Do you need to be on social media to be successful career-wise?

Do you need to be on social media to be successful career-wise?

This is a question I get a lot, from clients.

“Do I need to be on LinkedIn/TikTok/Twitter to do well?”

If you’re reading this then you’re probably wondering the same thing. So this week, I’m throwing my two cents in.

How important is social media

Jeez. When I was growing up in the 90s, people called each other on corded phones. In the last 15 years though, how we interact with each other has changed dramatically thanks in large part to the web and social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

There’s an entire generation of people that grew up with this stuff and don’t know it any other way (Secret: I didn’t get my first cell phone till I was 18).

So I’d be lying if I said social media wasn’t important. It is, to some degree. A lot of companies use it in some form to source candidates. I’ve seen some claims say that as many as 90% of companies use social media as part of their recruiting strategy.

What are the major contenders in the social media arena?

You’ve got LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. I’m sure there are others I’m missing, but those are the main platforms.

For job search purposes, I’d say LinkedIn takes the cake here. It claims to have over half a billion users, and is built specifically for professional networking with features like their #opentowork label which lets people know you’re looking for jobs, the ability to view and apply to jobs, view job stats and much much more.

Other networks like TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube can be used for a multitude of things and aren’t built for job seeking per se. I still love them, but not for job seeking per se.

For example, I like browsing Twitter to get my ear to the ground and see what recruiters are saying about the state of the market, hiring trends at their companies and such.

Do you need it though?

Again, this is something I’m asked a lot.

Do you need it? No, you don’t need it.

Will it help though? Probably.

There are pros and cons to using it.

For starters, most recruiters (especially agency recruiters) are on social media. When you put yourself out there on of these platforms, you’re making yourself “findable” to them.

If you’re regularly active, you also get the added benefit of getting more people to know you through the stuff you post, discussions, and so on. Over time, you build a “brand” for yourself. This is handy when you’re looking for new opportunities and need to use that network you spent so much time building.

The downside to this is that it takes time. You need to spend time thinking about what you want to post, more time interacting with others on your posts (and theirs), and even more time maintaining those relationships. If you have a family like me, or even other obligations, doing this consistently becomes really hard.

The other issue with this is that, by putting yourself out there in the digital space, your every word is open for scrutiny. I’ve seen people’s careers ruined because they said the wrong thing online.

Learning to self-regulate and not engage in discussions that don’t move your career forward in some way becomes essential - and easier said than done, as a lot of content is written to suck you in impulsively.

Whether or not you join social media depends on a few things

Which industry and profession are you in? Are people in similar circumstances as you, career-wise, also on it?

That’ll in turn affect recruiters behaviour. For example, I can tell you that I don’t see a lot of automotive mechanics on LinkedIn. Companies looking to hire mechanics are then, probably not using LinkedIn too much to find staff, because the staff are not online.

On the other hand, a lot of digital marketers are online and so, a lot of recruiters will be using social media to find them.

Another thing to think about is what you want out of it. Do you want to find a job? Well you’re going to have to engage regularly, because reaping the benefit on any platform is a long game.

It’s not a case where you can just use a platform when you’re on the market and then stop using it as soon as you find a job. I mean, you can try, but when you’re looking for a job, if you haven’t put in the legwork polishing your profile, building your brand, and making connections, you’re not going to benefit a whole lot.

Either way, it’s not the end of the world

Whatever you choose, just remember that it’s not a big deal. If you start using Twitter and realize that you hate it, you can just stop.

Not using social media doesn’t mean you won’t be successful either. There are still plenty of other ways to network, such as:

• Alumni networks

• Professional associations

• Industry meet ups

• Networking mixers

• Conferences and seminars

• Career fairs

• Volunteering

• Current/former colleagues

• Friends and family

And that’s a wrap for this week. Don’t forget to let me know if you liked this week’s issue. If you have any questions you’d like me to answer in future issues, email me at [email protected].

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