The Undercover Recruiter

How Graduates Can Make the Most of LinkedIn and Twitter

“77% of recruiters suggest that they would run an online search for the candidate”

“Only 29% students use social networking sites to promote themselves”

The UK economy is set to go into a double dip recession (BBC, 2012), as the market shrinks by 0.2%. Although this is set to be revised at least twice, this still demonstrates that graduate job opportunities are going to continue to be few and far between. So how do new graduates gain an extra advantage when capturing the dream role they have studied so hard to achieve?

Bringing Good To The Table

Graduates need to consider what they can bring to the table for their new organisation. Dan Hawes suggests using what you know best to get connected and create the cutting edge to get ahead. Most businesses who are not Internet savvy generally use newspaper ads, radio and television spots to reach out to customers and increase demand. However the generation for today use the internet for almost everything. Organisations are noticing the need to reach out to these customers and potential candidates to fill vacancies.

Positive Social Networking

Social networking has been blamed for removing the importance placed upon education and placing this importance upon social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. However, future graduates can use their social media savvy to discover graduate vacancies before they are advertised to the wider market. The way of advertising jobs through social media is becoming ever more popular due to the accessibility the candidates have to it and cost of doing such advertising.

SME’s are feeling the need to digitalise and reach out and benefit online where a substantial growth of £0.8million in 2000 to £58.8billion in 2010. In today’s economy, an employer wants to know that, if required, you are able to complete a wide range of jobs. Having transferrable skills, a can do attitude and a willingness to learn and be involved in all aspects of the business is key to nailing the job interview. Although organisations prefer graduates with IT degrees, there is a need for graduates to understand social media in order to gain exposures. With this is mind, organisations are increasingly becoming broader in who they recruit when requiring a certain task to be completed with each executive incorporating social media into their professional branding strategy.

Working In The Lime Light

It is not only in the corporate world where you can use your social media savvy to get ahead of the game or to enjoy your role. Last year we learnt that Charlie Sheen was searching for an intern to manage his online presence. Charlie Sheen noticed the need to reach out to his supporters however did not have the time to do so. These types of jobs are becoming more apparent and available to recent graduates, so long as these graduates are able tom exploit their knowledge of using social media.

You And The World Wide Web

Although an online presence offers a positive for graduates, it is necessary to consider how it can reflect negatively upon yourself from your presence on the World Wide Web. 77% of recruiters suggest that they would run an online search for the candidate to generate additional information that can be of help. With this in mind it is important for graduates to promote themselves and paint a professional picture; however a survey showed that only 29% stated that they use social networking sites to promote themselves. The internet presents equal opportunities to enhance or damage your career prospects. It is essential that people are aware of the potential effects their online personal can have on their real lives.

Graduates need to promote themselves through social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn to stay one step ahead of the rest. Can you really afford to not be promoting yourself through social media networking sites?

Follow these five simple action points to use your social media savvy when gaining an advantage within the work place:

1. Ensure you have the following: Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and Facebook

Although there are many additional sites you can be registered with, these are the main ones recruiters are going to look at. However having additional profiles on the likes of marketplace can be a good addition. Although Facebook may not be deemed as a professional networking site, it offers vast opportunities to connect with various professionals on a personal level.

2. Stay active online and develop your professional digital footprint

It is no good simply opening accounts with the mentioned sites. You will need to remain online commenting on relevant and professional topics. Have an interview but you are nervous? Look for your interviewer on LinkedIn and discover their interests to help create some common ground when you meet. The use of being able to see who has viewed your profile on LinkedIn means your interviewer knows you have gone the extra mile to understand the interviewer, which can only help demonstrate your determination to succeed.

3. Keep your social life separate from your working life

Employees have been dismissed from their role within a firm due to their excessive use on social networking sites. Either they have been suing such sites whilst at work or have slated their colleagues or their firm on these sites. Ensure you remain professional with your wording and comments and use out of working hours.

4. Ensure your profiles remain up to date

Stating something on your CV but it isn’t on your LinkedIn profile? This cast’s instant doubt into your interviewer about the credibility of either what your CV suggests or what your LinkedIn profile suggests. Check they link up and both are up to date.

5. Tweet regularly and follow the correct people

There is no need to tweet every hour or every day, however making a quick tweet here and there about a recent story or a recent activity that either interests yourself (i.e. football) or reflects upon the type of roles you want to enter within the future (i.e. recent economic downturn with finance roles). Start following specific people, such as CIPFA, to demonstrate your interests and intent to remain up to date with the relevant news and information.

This Guest Post has been written by Laurence Chandler on behalf of The Graduate Recruitment Bureau.

photo by: Will Folsom

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This post is written by a guest blogger. If you are interested in submitting a guest post, check out our Guest Post Guidelines - we look forward to hearing from you!

Filed Under: Graduate, Job Search, LinkedIn Tagged With: Graduates, Social Media

How To Get a Job with No Relevant Experience or Education

When you finish your college education and try to land your first real job, you may run into a number of positions that, despite being entry level, simply require too much experience to get your foot in the door. This obstacle is becoming more common, due partly to the overall workforce being deluged with experienced candidates and partly due to employers having unrealistic expectations for lower-level jobs. Instead of just throwing your hands up at the whole process, there are a few things you can do to make employers consider you even with little to no experience.

The reality of experience

Look on almost any job posting, and you’ll see some kind of experience requirement, which is usually several years or more. It’s unrealistic for employers to expect recent college graduates to have this kind of work experience, and most employers recognize this despite still putting the requirement on the posting. The reality is that many employers will fully consider a candidate who only has schooling, and will often translate years of education into years of experience. If you feel the job requires your exact skill set, as long as the position doesn’t require something like ten years of experience, feel free to apply. Just be ready to address your lack of experience in the interview.

How can you gain experience?

There are a number of ways you can gain the experience you will need to land a job. First, consider volunteer work, which not only provides work experience but will look attractive on a resume. Also, consider an internship in your field. It may not pay very much, or at all, but it is a great way to get a little experience to flesh out your resume. Websites designed to help graduates and students find volunteer and internship opportunities are becoming popular: try Monster’s internship site to find opportunities near you.

Education, education, education

If you can’t get a job right out of school, your best bet may be to go back and further your education. Entry level positions are generally targeted towards people without advanced degrees, so if you go back and get a master’s degree, it may let you skip those types of positions and begin interviewing for professional and managerial positions where the employer will be less likely to look down on your lack of experience since you have an advanced degree to show for your efforts. The recent explosion of online learning can even help you earn an online master degree while working a basic job or interning. Online degrees, especially the advanced degrees, are a great way to get the most out of your education while not having to put your life on hold.

As you make your way out into the professional world, there’s no reason to let a lack of experience hold you back from landing the job of your dreams. Even if companies are asking for experience that you may not think you have, they may be more than willing to consider your schooling as experience if you can nail the interview. Even if you can’t seem to get your foot in the door, with a little extra effort and a little extra schooling you’ll be able to blow away hiring managers in no time.

Jesse Langley lives near Chicago. He divides his time among work, writing and family life. He writes on behalf of of online master degree sites and has a keen interest in blogging and social media.
Image credit sskennel

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Filed Under: Education, Experience, Graduate, Intern, Job Search Tagged With: Experience, Graduates, Intern, Job Hunting

How To Find Graduate Jobs and Internships on LinkedIn

A new career portal was introduced a few months ago on LinkedIn: LinkedIn for students and recent graduates. Apparently, it has been quite popular in the US, but hasn’t really been known enough here in the UK and Europe just yet!

The platform enables its users to search for internships and many entry-level jobs, offered by a very large amount of companies from all around the world. This way, you can have access to job opportunities that suit you and even be directly targeted depending on what you are looking for.

Beyond networking with your University classmates, your favourite companies and collegues, LinkedIn has a also a purpose of creating a real relationship between public organizations, companies that are hiring, and you.

Find below some tips on how to begin using the Jobs for Students and Recent Graduates Portal!

1. Selecting the type of job you are looking for

First enter the sector you are interested in.

From Art/Creative to Science, find the industry that suits you in order to get into the platform, and search through everything you need.

2. Refine your search as much as you need!

The platorm includes many criteria giving you the chance to target as precisely as possible what you are looking for. From the company to the location, but also the salary or your entry-level, refine your search so that it defines what you’re looking for.

Note as well that sometimes, it’s better not to be too precise when looking for an offer: you might be missing some results that could have interested you.

Try to stay as open as you can, knowing still that you are able to refine your searches whenever you want.

3. Apply!

Once you’ve found an offer that suits you and went through the job description, desired skills and experience, you can apply directly from the platform. Just hit the “apply now” button and add any information you want in addition to your LinkedIn Profile, such as your resume and cover letter!

Note that, depending on the company and the offer, you will sometimes be redirected to the company website to apply.

4. Save your searches

On the portal, you can create your own “job basket”: save your searches, save your favourite jobs, and easily manage your applications! Stay connected to your LinkedIn account and find everything you need to get that next job you’ve been waiting for!

I hope you found this helpful and will make the most of it! Find out for yourself and start using the LinkedIn Student Job Portal. I’d love to hear your thoughts of the subject, so please feel free to share your ideas and comments!

Marion Muller is part of the Link Humans social recruiting training team in London.

photo by: ralph and jenny

Laurence Hebberd

Laurence Hebberd is Community Manager for Link Humans in London. He also runs the Link Humans Twitter feed - @LinkHumans.

Filed Under: Graduate, Intern, LinkedIn Tagged With: Graduates, LinkedIn, Students, university

How To Build a Brilliant Professional Network in College

Professional networking has to play an important role throughout one’s career. The benefits that networking brings can sometimes leave you amazed. If you want to achieve professional success, you should start career networking as quickly as possible. In fact, it’s a good idea to start building your network while you are still in college.

Given below are some cool tips that college students can use to network and connect with influential people.

#1. Meet as Many People as You Can

While you are studying in college, you should never hesitate to meet with as many people as possible. You never know who you meet by regularly interacting with a wide variety of people.

#2. Connect Online

Thanks to the emergence of social media, you can now use a range of social networking platforms to connect with influential people online. Participate in online conversations on social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus among others. Get in touch with employers, industry experts, recruiting agencies, passionate people etc.

#3. Listen More Than You Talk

If you want to expand your network and benefit from it too, you need to become an active listener. Listening is a great skill, which you can use to attract a lot of people. So, don’t just speak. Let other people share their point of views. And learn from what they say.

By: CollegeDegrees360

#4. Attend Social Events

Many college students are too shy to attend social functions. This is not the right attitude if you aspire to achieve career success. Whether a social event is organized by your college or the community where you live, you can use this as an excellent opportunity for connecting with influential people.

To get social online, LinkedIn is a great place to network with fellow students. More at 7 Ways College Students Can Benefit from LinkedIn.

#5. Be a Conversation Starter

It’s always advisable not to wait for the other person to approach you or start talking to you. Be ready to take the lead and start the conversation yourself if the other person is not very comfortable.

#6. Make People Feel Important

People like to be heard. They want to be felt important. If you have the capability to make other people feel important, you can easily grab their attention. It is a great skill to connect to a lot of people and expand your network even while you are in college.

#7. Get Rid of the Fear of Rejection

When you start meeting people, you may have some fear of being rejected as well. Many people won’t simply want to connect. Don’t let this fear hold you back. Step up and march ahead. Always be positive!

The professional networking that you do while in college can pay great dividends when you are out in the real world. Your network of contacts can bring you plenty of career development benefits. Start using the above mentioned tips and start to build you network right away.

And when you finally graduate, here’s How To Find Jobs as a College Graduate.

James Tomerson writes regularly on career, education and latest job trends. To read more from him, you can visit Jobdiagnosis.com, which also offers jobseekers a free career aptitude test to choose a career which is in tune with their career, aptitude and skills.

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Filed Under: College, Graduate, Networking Tagged With: college, Graduates, Networking, university