advertising your skill set. It’s a pretty active community, and you’ll likely be inundated with replies before too long.
Upwork
In theory, Upwork is for freelancers who want to work remotely on short to medium term contracts. However, huge numbers of people find full time work on the platform, while many find that short term jobs turn into full time positions after a while. The way it works is pretty simple: Hirers create profiles and post jobs, freelancers create profiles, boast their work, and pitch for the job.
In truth, it’s not easy getting started on Upwork, as they can be quite selective about whose profiles they approve in an aim to keep standards high. As well as this, it’s tough to get your first job without a “job success score”. But once you’re in, you’re in. To be fair, this is pretty much the case with any job oriented site though -- it takes a bit of time to build up momentum.
The great thing about Upwork is that it’s geared towards just about any career, from tech developers to creatives, virtual assistants to sales.
Also read: Most in demand jobs in UK
