The spaces can be really confusing. Should I be on Twitter? How complete does my LinkedIn profile need to be? What the heck is the point of Snapchat?
And the truth is, there’s no real solid answer to any of this. However, it is important to be somewhere on social media so that prospective employers can find you. Where you choose is a little bit up to you, but should be informed by the industry you want to get into. If you’re looking for a very visual job like fashion design, Instagram and Pinterest are probably your best friends, while more formal jobs like HR and finance are probably best served by LinkedIn. And if you’re a fitness coach, you’ll want to create a YouTube channel for yourself. (And confession: I don’t get Snapchat, since your snaps disappear in 24 hours. I guess maybe it’s good for, erm, very personal photos?)
So before you dive in, do some research on the various platforms and see which ones feel right to you. Even if you’re launching a job search in a completely new industry, you don’t have to make use of every single platform out there, so take a deep breath and decide which ones you’re comfortable with and start there. I tend to use Facebook and Instagram the most, but I spend time on LinkedIn because many of my clients have questions about it. If you’re already using one site, you can create a professional account for yourself and start there. (You will want to call your professional site something pretty obvious, and you may want to do a little playing with your personal page so your name there is a little more obscure. I have a friend in the media, for instance, who uses her middle name for her personal account so she can share opinions and photos of her kiddo and the like, while her pro account is her name and her press affiliation.) The point is not to get overwhelmed by all the choices out there. Take it slowly and start with what feels easy.
