Using Social Media to Find Your Next Food & Beverage Job – Even While You’re Employed

December 17, 2012 in Career and Job Search Tips

 

 

Finding a C-level or executive management position in the food & beverage industry while you’re employed can be a tricky proposition – if you don’t know what you’re doing.  Sure, social media can help you instantly connect with hiring decision-makers and learn about job openings in real time.  Injudicious use of these platforms, however, can also put you at risk for losing your current job – by making it obvious that you’re on the hunt.

The best advice?  Use social media, but do so wisely!  Here are a few do’s and don’ts from Kinsa to help you attract the attention of potential employers, without jeopardizing your job:

Do: Carefully raise your personal visibility.  Set-up or spruce-up your networking profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.  Make sure you follow the recommended steps to make each profile complete, by including a professional photo, key skills, significant accomplishments, experience and education.  The more information you provide, the more frequently you will show up in recruiters’ search results.

Don’t:  Conduct your social job search on company computers or company time.  Many employers monitor web surfing.  So stay off social media sites during work hours, unless it’s an explicit part of your job.  Smart recruiters who are truly interested in you will respect the fact that you’re currently working and will understand that you can’t get back in touch until you’re away from the office.

Do: Adjust your privacy settings.  Employers also set-up Google Alerts to keep tabs on employees’ online activity and actively search for their résumés using search engines and job boards.  So be proactive.  Protect your identity (and your existing job) by limiting access to your essential contact information (i.e., name, address, phone).  Set-up an anonymous personal email account for recruiters to use to contact you.

Don’t:  Broadcast your job desires.  Be careful to avoid adding phrases like “seeking a new position in” or “looking for a new job in” to your profiles.  And resist the temptation to select the “career opportunities” and “job inquiries” options in your LinkedIn settings.  These tips may seem obvious, but still bear mentioning!

Do:  Adopt a “pull” strategy.  Instead of blasting your résumé out, draw recruiters to you.  Log into your social media profiles frequently (when you’re not working, that is), join groups related to your food & beverage specialty and participate in discussions.  Post timely, relevant content to show potential employers that you keep up-to-date with the latest industry news and understand the important issues of the day.  Do so, and you’ll pull recruiters to you like iron filings to a magnet.

Do: Connect with Kinsa Group on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  Get real-time notifications of the best executive and management food & beverage jobs nationwide!