You may have scoured the job search pages, made numerous phone calls and sent out those CVs. But have you used the various online methods to show off your skills and value to potential employers? As we’ve mentioned in an earlier post, millions of people are now using social media and the popular social media sites provide platforms to meet and exchange information.

Make your presence known on professional platforms: A fantastic way to advertise yourself and your skills is to set up a LinkedIn profile (if you haven’t already done so) and keep it as up to date as possible. LinkedIn provides a way for those interested in networking or exploring new roles to create a profile for themselves for prospective employers to look at.

Rather than handing out hard copies of CVs that are easily thrown away to a few select employers, your LinkedIn profile can be easily viewed by a potentially much larger audience. It is important to ensure that any recent employment, qualifications attained, and relevant work experience are added on to your profile. These new details are important and could play a key role in you finding that dream job and sharing regular updates will let potential employers know that your services are available.

Are your social media updates suitable for all audiences? As well as your CV, your general online profile must be regularly reviewed and monitored. The first port of call for a prospective employer can often simply be typing a candidate’s name into a search engine to see what they can find. It is therefore important that your privacy settings for your Facebook profile are such that pictures and comments exchanged between friends – which you would not necessarily want to share with the wider world – are hidden from view.

Similarly, consider that any Twitter comments you make will be available to the whole world. So you may want to think twice before you post that tweet with expletives about the latest Justin Bieber song. Or perhaps something concerning politics or religion that could clash with a potential employer’s ethos.

Used properly, social media can be a useful tool when job hunting: You could follow the profiles of leading companies and individuals in your industry. This will allow you to keep up to date with developments in your field, and also gain a more in-depth or behind the scenes understanding of your future employers. A simple mention of details from a company’s Twitter profile at an interview not only demonstrates good research, but a genuine interest in the field. This is essential in showing an employer that it is not just your past qualifications and experience that make you an ideal candidate for the job.

Show your employable personality via a blog: Another way to show you are well-rounded and to demonstrate that you will be an asset to a team, is to begin writing a blog intended for employers. Less constrictive than a traditional CV, a blog lets you show off your knowledge and involvement in your relevant field as well as giving employers an all-important understanding of your personality. Rather than a simple short list at the end of a CV stating your hobbies, a blog helps an employer to build up a picture of you, and how you could add to the ethos of a workplace.

Don’t overlook your online presence in your efforts to find your ideal job. While you must take care with comments and photos that you could post on websites like Facebook and Twitter, there are many ways in which you can use these platforms to your advantage. Both LinkedIn and blogs allow you to sell both your skills and experience, and share your personality and enthusiasm in your dream field.

[Photo by trekkyandy]