Tag Archives: recruiting
After 17 years of classes, homework, and all-nighters, it was finally time for us to be released into the real world. Not knowing what to expect, we, the CM Experience Distribution interns, were terrified about the prospect of not being able to find a job in this economy. Although our friendship only blossomed at the beginning of this internship, we both took similar paths to finding our dream internship here at CM. The path was social media. There have been a lot of great articles cropping up on just this topic, but we thought we’d share our firsthand experiences… and success!
As college students, social media quickly became a large part of our day-to-day lives. Whether it was posting pictures, chatting with friends, or updating tweets every hour; social media became an outlet we could not live without (and sometimes took precedent over homework and studying). After graduating last month, we were instantly faced with the overwhelming task of finding a job, not just any job, but one that would excite us and tie to our interests.
This was no easy task, but through websites like LinkedIn and Facebook, our opportunities became more apparent. We were able to connect with employees at CM and understand the culture of a digital marketing agency. While this may seem like a novel idea, many of our classmates and peers continue to search for jobs the same way. This method of finding jobs through social media is a growing trend at many colleges.
Alan Dodaro | Critical Mass Chicago
It turns out all of that idle time spent on Twitter could actually pay off. In my case, it did with a brand-new job. The Great Recession changed how people think about jobs while creating new ways for people to be heard and stand out. I spent months looking for new opportunities the old-fashioned way trolling through job posts and making weekly sweeps through career sites without any luck.
On Twitter, I followed a few agencies including Critical Mass and noticed several companies tweeting about new opportunities within their organizations. This made me rethink my job search strategy with Twitter. Here’s what I did to land my sweet new job:
Research
I knew I wanted to go beyond the traditional agency setting and explore a more interactive workplace. Aside from a few staple companies, I didn’t know who the main Chicago players were in this industry. I began following the trades and blogs diligently to see who was making headlines. Once I had a few companies in mind, I began following them and their key players, learning more about each company as information was pushed to my twitter feed as soon as it was released.
Extreme Makeover: Your digital image edition
Social media allows for very personal interactions and it leaves a lot to be desired when you update about your mystery rash, blackout bar nights (to be fair, everyone gets one drunk tweet) or starring role on the next episode of Hoarders. Save the sick stuff for Facebook where it belongs (kidding) and focus on creating dialogue. Tweet about work, websites and industry happenings you think is cool (and why). Retweet anything insightful and provide your own commentary. You’ll get your fair share of followers that will boost your twitter credibility too.
Change your avatar to a photo of yourself. Make your face clearly visible and be the only person in the shot. It doesn’t have to be dry and corporate but keep it to something you’d feel comfortable having your grandma show to her friends. A real photo helps connect you to your online identity, and will help people pick you out at networking events and at (fingers crossed!) your interview.
Finally, include a bio. After indicating I was in the advertising/marketing industry, some of the agencies I followed began following me back even while it was very obvious I was in a very junior position. Keep your bio short and sweet highlighting relevant information showcasing your interests.
Twit Lists
The typical twitter feed can be an overwhelming free association of thoughts from friends, celebrity train wrecks, industry leaders news posts. My problem was that I wasn’t monitoring my timeline 24/7 meaning important posts could be pushed out of my feed if my timing wasn’t perfect. Twitter has a feature that allows you to group specific people/companies into specific lists separate from your main timeline. Even more helpful, you do not need to be following a person to have them on your list, provided their updates are public. I set up a list to follow agencies and companies without the noise and distraction of everything else. This helped organize my hunt.
