A year before I graduated from college, I had no social networking life at all. I just had made the choice to not become involved in that type of activity, and had no interest in putting my name out there like that. But a few months before I graduated, I spoke to an instructor who actually inspired me to put my name out there and get started.

If you are the type to avoid social networking, or if you happen to only stay on Facebook, you need to start thinking outside the box and opening yourself up to other opportunities that you can find on social networking sites.

1) Twitter

While your first reaction may be that “you don’t get Twitter,” there are plenty of ways to “get twitter” and get a job as well. First, seek out people in your field. This can be as easy as doing a Google search for top twitter users in marketing/accounting/design/art/etc. Once you find the people in your field, you’ve tapped into a resource of information that can help you understand the latest news and growth in the area you care about.

Next, seek out companies that you would like to work for as most are now on these social networking sites. Don’t limit yourself – follow as many potential companies as you can and read through their followers as you may find a couple of human resource professionals that work in that field (yet another untapped resource you’ve discovered).

2) LinkedIn

When you first go into LinkedIn, it feels a little bit like walking into a seminar where everyone is sipping really bad tasting coffee and perusing the free pens and notepads in order to get something out of the dull presentations. It’s more than that though. First, set up your profile and unlike your one page resume; complete as much information about yourself as possible.

Second, seek out everyone you can to connect with – find former classmates, even as far back as high school, seek out professors, and even college counselors. These people are just the beginning on building your profile. Follow up with anyone you’ve worked with or have had an internship with. While this is one of those “urban myths,” it isn’t entirely unheard of for recruiters to seek out people via LinkedIn, so the more people you have connected with, the higher the odds you may be found.

Now, when you find a company that you would like to work with, or a company that has a job opening, seek out your contacts and find out if they are connected in any way. If you have found a connection, contact the person who connects you to them and find out more information – how do they know this person? How close are they? These questions can actually lead you to be introduced to this person and get you that much closer to finding a job.

3) Reddit.com

This is another one of those websites where I hear more friends than I can count ask me, “Is this a new site? What do you do?” Don’t be one of those people. First, it is takes less than one minute to build your account on the website. Next, find the city you live in (or would like to live in) as most major or even smaller cities or towns have a Subreddit on the site. Once you do, do a quick search for jobs and you may strike it lucky. If not, don’t be shy about posting about a job you are looking for or getting feedback from people on the field that interests you.

Next, seek out that particular field that you want to break out into, as that more than likely has it’s own Subreddit as well (by the way, Subreddit is lingo for a Reddit community). Do some digging on the Subreddit and you may find a separate link on job listings. Again, don’t be shy about asking for job leads or leads on different Reddits you can get help on.

As you can see, at no point did I mention Facebook, Pinterest, or StumbleUpon. It isn’t impossible to find a job using these sites – I’m certain someone has a story somewhere on how those sites got them a job. But those three sites listed above are the sites that increase the odds of you graduating with a job (or spending less time actually looking for one after college). Don’t let the “I don’t get it’s” of social networking prevent you from doing everything you can to get gainfully employed.

Autor

Amanda Greene is blogger and Brand Manager for RHL, leading dorm supplies and décor supplier in the US. She enjoys writing about career and branding tips for college students and grads. Amanda also writes about college and dorm life and interests. You can find her on Twitter @amandagreenerhl and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RHLinens.