Job search and social media…let the hunt begin
Job searching & social media: The hunt is on…
For those of you who don’t have to listen to me gripe about my job search, I am currently searching for an opportunity. I am attempting to market myself to companies in the hopes that they will hire me and help me start my career in their organization.
No, this is not a desperate cry for help (although if you know of any positions, please let me know!! – RTP area, position where my communication skills can be utilized…). This blog is a little bit different because I want to actually discuss my issues with social media and the job search.
Unlike my job search three years ago, companies are using social media to post their opportunities. While I can understand and appreciate their innovative techniques to attract new talent to their organization, I feel that the job search is entirely too scattered to be effective. I know the job boards are available, but it seems like there should be a program which searches all social media sites to compile a list of positions that I would be interested in based on my preferences. Not a job board per se but more like a spider which searches social media sites to get the most up-to-date and current positions.
Does this tool exist? Am I just behind the times? Or did I just give a software engineer an idea that could potentially make them millions of dollars?
On the other hand, would there be some downfalls to having this type of technology?
I’m interested in hearing what you have to say about this and since you have had two weeks off (spring break and an in class meeting) you probably have a lot you want to say about social media 😀
As always, thanks!
-Lauren
Lauren Kontos Satterwhite's Blog 
Hey–I don’t envy your position right now. I thought my generation had it bad entering the workforce during the whole post 9/11 disaster. I’m not exactly sure how you are using social media for your job search, but I came across these sites doing a simple Google search to see if that “Social Media Job-Search Search Engine” exisited–I did come across a reference to TwitJobSearch (www.twitjobsearch.com) , but I’m sure you already know about that. I tried a job search for myself, and most of the jobs were ones I’ve found through other avenues; but thought I’d share, regardless.
Anyway, thought they might be helpful.
http://tinyurl.com/85hdra
http://tinyurl.com/aazpq3
http://tinyurl.com/lsm63y
http://tinyurl.com/yew8ee4
I have had some luck getting connections and inside information through Linked-in that’s saved me the hassle of applying to a job that I thought sounded awesome, but turns out the company employees didn’t quite think the same : ) I would be wary about using Facebook for professional networking, unless I had dedicated my Facebook profile to only professional interaction.
If professional organizations (like PRSA) have blogs, subscribe to their RSS feed; of course this really only helps the job search if they post job-related info, but it could also be a good daily reminder to check their job boards.
Anyway, I know these tools aren’t exactly what you were looking for as far as a spider for social media goes, but good luck with the job search.